When Public Prayer Is Made Illegal
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On Thursday May 7, 1992, I joined about 500 other citizens and taxpayers to pray on the lawn at City Hall in the city of Gresham, Oregon. It was the national day of prayer, declared so by our president. Organizers had gone through the right hoops, and the mayor of Gresham had granted permission for us to be there. But the gathering began not with a prayer or song of worship, but a statement read by a police lieutenant culminating in, "You are commanded to leave." What a way to start a prayer meeting!