Editor:
What if a Rio Arriba County commissioner, instead of praying in the name of Jesus Christ, started the commission meeting with a Native American prayer or a prayer inspired by the Koran or the Torah? Would Commissioner James Martinez, as an Evangelical Christian, participate in that prayer? Would he feel included or excluded?
He mentions in an email that “Many of our residents share our Christian values and beliefs and express that prayer (at the county meetings) is essential and needed.”
This is not about prayer. It’s about inclusion.
Isn’t the best solution to offer a time of silence where everyone is free to pray and/or reflect in the way he or she finds most meaningful? Martinez’s approach divides people into “us vs. them.”
Our country’s strength is in “We, the People”, not “We, the Christian Evangelicals.”
Kristine MacKain
Dixon