It's this action... praying before council meetings in Aiken... that caused nearly a thousand people to rally Monday night, in response to a letter requesting that they stop.
Pastor Tad Marshall, Lakeside Baptist Church: "This was written from an atheist and agnostic organization in Wisconsin...it's nice for those folks in Wisconsin to be concerned about our Aiken matters isn't it?"
Aiken City Council: "Almighty God, bless the leaders of our great nation."
Pastor Tad Marshall of Lakeside Baptist Church started the rally... one he says raises awareness about protecting their rights... and thanks the city of Aiken.
Pastor Marshall: "I admire your initial response. Your initial response is you are going to continue to pray and you're not going to back down. As wonderful of a place as this is, Aiken needs prayer."
Aiken City Mayor Fred Cavanaugh took to the podium on behalf of every council member.
Fred Cavanaugh, City of Aiken Mayor: "We're going to pray, we're going to pray. We're going to pray to the Almighty God to give us strength to give us wisdom to help us make the decisions that are best for our citizens and for our community."
Representative Rowland Wmith making a plea of his own...
Representative Rowland Smith, Aiken: "Please continue to pray for your elected leaders across the World!"
And it wasn't just those inside who felt the heat of the night's rally, overflow went into the alley...
Pastor Marshall: "We just want to see and make sure that the liberty to believe what we believe and pray the way that we want to pray is not taken away."
Despite the threat of a lawsuit, council says they'll continue to pray before meetings, saying for such a time as this, they need it more than ever.
Closing Prayer: "This we ask...in your name O Lord, Amen."
Spartanburg and Woodruff were 2 others who are facing the same thing...they both are continuing with prayer.
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JOIN The Freedom From Religion Foundation
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The issue of prayer before city meetings. In late June, the City of Aiken received a request from the Freedom from Religion Foundation, asking officials to forgo their prayer before meetings, or only have a moment of silence. But that's not sitting well for many in the area....including local church members who held a rally for hundreds in Aiken Monday.
Aiken, South Carolina
Made by WJBF-TV 6
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