Senior Citizens Inc. officials said Friday the meals they are contracted by the city to provide to Ed Young visitors are mostly covered with federal money, which ushers in the burden of separating church and state.
On Thursday, the usual open prayer before meals at the center was traded in for a moment of silence.The dilemma is being hashed out by the Port Wentworth city attorney, said Mayor Glenn “Pig” Jones.
Tim Rutherford, Senior Citizens Inc. vice president, said some of his staff recently visited the center and noticed people praying shortly before lunch was served. Rutherford said his company provides meals like baked chicken, steak tips and rice and salads at a cost of about $6 a plate. Seniors taking the meals pay 55 cents and federal money foots the rest of the bill, Rutherford said.
“We can’t scoff at their rules,” he said of federal authorities. “It’s a part of the operational guidelines.”
Rutherford said the moment of silence was introduced to protect that funding. He said although the change may have been misinterpreted, perhaps his company could have done a better job selling it.
“It’s interpreted that we’re telling people that they can’t pray, but we aren’t saying that,” he said. “We’re asking them to pray to themselves. Have that moment of silence.”
We aren’t telling them that they “can’t pray.” No, not at all. What we are doing is telling them that if they pray, they and all of their friends will lose the money that paid for their food. If we tell this to them with the right words, they won’t mind. Only 45% are religious anyway.
Government money in a democracy is a dangerous thing.
Comments
Submitted by netwiz on
Government money creeps in so innocuously. Who wouldn’t be in favor of giving our seniors a break for such a small hit to the public treasury? Well, yes, I have learned to not be in favor of it…even if they do have to eat dog food. It would make me sad (and motivate me to appropriate action), but it wouldn’t cause me to take it out of the public till.