Avoiding the Prayer Breakfast Debacles
[NB: I have sent the following essay to the Lexington Herald-Leader for publication as an op-ed, but haven't heard yet whether they will be publishing it.]
In recent years the Governor's Annual Prayer Breakfast has become a political minefield that must surely leave governors scratching their heads about how to "do it right". The last administration that managed a modicum of inclusivity with the prayer breakfast was that of Governor Brereton Jones, who put people on a planning committee to plan an event that would be at least interfaith, if not interreligious.
For those who don't understand the difference, the term ecumenical refers to Christian interdenominational events. Interfaith refers to activities in which members of the three Abrahamic faiths--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-participate. Interreligious refers to activities and events that include religions other than those that understand themselves to be "faith-based" traditions: religions such as Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Jainism. These religions might more aptly be described as religious practices than "faiths".
Unfortunately, even during the Jones administration, the efforts of the planning committee still resulted in a program that was predominantly Christian but with token Jewish and Muslim participation. Additional attention was needed when it came to music and menu, but we made tremendous progress towards making the prayer breakfast something that people of many religious traditions could attend with integrity, and without embarassment. During the Patton administration I was no longer asked to be on the planning committee, probably to the great relief of some of the other members of the committee. The Frankfort Ministerial Association, however, was still considered the main sponsor of the event, and they tried to continue the effort to make the event interfaith in participation. Serving sausage biscuits, however, as the main item on the menu was not perceived as an act of hospitality by those whose traditions forebade eating pork. This led to some negative press for the Patton administration. Finally, the Frankfort Ministerial Association itself withdrew from sponsoring the event, because of the contentiousness surrounding the event.
I am told that the Kentucky Council of Churches was invited to participate in the planning of the event last year, but I have no recollection of that fact. We were definitely not included in any advance publicity about this year's event, nor were groups representing Roman Catholics, the Jewish community, or the Muslim community.
If the Christian Business Men's Club of the Bluegrass wishes to have a prayer breakfast for the Governor, elected leaders, and state workers, it is perfectly legitimate for it to be an entirely Christian program. More power to them. Government needs all the prayer it can get! They should, however, pay the appropriate rental fee for the use of the Convention Center. They should not, furthermore, call it "The Governor's Prayer Breakfast."
If the event is to be called "the Governor's Prayer Breakfast", then the event must be religiously inclusive and respectful of the religious plurality of Kentucky, no matter what the religious affiliation of the sitting governor. In planning such an event, attention must be paid to everything from the structure of the program (that is, it should not follow the typical Christian order of worship) to the music (which may be inspirational or even refer to God, but should not be "Jesus" music), menu (should respect the dietary rules of all religions); and the diversity of participants.
Kentucky is not a Christian state, although a majority of religious adherents in the state would claim Christianity as their religion. The state is a secular institution that may not use its auspices to endorse any particular religion. There are many practitioners of a variety of world religions who are our neighbors. We have always had a vibrant Jewish presence in our state; and in recent years, we have an increasing population of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Bahais, Unitarians, Sikhs, Jains and other religious adherents. These persons add rich threads to the tapestry of our shared life together in the Commonwealth.
If the Governor wishes to have the tradition of a prayer breakfast continue, it could be a splendid opportunity for us to grow in appreciation of one another's religious perspectives and practices. Prayer may be authentically offered if each religion provides a text from their own sacred writings, and the spokesperson for the particular religious tradition makes a statement such as: "I come today, as a Christian, or as a Jew, or as Hindu, to share a prayer as I would pray in my own community. I invite you to listen and, as it may be possible for you, to share in the intention of my prayer." Then, the close of the prayer, at least for Christians should be: "this I..." (never "we", because not all persons would be praying as the speaker had prayed) "pray in the name of ...."
Moreover, we need to understand that not all religions practice prayer, per se. Some have other practices such as meditation or chant. Each could share their methods. Music might be offered from a variety of these religions. And food could also be an opportunity to learn more about those who are different from the Christian majority.
A prayer breakfast as an occasion of religious sharing with a focus on those who serve us in elected and civil servant positions of this sort could be an amazing experience in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I commend it to the Governor, and commit the Council to the task of bringing together the diverse religious groups who could plan such an event.
