Commissioners at Odds Over Prayer Group at County Office Building

Carroll County Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier has invited county employees to join her for a weekly prayer group, but board President Doug Howard says it may not be appropriate to use government space for such a purpose.

Frazier's email invitation, obtained by Patch from a citizen who filed a public information request, was sent by a county employee, inviting staff to join Frazier for "a time for prayer" on Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. starting June 7.

Frazier told Patch she held such prayer meetings when she previously served as a commissioner from 1998 to 2002.

"I simply set aside a time weekly to pray during the lunch hour and invite anyone that would like to to join me during their lunch hour," Frazier said.

She said the county has rooms set aside for public use. "I schedule the room like anyone else would," she added.

However, Howard said in an email to Patch that he has expressed reservations to Frazier and other members of the board about using county resources and facilities to promote and hold the prayer group.

"I believe it is not appropriate to use the county's e-mail system to inform people about the meetings or to invite them to attend," Howard said. "It is not official county business. Employees would not be allowed to use the system in that way."

Frazier said that her previous prayer sessions would attract about a dozen people.

"We would simply go around the room for prayer requests and then one person would start and one end. We prayed for each other and anyone present could pray. We generally took 45 minutes or so," Frazier said.

Howard said he is concerned that a commissioner-led group for a purpose other than official business "takes on a different meaning and may or may not be appropriate."

"County staff may feel an obligation to participate or may feel uneasy if they attend a meeting and choose not to continue," Howard said. "Given the personal nature of prayer and religion, this situation would most likely not be appropriate."

David Rocah, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, called the prayer group a "tricky situation." Rocah said that once a county government chooses to use its resources for such purposes, it has to make them available to all employees for similar solicitations.

Rocah also said that when employers solicit employees to pray, some workers might become concerned about their jobs.

"Employees may feel pressure to participate out of fear that if they don't it may somehow affect their position," Rocah said. "The county has to be extremely careful to ensure there's no overt or subtle coercion for employees who don't participate."

The state attorney general's office declined comment.

Jim Backlin, vice president of Legal Affairs for the Christian Coalition of America, said that for the first 65 or 70 years of its existence, Sunday services were held in the U.S. Capitol building.

"We don't see any problem with holding a prayer group in a county government building," Backlin said.

Howard said he believes in the power of prayer but that in spite of good intentions, the board should reconsider the idea of holding commissioner-led prayer groups in the county office building.

Howard said that he has made an to discuss a building use policy for the county office building.