Judge blocks Veteran Affairs from barring 'Jesus Christ' prayer
A federal judge in Texas has told the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs that it cannot censor a pastor's invocation at a Memorial Day ceremony.
The VA had ordered the Rev. Scott Rainey to remove a phrase using Jesus Christ from the prayer, arguing the line excluded other beliefs held by veterans, KHOU-TV in Houston reported.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes disagreed, writing the government cannot "gag citizens when it says it is in the interest of national security, and it cannot do it in some bureaucrat's notion of cultural homogeneity," according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.
Read the full story about the judge's prayer ruling on CNN's This Just In blog.Memorial Day Invocations - News
A federal judge in Texas has told the US Department of Veteran Affairs that it cannot censor a pastor's invocation at a Memorial Day ceremony. The VA had ordered the Rev. Scott Rainey to remove a phrase using Jesus Christ from the prayer,
Memorial Day will be celebrated with invocations, speeches and taps up and down the Napa Valley on Monday to honor the sacrifice of soldiers over the generations. In Yountville, Memorial Day will be marked with traditional events Monday at the Veterans
Hundreds watched the parade and attended the Memorial Day ceremony at the IOOF Cemetery in Blanchester on Monday, May 30. At the cemetery, they heard Paul Campbell, chaplain Ohio Wing Civil Air patrol give invocation and the main address.
Instead, they hovered around .500 through April, improved a bit in early May, and finally went on a red-hot 14-4 stretch from roughly Memorial Day to Flag Day in which they twice scored 20 runs in a game and averaged 7.1 runs per.
The service will feature a flag raising, national anthem, invocation, a Memorial Day address, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a reading of “In Flanders Field” and more. After the services, the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary will host a luncheon from 11:30
Religion Clause: VA May Not Require Memorial Day Invocation At ...
In Rainey v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs , (SD TX, May 26, 2011), a Texas federal district court issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Veterans Affairs from regulating the content of the invocation and benediction that are to be delivered at a Memorial Day ceremony in Houston's National Cemetery. The annual ceremony is put on by a charitable organization. The director of the National Cemetery required ministers to deliver the text of their prayers in advance to assure that the prayers are non-denominational and inclusive of all beliefs. Invoking that policy, the Veterans Affairs Department told Rev. Scott Rainey that he could not deliver his invocation if he did not remove references to Jesus and to his religious beliefs. Rainey sued. In a rather colorful opinion, the court wrote that the government cannot gag a citizen in the name of "some bureaucrat's notion of cultural homogeneity." The court went on: The government cannot realistically speak for the religious sensibilities of the numerous and varied people of America, even if it were constitutional for it to try. It is for them to speak for themselves as when the President asked Rick Warren to speak for him in Jesus' name at his inauguration. Americans are free-- free to read, write, talk, and pray without permission from George III or other governmental power.
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MEMORIAL DAY INVOCATION. Be pleased, O God ! to bless this day, And bless the tributes ...Remembrance wakes; memorial day exercises of the University of New Mexico, 1928-1941
... its Founding and Memorial Services in Honor of HONORABLE BRONSON M. CUTTING ... Organ; Bernard Helfrich, Piano Invocation— The Right Reverend Frederick ...Oregon Teachers' Monthly
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INVOCATION BY THE REV. CALEB BOCHFOKD STETSON, DD, KECTOB OF TRINITY CHURCH, NEW YORK Almighty God, ... growing service to Thy Church, to this memorial day. ...United States Congressional Serial Set, Serial no. 14956, House Documents Nos. 8-18
I, of course, prayed the Invocation and Benediction. Memorial Day Weekend 2004 found me back in Washington, DC for the dedication of the National World War ...Media Info Directory
Memorial Day Invocation
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Soldiers monument Londonderry NH looking down on over 2,500 honoring the fallen at the 2010 Memorial Day ... Invocation & Benediction, Memorial Day Prayer, Memorial Day Service ...
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MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE INVOCATION. Today we are here to honor those that have served our country and given their lives so that we may stand here and still live in freedom. ...
Houston minister sues VA to be allowed Christ reference in ...
HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston minister has sued the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department to be allowed to refer to Jesus Christ in a Memorial Day invocation at Houston ...
VA: Holiday prayers mentioning Jesus (or whomever) can go on ...
The change of heart came one day after the judge granted the Rev. ... years, Rainey has given the Memorial Day invocation at the cemetery to honor U.S. soldiers who have fought ...