A National Day of Prayer service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 2, at the outdoor amphitheater below the Cross at Lake Junaluska. 

To the Editor:

Beginning a new year during a cold winter, and an election year, I find myself soulful and introspective. 

Hello operator? I’d like to make a collect call to God …

Prayer as part of government meetings has a long — and often contentious — history in this country, and a recent court ruling on the issue certainly won’t settle this debate.

This case does, however, add one more brick to the legal foundation that’s been built by respected judges since this country’s inception: prayer by those in official capacities is fine, but can’t trumpet your specific sectarian religious beliefs at the expense of those who may have a different faith.

Praying in public has never been something politicians in Swain County have shied away from and it’s unlikely the recent court ruling will change that ritual anytime soon.

Within recent memory, public prayer hasn’t been part of official meetings of the Jackson County or Sylva boards of commissioners.

With all the controversy and uncertainty about the right and wrong way to do it, the town and county governments in Macon County err on the side of caution when it comes to praying at meetings.

Just days after an important ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on legislator-led prayer, Haywood County and its municipalities quickly moved to comply with the specifics of the ruling, but fell dramatically short in complying with the general principles that underlie the separation between church and state in American Government.

Public prayer in government has long been a contentious issue, but a recent court ruling has North Carolina municipalities scrambling to comply with both the letter and the spirit of the law while awaiting the challenges and changes that will inevitably come.

“I think towns that have practices similar to Rowan County will have to keep an eye on how the case progresses,” said William Morgan, Canton’s town attorney for the past three years.

Religion and public schools have never been a black and white matter anywhere in the U.S., but the shades of grey can be even more complicated in the Bible belt.