Before folks start responding angrily, let me say that I am all for praying, being of faith and knowing there’s a higher power.

That said, I firmly believe in the separation of church and state. We go to a church/temple/mosque to pray, but we go to state government to legislate, develop policy, carry out regulations and so forth. Never once did our forebears state that the two should be intertwined.

I see no reason that nondenominational remarks intended to bring and keep all God/Allah’s people together for common good and decency should not be shared under one roof, but it is plain wrong to invoke the name of one divine being while forsaking others.

Why did these legislators and Gov. Paul LePage as seen in the newspaper on Jan. 18 see the need to take what’s worked in chambers for hundreds of years and change it to now have a special prayer ritual?

I don’t know what enables legislators to have the clarity and conviction of heart to do what they believe to be the right thing for citizens of Maine, but it certainly irks the heck out of me to see the governor and legislators praying on my time.

They can pray on their own time, but not when my tax dollars are paying them. If they want to pray, that’s wonderful. They can join a house of worship; there are plenty enough in the Augusta area.

I pray that they have the wisdom to know the difference between caring for thine brother and heaving thine brother out with the trash.

Penny Plourde

Vassalboro

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