A Prayer for Norm McFarlane

Earlier this week, my wife Janet I went to city hall, intending to catch the end of a council session.

As it turned out, it had been over for hours.

We heard voices inside, though, so we opened the door.

We thought we were entering the House of the People – Common Council.

Instead, it felt like we were entering the House of God.

The council chamber was empty, except for a small group of people gathered in front of the mayor’s chair.

They swayed back and forth, their arms outstretched toward the ceiling.

“Praise be to God, they cried.”

“Thank you Jesus.”

“Lead them and guard them Oh God.”

It was like a scene from an evangelical church in the southern U.S.

Yet here we were, on a Tuesday night in City Hall.

Janet stepped back outside the chamber. I took a seat in the front row, waiting for a break in the action.

After a few minutes, three people left the group and headed for the exit.

I got up and met them at the door.

“What were you doing?” I asked.

“Praying,” a woman said. “It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

“Why here, though?” I asked.

“We come here often to pray for the politicians, to help them lead us,” she said.

“Why tonight?” I asked.

“The door was open,” she said, and then off they went.

Janet and I then walked home, puzzled by the scene we’d just witnessed. We’ve spoken to councilors and council watchers since then, and none of them has ever heard of this group. Yet there there were, and had been many times before they said.

I must admit my first instinct was to take offence.

Like I said earlier, the council chamber is a People’s House, not a House of God.

I believe in the separation of Church and State, and for that reason oppose even the prayer that kicks off each session of council.

But who were these people really hurting? They were alone here, and not imposing their beliefs on a full council chamber.

Besides, council is doing a poor job of leading the city right now. They’re fighting a lot with each other, in private and in public. In general, they’re not inspiring much confidence.

So I can’t fault this group for saying a prayer for better leadership.

I certainly don’t have any better suggestions myself.