FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               October 26, 2009

Contact:  Dave Welch

               832-688-9166

Lawsuit Against City Council Prayer “Anti-Religious Jihad” Declare Pastors

Houston, TX – Houston Area Pastor Council, an inter-racial, inter-denominational coalition of pastors representing churches throughout the Houston area, responded to the latest lawsuit by Houston anti-religious activist Kay Staley with the following statement:

“Kay Staley’s anti-religious jihad against public religious expression has reached new depths of irresponsibility with this lawsuit against prayer at city council meetings and the citizens of Houston.  Courts have repeatedly upheld prayer at meetings of elected bodies and beyond that it is a tradition that reaches back to the earliest foundations of this country.

This case should be dismissed as without any legal merit and we will stand with the Mayor, City Council and the vast majority of Houston citizens who believe that anti-religious bigotry should not be tolerated in this city or anywhere.

We will urge the city attorney through our elected leaders to make full use of pro-bono religious liberty legal experts to assure that our rights are defended with the highest level of expertise available.  With the many trials and challenges facing our families, communities, state and nation it is unbelievable that one citizen thinks she can tyrannize the majority by abusing the legal system.

If this case is responded to by the city as is appropriate, we have every confidence that the right of the citizens to acknowledge God and ask for His guidance, wisdom and blessings before our city council members and Mayor conduct life-impacting business will be protected and preserved for now and in the future.

There are many views about God represented in Houston but no rational person believes that a simple prayer is a threat to anyone’s beliefs.  We commit our full support to rally citizens of faith and clergy in every corner of Houston and beyond to stand up and stand with city officials to stop this tyranny of one.”