6/9/05 City hall open for worship
City hall open for worship
Curtis Brown
Local News
BRANDONSUN
Thursday, June 09 2005
1321Mayor Dave Burgess makes no apologies for letting religious groups use Brandon City Hall as a place to pray.
The mayor, responding to revelations a group of local ministers used his office for a prayer meeting two weeks ago, said neither he nor city staff partake in religious ceremonies held in the building and that if groups want to use city hall, they're more than welcome to.
"I'm willing to take either the blame or the credit for that one. I like to be accommodating to groups that like to use city hall," Burgess said.
"I certainly don't take part in it, neither does city administration. But these are very good people who choose to come in privacy with their own faith. They pray for the work of city services and elected officials and city at large. I think that's a very credible, worthy endeavour to take on."
Brandon University student Bill Baker raised the issue in a letter to the Brandon Sun earlier this week. Baker said he showed up at city hall May 31 after reading in a Bethel Christian Assembly pamphlet about the lunchtime prayer session.
"Is this not an insult to and violation to the concept of the separation of church and state?" Baker asked in his letter.
Burgess said the group usually uses the councillors' meeting room, but on May 31 that room was booked so Burgess offered his office.
He then left and came back at the end of the hour as the prayer meeting wrapped up.
Burgess said city hall is open to any group wishing to use the space. He noted a number of religious groups use it for services throughout the year, including the Salvation Army and First Nations spiritual groups.
The city doesn't charge if the event is held during regular business hours. If it's at night or on weekends, the city charges $69.55 for groups of less than 20 people to cover the cost of security and cleanup.
The Brandon Regional Health Authority board also uses the council chamber for its monthly meetings because the room is set up so meetings can be televised on Access 12.
Other Manitoba cities have different policies on who can use their buildings.
The City of Portage la Prairie makes its city hall free at any time of the day to any community group, while the City of Winnipeg screens groups much more closely.
Richard Kachur, the City of Winnipeg clerk, said groups looking to use city hall must apply in writing to the city council secretariat. If the facility is available, groups have to pay a $50 fee, a $100 deposit plus cover the cost of security and cleanup if the event is after hours.
Kachur said cultural groups can use the building, but said there is some caution to letting religious groups use the building for services.
"If you give it to one religion, you have to give it to them all," Kachur said.
"And some religions are not politically acceptable."
Bookings for Brandon's city hall are handled by the mayor's staff. While Burgess said he welcomes any denomination that wants to use city hall, he couldn't accept groups like Satanists or others who go too much against the grain.
"I'm respectful of different religions and backgrounds and different beliefs. But I'm not respectful of an anti-religious type of attitude," Burgess said of Satanism in particular.
This is not the first time religion and politics have mixed at city hall. Last summer, a group of four senior bureaucrats travelled on the city's dime to a professional development seminar in the U.S. that was put on by a Christian organization.
It prompted questions from councillors who weren't told the full story about the seminar until after the fact.
Coun. Vince Barletta (Rosser), who said at the time religion and a secular institution like city hall shouldn't mix, said he views this meeting as an "isolated incident."
He said while religion shouldn't influence council or administrative decisions, anyone in the community has a right to use city hall as a public meeting place.
"If it was an isolated incident, which it seems it was ... I think it can be left at that," he said.
cbrown@brandonsun.com
Curtis Brown
Local News
BRANDONSUN
Thursday, June 09 2005
1321Mayor Dave Burgess makes no apologies for letting religious groups use Brandon City Hall as a place to pray.
The mayor, responding to revelations a group of local ministers used his office for a prayer meeting two weeks ago, said neither he nor city staff partake in religious ceremonies held in the building and that if groups want to use city hall, they're more than welcome to.
"I'm willing to take either the blame or the credit for that one. I like to be accommodating to groups that like to use city hall," Burgess said.
"I certainly don't take part in it, neither does city administration. But these are very good people who choose to come in privacy with their own faith. They pray for the work of city services and elected officials and city at large. I think that's a very credible, worthy endeavour to take on."
Brandon University student Bill Baker raised the issue in a letter to the Brandon Sun earlier this week. Baker said he showed up at city hall May 31 after reading in a Bethel Christian Assembly pamphlet about the lunchtime prayer session.
"Is this not an insult to and violation to the concept of the separation of church and state?" Baker asked in his letter.
Burgess said the group usually uses the councillors' meeting room, but on May 31 that room was booked so Burgess offered his office.
He then left and came back at the end of the hour as the prayer meeting wrapped up.
Burgess said city hall is open to any group wishing to use the space. He noted a number of religious groups use it for services throughout the year, including the Salvation Army and First Nations spiritual groups.
The city doesn't charge if the event is held during regular business hours. If it's at night or on weekends, the city charges $69.55 for groups of less than 20 people to cover the cost of security and cleanup.
The Brandon Regional Health Authority board also uses the council chamber for its monthly meetings because the room is set up so meetings can be televised on Access 12.
Other Manitoba cities have different policies on who can use their buildings.
The City of Portage la Prairie makes its city hall free at any time of the day to any community group, while the City of Winnipeg screens groups much more closely.
Richard Kachur, the City of Winnipeg clerk, said groups looking to use city hall must apply in writing to the city council secretariat. If the facility is available, groups have to pay a $50 fee, a $100 deposit plus cover the cost of security and cleanup if the event is after hours.
Kachur said cultural groups can use the building, but said there is some caution to letting religious groups use the building for services.
"If you give it to one religion, you have to give it to them all," Kachur said.
"And some religions are not politically acceptable."
Bookings for Brandon's city hall are handled by the mayor's staff. While Burgess said he welcomes any denomination that wants to use city hall, he couldn't accept groups like Satanists or others who go too much against the grain.
"I'm respectful of different religions and backgrounds and different beliefs. But I'm not respectful of an anti-religious type of attitude," Burgess said of Satanism in particular.
This is not the first time religion and politics have mixed at city hall. Last summer, a group of four senior bureaucrats travelled on the city's dime to a professional development seminar in the U.S. that was put on by a Christian organization.
It prompted questions from councillors who weren't told the full story about the seminar until after the fact.
Coun. Vince Barletta (Rosser), who said at the time religion and a secular institution like city hall shouldn't mix, said he views this meeting as an "isolated incident."
He said while religion shouldn't influence council or administrative decisions, anyone in the community has a right to use city hall as a public meeting place.
"If it was an isolated incident, which it seems it was ... I think it can be left at that," he said.
cbrown@brandonsun.com
posted by Aestrea Raven at Thursday, June 09, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home