You can pray... just not to Jesus

**WKUHilltopper** · June-25th-2012, 11:33 PM

You can pray... just not to Jesus

By Bobby Eberle June 21, 2012 2:05 pm

There is a crack down going on in one North Carolina police department. Have patrols been stepped up? No. Are gangs being disbanded? No. Are the cops getting tough on crime? No. However, what is changing is that volunteer chaplains in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) will no longer be able to invoke the name "Jesus" when they pray, and it has some people up in arms.

As reported by WSOC TV 9, "chaplains have been told that they cannot invoke the name of Jesus in prayers at public events."

"When I heard this I was sad," said Pastor Terry Sartain, who has been a chaplain with CMPD for seven years.

Sartain said he learned of the policy when he got a phone call before a recent promotion ceremony saying he could not use Jesus' name in his invocation.

"I asked if I could withdraw, because Jesus is the only thing I have to bless people with," Sartain said.

Of course, one person interviewed for the news story, an ACLU member named Jim Gronquist, said the policy was long overdue.

"It's improper to mix up religion with the function of state agents, and as long as they're state agents, they should not be able to do that," Gronquist said.

These officers should not be able to pray to Jesus? Give me a break! This is America, right?

Todd Starnes with Fox News Radio interviewed Sartain, who said he has a "very real concern about where we are heading as a nation."

"I serve a God who loves people unconditionally, who died for their sins on the cross, who wants to reconcile himself to them and love them where they are at - and now I'm told I can't bless people as a result of that."

The police department said he could still pray - just not to Jesus.

So to whom was the Christian minister supposed to pray?

"That was my question," Sartain said. "If I'm going to pray - what should I pray?"

Sartain said he feels Christians are being targeted. I would have to agree. We see more and more incidents all the time where the only "objectionable" material or actions are those of Christians.

What do you think?

» You can pray… just not to Jesus » The Loft -- GOPUSA
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CMPD chaplains told to stop invoking Jesus at public events

By Mark Becker

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —

Volunteer chaplains have been a big part of the police community in Charlotte for years at memorials and celebrations offering support.

But now, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department chaplains have been told that they cannot invoke the name of Jesus in prayers at public events.

“When I heard this I was sad," said Pastor Terry Sartain, who has been a chaplain with CMPD for seven years.

Sartain said he learned of the policy when he got a phone call before a recent promotion ceremony saying he could not use Jesus' name in his invocation.

"I asked if I could withdraw, because Jesus is the only thing I have to bless people with," Sartain said.

He was allowed to withdraw from the ceremony and was told it would hurt his standing as a chaplain.

Major John Diggs, who oversees the chaplain program, said the policy is a matter of respecting that people may have different faiths and that it is not aimed at any one religion or denomination.

Some say the policy is long overdue.

"It's past time when they should've made a policy," said Jim Gronquist, a former Methodist minister who has been a practicing lawyer and member of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Gronquist said it's important to keep the separation between church and state -- in this case, between specific faiths and the police department.

"It's improper to mix up religion with the function of state agents, and as long as they're state agents, they should not be able to do that," Gronquist said.

Controversy is nothing new to the police chaplains. Several resigned two years ago when the department took on a lesbian chaplain.

But Terry Sartain did not walk away then and he said he's not going to leave his ministry with the officers, whatever their beliefs.

“They know when I ride with them that I love them for who they are," Sartain said.

CMPD chaplains told to stop invoking Jesus at public events | www.wsoctv.com

**mattfivefour** · June-26th-2012, 12:02 AM

This is not the first time this has happened. It seems it is a battle that has to be fought repeatedly. I pray this group of chaplains does so.

**Chris** · June-26th-2012, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by mattfivefour

This is not the first time this has happened. It seems it is a battle that has to be fought repeatedly. I pray this group of chaplains does so.

It's also a spiritual battle that is taking place more and more lately. The devil knows his time is near and he's making a frantic attempt to remove Jesus from everything.

**mattfivefour** · June-26th-2012, 12:51 AM

Absolutely, Chris.

And this is why we must never sit back and give up the fight. It is more important now than ever.

**WalterNZ** · June-26th-2012, 03:16 AM

Yes ive witnessed the same rhetoric recently..

By todays standards its not acceptable to be a Christian, and is considered old fashioned, and hypocritical,
but these are all ok

1, Be muslim, and demand a prayer room in every airport in the world, and demand multiple prayer break s in the day.
2, Have at least one Buddha statue in the house for Fung Shui.
3, Practice and use Yoga.... (each yoga position is a form of worshipping the yoga God)
4, Go and see a clairvoyant and also allow the police force to also use these methods to solve dificult cases.
5, Tarot Cards
6, Hypnotism, Transcandental meditation
7, Modern worship of fame, money, MTV this is a form of Scientoilogy eg Witchcraft.

Why are Christians being marginalised? its all been predicted in the end times. Its another sign of Jesus return.

**daygo** · June-26th-2012, 05:01 AM

What is happening in america, something is definatly going on. Nowhere in the world and that includes the uk where this is happening, where these things are being done. Having said that the uk is not on the same level as america is, or the rest of the world for that matter.
I cannot imagine being told to leave jesus out in our prayers and expect it to happen, people would just ignore them.