December 13, 2006
By SILVIA SUTHERLAND, PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER

The next time you are down on your knees you might say a prayer for Henry Beissel. Pray that he finds something else to do with the rest of his life other than harassing municipal councils that open their meetings by reciting the Lord's Prayer. There is much else, I am certain, that Dr. Beissel could be doing. He is, after all, a poet, playright and professor emeritus of English at Concordia University. Should he not be writing poems, or plays, or English text works, or learned introductions to great works of literature?

Instead, Dr. Beissel has appointed himself chief commissioner of the Prayer Police, otherwise known as Secular Ontario. He is targeting the 18 municipal councils in this province who believe it is their right to reflect the values of the majority in tehir communities (and even many of the minority) by asking for divine guidance before debating the weighty issues of pothols, sewers, land use planning, economic development, the poor and the homeless. It is doubtful that God, any god, really cares about potholes and sewers, but it is quite possible that He/She just might care about the poor and the homeless.

In any event, what harm does it do to ask God for forgiveness, and the ability to forgive others? Or to be kept free of temptation to do harm to our neighbour. Or for deliverance from evil? Surely even a member of Secular Ontario cannot argue against such requests. Or if you do not believe in God, such desires.

Dr. Beissel is hanging his secular hat on a 1999 court ruling arising out of a case in Penetanguishene where another Henry, Freitag by name, took the town council to court. Defeated in lower court, Mr. Freitag finally got a ruling out of the Court of Appeal that the recitation of the prayer was somehow a violation of his freedom of religion.

On Nov. 20, When I was still the mayour, a letter arrived from Dr. Beissel which read, "It has come to our attention that your Council engages in a Christian ritual at the commencement of Council meetings by reciting 'the Lord's Prayer.' He went on to point to the Penetanguishing ruling. "We are sure you will agree that it is totally unacceptable in a democratic society for any official goverment body to act illegally, and we expect that you will, therefore, want to put an end to the offending practice immediately."

Well, no, Dr. Beissel, I didn't want to end the "offending practice" immediately, or ever. I turned the letter, along with a book of alternative prayers I had assembled back in 1999 just in case the Beissels of the world emerged, to the major-elect. Turns out he doesn't want to end the practice either.

There actually is nothing exclusively Christian in the Lord's Prayer. It makes no mention of the resurrection, the virginity of Mary, or Jesus. It was taught by a Jewish prophet to his disciples, most of whom were Jewish. It contains sentiments shared by many faiths. If those of no faith take exception, then they can close their eyes and think of England or compose their grocery list while it is being recited.

... There are many beautiful prayers in the binder I turned over to Major Ayotte, but none more elegant in its simplicity or meaningful in its sentiments than the one currently recited each Monday night.

Come on, Dr. Beissel. Go write a poem.

Sylvia Sutherland is a writer, journalist and former mayor of Peterborough