Staunton Councilwoman Oakes within legal boundaries for prayer

A letter written to the Staunton News Leader last week appeared to accuse Councilwoman Andrea Oakes of pushing her religious ideology off on citizens when she offered the invocation at the beginning of city council meetings. That is not true.

Today a letter writer came forward to set the record straight. Staunton resident Eileen Burns wrote:

For the record, Councilwoman Andrea Oakes’ invocations were inclusive. She only said “God.” She never said “Jesus.” For 250 years, Staunton City Council has has their invocations (prayer or moment of silence) in the main chamber room before City Council meetings. Now they will have the invocation before work sessions, which have been held in the caucus room.

The Fourth Circuit Court ruled it was legal to pray in the public square as long as only "God" was used and not the name of a separate deity.

That is just one misunderstanding in this issue. As time passes, more truths will come out as the citizens of Staunton continue to ask questions....