It seems there are troubles with prayer on both sides of the Oklahoma Capitol Rotunda these days. The House is having problems with its chaplain program while the Senate had a visiting pastor connect recent shootings and natural disasters with legislative immorality.
Rep. Chuck Strohm is overseeing the House chaplain program. He came under criticism for changing the program in such a way it keeps non-Christian clergy from participating. According to The Oklahoman’s Carla Hinton, after the criticism, Strohm said the chaplain program would be changing again to be more like the congressional model. You can read Hinton’s NewsOK Blog post here and The Oklahoman story on the program changes here.
Meanwhile, across the rotunda, Pastor Bill Ledbetter of the Fairview Baptist Church in Durant suggested in his 15 minute speech Thursday that God is punishing us because of the immorality in our laws. At least one Senator left the chamber during what was supposed to be a five minute prayer. Multiple members complained about the message. NonDoc’s William Savage III writes both Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz and Senate Minority Leader John Sparks distanced themselves from Ledbetter’s condemning message.
Read the NonDoc story here.
