I wrote still another Christmas post for Bring it On! When the Lord’s Prayer and that prayer only is recited in a public place, I feel lost, lonely and very out of place.
I’m the fourth generation of my family to live here. I come from Long Island where much of this story takes place. It specifically takes place in Manhasset. When I was growing up our next door neighbors had moved from Manhasset because they didn’t like the values.
Manhasset might be rich, and was richer than my community. But our neighbors didn’t want their kids growing up in a place where they claimed people drank too much, had affairs, and were often divorced in a time before it was the norm.
I’m not saying that I agree with them; that was their belief, and my parents would often parrot it.
Even when I was twelve I found that type of thinking uncomfortable and biased.
But the supervisor of the Town of North Hempstead where Manhasset is located was forced to apologize after he made an angry speech because the tree lighting ceremony ended with The Lords Prayer. He shouldn’t have had to apologize; the people of Manhasset should understand that a Christmas tree is one thing, and that a prayer which excludes many members of the community should be a private matter saved for Church, private homes, and other places where the celebration of one religion is appropriate.
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