Prayer banned in Santa Rosa Co. schools

JAY, Fla. - To pray or not to pray? That's not even a question in Santa Rosa County, after a federal judge banned prayer in public schools.

However, several churches have found a way around the ruling and are holding a prayer service anyway. This Saturday, one community will that has found a way, will pray.

"It's just not fair," said Nikki Caraway. "If a kid wants to be a Christian or a Buddhist or a Catholic, they should be allowed to express themselves in school."

More than a dozen Florida churches of varying denominations paid a fee to use the Jay High School Football Stadium. The plan is to use it for a prayer service.

That's allowed because it's not a school sponsored event.

The prayer service is a direct response to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, that prompted a federal judge to ban prayer in Santa Rosa County Schools.

"I think students should be able to express their religious beliefs in school," said Will Rushing. Rushing is the pastor at Jay First Baptist Church. He saif the politics are unfair.

"We've gone a little bit too far with some of the requirements. We ended moments of silence and anything remotely close to religion. No pun intended, but we've turned prayer into a 4-letter word."

Which is why Pastor Rushing said he'll have a few words for the school system at Saturday's prayer service.

Words of prayer. "We believe prayer is important," he said. "So, we're going to be praying for them. It's that simple."

The prayer service is set for 4:00 p.m., and it's open to the public.