Pastor leads prayer circle outside elementary school

Against the wishes of the Clay County school district, a Green Cove Springs pastor held a prayer ceremony at the flag pole outside Clay Hill Elementary School.

A crowd of about 100 people -- many adults and relatively few schollchildren -- gathered outside the flag pole at 8:15 this morning to hear a prayer led by Pastor Ron Baker of Russell Baptist Church.

The school board told him to either move his prayer ceremony to Sunday or to 7:00 Monday morning -- to which Baker refused.

Before the prayer, a defiant Baker told WOKV news he has every right to do what he's doing.

"We're not breaking the law.  We're exercising our rights well within school board policy (and) well within constitutional guidelines."

Clay Hill principal Larry Davis sent out a memo in September urging students and members of the community to take part in the prayer circle.

An attorney for the school board calls the prayer ceremony unconstitutional, violating separation of church and state.

People attending the ceremony say they don't believe they're putting the kids in the middle of the controversy.

 "A lot of the kids out her are raised Christian," says Connie.  "I don't think that'll affect them one way or the other."

Harold says he doesn't believe praying on school grounds is unconstitutional.

"If an atheist wants to stay away from prayer, it's his priority to stay away from prayer," says Harold.  "But don't tread on our constitutional right to be able to pray."

The prayer ceremony lasted a little over two minutes, and everyone left shortly thereafter.