Maryland crowd imposes prayer at public school graduation ceremony

Church & State, Jul/Aug 1999

Angry over a compromise that excluded religious worship from a school graduation ceremony, members of the audience took matters into their own hands and recited the Lord's Prayer out loud in Calvert County, Md.

Student Nick Becker, who had protested the inclusion of prayer in the ceremony, walked out of the May 26 event and was later detained by police when he tried to reenter. He was also told he could not attend a post-graduation cruise that he had already paid for.

Becker had originally protested when he learned that fellow senior Julie Schenk planned to deliver an invocation and talk about Jesus during part of the ceremony. "There are so many people who don't know Christ in my school, as compared to people who do," Schenk told The Washington Post. "Yes, I can pray at home, but I think they need to hear that there are people who are praying for them, that God does love them."

Becker objected, insisting he did not want to listen to "this stuff I don't believe in." School officials asked Schenk to compromise and call for a moment of silent reflection instead of prayer. She agreed.

A local politician, Barbara A. Stinnett, advised Schenk to say the prayer anyway, but the girl refused, telling The Post, "If I just go ahead and do what I want, that's not setting a good example for other Christians."

But during the ceremony, when Schenk called for a moment of silence, a man began reciting the Lord's Prayer aloud. Soon about half the crowd of 4,000 joined in.

Becker walked out, and when he tried to go back in to get his diploma, state police blocked his way. (School officials said school policy does not permit students who leave an event to go back in.) When Becker tried to enter through another door, the police threatened to give him a citation for failing to obey a lawful order. Becker was later released to the custody of his parents and given his diploma after the ceremony.

Lt. George McKeon of the Maryland State Police said Becker was "extremely upset" and police feared he might disrupt the rest of the ceremony. (No charges have been filed against Becker, but police said they have not ruled that out.)

Many local officials enthusiastically supported the crowd's action. "This is a church-going community, and no one in Annapolis [Maryland's capital] or Washington, D.C., is going to tell us when and where we can pray," said Linda L. Kelley, president of the County Commission.