Oh Lord! Kent County Council

[Imdunfer]

Kent County Council under Reform are putting a vote to full council to start council meetings with the Lords Prayer.

I get the anti Muslim bit, but don't they realise how many of us are atheists?

They also want to sing the National Anthem. I can sort of see their point with that one, but it's not going to get the bins collected, is it?

I'm an atheist but I really don't have a problem with people saying some prayers before a meeting.

It only becomes an issue if others who don't want to be part of it are coerced into doing it.

I do. Why do they need to pray? They’re working.

Does your council broadcast the meetings to YouTube?

The truth about these Reformists and the Christofascist loons in the States, is that if the Biblical Jesus Christ reappeared tomorrow, they'd immediately round on him an decry him as a woke, lefty, socialist, bleeding-heart, liberal, pinko, do-gooding, head-in-the-clouds idiot, and entirely likely detain him with a view to deporting an "illegal".

Quite telling how frequently the performative zealots in the States turn out to be the most amoral, appalling human beings of the lot. How many affair partners has Hegseth married now? Amazed they can haul him out of the strip joints and sober him up long enough to recite his vows.

I'm an atheist, but they even sicken me on the behalf of genuine, benign Christians.

I mean shaking hands and going to a football match is what I mean by low effort not much impact. This isn't the RF board so I don't want to derail too much but I can't see him saying anything about reforming the RF to actually give them less money and power, like stop them exempting themselves from Acts of Parliament or being exempt from paying tax or taking less money when there are so few of them or more Parliamentary scrutiny ( I admit this is Parliaments job which they are monumentally crap at, leading to the debacle that was Andrew) Disestablishing the Church and State would give him less status. I can't see him doing it. He'd run to church if there was even a suggestion of that!

France is officially secular, it's written in its constitution.

In contrast, the UK is officially and constitutionally Christian.

State funded schools have to have "a daily act of collective worship that is "broadly Christian in character".

I would much prefer a secular constitution. And religion being a private thing, not a public one.

Excuse me. The Church of England is the established church in England. It has no standing at all in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Yes to all of this. I’m a lapsed Catholic, so don’t class myself as Christian, but very familiar with its teachings. It’s the arrogance of believing they have the monopoly on what is and isn’t ‘Christian’, and that they - whilst quoting from Pulp Fiction, instead of the Bible like they thought (!) - have a superior understanding to anyone else, including the Pope.

As a Kent resident, what bothers me is that they are using time in the council chamber for prayers and the national anthem which has been taken out of allotted time to debate issues ( of which there are many) If you want to pray and sing - do it on your own time!

I think the irony is that they did this after having had a discussion about being short of time in meetings?

Personally I'm disgusted that Reform would want anything to do with a religion that was invented in the Middle East and spread to our sunny Isles by foreign incomers. Mind you it's also time to get rid of the veneration of a bloody Turkish Saint as well. - another immigrant. Why do I want to see fucking Turkish 'St George ' flags defacing our noble British lampposts.
That's the trouble with Reform - far too accepting of foreign influence over our culture.
Anything other than Paganism and changing our Saint to Boudica is just lightweight bollocks.

Actually no - can't have a Saint at all - more of that Middle Eastern Religion bollocks

THIS COUNTRY NEEDS REAL CHANGE.

Very good point!

All the more reason the King role should be secular and "Head of the CofE" no more important than "President of BAFTA"

This is the council that regularly fails in its duties towards disabled and vulnerable children and adults. I would be more impressed with their religious observance if they actually put basic Christian principles into practice. You get the feeling that if they came across the Good Samaritan and the person he was helping, they would want to imprison and deport both of them.

I think they should also introduce manifesting.

They could do group manifesting to sort out bin collections etc.

Can you name the ones where this is a requirement for the whole council, regardless of whether they are Muslim or not, before council meetings?

Time for an enterprising journalist to make inquiries in the local churches of every Reform councillor to see how many actually turn up to Sunday services.

Same.

Kent Council need to pay heed to the old parable of the town hall roof collapsing because the councillors spent their mornings praying rather than signing off the roofing works.

Here's what Jesus had to say on the matter.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others."

Matthew 6:5

They couldn’t even manage to fund the fire service, but this they have time for?!

Im actually looking forward to the next 2 years. It’s time for all the idiots who voted for reform councillors to start experiencing what that actually means.

Aye Tommy coke snorting Robinson the Christian.
Aye right church would crumble round about his heathen ears if he stepped in one.
I'm not religious but then again I don't pretend to be.

Surely it could be a potential conflict of interest ?

Say a Christian Church group or a Muslim group has a tender in to provide a local service. Maybe a Jewish group want to run a community ambulance. A Sikh group want to run a subsidised kitchen.

Sure, if individual councilors ran, and were elected on a religious manifesto, then of course, their electorate should be represented in the way that member votes on issues. But to pretty much openly declare that the chamber as a whole, including council employees, are of that religion, then the whole becomes exclusive.

And there are the employees too of course. They have rights under employment law.

I'm quite sure our local reform coincillor (previous tory) doesnt attend church reguarly

Many don’t do prayers any more, or don’t do them often, even though they are supposed to daily.

Brilliant!!