I sent my RSVP to the Pentagon email on the invitation, as follows:
"I am RSVPing to your invitation to a Christian prayer service in the Pentagon Auditorium. I will not be attending.
Your invitation to a religious event in a public building funded by American taxpayers violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which prevents congress from creating or establishing a religion, and thereby prevents the power of the government from expanding beyond civil matters.
Fred, I stopped in my tracks just reading your first line: "Pete Hegseth invites entire Pentagon to Christian prayer and worship service" .... and spit out my coffee. WTF? It is separation of church and state. Period. Full stop. This is an obscenity.
Separation of church and state is absolutely correct. An invitation should not make attendance at an event mandatory. If and when it is treated as such, the demanding person is breaking the law.
We have the right to choose. Anyone forcing a different type of service on a person who does or does not have Christian beliefs is wrong. That is why we have so many different types of churches. Nobody should be forced or condemned for not attending.
Thank you, JoAnne. Those dots do not show on this screen, but it does on other sites. Also, this screen has a black background for done unknown reason. The other Substack sites are white with black font. If dots are on this page, they are totally hidden from me, even when I look with a magnifying glass.
Joanne, this morning I still cannot see the dots, but I decided to tap where the dots should be. It worked, so they must be there after all! Thanks again!
I love that thought! Thanks for sharing it. I only tapped where I should have been able to see them, but yes, in extra bright light now I really do see them, even though they are very faint!!!
Did your family migrate to the colonies because the Queen declared your faith illegal in 1559? Mine came to Maryland in the 1640s, to practice Roman Catholic faith. We did not come here to be told when or how to practice our faith. These are religious fanatics who are also millennials waiting for Christ's return. Fanatics.
Flaunting religion, forcing a service on anyone, and mistreating anyone, including immigrants and deporting them is not in any part an act of Christianity, as I was taught. Not only are individuals being harmed, Christianity is being offended. Thank you for sharing the information. Yes, separation of church and state, and freedom to choose our own religions or not to choose are our rights in this country. The person is being unconstitutional.
I believe the Air Force Academy promoted Christian evangelism among cadets for years - mandatory Christian chapel, Christian everything, including radio, lectures, etc. Those Christian nationalists are deeply intolerant and rigid - and they appear proud to be that way. It's ironic, given how the various Christian religions battle each other constantly - then they find a common enemy, usually Jews and Muslims, so they can unite. Pathetic.
On May 1, we observe a national day of prayer, and some may argue that this invitation is no different. BUT IT IS VERY DIFFERENT! Why? Because this email, on behalf of the SecDef, is an invitation to participate in a specific belief system prayer--his belief system. As a board member of a Christian organization that practices Christian principles but is open to all beliefs (or no belief), we are careful not to exclude anyone. When we host a prayer service on May 1 as part of our National Day of Prayer, we are led by many different belief systems to come together in prayer for our community and nation. Our goal is to be inclusive. As a leader, this is egregious!
And the ‘invite’ graphic reads ‘tombstone’ / grave marker to me. A little on the nose for a Constitution-flaunting funereal event. Not so inviting, Petey! More like a loyalty test. I’d call in sick.
The central reason for the Establishment Clause was the Founders’ awareness of what happens when Church and State are one, being far closer to the wars of the Reformation than we are.
BS. There’s nothing in this invitation that alludes to it being mandatory and one could easily argue that the use of the auditorium is based on its capacity and the anticipated/hoped for attendance.
I'm Jewish, but I had to attend "Chaplain's call" every time we went on operation during 1966-1967, Vietnam. Invairaaibly the chaplain was a holy roller and all the Catholics complained.
I’m sorry you had that experience. I spent 24 years in the active Army and know very well what “mandatory fun” and command performance looks like and this ain’t it.
I attended a number of commander calls in my time but can remember maybe two prayer breakfasts that I attended. At no time was I called out for my lack of attendance even as a Christian.
Absolutely different. There’s nothing “voluntary” about a commander’s call. It is a formation of sorts for the population the commander wants to speak with. Prayer breakfasts and attending whichever flavor of monthly recognition is voluntary and in my experience not attending those events did not result in any adverse action or comment.
Okay. You’re certainly entitled to. Your experience in the military is what? I provided my opinion based on reading the text the author provided and my experience of 24 years that started in the Regan era and ended in the second Obama term.
It should not be held on the site AT ALL and the fact that SecDef is the host at this event on this site is a clear violation of separation of church and state and by doing it he exerts undue influence on those below him.
You are spot on. It’s a gang raping of the Constitution and everyone’s taking their turn. Despicable traitors.
Gang rape — Perfect description.
He should stick to his area of expertise: makeup rooms.
WTF gut punch. Disgusting, creepy, unacceptable. This has been a full on Christofascist take over of what used to be the USA.
I sent my RSVP to the Pentagon email on the invitation, as follows:
"I am RSVPing to your invitation to a Christian prayer service in the Pentagon Auditorium. I will not be attending.
Your invitation to a religious event in a public building funded by American taxpayers violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which prevents congress from creating or establishing a religion, and thereby prevents the power of the government from expanding beyond civil matters.
Please cancel the event.
Fred, I stopped in my tracks just reading your first line: "Pete Hegseth invites entire Pentagon to Christian prayer and worship service" .... and spit out my coffee. WTF? It is separation of church and state. Period. Full stop. This is an obscenity.
Separation of church and state is absolutely correct. An invitation should not make attendance at an event mandatory. If and when it is treated as such, the demanding person is breaking the law.
And if you don't attend, you'll be accused of "anti-Christian bias". This is so messed up.
We have the right to choose. Anyone forcing a different type of service on a person who does or does not have Christian beliefs is wrong. That is why we have so many different types of churches. Nobody should be forced or condemned for not attending.
When I wrote that, I wrote and
“does or does not”. Each instance of “does” was changed to “dies” after I wrote it. I see no edit option so cannot fix it.
The three dots on upper right give Options for editing & ‘share’.
Thank you, JoAnne. Those dots do not show on this screen, but it does on other sites. Also, this screen has a black background for done unknown reason. The other Substack sites are white with black font. If dots are on this page, they are totally hidden from me, even when I look with a magnifying glass.
Joanne, this morning I still cannot see the dots, but I decided to tap where the dots should be. It worked, so they must be there after all! Thanks again!
“Praise the Lord, I saw the dots!” - there’s a country & Western song or hymn in there somewhere? 🤣
The ‘dots’ also enable ‘Edit, Copy link, Restsck, Collapse & Delete’. FYI. Have a good day.
I love that thought! Thanks for sharing it. I only tapped where I should have been able to see them, but yes, in extra bright light now I really do see them, even though they are very faint!!!
As a Fox News personality, Hegseth has no knowledge of the things that professional officers know.
Did your family migrate to the colonies because the Queen declared your faith illegal in 1559? Mine came to Maryland in the 1640s, to practice Roman Catholic faith. We did not come here to be told when or how to practice our faith. These are religious fanatics who are also millennials waiting for Christ's return. Fanatics.
In support of all religions, just don’t attend. Maybe he’ll get the hint.
Flaunting religion, forcing a service on anyone, and mistreating anyone, including immigrants and deporting them is not in any part an act of Christianity, as I was taught. Not only are individuals being harmed, Christianity is being offended. Thank you for sharing the information. Yes, separation of church and state, and freedom to choose our own religions or not to choose are our rights in this country. The person is being unconstitutional.
I suspect it is the beginning of a next phase...identifying employees with "anti Christian bias" --a trap. How despicable.
I believe the Air Force Academy promoted Christian evangelism among cadets for years - mandatory Christian chapel, Christian everything, including radio, lectures, etc. Those Christian nationalists are deeply intolerant and rigid - and they appear proud to be that way. It's ironic, given how the various Christian religions battle each other constantly - then they find a common enemy, usually Jews and Muslims, so they can unite. Pathetic.
On May 1, we observe a national day of prayer, and some may argue that this invitation is no different. BUT IT IS VERY DIFFERENT! Why? Because this email, on behalf of the SecDef, is an invitation to participate in a specific belief system prayer--his belief system. As a board member of a Christian organization that practices Christian principles but is open to all beliefs (or no belief), we are careful not to exclude anyone. When we host a prayer service on May 1 as part of our National Day of Prayer, we are led by many different belief systems to come together in prayer for our community and nation. Our goal is to be inclusive. As a leader, this is egregious!
ALOHA...
And the ‘invite’ graphic reads ‘tombstone’ / grave marker to me. A little on the nose for a Constitution-flaunting funereal event. Not so inviting, Petey! More like a loyalty test. I’d call in sick.
Haha I literally said outloud to no one, "okay but why does it look like a tombstone?" when I saw it. 🤣
The central reason for the Establishment Clause was the Founders’ awareness of what happens when Church and State are one, being far closer to the wars of the Reformation than we are.
BS. There’s nothing in this invitation that alludes to it being mandatory and one could easily argue that the use of the auditorium is based on its capacity and the anticipated/hoped for attendance.
"Invitation"
I'm Jewish, but I had to attend "Chaplain's call" every time we went on operation during 1966-1967, Vietnam. Invairaaibly the chaplain was a holy roller and all the Catholics complained.
I’m sorry you had that experience. I spent 24 years in the active Army and know very well what “mandatory fun” and command performance looks like and this ain’t it.
How many “invitations” to attend a commander’s call did you turn down?
I attended a number of commander calls in my time but can remember maybe two prayer breakfasts that I attended. At no time was I called out for my lack of attendance even as a Christian.
Exactly, this is different
Absolutely different. There’s nothing “voluntary” about a commander’s call. It is a formation of sorts for the population the commander wants to speak with. Prayer breakfasts and attending whichever flavor of monthly recognition is voluntary and in my experience not attending those events did not result in any adverse action or comment.
Mark, the difference is this regime and the repercussions for not attending. You’ll see. I did 24 years active as well.
I call your bullshit.
Okay. You’re certainly entitled to. Your experience in the military is what? I provided my opinion based on reading the text the author provided and my experience of 24 years that started in the Regan era and ended in the second Obama term.
It should not be held on the site AT ALL and the fact that SecDef is the host at this event on this site is a clear violation of separation of church and state and by doing it he exerts undue influence on those below him.