Saskatchewan mother says Christian prayer doesn’t belong in public schools

MOOSE JAW, Sask. – A Saskatchewan woman wants provincial laws changed so that the Lord’s Prayer is kept out of public schools.

Dusti Hennenfent says she’s upset the prayer is recited each morning at Moose Jaw’s Lindale Elementary School, where her two children attend classes.

Hennenfent says a Christian prayer doesn’t belong in a such a setting and she believes a moment of reflection would be better so that students of any religious background could pray or not.

A recent survey for the Prairie South School Division found 91 per cent of parents were fine with the prayer.

Some division trustees don’t think the prayer should continue, but most say it’s up to the parents to decide the issue.

Saskatchewan law allows for the inclusion of the prayer at the discretion of each school or division, but very few still use it.

“Honestly I was shocked. It stopped me in my tracks,” Hennenfent said of the prayer’s use at her children’s school. “I believe that 100 per cent of the children at the school should count, not just 91 per cent.” (CJME)