A North Carolina county senior center will adhere to federal regulations against religious worship after FFRF took action on a constitutional violation over pre-lunch prayers.
A concerned resident of Leon Mann Jr. Enrichment Center — based in Morehead City, N.C. — informed FFRF that a daily lunch prayer was occurring at the publicly funded facility. The prayer was being led by a former preacher, who was attending the center himself. Employees would quiet the crowd and encourage participation in the prayer while members of the center who did not wish to join in were being ostracized for their rejection of the religious ritual.
FFRF sent a letter on May 30 requesting that the center cease its prayers as regulations prohibit senior centers receiving federal funding from engaging in religious activities at government-sponsored functions, such as senior lunches. An attorney representing the center responded on June 6, informing FFRF that no coercion or endorsement of religion would take place at the Enrichment Center and that the prayer did not represent the center.