Earlier today I issued a rallying cry to our Saskatoon Freethinkers group to make some noise about the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast taking place this weekend. Here’s what I wrote — join us in our effort to hold elected officials accountable to the actual people they represent (and not their version of an invisible friend).

This Saturday “his worship” Don Atchinson will be hosting the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, an annual event he has sponsored since taking office in 2006. If you check out the list of special guests/speakers for this breakfast, you’ll find a very evangelical Christian line-up.

This weekend, the Saskatoon Freethinkers Council decided that we, as a group, would like to take a vocal stand against this obvious breach of church/state separation. One member has already written a letter to the Star Phoenix, and another is readying a press release to circulate to media outlets, informing them of our objection to such a blatant religiously-endorsed civic event.

If you would like to voice your individual concerns to the Mayor and City Council over the annual prayer breakfast, here is a website where you can electronically submit a letter.

The following is a sample letter you may use to express your concerns over the prayer breakfast — feel free to edit or personalize it as you wish:

As a resident of Saskatoon, I would like to express my objection to the “Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast” that will take place on Saturday, March 13, 2010. I find it troubling that Mayor Atchison, an elected official, is willing to use his civic title and position to promote a particular religious ideology while also appearing to turn a profit in ticket sales. The invited speakers and performers for the prayer breakfast appear to represent a very specific evangelical Christian ideology, which undermines the mayor’s credibility and impartiality as a public official who has a duty to represent all citizens of Saskatoon. Perhaps the Mayor’s efforts would be better directed in finding ways to benefit all Saskatoon residents, rather than only those who believe in his particular religious point of view. I hope that the Mayor and council will refrain from holding the prayer breakfast in the future.

If you would just like to email your concerns to the Mayor, his website is here.

Mailing and telephone information:

His Worship Donald J. Atchison
Office of the Mayor
222 Third Avenue North
Saskatoon, SK S7K 0J5

Phone: (306) 975-3202

ACT NOW!! The prayer breakfast will be held this weekend.