New Jersey —
FFRF’s work ensured that the West Deptford Township Committee in New Jersey meetings would no longer begin with a prayer delivered by government officials.
A community member reported that Mayor James Mehaffey was leading committee members and attendees in the Lord’s Prayer prior to the Pledge of Allegiance at every Township Committee meeting. The official minutes of the May 1, 2025, meeting stated that the “Pledge of Allegiance and prayer were recited.” Multiple citizens reportedly asked the committee to cease the practice and replace it with a moment of silence, but the prayer continued to occur at the beginning of the meeting, leaving multiple citizens upset and feeling discriminated against due to the committee imposing an explicitly Christian prayer on them.
“The mayor and committee members are free to pray privately or to worship on their own time in their own way,” FFRF Staff Attorney Madeline Ziegler wrote. “They do not need to worship on taxpayers’ time.”
While FFRF never received any response from the mayor or the committee themselves, the complainant brought good news that the practice ended.
“As of the last three months, our mayor has not started public township meetings with a Christian prayer,” the community member wrote. “The meetings have been opened solely by a pledge to the American flag.”
