Taking God out of prayer?

As you may know, I'm usually one of the first to decry inappropriate or unconstitutional religious (read: Christian, generally) intrusions into public settings. But to the surprise of many -- or at least some (hi, Miss July! *waves*) -- I've finally found an example that just goes too far.

A chaplain for Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton has resigned after being asked to excise specific references to "God" or the "Lord" from her public prayers.

Chaplains still speak freely of the Almighty in private sessions with patients or families but, the Rev. Mirta Signorelli said: "I can't do chaplain's work if I can't say 'God' — if I'm scripted."

Hospice CEO Paula Alderson said the ban on religious references applies only to the inspirational messages that chaplains deliver in staff meetings. The hospice remains fully comfortable with ministers, priests and rabbis offering religious counsel to the dying and grieving.

"I was sensitive to the fact that we don't impose religion on our staff, and that it is not appropriate in the context of a staff meeting to use certain phrases or 'God' or 'Holy Father,' because some of our staff don't believe at all," Alderson said.

I could almost understand this if it were a public, i.e., governmentally-affiliated, organization. But as a private group, the constitutional proscription on establishment of religion just doesn't apply.

According to the article, the chaplain "would have to watch her language, she said, when leading a prayer in the hospice chapel, when meeting patients in the public setting of a nursing home and in weekly patient conferences with doctors, nurses and social workers." Well, I agree that she shouldn't be leading prayers in weekly patient conferences; at the very least, she could pray with the patient privately before meeting with the other personnel. However, asking her to remove God from prayers in the chapel ... well, that's just ludicrous. Bottom line: this is an unnecessarily burdensome restriction on Rev. Signorelli's free speech, and there certainly are less burdensome alternatives.

I doubt we've seen the end of this story. While I'm all for Alderson's sentiment and her intentions probably are good, well, you know what they say about good intentions ...