By BARBARA BEHRENDT

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 10, 2001

INVERNESS -- Controversy over the format of prayers at the School Board meetings and religious gatherings in the schools grew even hotter Tuesday when an activist interrupted the board's opening prayer with a pagan incantation.

Charles Schrader, a Marion County resident who has traveled the country taking on First Amendment issues, sat in the front of the board meeting room. As school board member Sandra "Sam" Himmel began to pray a Christian prayer, Schrader spoke up praying to his Earth Mother.

As Himmel addressed "heavenly Father" and prayed in his "son's precious name," Schrader, a Wiccan, addressed the "goddess."

Shortly after the meeting got under way and board Chairwoman Patience Nave defined the public input rules to a packed meeting room that spilled out into the district office lobby, Schrader was on his feet again.

He was demanding the chance to speak, even though the prayer issue was not on the agenda. Nave told him he was not recognized and could not speak and that the issue was not on the agenda.

From the audience someone commented, "Get security."

As the moment became very tense, Nave told Schrader he could speak later at the end of the business meeting and she asked a uniformed deputy in the room to remove anyone else who got unruly.

Then board member Carol Snyder asked to have the prayer issue added to the agenda. Other board members agreed.

The religion issues were first raised by Snyder, who wanted to see the prayer become more inclusive recognizing that people of religions other than Christianity are also served by the district. Now she favors a moment of silence at the start of meetings.

She also raised questions about a gathering of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes just before the winter break. Students at Inverness Middle School had to choose between attending classes or going to the FCA Christmas party. At that party, a youth minister reportedly shook a Bible at a student who refused to acknowledge Christ.

Before Tuesday's meeting, Schrader said that the gathering clearly violated the law. Such meeting, whether they be Christian-related or related to some other religion, cannot take place during school time and must be available to all groups. This event didn't meet those two criteria.

Board attorney Richard "Spike" Fitzpatrick said there is no question that the FCA could meet at the school. He acknowledged that there is an issue still about when groups could meet. Fitzpatrick said there was no recent case law dealing with the issue of meetings during the school day and that was the case in this situation.

Fitzpatrick said the board could set a policy that non-curriculum based clubs could meet only before or after school. But he cautioned that such a policy would have to be scrutinized carefully because it was right on the line between the superintendent's job and the job of the school board itself.

On the prayer issue, Fitzpatrick suggested that each board member rotate through a chance to say the prayer of their choice rather than establishing a particular way to pray.

"If we do that, we're not offending anyone," he said.

Later in the meeting, Schrader apologized for speaking his pagan prayer aloud. He said that he was trying to make a point about the path the school district is taking by defending Christian gatherings in the schools and strictly Christian prayers at board meetings. He warned them that if they were not careful, they might find themselves in federal court.

Schrader, 63, is a former Marine who recently moved to Marion County. A member of the Atlanta Freethought Society who has been active in issues separating church and state across the nation, he said his his goal to be sure people are free "'to worship as they wish or not worship if they wish."

A practitioner of Wicca and member of a coven in Homosassa, Schrader said such constant references to Christian beliefs and efforts to convert those of other faiths should not be allowed in public venues such as schools and school board meetings.

"I do this in good conscience. I do it without rancor and with good will. There is more to life than Christian beliefs and quite frankly, I'm offended every time someone tries to cram Jesus Christ down my throat," he said before the meeting.

Wicca is a nature-based, earth-oriented religion which centers on worship of a goddess who goes by various names including Earth Mother. It is the religion that most people refer to as witchcraft.