A Texas high school valedictorian is thankful that a federal appeals court blocked a judge’s order prohibiting prayer at her weekend graduation ceremony. Angela Hildenbrand thanked God and prayed for her fellow graduates Saturday at Medina Valley High School in Castroville.
Last Tuesday, Federal Judge Fred Biery prohibited public prayer at the ceremony, granting the request of an agnostic family whose son was in the senior class and who argued he would suffer irreparable harm if prayers were spoken at the ceremony. He chose not to attend the graduation when the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals intervened and allowed Hildenbrand to pray.
Liberty Institute attorney Erin Leu told OneNewsNow that Judge Biery’s actions violated both federal and state laws. Hildenbrand, says the attorney, was merely telling students and parents about “her experiences and her wishes for the future — and she is not a school official and not speaking on behalf of the school.”
According to Leu, the school and community were strongly supporting Hildenbrand, including Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), who supported Hildenbrand’s right to pray and denounced Judge Biery’s ban as an “activist decision.”
Hildenbrand told Associated Press, “It’s been a great blessing to see the way that God has worked all this out for His glory.”
(Source: OneNewsNow)