Moose Jaw mom speaks out over Lord's Prayer at public school

A controversy is brewing over the Lord’s Prayer which is recited each morning at Lindale Elementary School in Moose jaw.

One parent is not happy about it.

“Honestly I was shocked. It stopped me in my tracks,” said Dusti Hennenfent, who has two children at the school.

She maintains a Christian prayer does not belong in a public school.

Some school trustees in the Prairie South School Division also don’t think the prayer should continue, but most say it’s up to the parents of the school. 

The school board says a recent survey found 91 per cent of parents were fine with the prayer to start each school day. 

“I believe that 100 per cent of the children at the school should count, not just 91 per cent,” Hennenfent said in response.

She says it would be better to allow for a moment of reflection to start each school day, so students of any religion could pray, or choose not to if they wished.

Sasktachewan provincial law does allow for the inclusion of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools at the discretion of each school or school division. 

Very few schools still use the prayer and no public schools in Regina do so. 

Hennenfent wants that provision in the education regulations changed.