A prayer that opened a recent meeting of the Alabama Public Service Commission has ended up getting more attention than the purpose of the day-long meeting, which was to review Alabama Power's rates.
The opening prayer by Prattville Tea Party leader John Delvin Jordan mentioned prayer in schools, same-sex marriage and other hot-button issues.
PSC President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh, who invited Jordan to pray, says she stands behind him. She says future PSC meetings will have prayers.
Jordan says Cavanaugh didn't preview his prayer and he spoke from the heart.
A spokesman for the Freedom from Religion Foundation says the prayer is a good example of why government meetings shouldn't open with prayer.
A spokesman for Equality Alabama says Jordan's words sounded more like a political speech than prayer.