Activist tells views at area prayer service

Separation of church and state, as a premise, is flawed, Concerned Women for America President Wendy Wright said Thursday.

Including God in the government was the founding fathers' idea, therefore, it's inherently part of the governing process, Wright said during the National Day of Prayer celebration at Danada House in Wheaton.

She cited as an example the president's veto power. The 10 days presidents have to veto legislation doesn't include Sundays, or, as Wright said, the "Sabbath."

"Isn't that a beautiful recognition of our beliefs?" she asked.

She said that lawsuits aiming to eliminate "In God We Trust" argue the words establish a religion in violation of the First Amendment guarantee of a separation of church and state.

"He's claiming we're the ones wrong in stating it's there," she said. "Thanks for giving us credit, but we're not the ones who came up with it. It was the founding fathers."

Wright also talked about her arrest in 1992 for violating a temporary injunction prohibiting demonstrations within 100 feet of a Houston abortion clinic.

Though she was sentenced to 60 days in jail, that decision eventually was overturned after she was incarcerated for several weeks.

"There was a time when I was in despair," she said of her time in jail.

"Then, suddenly, I knew I was not alone," she added. "I had the sense I was in a relay race with a crowd of witnesses who had gone before us."