Ottawa pastor: Board chair's offer to give invocation not good enough to thwart lawsuit

OTTAWA COUNTY — An Ottawa County pastor said he finally was invited to give an invocation for a board meeting — but only after he sued the board and its chair for religious discrimination.

The Rev. Jared Cramer filed a lawsuit Oct. 3 in U.S. Western District Court, claiming board Chair Joe Moss is using his position to "endorse a particular set of religious beliefs and exclude a particular set of religious beliefs" and therefore "is discriminating against certain religious beliefs," which is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

More: Pastor files lawsuit against Ottawa County claiming religious discrimination

Cramer, who is attached to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, claims he first asked Commissioner Roger Bergman, who represents the city of Grand Haven, to join the historically practiced rotation of area faith leaders who provide the invocation at the twice-monthly board meetings.

In an amended complaint filed Friday, Dec. 22, Cramer's attorney, Sarah Riley-Howard, said despite sending Moss an email in May 2023 and a letter via certified mail in August, her client finally received an invitation to give an invocation — but only after the litigation was filed.

"It is not clear what else Rev.d Cramer could have done to get on that list," Howard wrote in the Friday filing. "He had given the prayer in the past, he had made a request to the commissioners of the districts where he lived and worked, and he had made a request to the chairman of the commission. Nonetheless, Rev. Cramer did not receive an invitation to lead the prayer."

In fact, he didn't receive an invitation until Nov. 15, "more than six months after Rev. Cramer emailed ... Moss with his request.

"Before Defendants’ answer was due in this case, county corporation counsel reached out to (Howard) to invite Rev. Cramer to give the invocation at the commission meeting six days later. Cramer had a scheduling conflict for the suggested date, but is now scheduled to lead the prayer in February 2024."

Regardless of responding after the fact, Howard said the problem is not rectified because Moss "intentionally withholds from the public information about how to get on any list of individuals who are invited to lead the invocation."

"Even the commissioners who are not affiliated with (Ottawa Impact) do not have that information," Howard wrote. "By limiting access to the information necessary to make a request, Defendants can control who leads the invocation without explicitly denying an individual’s request."

Moss founded the far-right fundamentalist group Ottawa Impact in 2021 after he took issue with controversial pre-K-6 school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. He launched the political action committee under the premise of "defending parental rights" and to "thwart tyranny" within the state and federal government.

Moss and OI co-founder Sylvia Rhodea captured what is now a seven-seat majority on the 11-member Ottawa County Board of Commissioners after a non-OI Republican commissioner resigned in November.

Howard said Moss has concentrated power in way where he can reward or punish local faith leaders depending on if they align with his personal religious beliefs.

"Moss can choose which individuals get invited to give the prayer by limiting information only to those who espouse religious beliefs that align with his own," Howard wrote in the amended complaint. "By doing so, Moss is also able to punish religious leaders who do not share his political or religious beliefs by denying them a viable path to be considered to give the prayer at commission meetings."

Cramer said, since Moss' election, he has "dedicated some of his efforts on undoing the county’s efforts at inclusion" and "has championed an anti-LGBTQ+ agenda."

Cramer points to several decisions Moss and the OI-controlled board have made, including attempting to hold up a grant awarded to an LGBTQ+ advocacy group in May.

Cramer has been a visible advocate for the inclusion of members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly within the church. Cramer leads St. John’s Episcopal Church, which "holds itself out as a place of worship that is welcoming to all, including those in the LGBTQ+ community," according to the filing.

Cramer also helps lead the Ottawa Coalition of Unifying Congregations, a group of now 12 area congregations and 22 pastors who are pushing back against Ottawa Impact's policies of de-emphasizing diversity, equity and inclusion. For more information, visit webelong-oc.org.

Cramer said he was inspired to act after watching events unfold this year that he found disturbing.

"I was just watching as things got worse, you know ... I was naïve," Cramer said. "I thought when these Ottawa Impact people came in, I was sure I would disagree with what they did. But I thought that the standards and decorum would still be followed. So, as it's just gotten worse over there, I finally decided that this was no longer a side issue. This goes right to the core of what it means to be a Christian living in America."

Despite the lack of information, "Cramer did everything in his power to get selected to lead the prayer," Howard wrote.

"He made a request to Commissioner Bergman, who advised him that Moss alone made selections. He then made a request to Moss, including a copy to Commissioners Bergman and Belknap and County Administrator Gibbs on the communication," according to the filing. "He then followed up with a certified letter. Through that entire process, no one ever told Rev. Cramer that he could make a request to a commissioner other than Moss or that he could follow up with county staff. On the contrary, the only response (Cramer) ever received to his requests was Commissioner Bergman’s statement that Defendant Moss controlled the process."

The lawsuit is one of four active lawsuits against Ottawa County in 2023.

In a separate lawsuit, four residents sued the board claiming commissioners violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act when they made several controversial decisions at the board's first meeting in January — including the vote to "demote" Hambley. That case is scheduled for oral arguments at 10 a.m. Jan. 3 before the COA after the residents appealed a lower court's ruling granting the board's request to dismiss the lawsuit.

A lawsuit was filed Oct. 24, by a finalist for an executive aide position to county Administrator John Gibbs. Ryan Kimball sued in Ottawa County's 20th Circuit Court alleging age discrimination by Gibbs when he hired a younger candidate with fewer qualifications than the county required in its job posting. That case has been assigned to 17th Circuit Court George J. Quist and is awaiting further action after the county filed a response Dec. 13 denying any wrongdoing.

The fourth lawsuit was the first filed in 2023, when Ottawa County Health Officer Adeline Hambley sued in February, claiming the attempt to demote her was unlawful and alleging the OI majority has repeatedly interfered with her state-authorized health duties.

Attempts to remove Hambley culminated in a multi-day termination hearing in October, which was ultimately halted before its conclusion as the board and Hambley entered settlement negotiations. After a lengthy closed session in early November, the board voted to "accept counsel's recommendation regarding litigation and settlement activities in the case of Hambley v. Ottawa County."

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Howard, who also represents Hambley in that litigation, says the recommendation was a $4 million settlement. But shortly after The Sentinel reported the details of the deal, Kallman argued an agreement wasn't reached, after all. Hambley and Howard took the matter back to court.

On Dec. 4, Muskegon 14th Circuit Court Judge Jenny McNeill announced she would review minutes taken during the closed session in question. The case is being heard in Muskegon — and the Kimball litigation in Grand Rapids — because all Ottawa County judges recused themselves.

In a new filing Dec. 20, Howard said the Michigan Supreme Court should deny the county's appeal filed Nov. 22, claiming Hambley was never properly appointed by the former county board in December 2022. Her appointment already has been upheld by McNeill and the Michigan Court of Appeals.

"This court should deny (defendants’) application for leave to appeal on the issue that (Hambley) won at both the trial court and Court of Appeals," Sarah Riley-Howard wrote in the Dec. 20 filing. "Namely that (Hambley) is the duly appointed health officer for Ottawa County."

McNeill also ordered an evidentiary hearing for Jan. 19 to allow testimony from witnesses Howard subpoenaed, mainly Moss, County Clerk Justin Roebuck and Commissioners Jacob Bonnema, Doug Zylstra and Roger Bergman.

Kallman Legal Group is hoping that doesn't happen. In a filing last week, corporate counsel David Kallman requested McNeill issue a "protection order" preventing the hearing from taking place. He argues McNeill should be able to use the minutes alone to rule that "corporate counsel (Kallman) never made any recommendation to either offer, or accept, a $4 million settlement" in exchange for Hambley and her deputy, Marcia Mansaray resigning.

"This confirmation can be done without revealing anything that was actually discussed in closed session," Kallman wrote.

McNeill had not issued a response to Kallman's filing as of Saturday, nor had the Michigan Supreme Court issued a response to Howard.

— Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter@SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Moss offers to let pastor give invocation, but it's too little, too late