According to the Hendersonville Times-News, Henderson County commissioners received support Monday in their new practice of praying outside the Historic Courthouse before meetings.

About 15 members of the public and numerous county staff joined commissioners at the flagpole a few yards from the courthouse steps to pray together before filing back inside for the 5:30 p.m. meeting. Commissioners began the routine in February, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal's ruling last year that bans sectarian prayer at government meetings.

The suggestion came from County Manager Steve Wyatt.

“I don't really like it,” Hendersonville resident Mildred Mari, who attended the brief prayer with her husband, Frank, said of the courts' decision. “It's a shame that (commissioners) have to pray outside like this, but hey, as long as we're praying, that's all that matters.”