Beachfront preachers hit rough waters

The ministers from several local churches who erected the “prayer booth’’ beside Old Silver Beach last week sought to preach and proselytize in a soothing, nonconfrontational way to the hundreds of people who passed by in various skintight wear. Although they said a few dozen people had stopped to pray, most ignored them.

Some, however, took offense at the town issuing the ministers a permit to evangelize on public property. There have been threats to sue and applications for permits for other booths beside the beach, to spread word about atheism, euthanasia, and legalization of marijuana, among other things.

“There has to be a clear separation between church and state,’’ said Peter Waasdorp, a West Falmouth carpenter who was one of 16 residents who sent selectmen a letter to complain about the prayer booth and to ask the town counsel to render an opinion on its legality.

When they didn’t get a response, Waasdorp wrote back to the town’s selectmen and asked them to issue him his own permit. “Realizing that people go to the beach to enjoy the water, sand, and sun, nobody staffing the table will approach passersby, nor will any prayers be offered (except, perhaps, for some sanity at Town Hall),’’ wrote Waasdorp, a self-styled minister of the Universal Life Church.

He added: “There will be no drumming or guitar playing.’’

Although the ministers removed the booth - a folding table shaded by umbrellas and a banner that read “prayer station’’ - after the town’s five-day permit expired last week, the permission they received has left tensions simmering among residents, clergy, and selectmen, some of whom have proposed bylaws to ban such booths on public property.

Selectman Carey Murphy said he warned his colleagues earlier this year that they were “opening Pandora’s box’’ when they allowed the local Baptist church in a separate ruling to meet on town beaches to sing religious songs.

But Mary Pat Flynn, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, said she and others on the board considered the ministers’ request a mundane decision and were surprised it sparked such controversy. At the meeting earlier this month, the four selectmen unanimously approved the permit for the prayer booth.

Given the reaction of residents, Flynn said she will draft a bylaw to regulate similar activity and plans to submit it for a vote at the next Town Meeting.

“We will look carefully at what’s appropriate and what’s consistent with the Constitution,’’ she said.

The idea for the prayer booth came during a meeting earlier in the summer between ministers from several churches on the Cape. They were discussing unconventional ways to reach out to people beyond their congregations when the Rev. Ed de la Cour, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pocasset, told them about a friend from Pennsylvania who set up “prayer stations’’ on street corners in Pennsylvania and New York.

“I thought this would be a nice way to engage people without being confrontational,’’ de la Cour said. “When someone walks by, we would just say, ‘Is there anything in life we can pray for?’ If the person says, no. that’s it. If the person says, ‘Yeah, my grandmother is really sick,’ then we can open a conversation.’’

The idea seemed compelling enough that ministers from three other churches - Heritage Christian Church in East Falmouth, Falmouth Church of the Nazarene, and Bay Community Alliance Church in Buzzards Bay - decided to join de la Cour in seeking the permit. He said they chose Old Silver Beach because it has “a lot of foot traffic.’’

Despite the controversy, he said he thinks the prayer booth succeeded. He cited a recently unemployed roofer who came over and asked them to pray for him to find a new job.

“Obviously, there were some people who don’t think it was a good idea, but we had a lot of really good conversations with people,’’ de la Cour said.

Among those who questioned the wisdom of the prayer booth were fellow clergy members.

The Rev. Deborah Warner, rector of the Church of the Messiah in Woods Hole, worried it would set a bad precedent and oblige the town to provide permits to other groups or create a kind of competition between churches.

“Churches should reach out to people on their own property,’’ Warner said. “I found the public venue of this disturbing and distracting. What happens when another group comes in and another and another?’’

The prayer booth also violated at least two local ordinances. Bruce Mogardo, the town’s assistant beach superintendent, said his staff told the ministers they had to stop playing the guitar and bongo drums, after they received complaints about the noise. They also told them to stop handing out bottles of water, which violated the town’s contract with a nearby concession to distribute water.

“The key to making these kinds of requests work is that they are not disruptive,’’ Mogardo said.

Although there weren’t many complaints, some were concerned the prayer booth was taking up valuable parking space in a crowded lot that often has a long wait to enter.

Terry Stamos, a town employee who collects trash from the parking lot several times a day, said he was surprised to see the booth straddling two spots between more than 100 parked cars, and many others idling just outside the lot. “It was just odd, especially when it seemed like nobody was talking to them,’’ he said. “But they were nice enough to give me water.’’

For Waasdorp, the proper boundary for a prayer booth is far from the beach. He said he hopes the town rules that booths are illegal. If they don’t, he plans to set up his own booth.

“Everyone is entitled to their views,’’ he said. “But there’s a proper place for everything.’’

David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.