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Marysville City Council opens with a prayer

Members approve practice, but some worry invocations could be too religion-specific

Tuesday, January 15, 2002

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

MARYSVILLE -- The City Council in this Snohomish County community began its meeting last night with a prayer, a new practice some members hope will help get discussions off on the right foot.

The ecumenical invocation, delivered by the Fire Department chaplain, did not pass without controversy, though.

Councilwoman Susanne Smith said she was disappointed in the prayer because it sounded too Christian in nature.

"Not all of us are Christians," Smith said. "I want it to be inclusive, not exclusive."

Smith suggested the council ask religious leaders in the community to rotate giving the prayer, or come up with some standards to ensure that certain religions don't feel excluded.

The council agreed to discuss the issue at their next council meeting.

City Attorney Grant Weed agreed that the most important thing was to keep the invocation universal and suggested the council come up with brief, written guidelines for whoever performs it in the future.

Although invocations to begin legislative sessions, including those of state lawmakers in Olympia and the U.S. Congress, embody ceremonial traditions from the Declaration of Independence, prayers, moments of silence and faith activities are not so common in the Seattle area. The Seattle City Council does not open its meeting with a prayer. In Redmond, not only is there no prayer, most meetings do not include the standard Pledge of Allegiance.

A few cities, such as San Diego and small townships along the East Coast, have run into trouble because some residents complained their prayers encompassed too many elements of specific Christian denominations.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld lawmakers' right to pray before meetings.

The idea for Marysville's invocation came from Councilwoman Donna Wright. The seven-member council approved her idea by a 5-2 vote.

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