Government Invocations Make Comeback

A front page article in the Star Tribune says that some twin city suburbs have reintroduced non-sectarian prayer at the start of meetings. The City of White Bear Lake is one:

White Bear Lake City Council Member Tony Feffer, one of its key advocates, said he was inspired after hearing the invocation said at a session of Congress commemorating victims of Sept. 11, 2001. He thought an invocation at the council seemed like a good way to set a positive tone and keep city issues in the forefront.

"We're there as elected officials to serve the interests of those who elected us," Feffer said, adding that sometimes "personality issues" and partisanship get in the way of the real issue at hand.

One of the significant values of prayer and silence in community is the way it can connect and unite those who are present. The White Bear council member is right -- if the community shares a common theological understanding or if there is enough trust in the community and its leadership to know that a particular faith perspective is not being forced on people who may not share it.

The problem is that this kind of common understanding and trust is rare in the public forum today. There is more religious diversity and there is less trust between religious conservatives and religious and secular liberals. But a city council could do its community a service by intentionally educating the community on the value of prayer and silence and by truly reflecting the spiritual diversity in the community in these moments.