Cristela Guerra

cguerra@news-press.com

Call it prayer or a moment of silence. Some simply see it as a solemn time of observation or remembrance.

Regardless of what you consider in those moments of contemplation, Monday the Supreme Court ruled that this type of expression is OK in public meetings, albeit by a slim margin. And that seems to work for a majority of local governments across Southwest Florida.

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"I believe in the power of prayer and certainly hope that our creator would bless our meetings and guide us to make wise decisions on behalf of the people we represent," said Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman. "Praying before meetings is a tradition that was wisely taken up by this nation's founders, and it needs to remain intact. If people don't agree with the practice they don't have to participate. But they should be tolerant of those who do want to pray."

The Lee County Commission has had rabbis, pastors and local ministers offer words of wisdom prior to the regular meetings held every first and third Tuesday of the month. It's unclear to what extent other religious leaders, if any, have been represented in these public invocations such as a Muslim imam, Hindu pandit or Buddhist teacher among other faiths.

John Traube, 77, of Cape Coral disagrees ardently with the Supreme Court ruling, calling it a blatant violation of church and state. He remains seated as prayers are said in public meetings.

"I'm not happy with it, and I refuse to participate," Traube said. "There's an equation that says to be a good American you have to be a good Christian, and that disagrees with the concept of freedom of religion I grew up with in this country."

Monday evening Fort Myers and Cape Coral began their meetings as they do every Monday: with a knock of the gavel and a short invocation. In the Cape, it was a moment of silence initiated by Councilman John Carioscia. He asked the crowd to consider two city employees who lost close family members over the weekend. It was brief, around 20 seconds.

The invocation is actually addressed directly in Cape Coral City Council's rules and procedures. There are three prayers listed as guidelines. They are devoid of direct mentions to any specific religion. Rules dictate that council members rotate on whose turn it is to say an inspirational message. On most evenings, some lean toward offering words of prayer, while others prefer asking for a moment of silence.

"It seems like the pendulum is swinging another way for Christians like myself," said Councilman Derrick Donnell. "…It's an affirmation to get an equal voice."

The practice of pastor and priest-led prayers in Cape Coral was abandoned years ago in favor of council-member directed invocations. Similarly, Naples City Council, Bonita Springs City Council and Collier County commission meetings begin with invocations given by religious leaders that change from meeting to meeting. Bonita City Attorney Audrey Vance was pleased to have the certainty of a Supreme Court ruling on the issue.

"It legitimizes the way we do it for municipalities," she said. "The city does it the way Greece (in New York) does. They have a rotational."

"Multiple times we do have a more Christian prayer than we do non-Christian but that's probably based on who you can get. We have had a Chabad rabbi. We've had some other rabbis as well. ... As long as you have a rotational, you're not promoting one religion because that would be unconstitutional."

Cape Coral City Council had considered doing away with the invocation as a whole. In recent years an organization called the Freedom from Religion Foundation requested Cape Coral not begin its meetings with prayer. In 2010, Mayor John Sullivan lost the battle after suggesting that the Ten Commandments be displayed at City Hall. Members of the Atheists of Florida wrote letters to council condemning the idea.

"We don't want religion polluting our government," said Robert Senatore, 67, of Pembroke Pines and president of the nonprofit, Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists. "Madison would have a fit, Jefferson would have a fit ... what they've done is open the door to religion in politics. We find that absolutely abhorrent."

Staff writer Christina Cepero contributed to this report.



