Christina Jedra

The News Journal

After the removal of a spoken Christian prayer and pushback on silent reflection, the Wilmington City Council will again share a prayer before meetings.

A resolution for a "universal prayer" was introduced Thursday but was amended to remove the word "universal" to avoid confusion with a particular text by that name. The altered resolution passed with approval by 11 of 13 members, with no votes from Councilwoman Loretta Walsh and City Council President Hanifa Shabazz, voting against her own resolution.

Shabazz, who sponsored the change from Christian prayer to silent reflection last month, said her intention was to be more inclusive of all faiths. But after public outrage about the removal of the prayer, which the council had used for decades, Shabazz said a different kind of spoken prayer might please everyone.

"It will be a prayer that everyone can feel a part of," she said. "That was the intention from the very beginning."

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The old prayer was as follows: "Our heavenly Father, as we gather together to make laws affecting the citizens of Wilmington, we ask your guidance so that our intentions and actions are in accordance with thy will and according to your word! Amen."

The new prayer will be written in collaboration between council members and faith leaders and will be used at the next meeting, Shabazz said. The text of the prayer will not require a vote, she said.

The move to use a nondenominational prayer was sponsored by Shabazz, Yolanda McCoy, and Samuel L. Guy, who held a meeting on Monday for community members and faith leaders, some of whom said they felt God was being taken out of city government.

The measure was also sponsored by Nnamdi Chukwuocha, Zanthia Oliver, Michelle Harlee, Vash Turner, Bob Williams, Bud Freel, Ciro Adams and Rysheema Dixon.

"Prayer has a place no matter where we are," Dixon said.

Several Wilmington residents spoke during the public comment period of Thursday's City Council meeting, expressing feelings for and against prayer before meetings.

"Taking the prayer out of here is like taking the Bible from us," said Wilmington crossing guard Earl Tate.

"I don't pay my taxes so that government can pray," said Hilltop resident Monica Alvarez. "I pay my taxes so government can work."

Kathleen Patterson said the council should focus on other issues like reducing city violence. Regarding prayer, she was blunt: "This is a waste of our time."

Wash said she "does not compromise" her belief in the separation of church and state.

"A moment of silence allows anyone to pray," she said. "If you believe in God, then God is everywhere. You don't have to shout your beliefs from the rooftops. In the end, every single association one has with God is a private relationship."

Councilman Trippi Congo said he doesn't tend to co-sponsor legislation, but he does support a nondenominational prayer. What bothers him, he said, is that the change was presented for a vote on Jan. 3, the day of the inauguration and first meeting, without a chance for discussion. The swap-out of prayer for silent reflection was embedded in a 16-page outline of council rules and procedures.

"It was in our rules, but nobody read all the rules," he said. "That was something that was significant enough that there should’ve been a conversation."

Shabazz, who is Muslim, said the new prayer will not reflect a particular deity and will be "somewhat in line with people’s interpretation of the separation of church and state."

The council president said her decision to institute silent reflection was misinterpreted as "removing prayer," although members could pray quietly to themselves.

"I still feel very good about my original decision of turning to silent prayer," she said. "With what’s happening nationally, we need to demonstrate as many examples of inclusivity in respect to our diversity as possible. It's more important that we do that now more than ever, and that's what my intent was."

POLL: Should prayer have a place in a city council meeting?

Church-state tensions have occurred elsewhere in Delaware and nationally.

A federal lawsuit that ended in 2012 challenged the Sussex County Council's decadeslong practice of the Lord's Prayer in meetings. Council agreed to substitute the Protestant version of that prayer with the 23rd Psalm from the Old Testament. Some council members considered bringing the Lord's Prayer back in 2014 after the Supreme Court upheld the practice of prayer in government meetings, even if the prayers are Christian and citizens are encouraged to participate, USA Today reported at the time. A Sussex County Council official said Thursday that the 23rd Psalm is still in use.

Two Jewish families sued the Indian River School District over a decade ago over the use of Christian prayer in school. They felt the practice created "an environment of exclusion," according to News Journal coverage. A settlement resulted in the plaintiffs receiving an undisclosed cash payment and the school district creating new policies to protect religious minorities. The agreement also acknowledged that it is inappropriate for school employees to lead explicitly Christian prayers at school functions.

Congo said he's looking forward to moving on from the issue.

"A lot of people are frustrated because we’re spending so much time on it and there are other issues we need to address," he said. "We can put this behind us and move forward."

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, on Twitter @ChristinaJedra or cjedra@delawareonline.com.