IRVINE : Council to Discuss Prayer at Meetings

The City Council plans Tuesday to discuss re-establishing prayer at the opening of its meetings, an idea opposed by a group of residents.

Irvine Tomorrow, a group formed to increase discussion of public issues in the city, mailed 1,200 letters late last week to residents and area clergy informing them of the council’s plan and asking them to write to City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr. in opposition. The letter also asks residents to oppose a plan to allow a Christmas tree to be set up outside City Hall.

The issues arose in August after an Irvine resident offered to give the city a free Christmas tree this December, and newly elected council members Barry J. Hammond and William A. (Art) Bloomer suggested starting council meetings with an invocation.

Irvine Today members say both plans could offend residents who don’t share the majority’s religious beliefs, said Mark Petracca, an Irvine Tomorrow member who signed the letter.

Starting meetings with prayer would tend to promote Christianity over other religious beliefs, and an official city Christmas tree, although often considered a secular holiday symbol in the United States, could be offensive to non-Christians, said Petracca, a political science professor at UC Irvine.

“Government ought to be fostering harmony, respect and toleration rather than privileging certain religious celebrations,” he said.

If the council members want to pray together before meetings, they should do it before calling the meeting to order, Petracca said.

“They can find all the divine guidance they need by praying together in private before the meetings,” he said.

Irvine Tomorrow, composed of a core group of about 20 people, originally formed about 20 years ago to fight the perceived political influence on city politics by the Irvine Co. But it had been inactive until recently.

So far, the Irvine Today letter has prompted about 15 people to write in opposition to the prayer and city Christmas tree plans, Brady said Wednesday afternoon. He will share the letters he receives with council members at Tuesday’s meeting, he said.

Courts have held that official holiday displays are legal. Also, nondenominational invocations also have been ruled constitutional, the city manager said. Most city councils in Orange County begin their meetings with short prayers led either by a council member or an invited clergy member.