HomeMy WebLinkAbout(2017, 04/25) - A-19 - AmendedA-19
GUIDELINES FOR INVOCATIONS
The Newport Beach City Council has a long tradition of beginning each City Council
meeting with a pledge of allegiance and an invocation. Recently, the United States
Supreme Court in Town of Greece v. Galloway 134 S.Ct. 1811 (2014) held that "absent a
pattern of prayers that over time denigrate, proselytize, or betray an impermissible
government purpose..." a prayer policy passes constitutional muster. The purpose of
this Policy is to ensure that invocations comply with the law so that the City's residents
retain the right to open public meetings with words of inspiration and wisdom. The City
Council has determined that invocations that comply with the guidelines in this Policy
are consistent with the United States Supreme Court's jurisprudence.
1. To solemnize proceedings of the City Council, Boards, Commissions and
Committees, it is the policy of the City Council to allow for an invocation or prayer
to be offered at its meetings for the benefit of the City Council, Board members,
Commission members, Committee members and the community.
2. No member of the City Council, members of any City Board, Commission,
Committee or City employee or any other person in attendance at the meeting
shall be required to participate in any prayer that is offered.
3. The prayer shall be voluntarily delivered by a clergy/ religious leader or other
person in the City of Newport Beach. To ensure that such person ("invocational
speaker") is selected from among a wide pool of the City's leaders, on a rotating
basis, the invocational speaker shall be selected according to the following
procedure:
a. The City Clerk shall compile and maintain a database ("Congregations
List") of the religious congregations with an established presence in
Newport Beach.
b. The Congregations List shall be compiled by referencing the listing for
"churches," "congregations," or other religious assemblies [religious,
atheist or agnostic groups or assemblies (collectively "Assemblies")] in the
annual Yellow Pages phone book(s) published for the City of Newport
Beach, research from the Internet, and consultation with local chambers of
commerce. All religious congregations and Assemblies with an established
presence in the local community of Newport Beach are eligible to be
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included in the Congregations List, and any such congregation can confirm
its inclusion by written request to the City Clerk.
C. The Congregations List shall also include the name and contact information
of any chaplain who may serve one (1) or more of the fire departments or
law enforcement agencies of the City of Newport Beach or any nearby
military facilities.
d. The Congregations List shall be updated, by reasonable efforts of the City
Clerk, in November of each calendar year.
e. Within thirty (30) calendar days of the effective date of this Policy, and on
or about December 1 of each calendar year thereafter, the City Clerk shall
mail an invitation addressed to the "congregation leader' of each
congregation listed on the Congregations List, as well as to the individual
chaplains included on the Congregations List.
f. The invitation shall be dated at the top of the page, signed by the City Clerk
at the bottom of the page, and read as follows:
Dear Congregation Leader,
The City Council makes it a policy to invite members of the clergy in the
City of Newport Beach to voluntarily offer a prayer before the beginning of
its meetings. As the leader of one of the congregations with an established
presence in the local community of the City of Newport Beach, or in your
capacity as a chaplain for one of the fire departments or law enforcement
agencies of the City of Newport Beach, the City Council would appreciate if
you would consider offering this important service at an upcoming meeting
of the City Council, City Board, Commission, or Committee.
If you are willing to assist the City in this regard, please send a written
reply via E-mail, fax or mail to the City Clerk. Invocations are scheduled on
a first-come, first -serve or other random basis. The dates of the City
Council's scheduled meetings for the upcoming year are listed on the
following, attached page. Please note, meetings of the City's Boards,
Commissions, and Committees are held throughout the year. If you have a
preference among the dates, please state that request in your written reply.
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This opportunity is voluntary, and you are free to offer the invocation
according to the dictates of your own conscience. To maintain a spirit of
respect and ecumenism, the City Council requests only that the prayer
opportunity not be exploited as an effort to convert others to the particular
faith of the invocational speaker, nor to disparage any faith or belief different
than that of the invocational speaker.
On behalf of the City Council, I thank you in advance for considering this
invitation.
Sincerely,
City Clerk
g. Consistent with paragraph 6 hereof and, as the invitation letter indicates,
the respondents to the invitation shall be scheduled on a first-come, first-
served or other random basis to deliver invocations.
h. If the selected invocational speaker does not appear at the scheduled
meeting, the Mayor (or board, commission, committee chairperson) may
ask for a volunteer from among the City Council (or Board, Commission,
Committee) or the audience to deliver the invocation.
4. No invocational speaker shall receive compensation for his or her service.
5. The City Clerk shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that a variety of
eligible invocational speakers are scheduled for the City Council meetings. If
others are waiting and have not had an opportunity to deliver an invocation, no
invocational speaker shall be scheduled to offer a prayer at more than three (3)
City Council, Board, Commission or Committee meetings in any calendar year.
6. Neither the City Council, Board, Commission, or Committee members, nor the
City Clerk shall engage in any prior inquiry, review of, or involvement in, the
content of any prayer to be offered by an invocational speaker.
7. This Policy shall be intended for all Boards, Commissions, Committees, or any
other public event of the City of Newport Beach, California.
8. This Policy in not intended, and shall not be implemented or construed in any
way, to affiliate the City Council with, nor express the City Council's preference
for, any faith or religious denomination. Rather, this Policy is intended to
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acknowledge and express the City Council's respect for the diversity of religious
denominations and faiths represented and practiced among the citizens of
Newport Beach.
History
Adopted A-19 -1-27-2004
Amended A-19 - 4-25-2017
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