COUNTY HALL – The longstanding tradition of councillors reciting the Lord’s Prayer before Full Council meetings has been replaced with a ‘secular reflection’ after the authority’s new Chairman said she wanted a more inclusive approach. The decision has already divided opinion and is now set to be debated by councillors.
One of East Riding Council’s oldest civic traditions came to an end at Wednesday’s Full Council meeting after newly elected Chairman Councillor Linda Johnson replaced the customary Christian prayer with a secular reflection.
Opening the meeting, Councillor Johnson told members she had “prepared a more secular reflection in the interests of inclusivity.” She then added that councillors who wished to say the traditional Lord’s Prayer were welcome to “mutter” it under their breath before inviting members to stand.
She went on to read a reflection urging councillors to serve their communities, listen with “open minds and respectful hearts”, seek common ground, act with fairness and integrity, pursue truth and justice, and send positive thoughts to colleagues unable to attend the meeting.
For many years, Full Council meetings have traditionally opened with a Christian prayer. Participation has never been compulsory, with councillors free to remain silent or not take part.
The move immediately drew criticism from some councillors.
Councillor Jonathan Bibb of the ruling Conservative party said:
“I was very disappointed to see the new Lib Dem Chair of East Riding Council break with tradition and not begin yesterday’s Full Council meeting with a Christian prayer, usually the Lord’s Prayer.
We are considered a Christian country and I believe that should a prayer be said before a meeting then it should reflect this.
Some councillors were visibly upset by this bizarre decision and I would be interested to know what residents’ views are?”
The issue resurfaced later in the meeting when Councillor Maria Bowtell attempted to ask the Leader of the Council whether she agreed with the Chairman’s decision.
However, before the Leader could respond, the Chairman intervened and ruled the question out of order on the grounds of meeting protocol, meaning it went unanswered.
Councillor Bowtell, of Restore Britain, has since said she intends to bring forward a motion to a future meeting of Full Council calling for councillors to hold a democratic debate and vote on whether the traditional Christian prayer should be reinstated.
The episode has reignited a wider debate about the place of Christianity in public life and whether longstanding traditions should be altered in the name of inclusivity.
Supporters of the Chairman’s decision are likely to argue that a secular reflection better reflects a modern council serving people of all faiths and none.
Critics, however, question why a voluntary Christian prayer, which councillors were never required to participate in, needed to be replaced at all. They argue that inclusivity should mean making room for different beliefs rather than removing traditions that have formed part of Britain’s civic life for generations.
With a formal motion now expected before Full Council, Wednesday’s decision appears unlikely to be the end of the debate.
What do you think? Should East Riding Council continue to begin Full Council meetings with a Christian prayer, or should the new secular reflection remain?
How disrespectful of the Lib Dem Chairman of the EastRiding council towards Christian values to tell councillors to mutter the Lords Prayer at the start of full council meetings if they felt the need to. Another example of removing the traditions of this once great country without discussion or debate.