Drop the invocations and get down to business

During the past six months, the Kenai Borough Assembly made the news, repeatedly, over its predominantly Christian invocations delivered before each meeting. When some in the community challenged this practice, an assembly majority invited all denominations to deliver invocations. As a result, the assembly and those gathered at an August meeting discovered themselves consorting with the devil when the invocation ended with, "Hail Satan."

At that point, Satan resurrected the invocation debate, which continues. So far this year, the assembly has generated six legislative proposals on invocations. Prospective solutions range from requiring assembly pre-approval for all invocation requests, to limiting invocations to established religious groups, to replacing invocations with a moment of silence.

The devil, predictably, crept into the details. But none of us needs to honor the devil's work by furthering this debate. The question that must be asked is not who gives an invocation, but why. Why does any ceremony, religious or secular, precede a government meeting?

[Kenai Borough Assembly reverses course, keeps religious invocations]

Some religious elected officials embrace an opening prayer to ensure divine guidance. Less fervent invocation supporters view prayer before public proceedings as a way to honor tradition and remind everyone of the solemnity of the issues before them. For still others, a moment of silence seems appropriate.

But if a legislative body must rely on formal ceremony to be reminded of the seriousness of the business before them, then chances are members haven't read their meeting packets in advance. Ironically, the Alaska state Legislature opens floor sessions with an invocation, yet still failed to recognize the seriousness of our budget crisis. The best way to demonstrate solemnity is to arrive prepared and to address the business at hand.

Some argue that a moment of silence is the perfect substitute to replace a contentious invocation practice. Silence honors freedom in the purest sense by allowing us to think whatever thoughts we want. But don't we always have that freedom? Imposed silence only delays meetings. And, if we are honest, the voices in our heads stray far from the agenda during these moments of silence:

• The harried parent: What should I pick up for dinner on the way home?

• The college student fulfilling a civics requirement: Man, Wi-Fi sucks in this building.

• The new father: If I close my eyes, I'll fall asleep.

• All: That's not my phone, is it? I swear I turned it off.

This cacophony does nothing to advance a meeting or promote unity. Meetings already maintain structure, formality, and decorum through Robert's Rules of Order, an established agenda, speaking lists, and time limits.

Most often, society calls for moments of silence to commemorate a historic event or to remember victims of a tragedy. To hold moments of silence at government meetings diminishes the practice in much the same way invocations cheapen prayer. Like so many ceremonial practices, moments of silence, if overused, grow meaningless.

I don't wish to display my faith, either openly or silently, at public meetings. Instead, I attend meetings to provide input on issues affecting my community. Besides, no single ceremony, religious or secular, can possibly encompass the diversity of beliefs present at a public meeting. So why try?

Nonetheless, a 5-4 majority on the Kenai Borough Assembly holds fast to religious authority. Currently, only citizens of "assembly-approved religious association" may deliver invocations, which essentially grants a local government body the power to decide which religious views are appropriate to express. Elected officials serve a diverse public with wide-ranging philosophies and religious beliefs. Summoning a particular god to guide public policy may satisfy one group, but it alienates others and undermines the integrity of our secular system of government.

[Kenai Borough Assembly sued over religious invocation rules]

On Dec. 14, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska filed suit against the Kenai Borough alleging their invocation policy violates free speech and equal protection. The borough and its citizens now face costly litigation and ongoing divisiveness. The rational alternative to litigation is to discontinue any sort of ceremony. The public doesn't attend government meetings to pray or to reflect. We attend meetings to participate in a democratic process designed to achieve a fair and balanced outcome.

Again, the question should not be who, but why. Let's reserve religious ceremony for religious gatherings and save moments of silence to honor and remember. Let's also encourage the Kenai Borough to resolve this bedeviling debate without costly litigation, community bickering and wasted time. The invocation controversy presents an opportunity for the borough to become a model of governmental reason and efficiency. Let's urge the borough assembly to begin its next meeting, and each meeting thereafter, with "This meeting is called to order."

Thomas Pease was born in Anchorage and lives on Government Hill.