Owen Sound Council has marked the start of Holy Week by ditching the Lord’s Prayer.
Council has for years opened its public meetings with a recitation of the prayer, but councillors voted 5-4 on Monday night to end the practice.
Instead, council meetings will now begin with a moment of silent reflection.
Councillor Colleen Purdon made the successful motion and says it’s the best way to be inclusive to all.
She says many people in Owen Sound don’t share the Christian faith, and many others don’t belong to any faith at all.
The issue of starting meetings with a prayer or blessing has arisen in the past.
The city addressed charges that it was not being inclusive to other faiths by inviting representatives from other religions to give blessings, but visits to council for that purpose quickly petered out.
Purdon raised the issue again in late February and a staff report on the issue came to council on Monday night.
Councillor Peter Lemon moved that council re-issue invitations to other faiths.
On occasions when the invitation went unheeded, the Lord’s Prayer would be used as a fallback position.
But Purdon said that was not inclusive enough and the motion failed in a 5-4 vote, with Mayor Deb Haswell breaking the tie.
Purdon then made her motion for a moment of silent reflection and it passed, with Haswell again breaking the tie.
Councillors David Adair, Jan Chamberlain and Bill Twaddle also voted with Purdon and Haswell. Lemon, Ian Boddy, Jim McManaman and Arlene Wright were opposed.
They had voted the same way on Lemon’s original motion.
