Secular invocation given at city council

There was a slight change in how the El Paso City Council opened Tuesday’s meeting. And the group behind it hopes it leads to bigger changes.

City council meetings are usually opened by an invocation, a short appeal by any group that wants to sign up to do it for whatever deity or religion they believe in to bring positive influence to the meeting. But Tuesday, a group brought forth what they believe is the first secular invocation in council’s history.

It’s a departure from what council normally hears, and members of Join Us For Justice are hoping it sparks a change.

“If we’re not invoking a deity before a council meeting,” said David Marcus, board president of Join Us For Justice. “And it didn’t create the end of the world, why do it at all?”

Members say their group is made up of many faiths, but they want to keep religion out of government and vice versa.

“We’re definitely not against religion at all,” Marcus said. “That’s definitely not the point.”

The group’s website cites conservative christian groups as a specific threat to gay rights, racial harmony, and effective policies to combat climate change.

But El Pasoans ABC-7 spoke with said they didn’t have a problem with the invocation, or the group’s efforts.

“It’s under the government,” said one man. “So as long as no-one’s isolated or feels like they’re not being equally represented because things like this are happening.”

Marcus said he’d like to see the opening invocation before council stop entirely. But if it does continue, they’ll continue to offer their version periodically before meetings.