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Westerville residents and clergy clash over keeping invocation before council meetings
Summary
Dozens of residents, clergy and council members debated whether to keep the invocation at the start of Westerville City Council meetings. Public commenters and clergy gave sharply divided views; council took no formal action at the meeting.
At the March Westerville City Council meeting, residents and several local clergy used the public-comment period to press sharply divided views on whether the council should continue opening its meetings with a spoken invocation.
The comments ranged from pleas to keep the practice as a local tradition to calls for its removal or replacement with a neutral moment of silence. No council vote or formal change to policy was taken during the meeting.
The debate drew multiple speakers. Peter Garrity, who said he has lived in Westerville for 33 years, argued the invocation “is not just a ceremonial act, it is a reflection of our heritage, a moment of unity,” and…
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