In March of this year, a motion was put on notice by Councillor Warren that in its original form would have, among other things, removed the Council Prayer from the agenda. The motion that eventually passed only moved the Acknowledgement of Country to come first, a compromise designed to placate what was a very divided council. I’d made a deputation at the meeting that night going over the reasons I supported the original motion, and attached a couple of charts for councillors’ perusal.

Fast-forward to the 24 of November and an agenda document hits my virtual desk, heralding the arrival of another motion, this time by Councillor Chong: “That Council remove the opening prayer from the beginning of Council meetings and, over the next few months, consider whether a more inclusive affirmation or reflective silence is appropriate.” In preparation and support for a further deputation on the topic, I present this updated set of charts and data for anyone interested.

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You’ve arrived at the beginning of the blog. As a reward for your arrival, allow me to explain to you some of the motivations behind my writing it.

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