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Mayor continues invocations Photo by Steve Johnson From left, Medford City Councilmen Skip Knight, Matt Hart and Jim Key bow their heads as the Rev. Bunny Oliver of First United Methodist Church delivers the invocation before Thursday's City Council meeting. Prayers at Medford council meetings were once controversial By JIM DAVIS Prayer before Medford City Council meetings -- at one time a controversial issue -- is becoming just another tradition. New Mayor Lindsay Berryman carried on the practice that was championed by her predecessor, Mayor Jerry Lausmann. And Berryman said that she sees a benefit from the ecumenical invocations, which are performed by local volunteer religious leaders. "I think it's a nice way to center the council, the mayor and the presenters," Berryman said. "It allows us to focus on the task at hand, the weight of the work we're performing and the decisions we're making." She said she wants to keep the invocations nondenominational. The invocations have attracted religious leaders including Christians, rabbis and even a Comanche spiritual leader. Eagle Point is the only other city in Jackson County with invocations before council meetings. The Medford City Council had invocations performed before their sessions along with the Pledge of Allegiance for years. But the invocations informally ended in 1983. Former mayor Lou Hannum said the invocations stopped mainly because of scheduling problems. He also said that at the time there was a court ruling that forbade public workers from spending any time arranging the invocations. "It fell beside the wayside because there wasn't any mechanism to organize it," Hannum said. Lausmann, a fundamentalist Christian, reinstituted the prayers when he took office in 1987. It was the first action of his 12-year career as mayor. Then-councilmen John Hallett and Bill Mansfield opposed the invocations and tried unsuccessfully to get them stopped at least twice. Lausmann had a volunteer arrange for the religious leaders to come to the meetings. He said the invocations served a useful purpose. "I think it focuses the council on spiritual matters," Lausmann said. "I think God gives them (the City Council) guidance, it sets the tone for the meeting." When he retired this winter, Lausmann asked Berryman to keep the invocations and the Youth Advisory Commission. She told him she thought both projects were worthwhile. "I don't have a problem with it, I guess," Berryman said. "I think it's ceremonial and traditional ... some people like tradition, it makes them comfortable." Berryman has had a friend, Juanita M. Young, who lives at the Rogue Valley Manor, organize the invocators. Young said she collected names of people who had participated in the past or who wanted to volunteer. She also has gone to the Yellow Pages to find participants. "Everyone I have asked has been so willing to participate," Young said. "They seemed to feel that it is quite a privilege." Council President Jim Key said he hasn't heard any current council members who have objected to the practice. "I don't know if you can say it has a benefit," Key said. "But we can use all the help that we can get." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA