Morning Alex

Waitomo District Council opens its meetings with the following prayer:

"God Grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the
courage to change the things we can and wisdom to know the difference.
These things we ask in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen"

I am unsure exactly when this practise commenced, however it is recorded
in the Council Minutes back as far as April 1989.

During my employment with WDC, the Council re-considered this practise
after both the 2007 and 2010 triennial elections and agreed to continue
with the prayer.

I do not believe the elected Council are aware of the Whanganui DC
situation.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact me.

Yours faithfully

Michelle Higgie
Executive Assistant
Waitomo District Council
Phone: 07 878 0800
Fax: 07 878 7771
Email: [email address]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Alex Harris [mailto:[OIA #194 email]]
Sent: Friday, 27 April 2012 11:35 a.m.
To: WebMail
Subject: Local Government Official Information and Meetings request:
Does the Waitomo District Council open its meetings with a prayer?

Dear Waitomo District Council,

As you may have read recently, the Whanganui District Council
abolished its opening prayer after a complaint was made to the
Human Rights Commission. I'm interested in learning how widespread
this practice is, so I'd like to request the following information
under the LGOIMA:

* Does the Council open its meetings with a prayer? * If the answer
to the above is "yes", then I'd like a copy of that prayer (or
examples, if more than one is used), when the practice was first
established, whether the council has considered abolishing it in
the wake of the Whanganui decision, and any advice the council may
hold on the prayer's compatibility with both the Human Rights Act
1993 and Bill of Rights Act 1990.

I would prefer to receive an electronic response. Queries about
this request will be automatically forwarded to me by the
fyi.org.nz website.

Yours faithfully,

Alex Harris

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