Prayer created a heated debate at the Council Work Session on Thursday. The discussion was placed on the agenda by Councilwoman Hilary Rayford, to continue the discussions surrounding prayer before meetings rather than a silent prayer, or moment of silence.

Pastor Ron Tuncali of Christian Ministerial Fellowship (CMF) and Reverend Jesse Howard, spoke on behalf of the Christian community, explaining to the council the necessity to conduct prayer outwardly at city council meetings.

“The reason we pray is we believe God hears our prayer,” said Tuncali. “Truth be told we’ve been praying for this city for a long time. Specifically the prayer before the meeting is a prayer of invocation to invoke the presence of God to be in this meeting, it is a supernatural event that takes place. It gives us the chance of wisdom for you to make the proper decision for this city.”

The council turned prayer into a moment of silence a month ago when Councilmember Ramona Monteverde felt offended by the use of prayer at the beginning of the meeting. Mayor Harvey was quick to defend members of the council who felt offended by the prayer.

“My walk with God is personal, I love the Lord and I talk to him day and night and with that said if I have a silent prayer, is that less effective than a prayer out loud from a minister at the microphone?” said Harvey. “Here I am trying to find a sweet spot because I don’t have a problem with prayer, but if two members on the city council have already communicated that they feel uncomfortable and offended, you are okay with going back to what it was even though those people are offended?”

The discussions covered two Supreme Court Cases concerning prayer in legislative bodies, Engel v Vitale and Greece v Galloway. Engel v Vitale in 1962 decided prayer approved by the New York State Board of Regents was unconstitutional. In the case The Town of Greece v Galloway (2014) the Supreme Court decided the use of prayer before a legislative meeting was not unconstitutional with a vote of five to four.

“Ceremonial prayer is but a recognition that, since this Nation was founded and until the present day, many Americans deem that their own existence must be understood by precepts far beyond the authority of government to alter or define and that willing participation in civic affairs can be consistent with a brief acknowledgment of their belief in a higher power, always with due respect for those who adhere to other beliefs,” said Justice Anthony Kennedy in del. “The prayer in this case has a permissible ceremonial purpose. It is not an unconstitutional establishment of religion.”

Michelle Kelson, City of Newburgh Corporate Council, confirmed that removing prayer from the council is not illegal, if prayer is put back into the meeting it must follow the same structure used in the Town of Greece to be constitutional and legal.

Rayford stood up to defend the right to pray in the council. She shouted into the hall filled with members from CMF to remind people of their right to pray.

“My brothers and sister out there continue to pray, you don’t have to be silent it’s your right, you don’t have to be silent,” said Rayford. “God didn’t tell us to shut up when it comes to prayer he said keep praying, pray without ceasing, so nobody can shut us up anymore.”

Councilman Grice reminded the group that the public prayer was turned into a moment of silence not to remove prayer, but to accommodate the entire community.

“When I’m here in this seat I’m representing the whole of the City of Newburgh,” said Grice. “I do consider that, so I did support the move and I still do of having the moment of silence and in that I am praying in my prayer language. When I was faced with the choice of having a moment of silence or opening it up to everyone, I feel that having that moment of silence was the most respectful thing to do.”