NEWCASTLE (WNE) — Despite a warning from City Attorney Dublin Hughes regarding the inclusion of the invocation in the municipal code book, the Newcastle City Council approved an updated agenda ordinance on April 1.

Hughes said that formalizing the inclusion of the invocation would require the council to allow  for anyone in the community, including an atheist, to give an invocation.  If this were not allowed, he said, the council could face litigation.

Mayor Pam Gualtieri noted that the council does not now begin meetings with a prayer.  She indicated she’s unsure when it stopped the practice, but she would like to see it return.