THE NEW MAYOR OF the Vale of Glamorgan has announced plans to replace Christian prayers before every Full Council meeting with multi-faith “blessings”.
Photo: Vale Council.
Cllr Elliot Penn (Labour, St Augustines) outlined his plans during last week’s annual general meeting, in which he was installed as Mayor for the 2024/25 civic year.
The plan represents a major change in policy for the Vale Council. When it was established in 1996, a brief period of Christian prayer, led by a minister, was held prior to every Full Council meeting.
The policy remained in place until 2016, when Labour Mayor Stuart Egan replaced prayers with “humanist blessings”.
A year later, Conservative Mayor Janice Charles reinstated traditional Christian prayers at the start of meetings.
Supporters of the new Mayor’s proposals say that the multi-faith “blessings” will be more inclusive in a religiously-diverse society, whereas critics of the change argue that as a predominantly Christian country, asking for God’s guidance to make good decisions during meetings is important.
Photo: Vale Council.
Cllr Kevin Mahoney (Independent, Sully) questioned the need for any religious element at the start of meetings: “It makes no difference to me as I always leave the room for the five minutes when prayers and blessings are taking place.
“In my view, religion is a personal matter. People can pray in their own time if they want to, and I don’t see why it needs to form part of council meetings.”
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