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Though one public participant questioned the point and another warned of lawsuits, Crescent City Harbor commissioners on Tuesday endorsed a proposal to incorporate prayer into their bi-monthly meetings.

The proposal came from one of the Board’s newest members, John Evans, who pointed out that the United States Congress starts its sessions with an invocation.

Evans said he didn’t want to exclude any particular faith and proposed holding the invocation before the meetings started.

He also promised to reach out to the “50-odd congregations in our community” to avoid any potential costs to the Crescent City Harbor including the use of staff time. Evans said a member of the public or a Harbor commissioner could also offer an invocation if a member of the clergy wasn’t available.

“The intention was to be non-denominational and recognize there is a higher power above us,” Evans said Tuesday. “If you don’t want to participate in prayer, nobody’s going to force you to do it… We want to recognize that there is something that guides us.”

The Board of Harbor Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution establishing invocations before each business meeting, with Evans’ fellow newcomer, Dan Schmidt, urging his colleague to hold the first prayer.

After Commissioner Rick Shepherd pointed out that the meeting had already started and the time for prayer had passed, Evans promised to conduct the first invocation at the Harbor District’s Jan. 21 meeting.

The Harbor District’s resolution referenced the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Town of Greece v. Galloway, which held that legislative prayers are consistent with the First Amendment if they’re conducted in a manner that respects the diversity of religious beliefs and doesn’t coerce participation.

It states that members of the local clergy or secular organizations can offer invocations on a rotational and voluntary basis.

“Invocations will be extended without preference for any particular denomination, faith or belief system,” the resolution states. “Invocations shall be limited to no more than 1 minute and shall focus on solemnizing the occasion and promoting values such as unity, peace and wisdom for governance. Invocations shall not be used for lobbying, disparagement or solicitation.”

Crescent City Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said neither staff nor the Board of Commissioners would endorse any particular belief.

“It’s simply to set the tone, to set an atmosphere that’s constructive, that’s positive and uplifting,” he said. “And if somebody were to speak outside the guidelines, then that could be an issue where they could be asked to leave. You know, if someone was saying they wanted to worship Satan or something like that.”

Two public participants on Tuesday — Kevin Hendrick and Linda Sutter — were skeptical about the proposal.

Hendrick said the paragraph in the proposal stating that the Harbor District disclaims responsibility for the content in an invocation is prudent. But if the standard is to respect a diversity of beliefs, the Board of Commissioners has to let anyone offer an invocation.

Hendrick asked commissioners how they would react if a witch wanted to pray before a meeting or if a “Christian Nazi that’s praying for white supremacy” wanted to offer the invocation.

“I’m not against prayer. You might want to have a prayer at breakfast every day to pray for the harbor if you think that will help,” he said, before addressing the Board Chairman Gerhard Weber. “Gerhard, if you want to do this, take responsibility to find these people. I trust you not to find a Nazi, but it’s hard enough to get through these meetings without extra controversy.”

Sutter echoed Hendricks’ comments, saying that the Harbor District could be subject to a lawsuit if they don’t allow a Wiccan, for example, to offer a prayer.

Sutter, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Harbor District Board, said that commissioners shouldn’t vote on this resolution or other items on Tuesday’s agenda, stating that they would be violating the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, since the information packet connected with the agenda wasn’t available online 72 hours before the meeting.

However, in an email to Rademaker, Kyle Raden, an associate with the Harbor District’s legal adviser Best Best & Krieger LLP stated that the Brown Act hadn’t been violated.

“Documents related to an open session agenda item that are distributed to all or a majority of the legislative body less than 72 hours before the meeting must be made available for inspection at a physical location specified on the agenda, at the same time the document is distributed to a majority of the legislative body,” Raden said. “As long as the documents that were provided to the Board were simultaneously provided to the general public, which it looks like is the general case, then there is no Brown Act issue.”

At Tuesday’s meeting Roger Gitlin, news editor for the Del Norte Triplicate, referred to his time on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors. About 11 years ago  he  proposed establishing an invocation. He said he cited the Supreme Court case and  proposed a non-denominational prayer.

Gitlin likened the opposition he faced at the time to extracting teeth without Novocaine.

“When you pray, you pray to God,” he said, saying the moment of silence the Board of Supervisors did implement more than a decade ago was neutral and nothing. “There is a greater force that I operated under when I was an elected official and which I hope you all operate under now that governs how we think — with wisdom, with understanding, with compassion. It’s not to religion but to a greater force that governs the important decisions you’re going to make.”

Annie Nehmer, the third newcomer to the Board of Commissioners, said when she read the proposed resolution it hadn’t occurred to her that a prayer could be part of a Harbor District meeting. She said she didn’t even know where her beliefs were when she read the resolution.

But, Nehmer said, she was often angry and frustrated when she attended Harbor District meetings as a member of the public. And she wasn’t alone. Nehmer said she supported the resolution if it helps the Harbor Board get through their meetings.

“Whatever your belief is, whenever people hit that door, they’re often pissed,” she said. “I was mad a lot. I was frustrated. And this 1 minute or 2 minutes is a chance to stop, it’s a chance to reflect, it’s a chance to come together and maybe just take a breath.”