COEUR d’ALENE - As is tradition, Tuesday's Coeur d’Alene City Council meeting opened with prayer.

John Pulsipher with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prayed for a blessing on council members and asked that they have peace. He prayed that the city come together “through healing of division that may exist.

“May we all be united in our civility,” Pulsipher said.

But a divide about the invocation may lead to an end of the practice that dates back to the 1970s.

The invocation will be an agenda item for the council to discuss next month.

The city recently took over scheduling of pastors for the invocations, a change from the longtime practice of having the Kootenai County Ministerial Association, a Christian organization, do it.

The city did so, said Mayor Jim Hammond, to give other faiths an opportunity to offer the invocation.

It could, however, open the city to some legal liabilities should it deny someone, say a witch, the chance to give the invocation, said Pastor Paul Van Noy, president of the ministerial association.

Councilman Dan Gookin said Tuesday he has been approached by some residents who told him they were uncomfortable with the invocation and felt compelled to be part of something they didn’t believe in.

Gookin said he supports the recent switch giving other faiths the opportunity to give the invocations, but said he would like a formal council discussion on the issue.

They could decide to continue with the current process, revert to the former approach, or end invocations completely.

Gookin said there are pros and cons, and he wanted to hear from the city’s legal representative on any exposure it could represent for the city.

He asked that Mayor Hammond make it an agenda item for next month, when Van Noy could be there.

“I really think it's a topic with a lot of interest to people out there,” Gookin said.

Hammond agreed.

“I would be happy to direct staff to do that for one of our June meetings,” he said.

Some supported keeping the invocation.

Wendy Smith of Coeur d’Alene, in a letter to The Press, wrote that North Idaho is a predominantly conservative community with Christian roots.

"And an invocation before city meetings has been a thing since 1970. The city should never have taken over scheduling prayer, which is a grievous example of government overreach."

Don Calkins, also in a letter to The Press, wrote, "Please do not surrender to an atheistic approach to governing. Otherwise, we'll see another titanic collapse that will jolt us back to our desperate reliance on The Almighty - "Our Father who art in heaven.”

Suzanne Kearney wrote that the "invocation is important to our community not only as a tradition, but also in asking for the favor and direction of God over our meetings."

She wrote that "it would be wise for those in delegated authority to ask for God's wisdom as they make important decisions on behalf of constituents.”

Coincidentally, the National Day of Prayer led locally by the Ministerial Association is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday at McEuen Park Veterans Memorial Plaza.

It includes music and local pastors will pray for different areas including branches of government, elected leaders, law enforcement and youth. It generally attracts about 500 people.