The Tracy City Council on Tuesday agreed that it will continue to allow local ministers to specify who they are praying to when they offer invocations at the start of City Council meetings.

"I say we stay with what it is," said Councilman Steve Abercrombie. "It ain’t broke."

A group of ministers in the audience applauded the council decision, supported by all five council members, to keep the city’s policy regarding invocations at the start of every meeting as it is. The council rejected a proposal to follow an appeals court ruling that prohibits references to any particular deity or religious figure.

Councilwoman Evelyn Tolbert added that the city discussed the matter a few years ago when it was apparent that other cities were changing their policies on prayer at government meetings.

"I think we gave staff direction that unless anybody sued us, we weren’t going to do anything," she said.

The proposed policy was based on a 2002 state appeals court decision, Rubin v. City of Burbank, that says sectarian prayer is unconstitutional.

Had the policy been in place Tuesday, the Rev. Tim Heinrich of Crossroads Baptist Church said he would not have offered any type of invocation. His prayer at the start of Tuesday’s meeting was similar to other prayers before council meetings in the past.

Heinrich asked for wisdom and guidance for the city’s elected leaders, "and we pray these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," he prayed.

When the council discussed the issue about two hours later, Heinrich said the proposed policy would restrict freedom of speech and put God’s name in the same category as "cuss words."

"I could not stand before you and offer an invocation that is inconsistent with my faith," he told the council.

Of the 10 people who spoke to the council, nearly all were local pastors who said the message in an invocation would come from their Christian faith.

"When you ask a faith-based organization to take out the names, you’re gutting the core of what they believe," said Mark Humphreys, pastor of Heartland Church in Tracy.