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The Supreme Court has repeatedly clarified that "there is a crucial difference <br />between government speech endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause <br />forbids, and private speech endorsing religion, which the Free Speech and Free <br />Exercise Clauses protect." Bd. of Educ. of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, <br />496 U.S. 226, 250 (1990), <br />�, 70 _.- <br />The City intends, and has intended in past practice, to adopt a policy that does <br />not proselytize or advance any faith, or show any purposeful preference of one religious <br />view to the exclusion of others. <br />This policy set forth below has been approved by two federal courts in the cases <br />of Pellphrey v. Cobb Count (11th Cir. 2008) 547 F3d 1263 and Rubin v. Cily-pf <br />Lancaster (2011) 80 F,Supp.2d 1107. <br />The City recognizes its constitutional duty to interpret, construe, and amend its <br />policies to comply with constitutional requirements as they are announced. <br />1, in order to solemnize proceedings of the City Council, it is the policy of the <br />City to allow for an invocation or prayer to be offered at its meetings for the benefit of <br />the City Council and the community. <br />2. The prayer shall not be listed or recognized as an agenda item for the <br />meeting so that it may be clear the prayer is not considered a part of the public <br />business. <br />3. No member of the City Council or City employee or any other person in <br />attendance at the meeting shall be required to participate in any prayer that is offered, <br />4. The prayer shall be voluntarily delivered by an eligible member of the <br />clergy or a religious leader in the City of Santa Ana, To ensure that such person (the <br />"invocational speaker") is selected from among a wide pool of the City's clergy/religious <br />leaders, on a rotating basis, the invocational speaker shall be selected according to the <br />following procedure: <br />a. The Police Department shall compile and maintain a database (the <br />"Congregations List") of the religious congregations with an established <br />presence in the City of Santa Ana. <br />b. The Congregations List shall be compiled by referencing the listing for <br />"churches," "congregations," or other religious assemblies in the annual <br />Yellow Pages telephone directory or directories published for the City of <br />Santa Ana, research from the Internet, and consultation with local <br />chambers of commerce. All churches, congregations or other religious, <br />assemblies with an established presence in the City of Santa Ana are <br />-3- <br />