2022 Invocations (16)
In 2022, the Central Florida Freethought Community offered secular invocations at civic meetings across our region. Each reflection centers on shared human values—compassion, reason, integrity, and service—while respecting freedom of conscience and the separation of religion and government. Below are the invocations from this year.
2022 December 6 - Joseph Richardson, Lake County, FL
2022 October 11 - David Williamson, Seminole County, FL
2022 September 13 - Jocelyn Williamson, Brevard County, FL
2022 July 12- James Bartel, Lake County, FL
2022 July 12- Joseph Richardson, Orange County, FL
2022 July 6 Leah Molyneaux, Deland, FL
2022 May 23- Jessie Pezzula, Sanford, FL
2022 May 9- Jocelyn Williamson, Maitland, FL
2022 May 3- David Williamson, Ocoee, FL
2022 February 23- Joseph Richardson, Winter Park, FL
2022 February 14 - Randa Black, Casselberry, FL
2022 February 8 - Rocky Guffey, Clermont, FL
2022 February 1- Choice Edwards, Lake County, FL
2022 January 25 - Maggie Wang, Seminole County, FL
2022 January 10 - Leah Molyneux, Maitland, FL
2022 January 6 - Michael Rowe, Volusia County, FL
6 December 2022 - Lake County Commission
Joseph Richardson - 195 words
Thank you, Chairman, Commissioners, and staff, for this opportunity to offer an invocation on behalf of the non-religious citizens of Lake County.
Thank you to each of you and to county staff for the important work you do.
As we begin this morning, let us take this moment to silence our thoughts and focus on the tasks at hand.
Lake County is a strong and diverse group held together by shared love of community.
Today, let us embody the words of Central Floridian, author, and freethinker, Zora Neale Hurston, who said “There is nothing to make you like other human beings, so much as doing things for them.”
This morning, may we recognize and abandon the familiar attitudes and too common practices that do not serve the whole.
May we appreciate each and every voice that enters the chamber with hearts and minds open.
May we dream and design a bold future for Lake County where all voices are heard, and everyone is uplifted up at their time of need.
And may we work together with honesty and integrity, guided by rational thought and critical thinking with a sense of shared responsibility.
Thank you.
11 October 2022 - Seminole County Commission
David Williamson - 390 words
Thank you Chairman Dalari, Commissioners, Staff, Citizens, Business Owners, and Guests.
As we gather this morning, let’s take stock of where we are not quite 2 weeks since Hurricane Ian ripped through the State and our County.
ALL of us have been affected, in some way, by the devastation.
Whether we found our homes, our cars, our neighborhoods underwater; or we found ourselves helping neighbors and community members in those circumstances.
Whether we found ourselves donating time, money, blood, food; or we found ourselves the beneficiaries of that generosity.
Whether we found ourselves cleaning up our homes, our yards, and places of business; or we helped others to do so.
We were all affected.
The forecasts, the sandbags, the evacuations, the cleanup, the hot days, and a few well-deserved cool nights.
We’ve been through a lot together,
…but we’ve been through it……together.
Because, in times of need, we respond–with kindness and compassion.
Our instincts kick in, and the part of our brain that can sometimes sow division…
…is switched off.
We find a need and take care of it–regardless of who needs help.
We aren’t one nation nor one county in those moments,
…we are simply human; and we are at our best.
I have to take the opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of a few standouts who make a tremendous difference when communities are in greatest need.
Staff and volunteers supporting the Emergency Operations Centers across the county.
First responders who maintained their presence before, during, and after the worst weather was upon us.
Non-profits, faith communities, and individuals who gave as part of their mission or who stepped outside those bounds to help others.
Utility crews and lineworkers from nearby and around the country.
Everyone who pitched in and continues to help deserves all the gratitude we can muster.
And the work goes on. The clean up continues.
Lives changed forever.
There are new high water marks across Seminole County this week…
…but our people have risen in kind and showed one another…
…that while there will often be needs and work to be done…
…there will always be volunteers and resources staged and ready to help when the need is greatest.
We are here for each other. Let’s not forget that.
Thank you.
13 September 2022 - Brevard County City Commission
Jocelyn Williamson - 236 words
Thank you, Madam Chair and commission members for the opportunity to offer an invocation this morning.
On behalf of all Brevard County residents, thanks to you, county employees, contract staff, volunteers, and citizens for the hard work and effort you bring each and every day.
Today, let us not be distracted by the many other things in our lives.
Let’s place them on pause for the morning, and focus on the task at hand–the business of the county.
As the County proclaims Constitution Week, let us consider the words of the framers.
James Madison asked “What is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?"
May this meeting reflect our shared values of trust, fellowship and ethics, and may we place Service above Self in our endeavors here today and each day to come.
May we recognize and listen to all voices who are here sharing ideas.
John Adams once said that “Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people…”
In honor of those words, may we work towards the shared mission we have of making our community better each and every time we meet.
May the commission deliberate with wisdom, insight, and impartiality.
And this morning, as we conduct the business of the County, may we take the time to lift everyone in the same way others have lifted us.
Thank you.
12 July 2022 - Lake County Commission
James Bartel - 196 words
Thank you, Mr. chairman and commission members for the opportunity to offer an invocation this morning.
On behalf of all county residents, thanks to you, county employees, contract staff, and volunteers for the hard work and effort you bring to bear each and every day.
Today, let us not be distracted by the many other things in our lives. Let’s place them on pause for the morning and focus just on the task at hand–the business of the county.
As we do so, we ask that all voices be heard with a focus on inclusivity. As Thomas Jefferson wrote “that government is the strongest, of which everyone feels themselves a part."
May we work towards the shared mission we have of making our community better each time we meet.
Let today’s meeting reflect our shared values of trust, fellowship and ethics, and may we place Service above Self in our endeavors here today and each day to come.
May you deliberate with wisdom, insight, and impartiality.
And this morning, as we conduct the business of the County, may we take the time to lift everyone in the same way others have lifted us.
Thank you.
12 July 2022 - Orange County Commission
Joseph Richardson - 195 words
Thank you, Mayor Demings, Commissioners, and staff, for this opportunity to offer an invocation on behalf of the non-religious citizens of Orange County.
Thank you to each of you and to county staff for the important work you do.
As we begin this morning, let us take this moment to silence our thoughts and focus on the tasks at hand.
Orange County is a strong and diverse group held together by shared love of community.
Today, let us embody the words of Central Floridian, author, and freethinker, Zora Neale Hurston, who said “There is nothing to make you like other human beings, so much as doing things for them.”
This morning, may we recognize and abandon the familiar attitudes and too common practices that do not serve the whole.
May we appreciate each and every voice that enters the chamber with hearts and minds open.
May we dream and design a bold future for Orange County where all voices are heard, and everyone is uplifted up at their time of need.
And may we work together with honesty and integrity, guided by rational thought and critical thinking with a sense of shared responsibility.
Thank you.
6 July 2022 - Deland City Commission
Leah Molyneax - 245 words
Thank you Mr. Mayor, Mr. vice mayor, and commissioners. Thank you for your service and for the opportunity to begin your meeting with a welcoming message today.
As we have just celebrated our nation’s independence from unjust taxes, lack of representation and foreign rule, let us remember that Independence Day isn’t just about picnics and fireworks. It is an auspicious commemoration of great meaning and the values we share as a people.
We celebrate our community and our history when we recall our traditional motto, E PLURIBUS UNUM. Translated from Latin, that means “out of many, [we are] one.”
When we gather like this, let us celebrate our diversity of ideas and our ability to come together for the shared purpose. Today, we are an even more diverse nation, but still one predicated on freedom.
The United States was founded with the assumption that while we are bestowed with inalienable rights, we must continually strive to further the cause of liberty and justice for all, and we continue that work today.
May we, as a community, show strength of conviction to our own principles while also demonstrating tolerance for dissent, patience in disagreement, and inclusion for all viewpoints as we deliberate and make decisions that affect our community today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.
Again, thanks to you and your staff for your commitment to the City, and to all in attendance for striving to make Deland a better place for all.
23 May 2022 - Sanford City Commission
Jessie Pezzula - 242 words
Thank you, Mayor Lowndes, Council Members, Staff, and the community, for the opportunity to offer opening words this evening.
As we begin tonight, let us take this moment to silence our thoughts and focus on the tasks at hand.
We are a strong and diverse group held together by shared love of community. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
This evening we will recognize our community’s first responders and the critical role they play in safeguarding our city and citizens. Let us be intentional in honoring the important role they have and the service they provide us all.
Tonight, may we work together with honesty and integrity.
May we appreciate each and every voice.
And let us be guided by rational thought and a sense of shared responsibility.
Thank you.
9 May 2022 - Maitland City Commission
Jocelyn Williamson - 165 words
Thank you, Mayor Lowndes, Council Members, Staff, and the community, for the opportunity to offer opening words this evening.
As we begin tonight, let us take this moment to silence our thoughts and focus on the tasks at hand.
We are a strong and diverse group held together by shared love of community. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
This evening we will recognize our community’s first responders and the critical role they play in safeguarding our city and citizens. Let us be intentional in honoring the important role they have and the service they provide us all.
Tonight, may we work together with honesty and integrity.
May we appreciate each and every voice.
And let us be guided by rational thought and a sense of shared responsibility.
Thank you.
3 May 2022 - Ocoee City Commission
David Williamson - 224 words
Thank you, Mayor and commission members, for the opportunity to solemnize this evening’s proceedings.
On behalf of all of us, thank you to each of you and to city staff for the important work you do.
Citizens, employees, contract staff, elected officials, and guests; we are collectively known in this sacred yet secular space as; “We, the people.”
Tonight, as we gather to do the essential work of the City, let us put away the distractions that may take our focus from this meeting.
And let us recognize the opportunity we have to come together as one community, to embrace all of our differences, and to create something stronger for each and every stakeholder in the City.
We are one body whenever we act together; a diverse group, here not by coincidence or chance, but because we each choose to work together.
May we recognize all voices at this meeting, in particular, those with whom we disagree.
May we be patient and understanding as we listen, creating space for kindness and dignity.
May we use reason and impartiality as we deliberate.
We know that none of us alone can hold all that must be held or do all that must be done.
But may each of us rise up to do that work which is ours to do.
Again, thank you, and good evening.
23 January 2022 - Winter Park City Council
Joseph Richardson - 269 words
It is an honor to be here today to represent the Central Florida Freethought Community and your atheist, agnostic, humanist, and other non-religious constituents.
Winter Park has always been a vibrant and interesting community. My personal experience with Winter Park began approximately 50 years ago when my mother and I would visit the Little Professor Bookstore on Park Ave. It's no longer there, of course, but the draw of Winter Park has remained for me as for so many others who want to attend its college, visit its gardens and museums, as well as live here.
And so I encourage you to continue this legacy and work together to find solutions for the problems you face today. Turn the focus away from differences you may have and turn it toward the similarities shared by the citizens of Winter Park. It is our similarities, our collective hopes and dreams, our mutual love for our friends and family, our shared desire to build a better future for us and our children, our common humanity that bring all of us together and allows us to cooperate to improve the lives of all Winter Park citizens. Each one of you, by your commitment of time, energy and resources, helps to make this vision real.
We have a bright future ahead of us in Winter Park, individually and together. And we are depending on your abilities and integrity to lead us to that future.
May your decisions and actions today and every day be guided by our common goals, by a sensitivity to our differences, and by a commitment to find the right solutions.
Thank you.
14 February 2022 - Casselberry City Commission
Randa Black - 192 words
Thank you, Mayor, Commissioners, and staff, for this opportunity to offer an invocation.
And thank you to all in attendance for participating as well.
In honor of Black History month, let us embody the words of a Central Floridian, author, and freethinker, Zora Neale Hurston, who said “There is nothing to make you like other human beings, so much as doing things for them.”
As we begin tonight’s meeting let us embrace these ords, for the things we accomplish and decide in this room will have a direct effect on all the people in this city for generations to come.
Let us be intentional in making compassion the guiding light for our accomplishments this evening.
May we appreciate each and every voice that enters the chamber with hearts and minds open.
And may we work together with honesty and integrity, guided by rational thought and critical thinking with a sense of shared responsibility.
Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us to “Go into the world and do well, but more importantly, go into the world and do good.”
May we use our time today to serve for the betterment of all.
Thank you.
8 February 2022 - Clermont City Commission
Rocky Guffey - 177 words
Thank you, Mayor Murray and commission members for the opportunity to offer an invocation this evening.
On behalf of all city residents, thanks to you, the city employees, contract staff, and volunteers for the hard work and effort you bring each and every day.
This evening, let us not be distracted by all the other things in our lives. Let’s place them on pause for the evening and focus only on the task at hand, the business of the City. As we do, we ask that all voices be heard with a mindset of inclusivity.
May we work towards the shared mission we have of making our community better each time we meet.
Let tonight’s meeting reflect out shared values of trust, fellowship and ethics, and may we place Service above Self in our endeavors here and each day to come.
May you deliberate with wisdom, insight, and impartiality. Tonight, as we conduct the business of the city, may we take the time to lift everyone in the city the way others have lifted us. Thank you.
1 February 2022 - Lake County Commission
Choice Edwards - 269 words
We indeed are the United States of America, a nation under a flag of very diverse people... under our constitution with the yet to be realized promise of liberty and justice for all our citizens.
We are free to believe, absent facts, in anything our minds can conjure up. We are fortunate that no one may dictate what we believe; and most especially that no agent of the government can dictate what we believe, absent truth and fact, and often in spite of truth or fact, about our religious beliefs or non beliefs.
I believe you, the members of the Lake County Board of Commissioners, take your responsibilities to your constituents to heart and intellect...and render what in your collective minds is the best for the people of Lake County. And for that we are very grateful and appreciative of your time and commitment.
I wish you well in your deliberations and wish you wisdom, light, life, love, peace, power, prosperity, passion, poise, beauty, joy, health, wealth, romance and all the fun and excitement you can handle, for if you ain't laughing, you ain't living.
Although short in days, February is long in its recognition of love and the rich history of Americans of African descent. Let us push out hate and division with love..., honesty..., justice... and peace.
The light of honesty surrounds you, the love of justice enfolds you, the presence of peace watches over you and the power of good protects you,
On behalf of the Central Florida Freethought Community, assuming compliance with the Constitution, I thank you.
I leave you to do the county's business.
25 January 2022 - Seminole County Commission
Maggie Wang - 195 words
Thank you, Chairman Constantine, Commissioners, and staff, for this opportunity to offer an invocation.
As leaders you are not called to be a lone beacon on a hill for others to simply follow.
Rather, you are meant to work together for all our benefit, and so that you might help others also shine along with you.
This morning we will hear the Commission’s proclamation of Black History month for Seminole County.
With that in mind, let us embody the words of a Central Floridian, author, and freethinker, Zora Neale Hurston, who said “There is nothing to make you like other human beings, so much as doing things for them.”
This morning, may we recognize and abandon the familiar attitudes and too common practices that do not serve the whole.
May we appreciate each and every voice that enters the chamber with hearts and minds open.
May we dream and design a bold future for the county where all voices are heard and everyone is uplifted up at their time of need.
And may we work together with honesty and integrity, guided by rational thought and critical thinking with a sense of shared responsibility.
Thank you.
10 January 2022 - Maitland Council
Leah Molyneux - 239 words
Thank you, Mayor Lowndes, Council Members, Staff, and the community, for the opportunity to offer opening words for this evening’s meeting.
On behalf of the city, I thank you and your staff for their hard work. There is only so much time available to us in life and the fact that you have invested so much of yours in service to your community is remarkable.
We have weathered many challenges in the recent years. When we have a new year, there is a special energy, an optimism, and a renewed hope for bettering our future together. Let us tap into this renewed hope as we begin the meeting today.
Today let us consider the importance of the decisions we make, knowing that there will be new challenges coming our way of which we are not even aware.
May the year ahead provide this council with the ability to confront the challenges and to do so in the best interests of our exceptional city here in the Sunshine State.
Together, let’s embody the words of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said “The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all of us [human] and, therefore, [family].”
Finally let us incline our ears toward reason, apply our heart to understanding, and seek knowledge we can use to find common ground among the citizens for the betterment of the City.
Thank you.
6 January 2022 - Volusia County Commission
Michael Rowe - 237 words
Thank you, Chairman Brower, Commission Members, Staff, and the community, for the opportunity to offer opening words for this morning’s meeting.
I want to thank you and your staff for their hard work. There is only so much time available to us in life and the fact that you have invested so much of yours in service to your community is remarkable.
We have weathered many challenges in the recent years. When we have a new year, there is a special energy, an optimism, and a renewed hope for bettering our future together. Let us tap into this renewed hope as we begin the meeting today.
Today let us consider the importance of the decisions we make, knowing that there will be new challenges coming our way of which we are not even aware.
May the year ahead provide this Commission leaders with the ability to confront the challenges and to do so in the best interests of our exceptional community here in the Sunshine State.
Together, let’s embody the words of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said “The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all of us [human] and, therefore, [family].”
Finally let us incline our ears toward reason, apply our heart to understanding, and seek knowledge we can use to find common ground among the citizens for the betterment of the County.
Thank you.