Sanford, FL, City Council Meeting
25 June 2018
Joseph Richardson (202 words - 1:12)

The third secular invocation at the City of Sanford. The entire transcript of this and dozens more secular invocations are available at www.cflfreethought.org/invocations

Thank you for this opportunity to provide the invocation on behalf of the Central Florida Freethought Community.

Last Thursday was World Humanist Day. The American Humanist Association offers this description of humanism. It "affirms our ability and responsibility to lead meaningful, ethical lives capable of adding to the greater good of humanity."

As it applies to the city of Sanford, the work you do tonight dovetails with this philosophy. Specifically, to add to the greater good of Sanford.

I have no doubt that is the reason each of you is here, to help improve the lives of the citizens. Indeed, it is the reason for many of the activities that occur in Sanford and the surrounding area. 

This meeting and your deliberations will improve the community of Sanford; everything you do in your job as commissioner moves the city toward this goal.

And so, even with all the administrative necessities that come with your job, I encourage you to keep that goal of the greater good in mind, to put aside personal preferences, to evaluate real data, to consider deeply the effects your decisions will have, to judge issues rationally, to debate respectfully, and to decide fairly.

Thank you for your service.