Faith wavers over God's role in the chamber

Should councils do away with the long-standing tradition of reciting a prayer before meetings?

Almighty God, we humbly ask you to bless this meeting, direct and prosper our deliberations, for the advancement of your glory and the true welfare of the people of Newcastle.

That's the script for the prayer recitation before rational argument - alongside mudslinging, grandstanding and point-scoring - gets underway at Newcastle's ordinary council meetings.