Jesus Regains Entry to Council Chambers

The Jesus ban is over.

He who could not previously be named in official city prayers has found favor with Laguna Niguel's highest power, a.k.a. the City Council.

On Tuesday, city officials axed their for invocations, enabling clergy to freely mention Christ, Buddha, L. Ron Hubbard or any other religious figure when praying at official city events.

The change was made as part of the council's consent calendar agenda, without any comment by city officials.

Councilman Robert Ming and Mayor Gary Capata introduced the proposal, which Ming said would allow spiritual leaders to freely express their faith during invocations.

"This is something that I have felt has been a long time coming," he said before the council meeting. "It's just not something that we have been able to fit into the agenda until now." 

Previously, invocation guidelines barred any reference to Jesus. And ministers were asked to be "inclusionary of the entire community, and touch the spiritual nature of all residents, regardless of their particular beliefs."

Other highlights from Tuesday's meeting:

• The council discussed a resident satisfaction survey. Four hundred Laguna Niguel residents can expect a phone call asking for their input and opinions on various city topics in the near future.
• On Saturday, Oct. 29, members of the USS McClusky will be  at the corner of La Paz Road and Oso Parkway.
• During the public comments section, Kelly Jones complained about an throughout South Orange County to shut down within 45 days or face prosecution. The notice included. Jones said: “My partner was diagnosed with breast cancer. We resorted to medical marijuana that allowed her to eliminate pain medication and nausea medication. I hope you take people like us into consideration when deciding to make a zoning restriction in Laguna Niguel.”

The City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. at the at City Hall, 30111 Crown Valley Parkway.

--Writer Debbie Tharp contributed to this report