The Tool City Council decided to continue its tradition of conducting an invocation along with the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of meetings over the objections of two residents.

Carol and Dale Price, who are 22-year residents of Tool, complained about the longtime practice. They said the practice is exclusionary of people of other religions than Christianity.

City officials considered abandoning the practice to avoid the possibility of a lawsuit, but the council unanimously voted during the regular July meeting to resist the pressure.

Price said in a telephone interview the decision disappointed her, and that she would consider her options.

Organizations such as the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, which represents mostly atheists, has filed lawsuits against cities that open meetings with Christian prayers, and it asked the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 to rule on the constitutionality of the practice.

During the meeting, council members noted the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2014 in favor of allowing prayers directed to a specific religion during official government sessions. The court ruled 5 to 4 to allow Christian prayers.

Price said she would prefer a nondenominational prayer or moment of silence rather than a Christian prayer, and she objected to a city official leading the prayer.

The city secretary often gives the prayer in Tool.

Price said she wanted to determine if the high court’s decision prohibited council members and city staff from leading the prayers before she and her husband consider any future steps. Both spoke to the council about the issue during the citizens’ input section of the July council meeting. “It’s been bothering me for a long time,” she said.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation targeted Henderson County in recent years because of its annual Christmas Nativity display, but county officials continued the long tradition. The organization never filed a lawsuit against Henderson County, despite its letters of opposition.

Ronald Reagan Jr., son of former U.S. President Reagan, is a spokesman for the foundation, and he regularly appears in television advertisements seeking support of the organization. He describes himself as a “lifelong atheist who is not afraid of burning in hell” in the commercial.

Most government meetings in the Cedar Creek Lake area include an opening prayer, and all of them recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Kaufman County adds the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Texas Flag in addition to the U.S. Flag.

(UPDATE: Councilman Phil Ringley objected to the use of the terminology "specific religion," saying the court never used that exact wording in its decision. He also criticized the use of the word "ignored" in the headline, saying "The complaint was not ignored, in fact a great deal of time was spent listening and in discusion before a decision was made.")