As most of us already know, three members of the city council of Tampa, FL
got up and left the room rather than hear an invocation given by an atheist.
Here's the link to the St. Petersburg Times about it; it has more info on
the incident than I've heard elsewhere.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/30/Hillsborough/Council_splits_on_ath.shtml

The article also has the text of the invocation given by Michael R. Harvey,
which I'm going to insert here since I've read numerous posts wondering
about the contents of the speech. (Cutting and pasting just doesn't always
work that well, format-wise, but I'm going to do it anyway.)

<quote>

An invocation is an appeal for guidance from a supernatural power, but it is
not only that. It is also a call, a petition, to positive action on behalf
of and for a diverse citizenry. On behalf of Atheists of Florida, I would
like to express our gratitude in being invited to deliver today's
invocation.

We are committed to the separation of state and church as defined by the
United States Constitution. It is the core value of that remarkable and
visionary document to protect the human-derived rights of all people in the
continuous struggle for equal opportunities to pursue a safe and decent
quality of life.

When an invocation takes on the form of public prayer, it is also a
violation of the very principles upon which our country and Constitution
were founded. Although we are dismayed that the practice of public prayer by
governing bodies charged with representing all citizens still continues in
violation of the Constitution, we also recognize that this practice has
become deeply embedded in the national psyche.

Elected and appointed leaders who wish to seek the guidance of a deity can
do so in private, as is their right. But not in the public arena where the
establishment of religion is an assured end-result.

History - that ever-unfolding, ever-flowering story of human civilization -
teaches us that the rights and accomplishments of humanity are the results
of its past struggles, and that the road less traveled is many times the
highest path to human progress. We therefore invoke this council and all of
our leaders to be guided and inspired by the invaluable lessons of history,
the honest insights of science, the guileless wisdom of logic, and the heart
and soul of our shared humanity - compassion and tolerance.

So rather than clasping your hands, bowing your heads and closing your eyes,
open your arms to that which truly makes us strong - our diversity. Raise
your heads and open your eyes to recognize and fully understand the problems
before you and know that ultimately, solutions to human problems can come
only from human beings.

Thank you.

<end quote>