Alderperson Vered Meltzer’s Invocation At 09/01/2021 Common Council Meeting – “Instead of asking how soon we can stop wearing masks, let’s ask how long we are willing to wear masks.”

The issue of masking has been talked about a lot recently due to the Health Officer resolution, the recent AASD mask mandate, and the start of the school year. Alderperson Vered Meltzer (District 2) gave the invocation during the 09/01/2021 Common Council meeting and took […]

Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim’s (District 13) Invocation At 08/18/2021 Common Council Meeting – “Gracious God…help us to remember we have the comforting assurance that You will always be with us.”

Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) gave this invocation to the Common Council on 08/18/2021. As you can see, she is in the Council chambers and not wearing a mask although the Mayor has implemented rules requiring masks to be worn inside city facilities. Mayor Woodford: […]

Alderperson Joe Prohaska’s Invocation At 08/04/2021 Common Council Meeting – “May we have a spirit of comaraderie in this room and work together on our shared mission.”

Alderperson Joe Prohaska (District 14) gave the invocation at the 08/04/2021 Common Council meeting. This was given shortly after Mayor Woodford reinstituted the masking while inside city facilities guidelines which you can read about more here. Mayor Woodford: Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson […]

Alderperson Alex Schultz’s Invocation At 07/21/2021 Common Council Meeting – “This speaks to the challenges we face as representatives of all of our constituents…and trying to keep our heads in a centrist space and listen to all the voices that are speaking to us.”

Mayor Woodford: Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Schultz. Alderperson Schultz: Thank you, Chair. As it was a little bit of a short notice to step up for invocation tonight, I thought it would be proper to read a short poem. This speaks to […]

Alderperson Denise Fenton’s Invocation At 07/07/2021 Common Council Meeting – “Kindness without justice fails in compassion. It cannot mean a lack of accountability for causing harm.”

[Note: this invocation was given at the second Common Council meeting held after Mayor Woodford’s statement to to the alderpersons at the 06/15/2021 Informal Organizational Meeting and seems to be connected to some of the same issues he raised.] Council President Matt Reed: Tonight’s invocation […]

Alderperson Brad Firkus’ Invocation At 06/16/2021 Common Council Meeting – “We’re gonna be offered a lot of opportunities of making choices of how we want to engage with our community and with our fellow Appletonians. We can choose to engage in ways that help each other, that can make ourselves feel better, and can make our community a much more enjoyable place to be a part of.”

Alderperson Brad Firkus (District 3) delivered the invocation at the 06/16/2021 Common Council meeting. Mayor Woodford: “Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Firkus.” Alderperson Firkus: Thank you. I’m just gonna start tonight with a little story. A couple weeks back, I had bought a […]

Alderperson William Siebers’ Invocation At 06/02/2021 Common Council Meeting – “Let us remember that the little things can be just as important as the bigger things”

Mayor Woodford: Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Siebers. Alderperson Siebers: “Thank you, your honor. Each of us has been placed in a role of leadership. And it is in how we define leadership that I believe determines in part how we carry out […]

Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim’s Invocation At 05/19/2021 Common Council Meeting–“In all that you do, in all your life, I wish you the strength and the grace to make those choices which will allow you and your neighbor to become the best of whoever you are”

Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) gave her first invocation as a new member of the Common Council during the 05/19/2021 Common Council meeting. Mayor Woodford: Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Hartzheim Alderperson Hartzheim: In 2002 Fred Rogers of PBS’s Mister Rogers Neighborhood gave […]

Alderperson Maiyoua Thao’s Invocation At 05/05/2021 Common Council Meeting – “Let’s Celebrate The Incredible, Rich, And Wealth of Diversity In Our Community”

I’m a little behind on my time. This is Alderperson Maiyoua Thao’s (District 7) invocation from the 05/05/2021 Common Council meeting. This was the meeting at which the resolution condemning racism and violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community was passed. Mayor Woodford: […]

Alderperson Nate Wolff’s Invocation At 04/21/2021 Common Council Meeting – “I know that this City Council–this new one will continue to be encouraging to bring more community members into this community regardless of skin color, sexual orientation, etc”

At the 04/21/2021 Appleton Common Council meeting, Alderperson Nate Wolff (District 12) gave the invocation. I took his statement “when one person shows up and is hateful toward any community members, hundreds…will stand up and say that doesn’t belong in this city,” to be an […]