Brevard County had been opening its meeting with invocations – always featuring speakers from large, monotheistic religions – for years. Yet when county residents offered to give secular invocations, they were denied.

Lake Wales, Fla., officials would do well to study this recent history and avoid repeating Brevard County’s costly mistake. They might also work on being more tolerant and open-minded.

The Brevard County Commissioners, which now open meetings with a moment of silence, have agreed not to reinstitute the old practice of discriminating against people who don’t belong to mainstream, monotheistic religions when selecting invocation speakers.