ORILLIA, Ont. -- A city councillor would like to bring the Lord’s Prayer back to the city's council chambers.

“I’d like to see it come back, and if church and state keep mixing, then it shouldn’t be a problem having a prayer,” Coun. Wayne Gardy said Friday.

The prayer would remind council to forgive others and to recognize everyone is equal, Gardy said.

But he doesn’t plan on bringing the issue forward to council at this time.

“I don’t think there’s a will right now,” he said. “Certainly, I wouldn’t hesitate if there were people who were interested.”

Orillia, a city about 130 km north of Toronto, dropped the Lord’s Prayer in 1998 after a man launched a constitutional challenge against its use.

Coun. Tony Madden said he has a “soft spot” for the Christian prayer also known as Our Father.

“I remember growing up as a boy saying the Lord’s Prayer at school and singing O Canada and those kinds of traditions,” he said. “I have a great deal of value for it.”

Madden, who is Christian, said he’s not ready to bring the matter forward.

Mayor Angelo Orsi would not take a position.

“It’s not up for debate at this time,” he said. “I would wait for it (to) come to council for discussion.”

Coun. Patrick Kehoe is in favour of looking into it.

“If that’s the will of council and the public, I’m all for it,” he said.