"The prayer that we have is very Anglo-Saxon, Norman. I don't think it reflects the times, but other people like it," he said.
A karakia has also become the preference at Central Hawke's Bay District Council. Mayor Alex Walker said she saw a karakia as a respectful, true reflection of the partnership between mana whenua and the council.
"I think its important to have something that signifies the opening of the meeting and the clearing of the minds and the start of the meeting process, but it doesn't have to be a religious process."
When the prayer was used, it was sometimes a variation on the official one which asks for "God's help to listen to all, to serve all, and to lead wisely".
As Tararua's mayors decide the format of meeting prayers, first-term mayor Tracey Collis has chosen to receive the each meeting's prayer from a different Tararua church.
Ms Collis said this ensured meetings started by establishing council's purpose (to serve its community), and that having each church provide a prayer was a way of acknowledging the work they did in the community.
She had also asked iwi to provide karakia. The prayers varied depending on which church had written them.
Hastings District Council does not have a set prayer or karakia. For the monthly council meeting a religious leader is invited and provides a prayer, or a councillor opens the meeting with a prayer or karakia.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said "this is an important part of our meeting as it allows us to reflect on our role and responsibility as community leaders for we represent our diverse community's religions and beliefs".
The other councils - the Napier City Council and the Wairoa District Council - do not use prayers.
Napier City Council has opened its meetings since 2001 with a statement acknowledging "there is a strength beyond ourselves when we work together to serve others", but has no direct religious reference.
Napier mayor Bill Dalton said he did not know why the statement did not reference religion. When asked, he said he thought their welcoming was "less exclusive" than those which made reference to a specific denomination.
At Wairoa District Council a karakia typically opens and closes every meeting, but there is no formal statement, and the karakia is usually "thought out on the spot by someone who is at the table", a spokesman said.
Wairoa mayor Craig Little said councillors felt this reflected the community better than a prayer.