Prayers in Sacrament Meeting

[Tex]

Had an interesting policy question come up last week. A friend of mine who is the Exec Sec in his ward set up prayers for Sacrament meeting and just by chance, asked a woman to say the invocation and a man to say the benediction. One of the counselors (the one conducting) approached him and asked him to switch the order, indicating the church custom that a Melchizedek priesthood holder should open Sacrament meeting.

It's been a long time since I'd heard this little nugget, so I cross-checked it in the Handbook. Not there. I asked our bishop about it, and he indicated we too follow that policy, and it's one of President Packer's "unwritten rules." I went and referenced Packer's "The Unwritten Order of Things" and it's not in there (though he could've said it in a local visit, I suppose).

I'm curious, how many of your wards follow that policy, and do you think it's one of those little (incorrect) traditions we've built our doctrine around? Personally, I see nothing wrong with a worthy sister opening Sacrament meeting, I don't like the implication that it should be otherwise.