Silent protest, boycott greet Wiccan priestess at Iowa House

DES MOINES — What would Jesus do?

If he were a member of the Iowa Legislature, Rep. Rob Taylor believes he would peacefully protest the morning prayer being offered by a Wiccan priestess. So the West Des Moines Republican turned his back Thursday and prayed silently as Cedar Rapids Cabot witch Deborah Maynard prayed from the speaker’s podium to “god, goddess, universe, that which is greater than ourselves.”

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While Taylor was praying, Pastor Michael Demastus of the Fort Des Moines Church of Christ was in the balcony overlooking the House floor praying for Maynard.

“I was praying for her salvation. I was praying that she would come to know the one true God,” Demastus said. “I believe that the occult is dark. I do believe that’s not the place to see guidance from, so I was not praying against her. I was praying against what she was doing.”

He was joined by Michelle Gute, a Huxley resident who said she came to the Capitol to counteract the Wiccan message with a Christian prayer to protect the elected officials in the building making decisions on behalf of Iowans.

“I don’t want any demonic influences on the people who are making decisions on our behalf. I was not praying with her,” she said. “I was praying the opposite. Our country was founded on godly principles, not goddesses and whoever she was praying to.”

Read more at http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/silent-protest-boycott-greet-wiccan-priestess-at-iowa-house-20150409#F0vUssxAA2XKxofm.99