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Brainstormy

(2,380 posts)
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:09 AM Jun 2014

Wiccan Priest Reportedly Barred From Giving Invocation At City Council Meeting


HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A member of the Wiccan faith says he was set to give the opening invocation at a Huntsville City Council meeting until the plan was publicized and he was asked about his faith. He was then told he was no longer invited.

Huntsville City Attorney Peter Joffrion says that when the agenda for Thursday's meeting was made public Tuesday and citizens called to voice concerns.

The agenda said the invocation would be given by "Reverend Blake Kirk, Priest of the Oak, Ash And Thorn Tradition of Wicca."

Kirk tells WHNT-TV (http://bit.ly/1poHosQ) he was then confronted and asked about his faith, which he acknowledged. Kirk says he was then told he was no longer invited to give the invocation.

The Huntsville station reports that the council has a long-standing tradition of opening meetings with prayer.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/27/wiccan-priest-barred-invocation_n_5536777.html?utm_hp_ref=religion



11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Wiccan Priest Reportedly Barred From Giving Invocation At City Council Meeting (Original Post) Brainstormy Jun 2014 OP
Smells of lawsuit. Scuba Jun 2014 #1
My thoughts exactly. malthaussen Jun 2014 #2
Freedom of religion!1! JNelson6563 Jun 2014 #3
+1 DetlefK Jun 2014 #8
God damn it! Curmudgeoness Jun 2014 #4
+1 CrispyQ Jun 2014 #5
Oh no, not the newly "reborn"! Curmudgeoness Jun 2014 #6
We need to stop being polite en masse amuse bouche Jul 2014 #10
You are right, they are not being polite. Curmudgeoness Jul 2014 #11
We live in a country defacto7 Jun 2014 #7
Call the ACLU. sinkingfeeling Jul 2014 #9

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
4. God damn it!
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 04:42 PM
Jun 2014

I am so sick and tired of these self-righteous "Christian" religionists. With each one of these incidents, my contempt for all religion and the people who believe in them increases. If this idiocy keeps up, I will find it impossible to be polite to believers....and that is something that I work hard to do. So far.

CrispyQ

(36,424 posts)
5. +1
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 05:01 PM
Jun 2014

Well said!

I 'friended' a cousin of mine on FB who I haven't seen in decades. I've hidden all his posts cuz it's 85% religious stuff. I have another friend who 'found Jesus' last year & I hide her posts, now, too.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
6. Oh no, not the newly "reborn"!
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 05:13 PM
Jun 2014

They are the absolute worst. Those are the only ones who I have toyed with in my less tolerant days...because they don't know what they don't know.

I also have a few FB friends who have all religious postings. I am close to unfriending them, but so far just hide them all.

amuse bouche

(3,657 posts)
10. We need to stop being polite en masse
Wed Jul 2, 2014, 08:45 PM
Jul 2014

Clearly, there is nothing polite about their ever encroaching agenda

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
11. You are right, they are not being polite.
Wed Jul 2, 2014, 09:11 PM
Jul 2014

I don't know why I feel as if I should be polite instead of rude or nasty, but I do. I problem is, believers are not all cheering their agenda, and I really believe that we need them on our side, fighting the takeover of our country by the Christian Sharia types.

defacto7

(13,485 posts)
7. We live in a country
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 01:18 AM
Jun 2014

where the right to free speech actually means the right to inflict pain through speech and the right to inflict unwanted intrusion without consequence, the weakest be damned. It's been twisted over the years from it's rightful origin: a premise for civilized information dissemination without government interference for imposing governmental, religious or political control.

Here's a perfect example of denying free speech in it's proper political form which is to protect the rights of citizens to have a free voice in government with the right to worship as they choose. Ironically, most of this abuse comes from the very ideologies that free speech was meant to protect.

a comment I made yesterday is appropriate here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5165550

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