The days of professed Satanists and spoof religionists offering opening “prayers” at the Kenai Borough Assembly meetings may finally come to an end.
For years now, the assembly has endured formal appeals to Satan thanks to a 2018 Alaska Supreme Court opinion that claimed the borough could not bar Satanists from prayer without violating their First Amendment religious liberties.
Multiple satanic prayers have since been delivered by a Kenai resident who uses the invocation time to attack religious belief and offer praise to her Dark Lord.
Now, Kenai Mayor Peter Micciche, along with Assembly members Tyson Cox and Kelly Cooper are introducing a resolution at the upcoming Nov. 7 meeting to amend the assembly’s invocation policy so that only official borough chaplains from the fire and emergency service areas can offer opening prayers.
The current policy allows “private” citizens to sign up on a rotating basis, which opens the door for all manner of “prayers,” some of which have been overtly political, agenda driven, farcical, and even satanic.
The proposed amendment states that the invocation “will be limited to a short prayer or solemnizing message asking for help or support for the Assembly, decision making process, and/or Borough that is no longer than two minutes.”
Fontana’s thinly veiled attacks on religious belief ended with, “It is done. Hail Satan.”
It adds: “The invocation shall be voluntarily delivered by a resident of the Kenai Peninsula Borough who serves as a volunteer chaplain for the Borough’s fire and emergency medical service areas designated by the Assembly President.”
If a scheduled chaplain is not in attendance at an assembly meeting an assembly member or the mayor will offer a prayer or a moment of silence.
The resolution won’t be decided at the next meeting but could be up for a vote during the Dec. 12 meeting. If it passes, it could finally address what has become an increasingly awkward moment at the assembly meetings.
Past gatherings, which made national headlines, included borough resident and professed Satanic Temple member Iris Fontana urging assembly members to “stand now unbowed and unfettered by arcane doctrines born of fearful minds and darkened times,” and to “embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat of the tree of knowledge and dispel our blissful and comforting delusions.”
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Fontana’s thinly veiled attacks on religious belief have ended with, “It is done. Hail Satan.”
Another borough resident, Barrett Fletcher, claimed to be a representative of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which affirms that an invisible and undetectable monster made of spaghetti and meatballs created the universe after drinking heavily, and that his “noodly appendages” hold great power.
Barrett’s 2019 assembly “prayer” concluded by asking the Flying Spaghetti Monster to provide each assembly member “satisfaction in the perception of accomplishment and allow them true relaxation and an ample supply of their favorite beverage at the end of this evening’s work.” He ended with, “Ramen.”
In 2019, a satanic invocation drew national attention after being featured on the Drudge Report. Dozens of Kenai residents walked out of the meeting, while 40 protesters outside the chambers held signs saying, “Reject Satan and his works” and “Know Jesus and his love.”
TAKING ACTION
— To read the proposed resolution, click here.
— Click here for information on how to participate in the Nov. 7 Kenai Borough Assembly meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. in the Assembly Chamber (144 North Binkley Street Soldotna).
— Click here to contact members of Kenai Borough Assembly.
— Click here to comment on an agenda item.
24 Comments
Freedom is frightening when people passively aqueous to aggressors!
I’ll contact my borough assembly person and express how appropriate it is to see all faiths represented at meetings. Though, if I had my way, we’d dump the invocation nonsense and get to public business
When Christianists take over govermental like city councils and county commissions, and they insist on opening meetings with specifically Christian invocations, is it any surprise that non-Christians would take issue with it? Kenai Borough could have avoided this whole tempest by tending to the business of the borough, rather than invoking imaginary dieties, whether God or Satan or Vishnu or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Dispense with the self-righteous and sanctimonious invocations, and get to the business of government. Problem solved.
If it’s made-up and meaningless, why does it bother you? Why not be supportive of people speaking their truth?
Perhaps Christians should be celebrated and affirmed in whatever their truth is? I’m feeling rather like a Flying Spaghetti Monster myself today. Three cheers for my identity today! Forget the bathroom, I’m going to use the street as lavatory! Throw some glitter and make me feel safe. Immediately.
Soldotnan. Why should a public governmental function have any tie to religion or expression of someone’s spiritual truth?
Don’t even waste your time on Chuckie… from West Virginia’s P.B.S. … who suggests (includes) that God, and Satan are “imaginary”… BTW, its “Deities”.. Not “Dieties”.
If you support people speaking their truth, you can’t prohibit invocations by non-Christians. You have no constitutional justification for doing so. Even you should realize that.
Lucinda,
All people and by extension all government expresses the belief in religion (or worldview). Whether it is belief in many gods, one god, no god, or all is god… the state will impose through its representatives at least one of those options. So it is not a matter of whether the state should impose a religious worldview, but WHICH religious worldview it should impose. You seem to fall into the religious worldview that there is no god and if anyone doesn’t believe in your religion, you will “mock believers because they piously promote literally unbelievable stupid stuff”. Well then… right back at you.
If it’s made up and meaningless, why all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over “Hail Satan” prayers? If you’re going to have invocations, you have to allow ALL expressions of superstition …… or none at all.
Chucky, you are incorrect, as usual, when it refers to Christianity, and requirements to allow “ALL” expressions . I recommend a little historical research on the founding of our Republic .. The founders did not instill (write) “any” requirements for “any” Christian invocations, in any form of governmental procedures,.., also, … they did not make any constitutional writings that require us to allow “all” expressions of superstitions in any governmental procedures .. I may, or may not, bother to see your response.. Its’ actually a waste of time dealing with the ideologies expressed by individuals with your mindsets… But I had a few minutes to “Waste”… At the age of 64, I would expect a little more intellect.
Thank God, (literally) – enough of this ridiculous, time wasting nonsense. But wait, some Left wing nutjob will apply for “relief” via the ACLU. Due to all of the Left wing nutjobs crawling out of the basement, there’s been a resurgence and return to faith. Yesss!
God will not be mocked. And our nation was indeed founded on the principals put forth in the Bible which does include the protection of religious freedom – as protection from government. The intent was not ‘separation’ it was that there would be no government mandated religion, as there was in Europe. Alas though it seems there now is government mandated religion, as secularism is indeed religion and our government now promotes it. To make a parody of faith by pushing ‘prayers to Satan’ is sadly grossly immature and disrespectful. Whether you believe in God or not a simple prayer to God is not hurting you.
If you’re going to allow invocations by Christians, you have to allow invocations by non-Christians, pure and simple. Or you could end this debate by doing away with invocations at government meetings, and use the time to GOVERN.
Elizabeth. I don’t mock god because he doesn’t exist. I mock believers because they piously promote literally unbelievable stupid stuff like the dead rise again, salt must be blessed, and all the nonsense of the Mormon church. It all BEGS for mockery! For example the current House Speaker is a Creationist. He believes humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time. Th Ark museum in Kentucky has an exhibit with a man riding a saddled dinosaur! I’m not kidding. The Speaker sought tax breaks for the place. Religion is dangerous. It’s poison.
Everywhere that Christianity spread to throughout the world had its practice of ritual human sacrifice ended. Tell me more about how the religion that values life as a gift is so dangerous.
I had never heard of the Ark Museum. I’ll have to check it out. I wish I could ride a dinosaur! Who doesn’t think that’s cool?!
The new Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, believes that Life, the Universe, and Everything was just magicked into existence just 6,000 years ago. This is who the Republicans have chosen to lead the United States in the Advancing Modern World,
The steady state theory and the theory that nothing exploded and created everything take just as much blind faith as God created everything, more actually.
DADDIO: It’s not blind faith, it’s just science. There are plenty of books that explain it. But the Bible is not a science textbook.
That is not true, Chucky.. You can not provide any documentation supporting your assertions of the time frame of Worldly existence. But, I will note that, your posts seem to verify your attacks on any thing based upon Christianity .. Maybe your line of work(s)… The Holy Bible doesn’t say that either .. Comprehensive reading skills are important.
Chuck: Science is not simply your opinion. There are plenty of books that argue against both positions. But the Communist Manifesto is not a science textbook.
His problem is derived from a rejection of anything based upon Christianity, and anyone who dares to mention it publically… He isn’t the only one.
You guys are feeding the trolls again and getting sucked into meaningless arguing. I mean seriously: an out-of-state troll and a sock puppet. Not worth it.