Some Christians were unhappy when a member of the Satanic Temple of West Michigan led the opening prayer at a meeting of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners. However, others felt it was important to support the US Constitution’s 2nd Amendment which guarantees religious freedom for all faiths.
Satanic Temple member Bendr Bones mentioned to WOOD that the temple doesn't actually worship Satan and is a group of atheists who do charitable work for the community. Despite the chaos happening in another room, where people were watching the invocation on video and shouting, Bones said he was happy with how the evening went.
“We view Satan and Lucifer as mythological figures that represent rebellion against unfair authority,” Bones explained. “Our main focus is to benefit our community by running charity events and providing services to other people.”
Chaos erupts in a viewing room for the overflow crowd at the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meeting during an invocation given by @satanic_temple_ pic.twitter.com/vNTrRsKCmM
— Left of Center MI (@leftofcentermi) April 23, 2024
In another room, a person handed out cookies with John 3:16 on them, while others wore Christian-themed shirts and carried signs.
“I, along with other commissioners, opposed Joe Moss’ changes to the board rules last January. We knew that changing the tradition from commissioner invite only to a simple sign-up sheet was a bad idea,” Commissioner Jacob Bonnema said.
“Even though I may have personally disagreed with it, I will always support people's First Amendment rights,” said Kristen Meghan Kelly.
In January, Ottawa County decided to allow religious leaders to “sign up” to lead the invocation, changing from its previous invitation-only format, after an LGBTQ pastor sued the county for consistently overlooking him to lead the invocation. The pastor, St. John’s Episcopal Church Rev. Dr. Jared Cramer, applied last year after the commissioners, led by chairman Joe Moss, changed the county to a “constitutional county” to reject “red flag laws” on gun ownership and “pandemic mandates.”
Cramer was allowed to lead the invocation in February. He explained to WOOD that while he doesn’t think there should be an invocation before government meetings, if there is going to be one, it should be open to all religions. His lawsuit is ongoing, he said, because he wants to ensure the commissioners don't reverse their decision.
In the room with the video monitor, people shouted “Jesus is lord” and held signs saying “Satan has no rights.” A man who shouted “Hail Satan” turned out not to be a member of the Satanic Temple, according to MLive.com.
After the meeting, several people lined up for public comment, during which they read bible passages.
Although the chaos at the meeting was noisy, it remained peaceful.
Moss, meanwhile, said he’d heard from several pastors who support the change in invocation rules, even if atheists are allowed to give it.
[Featured image: MLive.com]