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| Andre Ryland was invited to bring a secular prayer but he has proclaimed that he will also bring a Satanic prayer at tomorrow night's meeting of the BCC |
.....Yes, tomorrow's pre-meeting prayer was supposed to be a secular greeting by Andre Ryland of the Humanists. I received an email yesterday explaining that the invocation that Mr. Ryland will give will "include The Satanic Temple West Florida's invocation"
In today's PNJ, this invocation switcheroo is headline news.
Wouldn't it be nice if the politics could be taken out of what is meant to be a solemn moment of the public meeting?
Wouldn't it be nice if those that believe in nothing would find a different means of garnering attention other than creating spectacles at public meetings?
The purpose of the pre-meeting prayer is to encourage and bless the thoughtful deliberation by the assembled legislative body--it is for the board! It is NOT for attention grabbing by those who wish to self-promote.
This nation and this community is overwhelmingly Christian--nothing Ryland or anyone else says will change this. This nation was founded on Christian principles by men who were overwhelmingly Christian--this is a known fact of reality.
With all of this said, I respect my peer commissioner's ability and right to invite whomever he wishes to bring the invocation at the meeting, just as he and the others respect my right to do the same.
Obviously, I will always reserve the right to politely exit the room if I feel that, for personal reasons, the pre-meeting prayer as scheduled becomes divisive, disruptive, and/or disingenuous;
I won't indulge nor will I countenance a pre-meeting prayer that is hijacked for an alternative cause and that in no way resembles a blessing upon the board.
