Tulsa, Oklahoma, has canceled opening prayers after a pagan priestess dedicated an invocation to Medusa last fall. This week, representatives voted 8-1 to replace the opening prayer with a moment of silence and personal reflection. Those currently scheduled to give invocations at meetings will still be allowed. Councilors spoke to local media to explain the controversy.
Christian Bengel refused to vote. He made the point that the spirit of the First Amendment of the Constitution centers on listening to ideas, including prayers, with which you might not agree. Councilor Laura Bellis explained that she wanted to avoid making residents feel like their government did not represent them with an invocation. She released a longer statement on her reasoning.
She stated, “Of course, we have invocations where anyone can sign up of any faith, but the one time they may be there, it usually is a Christian prayer and may send the message that their government is not for them or they don’t belong.” The change happened in late November of last year, when then-Councilor Crista Patrick’s pagan priestess, Amy McAdams addressed the council.
During her invocation, she invoked Medusa, whom she described as the “monstrous hero of the oppressed and abused.” She also called on “the Gorgonea, champions of equality and sacred rage.” Councilwoman Patrick invited Mc Adams to “share one little part of myself before I left office.” She described the mythical Greek character Medusa as “a fighter of injustice, especially for women.”
The two women were quickly chastised for their actions. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and State Superintendent Ryan Walters, both of whom are public Christians, accused the pair of Satanism. Stitt described how Satan was “trying to establish a foothold” with McAdams’ prayer. He referred to Tulsa as a shining city on the hill,” echoing the words of Matthew 5:14.
Bellis explained that she’d been considering modifying the rule for years, but finally decided to push for it after the incident with Patrick and McAdams.“That really gave the impetus to say, ‘I don’t want anyone to be in one of our government meetings and feel that what’s being shared is alienating to them or unwelcoming or infringing on their sincerely-held beliefs,’” she explained.
We reported last year on another disruptive satanic incident. Last year a satanic statue erected by the Temple of Satan outside the New Hampshire State House was destroyed. The monument was smashed less than 2 days after it was erected in Concord, the capital of the state. Police are investigating the incident. The Temple of Satan has made a holiday tradition of placing statues of the demon Baphomet beside traditional nativity scenes in the capital.
The statue depicts the demon clutching a bouquet of purple lilacs in its right hand, symbolizing the state flower of New Hampshire. The sculpture features tablets listing the seven tenets of The Satanic Temple and a black and white satanic flag. Baphomet is wrapped with a cloth emblazoned with the goat’s head of the TST logo, two inverted crosses, and an inverted pentagram.
During the installation, Satanists chanted ” Hail Satan.” According to a minister of the Church of Satan, Orpheus Gaur, the apple in the figure’s left hand symbolized “our quest for knowledge, defiance in the face of arbitrary authority and our commitment to self-determination.” The Co-founder of the TST complained about what happened to the effigy “They attack our property, threaten us over social media, destroy our displays, then bewail the violence they imagine we did them.”