Town Council Meeting in Iowa Opens with Invocation to Satan
Former council member Matt Dalbey’s remarks drew immediate pushback and renewed questions about the city’s invocation policy.
- On Tuesday, former Ottumwa City Council member Matt Dalbey opened the city council meeting with an invocation addressing a "dark father" and ending with "Hail Satan."
- The Ottumwa City Council adopted an open-invocation policy on January 20 prohibiting mayoral censorship to ensure respect for all belief systems, which permitted Dalbey's appearance.
- After Dalbey spoke, New Life Center Pastor Rick Bick interrupted demanding the "curse" be reversed, prompting Mayor Benjamin Foote to call for 30 seconds of silent reflection before the Pledge of Allegiance.
- City administrator Philip Rath warned that amending the open-access policy could invite a lawsuit, while the meeting recording reached more than 5,000 views on YouTube by Wednesday.
- Mayor Benjamin Foote stated the invocation "does not represent the faith or the values" of local families, though Dalbey is scheduled to deliver another invocation on November 3.
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Satanic invocation brings national attention to Ottumwa city government
Leaders of the southeast Iowa city of Ottumwa say they’ve been inundated with phone calls after a prayer to begin a city council meeting this week sparked a national outcry. Ottumwa resident and former city councilman Matt Dalbey opened the October 6th Ottumwa City Council meeting with an invocation addressing a “Dark Father” and ended […]
FFRF urges Iowa city to end divisive prayer after satanic controversy
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling on an Iowa city council to end its practice of opening meetings with religion after its mayor allowed a pastor to counter a ... More » from FFRF urges Iowa city to end divisive prayer after satanic controversy
Iowa City Council Meeting Erupts After Former Member Opens With "Hail Satan", And A Pastor Steps Up To "Reverse This Curse" - The American Tribune.com
A city council meeting in Iowa is going viral after it erupted into chaos following a resident opening the meeting with a prayer to Satan. Just before the Ottumwa City Council started their usual meeting, a former member, Matt Dalbey, opened by invoking the “dark father” to “embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat from the [...]
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