A member of the local Satanic Temple gave the invocation at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting Tuesday night for the first time since the borough changed its policy on invocations last year.
The borough’s previous policy required the person delivering the invocation to be from a recognized church. But a Superior Court judge said that was unconstitutional.
So Satanic Temple member Iris Fontana, a plaintiff in the lawsuit over the issue, delivered Tuesday night’s invocation.
“Let’s cast aside our differences, to use reason, logic, science and compassion to create solutions for the greater good of our community,” Fontana said at the end of the invocation. “It is done. Hail Satan. Thank you.”
Peninsula Clarion reporter Victoria Petersen was at the meeting. Petersen told Alaska Public Media’s Casey Grove that some people walked out.
Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him atcgrove@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Caseyhere.
