<SLIDEs not included here>
SLIDE four directions (Centering Music)
lyrics, other slides
SLIDE invocation
in·vo·ca·tion, noun: the action of invoking something or someone; the summoning of a deity; or the incantation used for this
SLIDE jesus flag
If you've attended two local board meetings, you've heard an invocation, whether you wanted to or not. It goes like this: There's a welcome. Then they introduce a special guest. You're asked to stand and he approaches the pulpit. Eyes are closed and heads are bowed and it starts: "we worship you, heavenly Father" "we ask for your guidance" "we trust that you are in control".
SLIDE one nation under
Beyond that, I've heard the Lord's Prayer (recited by the entire room), the one true savior exalted, prophecy predicted, governments urged to become one with the Christ, and Biblical righteousness summoned. Almost always "in Jesus' name". Then the Pledge of Allegiance, and we are suddenly one nation, under God.
SLIDE coexist fight
What don't you hear are: calls for simple human compassion, or invocations of logic and reasoning. No one (except me perhaps) brings blessings from female, minority, or non-traditional gods. And only rarely is there a moment of silence for INDIVIDUAL prayer or reflection.
SLIDE - radical devil
The whole ritual has become a major pet peeve of mine. And, in the eyes of some, it's turned me into a religious radical AND an agent of Satan.
Now, I am not against prayer. I've led many, of the Christian, New Thought, and Pagan varieties. In fact, I consider it my job to invoke the divine, the way I know best - through music.
SLIDE igwt
It's EXCLUSIVE prayer - especially unwelcoming and discriminatory GOVERNMENT-LED prayer that bothers me. And when only Bible-based believers are invited to speak, something is sketchy. So I decided to see for myself.
In the Summer of 2012, I asked to deliver my own invocations. As music director at a Christian church, my offers were quickly accepted by the City and County. Here's what I said:
SLIDE (county any 4)
heads bowed...
Mother, father, gods of ALL people,
we come today in our humble way to shape a small part of creation
Gathering to a task, in your diverse and glorious presence,
together we invoke your unique blessings, your light and essence
SLIDE (Allah etc)
May the efforts of this council blend
the justness of Allah with the wisdom of Odin
May Mithra the everlasting ground them grace, and so mother Gaia
May Yahweh forgive their shortcomings and Beddru foresee their salvation
MAKE light their mission, Brahma and Dionysus
and imbue each decision with the mercy of Isis
SLIDE (Krishna etc)
Whatever your virtues, name or form,
may we be worthy of this wholly equal assemblage
BaHa and Elohim we beseech you Krishna and Ek Onkar, come
illuminate our civic path by air, water, earth and sun
SLIDE (Jesus atheist)
As do we praise you too, Jehovah of Christ, Huītzilopōchtli, and Ba'al
for the sanguine sacrifice that frees us all
And for the bounty of reason, science and logic,
we thank the ONE deity none of us knows,
that of Humanist, atheist and agnostic
SLIDE (Buddha FSM)
Divine love, lead us, enlightened by Buddha and Eshu,
empowered by Thetan spirits, that we may govern
with the wisdom and the good of ALL gods of all nations
PLEASE impart our humble congregation
with prudence, prosperity and peace this day
and so we pray, AMEN
...Oddly, I never got a follow-up invitation.
SLIDE scotuspopes
Almost two years later, at long last, the Supreme Court ruled on the Constitutionality of so called "legislative prayer". My side lost; however, as Buz will tell you, we won some protections to curb preaching and discrimination. But, in practice, such prayers ARE still preachy and there IS discrimination. And locally, it's not getting any better on it's own. Here's why:
SLIDE privilege
SOMEONE chooses who gets to pray. At the City, it's an unknown staff person. At the Escambia County Commission and School Board, the system is different, and built for discrimination. For both, board members rotate the responsibility of bringing a prayer-giver. It's the sole discretion of each elected official to choose a believer they approve of. And there is ZERO oversight. So.. they almost always choose Christians. Frequently, the same pray-givers appear over and over... while willing religious minorities (like Buz and I) are turned down. In short, if you're not Bible-believing, you'll probably get stone-walled.
SLIDE - FFRF, AU
None of these boards will discuss the issue nor offer a written policy. We've been trying. The best I've gotten was one begrudging return appearance from the City and one from the County. You may have heard about the latter - the same Pagan call to directions I sang today. Non-believers like Buz can't even get a first invocation. Besides offering invocations, we've tried meeting with staff and attorneys, contacting representatives, speaking at public forums, and enlisting viral and local press. Even letters from the FFRF and Americans United are ignored. I've documented all this on my blog - including video and news links.
SLIDE - churchstate
As of now, not ONE SINGLE local representative will commit to an inclusive prayer policy that removes personal privilege from the equation. But, when it comes to religious discrimination, the ECSB takes it to a new level - with one member, Jeff Bergosh, leading the pack.
In May, I asked the school board if I could offer an invocation. Mr Bergosh had the next month, and he called me right back. You can read about that exchange on my blog. In short, he asked "Are you Christian?" I said no. "What are you" Pagan. His reply: "oh no, not ever, ever." I wanted to discuss equal access, but he hung up. Every month since, I've been appealing to the full board, always to no avail.
SLIDE - bergosh satan
If you get bored, check out Bergosh's blog of self-righteous opinions. In it, he portrays minority prayer-givers as offensive, Satanic nuisances, trying to pull a prank. He warns of voodoo witch doctors and animal sacrifices. He denigrates non-Christians. And he generally makes excuses to exclude minorities, while claiming he does not 'ever, ever' discriminate.
SLIDE got privilege
Sadly, the school board as a whole supports the 'invitation only' undestanding. That way, they avoid prayers "offensive" to the majority. To date, NO school board member has accepted a prayer offer from a minority or non-believer. There's still NO written policy. And, they've said, they will NOT revamp their process - unless they are sued. I'm working on that last option.
SLIDE - 4 ECSB shots
For now, I say: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I can still take action and so can you. We can ALL reject official prayers. When the time comes to stand and pray along, just sit. Or stand and turn your back. I prefer to substitute my own invocation. From the front row, I lay out a prayer rug and chant quietly so I don't have to listen. I've also rotated and quietly called to the four directions.
SLIDE coexist
The NEXT step is to offer prayers honoring some others' less-welcome faiths - praying during the public forum. Pastafarian, Scientologist, Astrologist, even Satanist... if one is welcome, all should be. And yes, I'm taking requests. It's not the same as an official invocation, but at least minority prayers will get heard.
SLIDE Jefferson
At this point, I'd love to discuss the difference in school prayer and legislative invocations - though our school board makes no distinction. But I don't have time. Just know that school systems are guided by much more stringent standards than councils covered the recent Galloway decision.
SLIDE student handbook
Sadly, a lawsuit will be needed to loosen the school board's commitment to Christian dominion at its meetings. Even sadder, their own rules forbid 'agents of the District from coercing, advocating, encouraging religious activity'. They even call for a 'moment of silence, not to be conducted as a religious service'. That sounds quite reasonable and respectful. Too bad they don't practice what they preach.
SLIDE stay on your side
Call me a radical, or a devil, if you must. But I truly believe that our government - and especially our schools - should always be neutral regarding religion - from the lowest to highest levels. That's the only way to respect ALL religions (or lack thereof) AND to maintain a clear separation of church and state. A moment of silence does that.
SLIDE dowager
Perhaps the Dowager Countess best summed up my aversion to official public prayer: "My dear" she said "Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and be proud of it, but when you take it out and wave it in my face, that's when we have a problem."
SLIDE santajackfairy
The bottom line is this. Citizens don't come to a government meeting to pray, nor to be prayed at. But all of us - from atheists and Pagans, to Christians and Muslims - we all hold the same Constitutional right to exercise our religion, when permitted in the public square. That's not happening.
If our government wants everyone to feel welcome equally... maybe it would be better to just start the meeting.
Thank you
SLIDE humanist
while Buz speaks...
SLIDE scotuspopes
"Everything about the situation infringes the First Amendment... ...with proper invitation"
SLIDE humanist (for the rest of Buz' talk)
v VIDEO: secular invocations
W SLIDE Do Learn (for wrap-up)
SLIDE (offertory song) FSM stained glass
- Lord's Prayer ala Malotte
- please take with grain of salt, and perhaps some Parmesan cheese
EXTRA MATERIALS:
<First, I want to share MY belief. For brevity's sake, I self-identify as an Agnostic Pagan Pantheist. I'm agnostic because I don't claim certain knowledge any divine presence. I'm Pagan because that's how Christians describe polytheists reject the big-three religions AND claim a spiritual connection with nature. And I'm pantheist because I like to think that divinity exists in innumerable forms - as an unnamable, spiritual force permeating all living things, silently and (almost) imperceptively. Almost. But that's another discussion. >
What YOU Can Do:
- Offer your own invocation or moment of silence.
- Speak out in emails, letters, monthly public forums.
- Demand a written policy from County and School Board.
Where to Learn More:
David's blog: anapplebiter.blogspot.com
- board contact info, news stories, public forum transcripts, correspondence, legal letters, opinion pieces, my beliefs, background infom, meeting and invocation video
Friendly Atheist: patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist
Operation Inclusion: au.org/content/operation-inclusion
Freedom From Religion Foundation: ffrf.org
Words for Meditation:
"In Silence" by Amitav Radiance
Absorb the silence around
Know the silence and it messages
Connect with the inner self
At rest is the soul and mind
Moments that reveals the truth
Silence douses the flames of uncertainty
Rendezvous with silence
As silence is there to be deciphered
Kagan in dissent:
Everything about the situation infringes the First Amendment. That the Town Board selects, month after month and year after year, prayergivers who will reliably speak in the voice of Christianity, and so places itself behind a single creed. That in offering those sectarian prayers, the Board’s chosen clergy members repeatedly call on individuals, prior to participating in local governance, to join in a form of worship that may be at odds with their own beliefs. That the clergy thus put some residents to the unenviable choice of either pretending to pray like the majority or declining to join its communal activity, at the very moment of petitioning their elected leaders. That the practice thus divides the citizenry, creating one class that shares the Board’s own evident religious beliefs and another (far smaller) class that does not. And that the practice also alters a dissenting citizen’s relationship with her government, making her religious difference salient when she seeks only to engage her elected representatives.
Closing Words:
W.E. DuBois:
“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done, and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.”
