Pastor objects after Iowa council prayer ends with ‘Hail Satan’

A pastor interrupted an Ottumwa City Council meeting Tuesday after a former council member opened the session with an invocation that ended with a salute to Satan, setting off a dispute over how far the city’s new open-prayer policy reaches.

Matt Dalbey, a resident who previously served on the council, delivered the invocation at the Tuesday meeting. KYOU reported that the prayer closed with the words “It is done. Hail Satan.”

After the council recited the Pledge of Allegiance and completed roll call, Rick Bick, pastor of the New Life Center, spoke up as the council prepared to take up its consent agenda, according to Ottumwa Radio. He asked that what he described as a curse on the city be reversed, saying the ending was “not welcome here,” according to KTVO. Councilmember Cara Galloway objected that the response should wait until the end of the meeting. Mayor Benjamin Foote overruled her and called for 30 seconds of silence to allow those present to reflect before the council resumed its agenda.

Mr. Dalbey told KTVO he is a member of the Satanic Temple, which he said is widely misunderstood. He said he did not give the invocation to make a point or to put a curse on the city, and that members do not worship Satan.

The council adopted its invocation policy on Jan. 20 by a 4-1 vote, with Ms. Galloway casting the only dissenting vote. The policy lets any Ottumwa resident on a volunteer list offer a prayer and asks speakers to keep it concise and within two minutes. City officials may not review or restrict the content beforehand. Speakers may not disparage other faiths or try to recruit people to their own. The mayor can disqualify anyone who violates those rules from giving future invocations, subject to a written appeal to the city clerk.

City Administrator Philip Rath said Mr. Dalbey’s invocation did not violate the policy, and KYOU reported the city has not said whether the council will revisit it. Mr. Dalbey applied to participate in January and was approved, according to city records cited by Bring Me The News, and he is scheduled to deliver another invocation at the council’s Nov. 3 meeting. Mr. Foote told KTVO he does not plan to end invocations but will review Mr. Dalbey’s remarks to decide whether he may deliver one again.

At the close of the meeting, Ms. Galloway said the council had opened itself up to objections and responses to invocations and should remain neutral toward all viewpoints. KTVO reported that some people are now calling for her removal from the council over her objection.

Megan Goldberg, an associate professor of American politics, told KYOU that such invocations often function as protests against religious statements in government settings, and that the First Amendment requires officials who allow one faith to welcome all.