Wiccan Church of Minnesota News: Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Darla Kaye Wynne practices the Wiccan faith and lives in Great Falls, South Carolina where the members of the Town Council and the Mayor are all Christians. Praying in Christ’s name at the beginning of the Town Council meetings is usual stuff, and the citizens who attend usually stand and bow their heads. Darla went along with this . . . for a while, and then she stopped bowing her head, which brought on questions from Town Council members about her beliefs. When she came late to a meeting to avoid the prayer, she was not allowed to participate in the Town Council meeting even though she had signed up to speak at the meeting and was listed on the agenda. Objecting to the repeated references to Jesus, Christ, and Jesus Christ in the Town Council prayers, Darla proposed that the prayer references be limited to “God,” or that members of different religions be afforded the opportunity to give prayers. The Mayor effectively told her that this is how it was, how it always had been, and how it was going to stay. Citizens filed letters and petitions to the Town council indicating that they favored opening the Town Council with Christian prayer and that folks were opposed to allowing alternative prayers from a “self proclaimed witch.” Now, people were not only standing up, they were also throwing in “hallelujah’s” for good measure. (1)

On July 22, 2004, the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the federal district court decision in Darla’s case. Another article analyzing the Fourth Circuit opinion and subsequent reactions will follow.

The Witches' Voice

Link Posted by WiCoM : 5:55 AM

Wiccan Church of Minnesota News

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Darla Kay Wynne v. Town of Great Falls, et al

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