Wiccan says he was barred from giving invocation


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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A member of the Wiccan faith says he was set to give the opening invocation at a Huntsville City Council meeting until the plan was publicized and he was asked about his faith. He was then told he was no longer invited.

Huntsville City Attorney Peter Joffrion says that when the agenda for Thursday's meeting was made public Tuesday and citizens called to voice concerns.

The agenda said the invocation would be given by "Reverend Blake Kirk, Priest of the Oak, Ash And Thorn Tradition of Wicca."

Kirk tells WHNT-TV (http://bit.ly/1poHosQ) he was then confronted and asked about his faith, which he acknowledged. Kirk says he was then told he was no longer invited to give the invocation.

The Huntsville station reports that the council has a long-standing tradition of opening meetings with prayer.

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