Brenna Goth

The Republic | azcentral.com

A Satanic group is scheduled to lead the Scottsdale City Council opening prayer in April

Phoenix voted last week to end its opening prayer in response to the group's request

Group members have submitted requests to other cities, including Chandler

Members of a Satanic group who started a firestorm with their request to lead the prayer at a Phoenix City Council meeting are scheduled to give a similar invocation in Scottsdale.

Representatives of the Satanic Temple are set to open the Scottsdale City Council meeting on April 5, according to city spokesman Kelly Corsette. The request comes after Phoenix leaders voted last week to end the city's tradition of prayer rather than let the Satanists deliver the invocation. Council meetings will instead start with a moment of silence.

Now, Satanic Temple members are contacting other cities with similar policies to request leading the opening prayer, said Stu de Haan, who submitted the request in Phoenix. Scottsdale was an early choice because of its proximity to Phoenix, he said, though the approved date is still tentative.

Satanists to give prayer at Phoenix City Council meeting

The group hadn't expected the controversy that erupted last week, de Haan said, and it's uncertain whether the new requests will generate a similar reaction in other cities.

"We wanted to see if it would have the same result," de Haan said.

Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane said that he is unclear on the group's tenets but that the city is inclusive of different religions. The 3-minute invocation is intended to promote positive discussion about the council and community, he said.

"I'm hoping that's the message," Lane said.

Phoenix City Council votes to end prayers at meetings

Lane said he doesn't know whether he would support any proposals to block the group from leading the Scottsdale prayer, but said the time spent on the issue in Phoenix was an "unfortunate situation."

"We hope to avoid that," he said.

Satanic Temple members also submitted requests to councils in Chandler, Tucson and Sahuarita, a town in southern Arizona, de Haan said.

The group will stop its requests for now, to see whether they need to address emerging controversies at those meetings, he said. He said the group's plans after that are undecided, but members are forming a local chapter of the national Satanic Temple organization.

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In Chandler, the Satanists have not yet been scheduled for an invocation because upcoming meetings are already booked, city spokesman Matt Burdick said. He did not know if or when the group would be put on the agenda.

The Satanic Temple will be allowed to deliver the invocation in Sahuarita, but a date has not been set, town spokesman Mark Febbo said in an email. Groups must adhere to guidelines such as keeping the prayer non-political and respectful.

Town Manager L. Kelly Udall said in a statement that "presenters are accepted and welcomed regardless of religious affiliation.”

De Haan has said the group wants to represent minority religious views and was surprised by Phoenix's vote to adopt a "moment of silent prayer." The Satanic Temple promotes agnosticism, using Satan as a metaphor for rebellion.

But some Phoenix council members said the group was trying to block all prayer. Several elected officials have said they will push for a ballot measure to overturn the city's decision.

Other Valley cities, including Gilbert, Tempe and Glendale, also start their council meetings with invocations. Representatives for those cities said they have not been contacted by the group and do not have plans to change their policies as a result of Phoenix's decision.

Group member Michelle Shortt likely will deliver the same invocation in each location where they are scheduled, de Haan said, though he has no expectations for how other cities might react beforehand.

"I'm not even going to try to guess at this point," de Haan said.