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Steven Belstra plans to give the invocation at the Monday, Dec. 28, City Council meeting in Grandville.

(courtesy of Steven Belstra)

GRANDVILLE, MI - Steven Belstra doesn't plan to invoke God when he gives the invocation at Monday night's City Council meeting. The Grandville man instead will suggest to city leaders that "we don't turn towards faith or religion to guide government decisions, but rather good will towards all people in our community."

Belstra is scheduled to give the invocation at Grandville City Council's 7 p.m. meeting, at 3195 Wilson Ave. SW.

"I don't expect controversy and I'm not going to make any controversy, but non-religious people are the fastest growing 'religious' group in the country," Belstra said by phone. "I just want council members to think about everybody because when they've been having pastors giving invocations every meeting for years they don't hear that other side of the coin.

"There's many people like myself in Grandville who have different belief systems."

Here is the text of Steven Belstra's planned invocation

Thank you Mayor Maas and the Grandville City Council for having me speak today. My name is Steven Belstra and I am not an ordained minister or priest of any faith. I request from the council and our community that we don't turn towards faith or religion to guide government decisions but rather good will towards all people in our community.

I speak for the minorities in the area who identify as being secular humanists, atheists, and one of the fastest growing groups in America, the non-religious. Grandville contains many different people who have different beliefs, traditions, and cultures all of which we want to see considered when making decisions for our community. I ask that for today and all future meetings that we can approach decisions this way. But it isn't just in our local city council meetings where this should apply, but in all other aspects of human interaction.

2015 will be remembered as a year that major human rights decisions were made in the Obergefell vs Hodges case which granted state recognition to all same sex couples. This decision by the Supreme Court of the United States is a great example of what I am alluding to.

It is in our best interest as a community to view all of our citizens as equals, regardless of their beliefs of an afterlife or their beliefs about human sexuality. So what I ask of my local city council is that you govern with reason and empathy towards all people, regardless of the church I do or don't attend, the person that I marry, or the beliefs that you may or may not share with other citizens of the community.

Thank you for your time council.

Belstra plans to cite last summer's Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the country as an example of how "it is in our best interest as a community to view all of our citizens as equals, regardless of their beliefs of an afterlife or their beliefs about human sexuality." He wants the council to "govern with reason and empathy towards all people, regardless of the church I do or don't attend, the person that I marry, or the beliefs that you may or may not share with other citizens."

The full text of Belstra's prepared remarks is on the right.

Grandville's council earlier this year entertained an anti-discrimination ordinance after a business owner in the city posted to Facebook inflammatory comments about gay people. The council ultimately declined to enact a new ordinance and instead made a "fair treatment" statement.

This fall, a pastor who pushed for LGBT protections ran for City Council as a write-in candidate. Linda Looney fell far short of election, but plans to get on the ballot for City Council next year.

Grandville also is the hometown of Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema, who earlier this year was censured for a series of controversial Facebook posts and statements about gays, Muslims and African Americans.



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Belstra said he approached the city about giving an invocation, and that Mayor Steve Maas was receptive. Maas said Belstra this fall "asked if he would be able to give the opening remark and I said 'absolutely.'

"I came to the conclusion (after last year's Supreme Court ruling on prayer at government meetings) that if we want to continue the practice of having invocations we do need to be inclusive and that cannot exclude people who are non-believers," Maas said. "I do think we need to be very inclusive and more diverse."

Pastors from Grandville United Methodist and South Grandville Christian Reformed churches have given invocations at the most recent Grandville council meetings.

Elsewhere in Kent County, invocations typically are offered at the outset of city meetings in Kentwood, Walker and Wyoming, while Grand Rapids holds a moment of silence and East Grand Rapids has only the Pledge of Allegiance.

At a Wyoming City Council meeting Tuesday, Dec. 21, the Rev. Wayne Ondersma read a biblical account of Jesus' birth and then offered this prayer:

Matt Vande Bunte covers government for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at mvandebu@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter and Facebook.