LE††UCE PREY
WYLIE, Texas (AP) — The mayor of a Dallas suburb told a fellow City Council member in an email that women shouldn’t be allowed to lead prayer at public meetings because he believes it goes against teachings in the Bible.
Wylie Mayor Eric Hogue then quotes a couple scriptures, the first one about women keeping their mouths shut in church. The other one was similar, women shouldn’t teach, and should keep their mouths shut, blah, blah, blah.
“I believe a lady can be president of the United States,” Hogue said. “I believe a lady can be CEO of a company, the superintendent of a school district. But I believe, and this is me, when it comes to (picking) somebody to lead the invocation at a City Council meeting, because of those two sets of verses, I’m going to choose a male.”
Mayor Hogue said he has been pastor at Cottonwood Church of Christ in Wylie since 2010. He is currently serving his last term as mayor after 12 years.
“If you attend Church of Christ, there will not be a female preacher. There will not be a female song leader. There will not be a female that leads the prayer,” Hogue said. “Now, there will be ladies that teach other ladies. There will be ladies that teach the children’s classes. But when we’re in a worship service, we’re in a religious service, based on what the scriptures teach, the guys do that.”
Hogue said it’s ok for young men to lead prayers.
