Wicca High Priestess Darla Wynne won't bow her head:
Not for prayers to Jesus Christ.
And not to the Great Falls Town Council members who refuse to change their prayer before meetings to accommodate Wynne's non-Christian religion.
In this former mill town that lies hard by the Catawba River 50 miles south of Charlotte, a culture clash is churning.
On one side is a New Age spiritualist in stiletto heels who has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the council of violating the constitutional separation of church and state. In what may be the first case of its kind in South Carolina, she wants the court to stop the council from using the words Jesus Christ in its prayers, and employ a more generic term such as "Our Heavenly Father."
Since filing the suit, Wynne says she has received several death threats, had bricks thrown through her den window and had more than 20 tires slashed on her pickup truck.
Wicca is a nature-based religion that emphasizes respect for earth and the cycle of the seasons. Most followers, like Wynne, consider themselves witches; they do not worship Satan.
On the other side is a council whose members feel they're being bullied into turning their backs on their Christian beliefs.
Two years ago, Wynne asked the council to not use Jesus Christ's name during the prayer because she felt it excluded her and other non-Christians. She says she's supportive of prayer and has nothing against Christians.
Before the lawsuit, she would bow her head during the prayer to fit in as a newcomer. "I tried to go along, but the more I did, the more uncomfortable I felt," she said. "They'll push you around as long as you allow them. To end it, you have to stand up and stop them."
The council ignored Wynne's request and she sued in August 2001. Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union began handling Wynne's litigation. The ACLU says the case is the first of its kind in South Carolina. A judge is expected to rule by mid-fall.
`I'll always be an outsider'
With her tinted granny-style glasses, long blond hair and "Witches Heal" bumper sticker on her truck, Wynne is a high-profile woman in a low-profile town.
Wynne, 39, is also media savvy. She's done more than 300 interviews in the past decade explaining why Wiccans are good witches and not devil-worshipping Satanists. She's assistant national director for WARD (Witches Against Religious Discrimination) and has worked with the N.C. and S.C. departments of corrections in their prison ministries.
On a recent afternoon in a U.S. 21 diner, it's obvious everyone from the waitress to a gaggle of men in overalls eating burgers recognized Wynne. "There's Darla the witch," one person at the counter said to a lunch mate.
"You can't hide in a town with one grocery store," Wynne said. "I can't go anywhere in town where they don't at least know of me. I have no social life here. I'll always be an outsider, in this town." Her friends say she sometimes leaves council meetings in tears, and her mother is concerned for her safety, but Wynne says she's not afraid.
"I'm a registered firearms owner. I have a shotgun, a .22 caliber with a banana clip, and a can of pepper spray in my truck," said Wynne, who also has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. "I'd be a fool not to be concerned but I can take care of myself."
Born the daughter of a Baptist minister in Louisiana, Wynne moved to the Carolinas from Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1997. She'd heard about affordable housing in Great Falls and bought a three-bedroom house the following year for $5,000. She grinned: "It's kind of like the town; it needs some work."
On downtown's Dearborn Street, empty store fronts stand out like darkened spaces in a gap-toothed smile. The population has dropped from 3,500 in 1950 to 2,200 now.
"Great Falls is a good town that's taken some hard hits said mayor H.C. "Speedy" Starnes, 76. "Since the early '80s when our mills closed and we lost over 1,500 jobs. During that time, our population dropped (by) 1,200 people," said Starnes. "We're not picking on this woman. We have the right to say prayer before our meetings."
Starnes has spent many hours discussing this case with the town's attorneys. He carefully chooses his next words: "The council has its beliefs, and it happens to be Christian, just like most everybody in this town," he said. "Why should we stop using Jesus Christ in our prayer? If someone doesn't want to hear it, they can excuse themselves and then return...
Town Attorney Brian Gibbons says the council has nothing to apologize for.
"Council is acting in the tradition of our founding fathers, by solemnizing their proceedings and asking for divine guidance," Gibbons said. "We think the only thing unconstitutional is Ms. Wynne trying to prevent council from using the name of their Lord in their prayer."
Last month, the council began printing a prayer disclaimer on their agendas. It states the council doesn't discriminate against anyone on the basis of their religious beliefs. "The invocation may request divine guidance" but not contain the beliefs of any specific religion "although it may follow a Judeo-Christian format."
The courts have generally accepted the "historical context" of a Judeo-Christian-style prayer before governmental meetings, according to Duke University law professor Jeff Powell.
"The Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that legislative prayer is basically OK, as long as you don't use it to promote one religion and disparage another," Powell said.
"What you'd hope for ... would be a respected Christian leader in this community to stand up and say `Enough is enough. We need to be true to our own religions and practice tolerance, not intolerance,' " Powell said.
Six churches in Great Falls have passed resolutions in support of the council's decision to continue "offering a Christian prayer" and were opposed to "allowing an alternative prayer to a self-proclaimed `witch.' "
Wynne, who is not suing for monetary damages, said she will not relent.
"That's the really ugly thing about discrimination. They never need much of a reason to exclude you," she said. "And if they'll do it to me because of my Wicca religion, what's to stop them from doing it to you because of the color of your skin?"