Jan. 7 (UPI) -- It wasnt his flashy suit or fresh haircut that people noticed when new Pomfret, N.Y. Town Council member Christopher Schaeffer was sworn in last week -- it was the colander he wore on his head.

Schaeffer was wearing the spaghetti strainer atop his dome because he is a minister with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

"It's just a statement about religious freedom," he said. "It's a religion without any dogma."

According to its website, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster really started to take off in 2005.

"Our ideal is to scrutinize ideas and actions, but ignore general labels," the website says.

Members of the church are called Pastafarians.

"Most of us do not believe a religion -- Christianity, Islam, Pastafarianism -- requires literal belief in order to provide spiritual enlightenment," the website reads. "That is, we can be part of a community without becoming indoctrinated. There are many levels of belief."

Pastafarian or not, Schaeffer plans on making the citizens of Pomfret proud.

"Mostly, I'm just looking forward to making sure that the town is run smoothly and we meet the needs of all of our citizens," he said. "If anybody ever has any concerns or questions, I hope they contact me, because I want to make sure that everyone is represented."

The church called Schaeffers choice of headwear encouraging news.

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Pastafarian town council member sworn in while wearing a colander on his head