In the meantime, here’s some links of note to tide you over!

• It’s time for Operation Circle Care once again! Circle is looking for donations of new and gently used items, as well as funds, to cover air mail postage. These donations will be made into care packagers to be sent to Wiccan and Pagan troops in active duty war zones. You can find out more about this year’s effort by checking out Operation Circle Care’s Facebook page.
• At Patheos, T. Thorn Coyle writes an open letter to progressive activist Rabbi Michael Lerner, who voiced some criticisms of the Occupy movement in a recent HuffPo piece. Quote: “I take particular umbrage at the casual dismissal of the encampments as a “fetishization” of the occupied spaces. Place is sacred. Place tells us we have somewhere to stand. People establish sacred relationship with spaces, which strengthens the roots of Occupy. More importantly, taking up space is what ignites the imagination, and gives the larger movement outside the camps a touchstone, something to return to.”
• At the USC media blog Trans/Missions, Lee Gilmore writes about modern Paganism and the Occupy movement. Quote: “The Occupy movement may have seemed lunatic and naïve when it first sprouted on Wall Street, and its long-term significance remains to be seen. But, at the moment at least, it has ignited a potent social energy that pushes the always porous boundaries of the standard “religion and spirituality” beat. It may be a mostly “secular” movement, yet the term “Occupy” itself draws people to understand its meaning in broader terms—as containing an invitation to mindfulness and participation in ways that are simultaneously spiritual and earthly: Occupy the Earth, Occupy your Life, Occupy Everything.”
• This week I wrote about the Pope’s impending visit to Benin, birthplace of Vodun. Now, some reports are coming out that focus on practitioners of Vodun, and their views on syncretism. Quote: “We worship the same God. The priests always tell us that we cannot do both at the same time. They forget that we had worshipped voodoo before the missionaries arrived.” Meanwhile, the Catholic press gets out its broad brush and starts painting.
• At The Immanent Frame David Martin examines the new book “Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age”. Quote: “I have telescoped, glossed and simplified Bellah in order to bring out a central message that seems to me as true as it is controversial.  ‘We’ are inveterate story tellers as well as theoreticians. ‘Nothing is ever lost’. Moreover, the platforms in consciousness from which we formulate our visions of how we might be, and how the world might be, were set up in the axial age.”
• The always interesting Religion in American History blog gives a run-down of AAR sessions dealing with, well, religion in American history.
• The Revealer has an interesting look at the intersections of diet and religion in prison.
• New to Asatru? Steven T. Abell has some tips for you. Quote: “Read. Ásatrú is often called “the religion with homework.” There are people and organizations that can help you learn more about this, but there is no substitute for reading our lore yourself, and making of it what you can. You won’t have to take any tests or earn any degrees. But look at it this way: life is a test, and your knowledge of the lore will help you pass that test.”
• The Baltic Times looks at the Velu laiks period, which means the “time of the souls.”
• The Washington DC bureau of the Pagan Newswire Collective has the latest updates on the Open Hearth Foundation Pagan Community Center.

That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.

Jamyi Witch

“In December 2001, Scott Walker, then a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and chair of the Assembly Committee on Corrections and Courts, learned that theWisconsin Department of Corrections had recently hired Rev. Jamyi Witch as a prison chaplain at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin. Witch, who had volunteered for two years as a chaplain and had an extensive knowledge of alternative religions, had competed against 9 other candidates for the civil service position and was hired as the most qualified candidate for the $32,500 per year job. The chaplain was a practicing Wiccan and had, in fact, changed her last name to Witch in honor of her chosen religion.“

Since that initial report, which was sensationalized by outlets like Gawker and the Daily Mail, the case has slowly progressed.  A judge declared in late September that the trial could move forward, and the inmate involved in the incident gave his initial testimony.

“This is all her plan,” explained the inmate. “Only thing I know is that I knew Ms. Witch eight to ten years. Throughout that time, I gained a lot of respect and a lot of trust for her, so when she told me, you know what I’m saying, that I was not going to get into any trouble and that this would not be a hostage situation, you know what I mean? I took her word for it and that’s why I went up there.”

Then, this past Friday, Ms. Witch officially entered a plea of not guilty. In addition, supporters of the chaplain are now starting to speak up. Lady of the Lake Church, of which Witch is a clergyperson, issued a statement defending their colleague.

“Jamyi Witch was held hostage by a inmate “John Washington” in her office and she was raped by this inmate. She gave the inmate some of her prescription pills to make him sleepy and weak allowing the officers to enter her office and give her aid. [...] The inmate later sent his mother a letter, knowing full well that after his actions his mail would be monitored, telling his mother that Jamyi Witch helped him come up with the plan to take her hostage. NOTE: This inmate 20 years earlier, was arrested and charged with rape and sentenced to prison which he is now serving. (Same crime)  Two weeks earlier he attempted the same attack on another female staff member at the correctional facility. (Not in the story.) The facility read the inmates mail and charged Jamyi Witch with the crime of suppling drugs to the inmate, raping the inmate and suppling the inmate with illegal materials. Jamyi Witch has been in the correction system as a wiccan chaplin for 11 years and never had any violations. The police who interviewed her told her and her boyfriend that they worked for god and thought she was lying. We need to stand with her and help tell her story and raise funds for her legal defense which is now racking up. We need to call our congressman and state officials and protest the treatment of a rape victim (Jamyi) .”

In addition, someone who claims to have attended the preliminary hearing posted the following:

“Ok, here’s the TRUTH of the whole matter: At the preliminary hearing, the inmate admitted after finding out he could recieve another 25 years in prison for rape, lied about the chaplain’s involvement in the whole situation. Jaymi Witch is a very accomplished woman, speaks 9 languages, and has counselled hundreds of victims of child abuse, etc. Amazing how quick everyone is to take the word of a convicted criminal over an innocent victim of a violent crime. Scott Walker got her out of Waupun and now he’ll get her out of Oshkosh.”

Are police and prison officials working against Witch as her church alleges? Are these charges being trumped up due to anti-Pagan hostility? Prominent Pagan prison chaplains like Patrick McCollum have shared stories of hostility, threats, and obstruction of their efforts, allegations backed up by prominent Pagan figures like Starhawk.

“But our visit to CCWF did not go well.  Again, they had ‘lost’ our paperwork—this time, five separate copies of our event package which Sister Mary Ann had personally delivered to five separate officials.  The warden was not on site on a Saturday—nor were other personnel who could have okayed the event.  The Watch Commander, who could have authorized it, said “No way.”  We were allowed in as visitors—which meant a much more exhaustive process of listing every single thing we were wearing or carrying.  Tiki’s underwire bra would not go through the metal detector, and she had to go out, change into a bathing suit, and put up with snide comments about her breasts.  But, we got in, though Patrick was quietly fuming while being ever so polite to everyone.”

In 2008, McCollum gave testimony to the US Commission on Civil Rights that Pagan prisoners faced “endemic” discrimination from prison officials. Considering the battles Jamyi J. Witch faced simply to work at the job she was hired for, it isn’t inconceivable that officials are now obstructing the course of justice now. If these charges are indeed bogus, we can only hope that Witch’s lawyer can navigate her trial successfully and bring the truth to light. Further, if Witch is cleared of the charges against her, what will that mean for the staff at Oshkosh Correctional Institution? Won’t that implicate them in helping to orchestrate this anti-Pagan incident?

Patrick McCollum on the cover of Witches & Pagans.

“I have decided not to go to the Supreme Court. My primary reason for deciding not to go to the Supreme Court is that there would only be two issues the court would allow us to bring forward out of the whole case. The one issue is not if we [Pagans?] have rights, but do inmates generally have religious rights. So if I went and I lost I would take away the religious rights of every inmate in every correctional institutuion [...] but if I won all I would get is that we had rights, but I would not win our case.”

Instead of going forward in challenging the 9th Circuit Court decision, McCollum has been nurturing new cases brought by Pagan inmates that would also challenge the California chaplaincy policy. According to McCollum, one of those cases is now before the 9th Circuit, with more waiting in the wings if necessary.

“I’m currently in a place where if an inmate brought a case, my case could go forward [...] I saw this coming down the pike, and so I have helped inmates bring forward cases that meet the criteria to make it so my case is viable and valid [...] I’ve managed to keep those cases under the radar and the first of those cases his the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last week. [...] If the court rules that those inmates who are on that case do have a right to a chaplain then I can walk right back into the court and forget the ruling made by the 9th Circuit or anybody else.”

McCollum also noted that Jones Day, the law firm that has been representing his case, has agreed to not only continue working his case pro bono, but has also committed itself to represent all these other cases that could result in clearing the way for Pagan chaplains (and by extension, other minority faith chaplains). You can listen to the entire PagansTonight interview, here.

I’d like to thank the PagansTonight crew for bringing this vital update to the Pagan community, and Patrick McCollum for his tireless service on this important issue. This seems like a very hopeful move forward from the disappointing 9th Circuit decision. For more background on this case, here are some highlights from my coverage.

• Official Statement from Patrick McCollum on Ninth Circuit Ruling
• Patrick McCollum on Why His Fight Matters
• 9th Circuit upholds lower court ruling in McCollum v California
• Patrick McCollum’s Case Hits the Mainstream

In addition, the latest issue of Witches & Pagans (pictured above), available in print or as a digital download, has a nice summary of the case, and an interview with Patrick McCollum regarding it, and his work.

Jamyi Witch

“The charges stem from a police investigation of an Aug. 10 incident in which Witch, a chaplain at the prison, claimed to have been taken hostage by an inmate. [...]  The inmate told Witch about being jumped by three men while he was in his cell on Aug. 7 and said he needed to get out of Oshkosh. She told him she wanted to leave Oshkosh too because of threats from other staff and she had a plan to get them both out of the facility. Witch told the inmate the plan, which involved him coming into her office, blocking the door and acting like Witch was his mother. She also discussed giving him pills to make him sleepy and allow the guards to enter her office. The inmate said he left his cell on Aug. 10 without signing out and went to Witch’s office. He blocked the door with a board from a bookshelf and Witch’s wheelchair before requesting Witch have sex with him. She complied.”

The story has already been picked up by Gawker and the Daily Mail, who are having a field day. This is in addition to local coverage of the incident. This is not Witch’s first time in the spotlight, she was involved in the “Wisconsin Witch Hunt” scandal of 2001-2002, when now-governor Scott Walker tried very hard to get the chaplain fired from her position.

“Walker objected publicly on the basis of her religion to the chaplain’s hiring, saying: “Witch’s hiring raises both personal and political concerns. Not only does she practice a different religion than most of the inmates — she practices a religion that actually offends people of many other faiths, including Christians, Muslims and Jews.” Walker threatened to launch a government investigation of the chaplain’s hiring, and was joined by Representative Michael Huebsch of West Salem, in his efforts to terminate the woman’s employment. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to accept this hocus-pocus,” Huebsch stated. Huebsch proposed to delete the state appropriation which funded Witch’s position, even though in the past he had repeatedly advocated increasing state funding for prison chaplains. Walker and Huebsch continued their pursuit of the case over the 2001-2002 Christmas holidays. After several weeks of unwanted publicity, the chaplain began to receive death threats and reported that on one day alone she had received 432 emails and 76 phone messages at her home.”

It should be noted that Jamyi Witch was well-qualified for the position, having a masters degree in theology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The question now is if the inmate’s testimony is accurate, and if it is, why Witch, who served for nearly a decade in this position, would suddenly act is such drastic fashion. One that could potentially set back the cause of Pagan and Wiccan chaplaincy in prisons. We will be following up on this story, and will be sharing reactions from Pagan leaders and chaplains soon.

ADDENDUM: A.C. Fisher Aldag has found an interesting news report from the August incident.

“Department of Corrections spokesman Tim Le Monds says it happened about 8:30 a.m. He says prison staff members were able to persuade the inmate to open the door and come out after an hour. He says staff members could see into the room the whole time and could have gotten into it in seconds if necessary.“

If that’s true, doesn’t that instantly invalidate many of the charges being made here? Especially the charge of them having sexual intercourse? Wouldn’t that be an event that would make staff member access the room “in seconds”? I think there’s a lot we aren’t being told in regards to this story.

• If the embryonic Rick Perry candidacy has done one thing of real merit, it has been to inspire mainstream media coverage of the New Apostolic Reformation. Wednesday’s edition of Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC featured an interview with Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer, who has been closely covering Rick Perry’s new religious allies. This has led other outlets, like Salon.com’s War Room to also take note. In fact, those of us who’ve been early adopters in following this pernicious religious movement have been spoiled for choice lately. The question now is if this spike in coverage is adequate sunlight antiseptic against their infection of spiritual warfare tactics? As for Wilder, he says coverage of “The Response” has been shallow, at best.
• Peter Dybing, National First Officer of Covenant of the Goddess, has issued a call “for ministers of all faiths and political persuasions to take a stand” against Dominionists who “seek to enslave the entire nation to their religious values for their own good.”
• A judge in Illinois has denied an inmate’s request for a copy of Anton LaVey’s the Satanic Bible. The State Department of Corrections argued that the book encouraged “hatred and violence.” Beth Winegarner at the Backward Messages blog weighs in on the case, saying that “only in a society where some religions are favored over others could a judge — whose salary is paid by the people — tell a member of one faith that he cannot have access to his holy text, when access to such texts while imprisoned is otherwise protected by law.”
• Did you like Thor comics but wish they were more Celtic? Well, today is your lucky day, Marvel Comics has announced that the Celtic thunder-god Tanarus will be (no doubt temporarily) replacing the Norse god after the current major crossover epic wraps up. I’m personally waiting for the debut of Lugus: Lord of the Lightning Flash!
• Religion Dispatches reports that the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations has issued General Comment No. 34, which explores freedom of speech under international law, and says that “prohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system, including blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the Covenant.” The document also rejects “any restrictions on the operation of websites, blogs or any otherinternet-based, electronic or other such information dissemination system.” Austin Dacey sees this as a serious step forward in eliminating blasphemy laws, saying it will give a legal framework for those trying to push reforms.
• I’m a little behind the curve on this one, but fantasy author Mercedes Lackey released a new collection of novellas at the end of 2010 entitled “Trio of Sorcery” that revisits fan-favorite (and Pagan-favorite) character Diana Tregarde. It’s been twenty years since the last book in that series, “Jinx High,” was published, and Lackey had long-soured on publishing any more stories with that character due to obsessive stalkers and death threats by disturbed individuals who thought Lackey was a documentarian and not a fantasy novelist. With the current boom in the urban fantasy genre, and with some water under the bridge, is Lackey thinking of returning to her Witchy protagonist again for new full-length novels?
• Former political candidate and (alleged) Witchcraft-dabbler Christine O’Donnell is making news again thanks to the publication of her new book “Troublemaker,” where she addresses the “dabble-gate” missteps of her 2010 Delaware senate campaign. O’Donnell calls the infamous “I’m not a Witch” ad “a wrong-headed move, made for all the wrong reasons, but it was mine.”
• At Witchvox, Heather Awen addresses of issue of using strip-mined crystals as spiritual tools, prompting a thoughtful meditation on the subject from Lupa at her Therioshamanism blog. At her own blog, Awen gives tips on greening your rituals.
• Here at Patheos P. Sufenas Virius Lupus asks “what does sexual liberty look like?” Lupus notes that “as polytheists, and as people who claim to be “earth-based” and “nature-based” in their spiritualities and theologies, there is absolutely no reason to view gender variance or diversity of sexual orientation—which exists in abundance in non-human animal natures—as anything to be upset over or worried about, so long as it is carried out in ways that are also appropriate to human nature and social conventions.”
• Finally, let me give a warm welcome to the Pagan Newswire Collective’s news bureau: PNC-Texas (aka Lonestar Pagan)! They’ve already got some great stuff up, and I look forward to their future participation. Oh, and while I’m on the subject of the PNC, we’re looking for a motivated media-savvy volunteer to be our new Bureaus Coordinator, if you’re interested in this important role, do drop us a line.

That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.

• At the excellent Religion In American History blog Kelly Baker points to a a conversation about sacred space in America with Erika Doss, Anthea Butler, Jacob Kinnard, and Edward Linenthal in newest issue of Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief. According the Baker, the conversation includes mention of the special outdoor worship area for Pagan cadets at the Air Force Academy. The circle was officially dedicated in May of this year.
• Washington state Corrections officer Jayme Biendl was murdered by an inmate in January. Her killer was a Jekyll-and-Hyde figure who was “entrenched” in “religious activities”. A public disclosure request has resulted in a release of any records regarding Biendl, and the Associated Press leads its report on those papers with a complaint filed over a Wiccan cabinet in the communal chapel. It should be noted for the sake of clarity that the prisoner who killed her had never filed a grievance against the officer, and is, by his own admission, Christian.
• BBC Scotland has an audio-only interview up with Robin Hardy, writer/director of “The Wicker Tree”, the forthcoming companion film to the classic 1973 Pagan-themed horror film “The Wicker Man.” The film will be having its world premiere at this year’s Fantasia Festival. You can read all of my “Wicker Tree” coverage, here.
• Cara Schultz at PNC-Minnesota reviews the forthcoming “Tears of the Sun” by SM Stirling, the latest installment in the Emberverse series, which features several positive Pagan protagonists.
• A box of dead animal parts was found outside a Tampa, Florida prison,  Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Maj. Kenny Davis thinks that it’s “probably somebody putting a spell on somebody.” The Tampa Tribune helpfully seeks out the opinion of University of South Florida religion professor Mozella Mitchell, who notes that “no legitimate African derived religion in the Caribbean and Latin America” would do this, and that this is the “distorted practice of some group.”
• For a special July 4th post at CNN author Kenneth C. Davis explains why the United States isn’t a Christian nation. In the process of making his case he quotes my favorite treaty.
• At USC’s Trans/Missions Maura Jane Farrelly looks at the influence of pseudo-historian David Barton on presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann and plugs the forthcoming book “The Anointed: Evangelical Truth in a Secular Age.”
• While Bachmann likes Barton, Barton may prefer Rick Perry. Quote Amy Sullivan: “Is that sexism at work? Possibly. Maybe even probably.”
• Religion Clause reports that the parliament of Georgia (the country, not the US state) yesterday passed an amendment that will allow minority religious groups to register as legal entities. Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion in Georgia, and this may allow greater protections and rights for religious minorities.
• The novel “Gods Behaving Badly,” about a greatly diminished Greek pantheon sharing a flat in London, is being made into a movie, with an all-star (and somewhat bizarre) cast and a change of location to New York. Check out this lineup: Aphrodite played by Sharon Stone, Apollo played by Oliver Platt, Artemis played by Edie Falco, Demeter played by Phylicia Rashad, Dionysus played by Nelsan Ellis, Eros played by Gideon Glick, Hades played by John Turturro, Hermes played by Henry Zebrowski, Persephone played by Rosie Perez and Zeus is, get this, played by Christopher Walken. “Gods” was originally going to be a television series, but it looks like that never panned out.

That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.

Listen to/download the audio here.

Here’s the initial write-up of the press conference from PNC reporter Cara Schulz:

McCollum calls press conference to clear up misconceptions in Pagan prisoner rights case. Alleges state admitted to perjury, destroyed key documents. Systemic discrimination. Says states are moving to end chaplain programs and replace with privately funded Evangelical chaplains. McCollum must decide next step in legal battle withing the day, asks community for input.

Monday night, Pagan minister and civil rights activist Patrick McCollum called a press conference at the 2011 Pagan Spirit Gathering.  McCollum discussed the recent 9th Circuit Court ruling in the Patrick M. McCollum; et al., v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; et al. case.  McCollum called the presser to clear up what he saw as misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the case in the mainstream media and in the Pagan community.  He also said that the Pagan community needs to know how this case affects Pagans across the country, both inside and outside the prison system.

McCollum stated since this is a federal case, it affects how the government interacts with minority faiths far beyond the borders of California.  Likewise, the nature of the case doesn’t limit it to only the prison system.  It is applicable to all federal agencies.  McCollum said if the Pagan community understood how the ruling could be applied and that it does affect them, they would mobilize similar to the VA Pentacle Quest.

McCollum said this action by the correctional department was part of a larger movement by fundamentalist Christians to  use governmental institutions to pressure persons to convert to aggressively proselytize, such as was seen in the Air Force Academy in the USA.  Aggressive, and sometimes violent, proselytizing is also being carried on by some Evangelical groups in places like Haiti, India, and in Africa.  He outlined how the California correctional system officials heavily discriminated against McCollum and Pagan inmates over a period of years while pressing him to file a lawsuit.  Prison systems in three other states have since cited court costs associated with minority religion discrimination cases, such as the one McCollum filed, as a reason to end the state run chaplain program.  The prison systems then allow private religious 501c3s to bid on administering a private chaplain program and the groups selected pay all costs.  McCollum says that Pagans shouldn’t be surprised that the winners of these bids are mainly Evangelical Christian groups.

McCollum listed how prison officials had admitted to perjury, shredded thousands of inmate grievance filings, and how the court had continued to use the perjured testimony as a basis for its ruling.  He also noted that the headlines stating he lost a ruling based on standing is incorrect.  The case was started as a class action lawsuit involving prison inmates, but that portion of the case was thrown out.

Towards the end of the press conference McCollum said that he had a decision to make regarding the case.  If McCollum decided to continue fighting this in court, it could be 8 or more years before there is a final resolution.  He has already been involved in this case for over seven years.  He said it is very emotionally and financially draining to fight a legal battle of this magnitude, but he has done so because it’s the right thing to do.  He laid out his options as he sees them.  He could push this fight through and seek to eventually end up in the Supreme Court.  He noted that SCOTUS hears very few cases each year and the likelihood of the court taking this case is small.  He could seek a settlement with the state of California.  Or he could drop the case and fight it in the public arena similar to the pentacle Quest.  For any of these options he would need the support of the entire Pagan community.  It is for this reason that McCollum is seeking to hear from the community on what they feel he should do – continue in the courts or drop the case and use social pressure to affect change.  He asks that Pagans comment quickly as he was given a shortened time frame to decide.  He has less than 24 hours from the time of this publication.

Another PSG media camp member, Iris Firemoon from PNC-Washington D.C., has posted a Facebook event to ask for community feedback on what move Patrick should take in this struggle.

We’ll post further updates as we know more. My thanks to Star Foster for recording and getting this audio to me.