Not going to become the 3rd largest religious group any time soon.

However, even if we grant that the larger estimates by friendly scholars and movement insiders are more accurate (and I’m hoping 2011 census data will bear our larger estimates out), that would still only mean around 3-5 million modern (ie “neo,” revivalist, and reconstructionist) Pagans worldwide. We are far from taking anything over, despite our advances and achievements. Yet the mere idea of Paganism’s return has sparked some atavistic fears within certain segments of Christianity, and has caused them to use shoddy estimates to falsely bolster our numbers in order scare their audiences into buying products. Many are gloomily predicting that Wicca will soon be America’s third-largest religion. Naturally, what scares certain conservative Christians excites some Pagans, leading them to use these explosive estimates to their own ends.

Wicca is America’s Fastest Growing religion, and it is anticipated by some Christian religious experts that it will become the third largest religion in the United States early in the 21st century, behind only Christianity and Islam. Just this week, a press release for the new book God’s Ghostbusters, by Defender Publishing quoted editor Thomas Horn “In the United States alone, there are now more than two hundred thousand registered witches and as many as 8 million unregistered practitioners of ‘the craft’.”

Witch School Co-Founder Ed Hubbard recognizes that the statements and numbers put out by Horn are similar to his own viewpoint. Hubbard offers “There is such a rapid spiritual reorientation in America occurring, that the need for thousands of Wiccan teachers over the course of the next decade will be required to meet the demand for basic teachings. Because of Wicca’s liberating beliefs and useful skills, people want to understand and embrace it, and learn how to awaken their inner abilities.”

That’s from a brand-new press release issued by Witch School, using these largely invented figures to sell their product. In fact, Witch School co-founder Ed Hubbard knows Horn’s figures are overblown, because he told me so right here at The Wild Hunt.

“I know how they got the 8 million. It has to do with a series of articles from 2005. Basically if we had doubled every eighteen months as we did in the beginning, we would be facing 8 million. I know much of where this is coming from. I can give the strange math if you ever want it.”

In fact that there is a “spiritual reorientation” going on in the West, but it isn’t really about modern Paganism. The numbers point to growing numbers of the religiously unaffiliated more than anything else. That may be good for us societally speaking, and may even spark some growth, but we aren’t the primary recipients of this shift into post-Christianity. Witch School may have had over 200,000 people take classes with them, but I highly doubt they’ve managed a 100% retention rate of students who stuck with Wicca or some other form of modern Paganism over the years.

Speaking frankly, I think it does our movement no favors to peddle misinformation and wishful thinking in order to self-promote. Spreading inaccurate narratives, no matter how positive they may seem, actually harms our attempts to establish ourselves. Muddying waters with “strange math” simply sets us up as opportunistic self-promoters instead of building the bridges we need in areas like chaplaincy, intrafaith, and interfaith work. I’m disappointed that a popular Pagan service would validate the Christians who want to see us as a encroaching menace, even if may flatter our conceptions of rapid growth. The narrative of explosive growth does us no good, I hope that Pagans will drop it in favor of statistical data that will support our claims.

Thorn Coyle Launches New Video Series: Pagan author and mentor T. Thorn Coyle has announced the launch of a new subscription video teaching series entitled Fiat LVX. For $20 dollars per month subscribers will have access to two professionally produced instructional and informational videos featuring T. Thorn Coyle each month.

“The first installment will examine a different spiritual idea as it directly relates to our lives; the second video will guide you through the steps of putting that concept into direct experience. A forum led by Morningstar Mentors and Thorn will enable you to ask questions, delve into your experience with other participants, and hopefully inspire us all to keep practicing! Twice monthly practice prompts will support and further the work.

Topics include: Becoming the priestess, able to mediate the space between the Twin Pillars of yes and no, push and pull, light and dark. The power of Integrative Magick that enables us to bring all parts of life to bear on our great work. Aligning the parts of our soul, connecting our animal, human, and divine natures. The series will grow and expand over time, facilitating our own growth and expansion.”

Funds raised through Fiat LVX will go into covering production costs, with any remainder being funneled into the non-profit Pagan organization Solar Cross. While there have been Pagan instructional videos in the past, and a growing number of Pagans are utilizing Internet video and communication services to conduct classes, I believe this is a unique service, particularly considering the professional production values.

Ten Years of Fort Bragg Open Circle: Today, Fort Bragg Open Circle, one of the longest-running Pagan military groups in the United States, celebrates its 10th anniversary. Attending and speaking at the event is Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary, who had this to say about this milestone in the group’s history.

Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary

“The Fort Bragg Open Circle is one of the oldest and longest running Pagan military groups in the United States of America. Also known by its original name, Bragg Pope Open Circle, it has been providing ceremonies, education, and other support for Pagans at Fort Bragg since its founding in 2001. It was among the Pagan military groups that took part in the successful quest to have the US Department of Veterans Affairs add the pentacle to its list of emblems of belief that can be included on veteran gravemarkers. I look forward to being part of the Fort Bragg Open Circle’s 10th Anniversary activities on Saturday and celebrating this milestone for this group — and for Paganism as a whole!”

The Fort Bragg Open Circle was formed not long after some conservative politicians, specifically former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr,  tried to institute a ban on modern Pagans in the military. That uproar in 1999 would echo for another decade, denying military Pagans the full honor and respect they deserve. So here’s to the Fort Bragg Open Circle for standing up and being out during a time when it truly was risky to do so. Congratulations on your 10th anniversary!

The Young Witches of Salem: Tonight sees the premiere of “The Young Witches of Salem,” a reality web series produced by Ed Hubbard of Witch School that follows a group of young Witches living in Salem, Massachusetts during the city’s busiest month of the year.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C41_FcJBdfI

“October 1st, 2011 With the cool fall winds of fall and we enter the month of October, America turns to Halloween, seeking out fun and entertainment. Starting Saturday Night, October 1st, the world will be able to visit the Halloween Capital of the World, Salem, Massachusetts, aka The Witch City and follow the exploits of real live Witches during the Haunted Happenings Season. The Young Witches of Salem will begin broadcasting their own web series and sharing their lives as part of the season. The series will follow The Young Witches Lexi Renee, Caitlin Rose, Peter Murphy and Danielle Young as they learn their craft from Salem leaders and Witch Elders, while dealing with the daily reality of their jobs, school, and personal lives. They are inviting the world to become part of the celebration known as Haunted Happenings, as seen through their eyes.

The cast members are not actors, but real members of the Witch community, a community that extends far beyond Salem itself, and they each have a different way of looking at the world. The web series will allow each of the Young Witches to have their individual voice and will allow the audience to have a voice as well with the inclusion of interactive video.”

I believe all the videos in this series will be posted to the MagickTV Youtube account for those who’d like to follow it there. It should be interesting to see how this develops, and who gets involved. Good luck to the Young Witches!

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

American Mystic Director on Pagan Centered Podcast: The Pagan Centered Podcast has just posted its latest episode, featuring an hour-long discussion with Alex Mar, director of the new documentary “American Mystic”. You can download the program, here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qhIWz4Lp-E

“The PCP Crew interviews Alex Mar of American Mystic, the first movie branded as a Pagan movie to be released to the general public in theaters! The crew discusses their thoughts about the movie with Alex and we all explore the movie at a greater depth. Don’t worry, even though we screened the full movie, we were able to negotiate the right to release the trailer to you as part of this episode so you will have some idea about what we are talking about. Special thanks again to Alex Mar and Empire 8 for making this happen on such short notice!”

Alex and “American Mystic” has been making the rounds of Pagan media lately, doing interviews with The Modern Witch Podcast (not to mention The Wild Hunt), and receiving positive reviews from a number of national Pagan outlets. The DVD will be available for sale at PantheaCon, and will be distributed exclusively to the Pagan community for a few months, before going “wide” this Summer on Netflix and iTunes. This year’s Pantheacon will feature a special screening of “American Mystic”, which will be followed by a Q&A led by me with the director, Morpheus Ravenna, and members of Stone City Pagan Sanctuary.

Witch School Names New President: The Internet-based WitchSchool has named Rev. Anna Rowe, Head of School for Europe and the UK, as the learning institution’s new president.

“Towards the end of January Ed Hubbard CEO of Witchschool asked me to consider the position of President of Witchschool. Ed has said that he has faith and trust in me to do the job so therefore I accepted. I have an extensive knowledge of how Witchschool works from the bottom up as I have been a member of Witchschool since it was originally just the Daily Spell going out via email. [...] I hope that every member of Witchschool will support me in our continued effort to provide anyone, anytime, anyplace with a Magical, Pagan and Wiccan Education. Witchschool is a valuable and growing aspect of the Pagan and Wiccan community and we are open to anyone who wishes to become a member and participate in our peer to peer learning.”

CEO Ed Hubbard commented that this move shows “that Witch School can develop global Pagan leadership.” While WitchSchool has drawn quite a bit of criticism and controversy during its existence, it has also developed a truly global network of students and practitioners, boasting ties from India to Brazil. Will the appointment of a president outside the United States denote a new focus on its international students? How will this affect their Salem campus? I’ll be paying attention as these issues develop.

A (Witchy) Romanian Valentine For You: The Canadian Press notes that a number of Romanian witches, led by Witch Queen Mihaela Minca, have performed a public ritual to help you find love on this Valentine’s Day.

“Joined by a handful of apprentice witches, queen witch Mihaela Minca led Monday’s outdoor ceremony, casting spells with peacock feathers and rose petals. The witches wore colorful, glittering robes in freezing temperatures to perform the ritual in the lakeside village of Mogosoaia.”

In addition to these amorous actions, Minca has been vocal lately in opposition to Romania’s new laws regulating witchcraft and fortune-telling. An issue I’ve covered quite a bit recently. Under proposed new regulations, could she be penalized if you fail in your romantic pursuits? It seems a silly thing to conceive of, but that’s exactly the road Romania’s been traveling down lately.

That’s all I have for now, have a great (Valentine’s) day!

“According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Thomas used a scheme in which he identified himself on social Internet networking sites and in text messages or e-mails as a female under the names of Stephanie, Jenn, Jessica or Kayla. Thomas is accused of using the personas to entice the minor-age boys, sending them pornographic female images and in return soliciting pornographic images of the young boys. Thomas, the charges indicate, also used the names Stephanie Danielson, Kayla Wilson, Jennifer Martinez, Jessica Gonzalez, Justin Danielson and Justin Williams with the e-mail addresses: justjock89@aim.com, Kaylaw21to@aol.com, Foryouhopeulike@aol.com, Luknfrmystudboy2@aim.com, Stephaniedanielson89@hotmail.com and stephaniedanielson1989@yahoo.com. The indictment alleges a timeline for each of the counts, starting as early as January 2007 and running through March 2010.”

This is relevant to our communities because while Thomas was allegedly abusing young boys, he was also leading an anti-Pagan crusade in order to drive Witch School out of Rossville, Illinois.

“Andy Thomas, youth minister at the Rossville Church of Christ, said residents had a spiritual responsibility to drive the witches out. If they didn’t, he said, young people were in danger of being pulled off the Christian path …”

The tensions between the residents of the Rossville-Hoopeston area of Illinois and Witch School are touched on in the documentary “Hoopeston”.

Ultimately, the ongoing local hostility did prove successful in driving the Witches out of the area, and Witch School relocated to the friendlier climes of Salem.

“Witch School Headquarters are closing in the Rossville-Hoopeston area of Illinois. Witch School settled from Chicago to Central Illinois in 2003, and became the center of protest by many of the Christian Churches in the area. A well-documented spiritual battle has been waged for the last six years, with open hostilities and long quiet truces by various Christian factions. Simply put, this has not allowed Witch School the staff and resources needed to keep up with their growth. On Halloween, Witch School Rossville will close permanently, and Witch School will be moving its HQ to ‘The Witch City’, Salem Mass.”

If there’s a larger lesson to be learned from the sad incident, it may be that those most willing and eager to persecute others often have some sort of dark secret of their own to deal with. Usually these secrets are pedestrian when exposed to daylight, an affair, simple hypocrisy, fraud, but occasionally true monsters are exposed when scrutiny is shifted from the targets to those pointing the finger. Andrew L. Thomas was considered a pillar of his community, a moral leader, and there’s no telling how these revelations, and the resulting trial, will affect a community that is already dealing with severe problems. Here’s hoping the victims will see justice done.

A Celtic Temple in Minneapolis: PNC-Minnesota reports that on September 18th a temple constructed by the Old Belief Society in Northeast Minneapolis will be consecrated and opened to the public.

September 18 heralds a new piece of Minnesota Pagan history: a Celtic Pagan temple,  in Northeast Minneapolis, opens to the public. Andrew Jacob, priest of the Temple of the River,  (TOR) will lead a purification ceremony in the Mississippi River. After the ritual, participants can dry off in the new temple, also called the Irish Cottage Building.

The temple is the first official structure of the Old Belief Society, a community intended to train Celtic priests by combining academic and spiritual teachings. Temple of the River, a smaller subset of that society led by Jacob, formerly occupied a space in Dinkytown before moving their meeting space to his home in Northeast. He conceived of building a physical temple after helping construct a Native American style pavilion in 2006. “We made it a priority to have a physical temple in a permanent space – because a welcoming meeting space is one of the first things you need for community.”

While there are many instances of Pagan-owned lands, Circle Sanctuary, for instance, Temple of the River priest Andrew Jacob claims this is the first temple of its kind in North America. Considering the fuzziness of the term “temple” within our communities, it’s hard to gauge if this claim is true. If you know of any other free-standing structures that are solely dedicated as Pagan temples and open to the public please drop a note in the comments. Whether unique or not, this is a remarkable accomplishment, and one that will no doubt benefit Pagans in the Twin Cities.

Lady Liberty League 25th Anniversary Reception: Founded in 1985 by Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary, the Lady Liberty League is one of the most active and effective Pagan-run religious freedom organizations in existence today. On September 15th in Washinton DC, at the Universalist National Memorial Church, they will celebrating their 25th anniversary.

“This special evening includes networking, refreshments, and remarks by Selena Fox of Wisconsin, Lady Liberty League’s Founder and Executive Director, and Patrick McCollum of California, LLL Chaplaincy Affairs Director and among this year’s recipients of the Hindu American Foundation’s Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism.

The evening will include an overview of the history and accomplishments of Lady Liberty League, including its origins in September 1985 in the networking that defeated federal anti-Wiccan legislation. Lady Liberty League activists and Circle Sanctuary ministers from across the country will be helping with the reception. Among the national Pagan leaders already planning to take part in the reception are Marci Drewry of Virginia, Director of Military Affairs, Sacred Well Congregation and Holli Emore of North Carolina, Executive Director, Cherry Hill Seminary.”

This event is free and open to the public. To find out more, check out the LLL reception page on Facebook. PNC-Washington DC reporter David Salisbury is planning to be in attendance and will be covering the event. Congratulations to Lady Liberty League on their 25th anniversary, here’s to 25 more!

Patrick McCollum at HAF’s Capitol Hill Reception: Since the Circle/Lady Liberty League press release has given it away, I assume it’s now safe to announce that the Hindu American Foundation will be honoring Pagan chaplain Patrick McCollum with the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism at their 7th annual Capitol Hill Reception on September 14th.

“Join us as we honor Congressmen, government officials and individuals for their commitment to promoting understanding of Hindu American issues, pluralism and tolerance.”

A prominent Hindu organization honoring a Pagan chaplain and activist is a big deal, and could signal a new era of cooperation and communication between American Hindus and Pagans. I’ve been in contact with HAF concerning this, and will be bringing you more on this story after the ceremony.

Wendy Rule Plays for a Pagan Nonprofit: Australian singer-songwriter and Pagan Wendy Rule is currently on a American tour to promote her latest album “Guided By Venus”. In addition to playing at the Pagan music-heavy StrowlerFest (as reported here previously) on September 10th and 11th, Los Angeles Pagan Examiner Joanne Elliott reports that she’ll be wrapping up the tour with a benefit concert for the Temple of the Goddess on September 15th.

“Australian singer-songwriter Wendy Rule – a self-proclaimed witch – will make the sole Los Angeles area appearance of her 2010 U.S. tour at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15. Rule has agreed to make this a benefit concert for Temple of the Goddess (TOG), a nonprofit religious organization committed to the spiritual well-being of the Los Angeles and world communities. TOG will also sponsor this intimate, 60-seat, open air twilight performance under elder oaks at a private residence in Pasadena.”

For more on the concert, including information on purchasing tickets, click here.

Return to Stoudtburg Village: Some of you may remember the drama last year over a Pagan group holding a small festival at the tourist-trap Stoudtburg Village in Adamstown, Pennsylvania. Several Christian-owned businesses, offended by Pagans holding a gathering at the village, boycotted by shutting down their stores in protest. The situation soon made national news, and gained the attention of prayer warriors and Pagan organizations like the Lady Liberty League. Ultimately, the event happened, a few businesses shut down, and things were largely peaceful and productive. Now, the Reading Pagans & Witches are holding the event again, expanding it to two days, September 11th and 12th, and having Circle Sanctuary’s Selena Fox speak at the event.

“At 10 am on Saturday, Selena will open the festival with a blessing that includes the ringing of a memorial bell to coincide with the bell ringing at the Flight 93 National Memorial (www.honorflight93.org) in Shanksville in western Pennsylvania to honor those who heroically died when the plane crashed there at 10:03 am on September 11, 2001. At Noon, Selena will facilitate a Circle of Freedom and Remembrance. This 9th anniversary September 11 memorial ritual is a remembrance for all who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on America that day. The rite also focuses on healing as well as will include an honoring of Freedom and America’s religious and ethnic diversity. Pagan first responders and Pagans in the US military – present and past - are invited to be part of the procession that begins this rite.

At 1 pm, Selena will give the Festival Keynote: Earth Spirituality & Religious Freedom. She will give an overview of Paganism across time and cultures and speak about ways Pagans of many paths can work together for greater religious freedom in society.”

The event is free and open to the public. You can find out more about the event, here. This whole situation shows how religious freedom and acceptance can happen if we don’t back down in the face of opposition and protest, congratulations to the Reading Pagans & Witches for making this happen.

Happy Anniversary Witch School: In a final note, today is Witch School’s 9th anniversary. Here’s an excerpt from a statement by co-founder Rev. Donald Lewis on the occasion.

“Today is the Ninth Anniversary of the founding of Witch School!! Witch School was founded on September 4, 2001. Co-founders Ed Hubbard, Don Lewis, and Lisa Tuit created Witch School as a response to the tremendous success of the Daily Spell e-zine, which had been offering the Correllian First Degree teachings. The school was initially run out of Rev. Don’s kitchen. With its philosophy of an “Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere online Pagan and Magickal education” the school grew rapidly, filling a void created by the lack of accessible teachers. Witch School was and is a revolutionary educational system utilizing peer-to-peer teaching and the power of the Internet to bring Pagan religious and magical education to people around the globe. The Witch School system was able to reach people in remote geographical areas who were otherwise unable to connect with teachers, and to provide training in an extremely flexible and effective way. Today Witch School has students on all seven of the Earth’s continents (yes, even Antarctica) and is the most trafficked Pagan site in the world. We are very proud of our school and its students and salute each and every one!”

Rev. Lewis goes on to explain the significance of the Sept. 4th debut, and connections between Witch School and the Correllian Tradition. While Witch School has certainly been controversial during its years of operation, few can deny that it has become a prominent Pagan organization, and looks to be around for a long time to come. Congratulations to Witch School on their anniversary.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

Patrick McCollum at the World Forum of Spiritual Culture: Cherry Hill Seminary has announced that Pagan chaplain, Circle minister, and CHS instructor Patrick McCollum will be presenting at the World Forum of Spiritual Culture in Kazakhstan this October. McCollum is the first Pagan invited to address the forum.

“The World Forum of Spiritual Culture is hosted by the Kazakh government, the International Association of Peace Through Culture, the Congress of Spiritual Concord, and other other Kazakhstan, European and Russian organizations. McCollum will become the first Pagan leader to address the World Forum of Spiritual Culture, his remarks becoming part of the international journal published following the event.

The World Forum hopes “to find a solution to the systemic crisis of the modern civilization by realizing the priority of spirituality and culture above all other public values.” The Kazakh President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, will address the group during the conference.”

McCollum will be joining luminaries like Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter to search for solutions that will “cure our modern civilization from the virus of greediness.” McCollum, whose star is rising across the globe as an ambassador for modern Pagan faiths, is still fighting to get equal treatment for Pagan prisoners in the state of California and across the US.

The World of Witches Museum Opens in Salem: The Witch School-backed World of Witches Museum in Salem is having its official opening today (Friday). Salem’s Mayor Kim Driscoll will be cutting the official ribbon to the museum.

“In celebrating this Independence Day weekend we are reminded that our founding fathers fought for our freedom. In honoring this American tradition, on Friday, July 2nd, The World of Witches Museum will officially be opened in Salem, Massachusetts. This will be a unique museum as the focus will be on the history of Witchcraft from a positive point of view. As part of the opening the Mayor of Salem, The Honorable Kim Driscoll will officially cut the ribbon at a noontime ceremony along with members of the Salem Chamber of Commerce, Staff of the Museum, Bewitched in Salem, and many other friends and supporters. This will be a major milestone for the Wiccan and Pagan community as this will be the first time that their history will be shared with mainstream society in such a public way. It is a showcase for the community that is fighting for the right to practice their religion in modern America.”

Among the displays will be one focusing on Witch School’s travails in Hoopeston, Illinois, which eventually drove them to the more welcoming arms of Salem, Massachusetts. Rev. Don Lewis, Curator of the Museum, says that this project represents “a coming of age for the Witch movement, which allows us to recognize that we do have a history worthy of sharing”.

Voices of Pagan Pacifism: A new initiative from Alison Shaffer, the Voices of Pagan Pacifism project, is working to spotlight voices of pacifism and peace-making from within the Pagan community.

“We hope this website will become an archive of helpful resources, inspiring stories and challenging essays available to the Pagan pacifist community, as well as the larger community of Pagans, Witches, Druids, Heathens and others interested in pre-Christian and earth-centered spirituality. It’s important to know that we are not alone, and to showcase the work and lives of our fellow peace-makers and social activists!

We conceive of this project as providing a showcase and permanent archive for the many voices of Pagan peace-making in the modern world. For this reason, we gladly accept submissions that have already been published elsewhere, provided they are submitted by (or with prior permission from) the original author and are accompanied by appropriate references and credit to the original publication source (including a link, if available). We also welcome new and original work never published before, by aspiring and previously-published writers alike!”

I’ve long thought that pacifism within modern Paganism needed a clearing-house so that conscientious objectors could use it as a resource should the need arise. Kudos to Alison Shaffer for getting this started. They are looking for writers and interviewers now, I recommend checking it out.

Making Mischief With SJ Tucker: Pagan singer-songwriter SJ Tucker’s new album “Mischief” is due to be released on July 16th and is now available for pre-order from her web site. On her personal journal, Tucker has been talking about the process and meanings behind the songs on the new album.

“Love changes us all, makes us broken, makes us brave, makes us deny ourselves and our very breath, makes us refuse to listen when our hearts tell us that the time has come to move on, to break the surface. “Neptune” is the story of what can happen after you’ve drowned yourself willingly in someone else’s hopes and dreams, and you find that saltwater and shadows no longer sustain you. “Neptune” is the story of what can happen when you’ve lived in sin with a god for long enough that the respective piles of dirty laundry and broken promises have started to really get on your nerves.”

Tucker is currently planning a big Fall tour, but you can catch her this Summer in Oregon as part of Tricky Pixie at Faerieworlds.

A Fundraiser for Joe Credit: Musician Joe Credit, a member of the Pagan band SONA, is trying to raise money to remove a a grapefruit sized hernia in his groin area.

“Joe Credit has a grapefruit sized hernia in an especially uncomfortable location on his body. Imagine getting kicked in the groin several times a day. This is his life. He is having trouble finding a way to get the operation because he is currently without insurance. He is slipping through a very unfortunate loophole. Unable to really work because of the hernia, yet unable to get disability or medicaid. He is expected to live with this hernia until it is “life-threatening” at which time he will be able to get an operation with no problem. Joe’s family does not want him to have to wait until his hernia is life-threatening. I wish we could somehow come up with the money ourselves but times are tough. Hence this fund-raiser. Joe has a lot of friends. If we could all pitch in maybe we could raise enough to get him the operation. Or at least get him enough money to be evaluated by a real doctor, not the emergency room. Thanks!”

Living without health insurance, living in pain until a problem is “life-threatening”, is no way to live at all. If you have a few bucks to spare, why not help out one of our own to have a better life.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

“Andrew Thomas made his first appearance in court today. He’s been the youth minister at Rossville Church of Christ for three years, according to court records. Prosecutors say he had sex with a 16 year old boy he was mentoring. They say it happened over the last few months. The victim came forward to police. Thomas was arrested last night. If convicted, Thomas faces up to 15 years in prison. His friends, family, and church community are standing behind him. Prosecutors say more charges could be filed. They are investigating whether he may have child pornography on his computer.”

While these accusations against a Christian clergyman seem sadly pedestrian in an age of massive abuse scandals, this case draws special attention for our community. For while Thomas was allegedly abusing young boys, he was also leading an anti-Pagan crusade in order to drive Witch School out of Rossville, Illinois.

“Andy Thomas, youth minister at the Rossville Church of Christ, said residents had a spiritual responsibility to drive the witches out. If they didn’t, he said, young people were in danger of being pulled off the Christian path …”

The bitter irony of a man trying to protect “young people” from Witches while allegedly abusing them hasn’t escaped the folks at Witch School (since relocated to Salem, Massachusetts), who have released a statement concerning the matter.

“Pastor Andy Thomas, which claimed superior rights has now been arrested for Criminal Sexual Assault against a minor, and will face trial for them. He is alleged to have had sexual encounter with a 16 year old boy under his mentorship, and is under investigation for child pornography. He is still innocent until proven guilty, these are serious charges that question the intentions and his moral standing in the community. Our heart goes out to his alleged victim and there families, as this must be very difficult to deal with. We feel for the Rossville community, which trusted this man to give them clear spiritual advise, and instead betrayed them, in this case with their own children. In truth, he abused their trust as well, when he led them in vigorous protest against Witch School, which had never once involved in any activity to harm the community. Pastor Andy Thomas worked hard to assure the community and the nation knew how awful it was that Witch School was, while he was the individual who was bringing real harm to the community.”

You can see further reactions from Witch School at Rev. Don’s Vlog.

While his church community claims to be standing behind him, one has to wonder how many in Rossville are now questioning the past actions of this pastor, and if his obsession with driving out the “harmful” Witches wasn’t an externalization of the same deep seated psychosis that allegedly drove him to abuse children. Did he believe that by driving out the “other” he could also drive out the same demons that haunted him? Or was his religious zeal all a smokescreen for a deep-seated abusive nature? In any case, no matter what the ultimate outcome, this Witch-hunter has fallen.