Views and Opinions from
Arkansas Pagans
Arkansas
Pagan Prison Ministry
Submitted by Silver Crow
We as a community have a once in a lifetime
chance of making a difference for our path. Arkansas Department of
Corrections is looking for volunteers to become a Certified Religious
Assistant. Arkansas Department of Corrections recognizes Wicca as a
legal and valid religion and needs people to clergy to The Pagans
inmates throughout Arkansas. I myself have been a CRA now for several
months and I can say it's really fantastic how much help and
accommodations ADC has made to facilitate us in helping the inmates. But
there is only Three Pagan CRA's for the entire state. This makes it
difficult to cover all the needs of the Pagan inmates held in the
statewide system.
We need your help, we need volunteers willing to
give up about 8hours a month to minister to the Pagans held in ADC
facilities. We also need books for them, ADC does not supply religious
material to inmates.
For more information please contact us at:
Pagan Prison Ministries of Arkansas
(Posted Feb 16, 2006)
Submitted by Debbie W.
There's been quite a stir here in
Batesville over the meeting that is planned for the 27th.... Here's an
opinion column from the Batesville Daily Guard in support of the
meeting... but there have been several
letters to the editor
encouraging "Christians" to go to the park on that day to protest the
meeting. You
can read them by going to www.guardonline.com and
signing in (free)
I personally hope that the Wiccans have a
beautiful meeting, the White River is a beautiful, and I hope
that
the meeting isn't spoiled by protests. I'm sending positive energy!
Wicca is a
religion
ANGELIA ROBERTS "In Black and White"
Published on 8/17/2005
A holy war is brewing and this
time it has nothing to do with alcohol.
Word is beginning to spread
about the Aug. 27 event scheduled at Kennedy Park where Wiccan members
plan to celebrate Pagan Pride Day. The event has been scheduled
for several months and
has been advertised on their Web site. Now,
the city is finding church members breathing down
its neck demanding
they cancel the event. Well, guess what? They can't. Should the city opt
to
cancel, it could face a discrimination lawsuit. The First
Amendment guarantees the freedom of worship
and of peaceable
assembly. And, according to the laws of our land, this event falls under
those guidelines.
According to T'rayna, one of the
organizers, the pagan event is part of Pagan Pride Week. And, like it or
not, Wicca is a recognized religion by the government right along with
the Baptist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic faiths. I learned that
several years ago while visiting an Air Force base in Colorado.
While reading the list of religious services there right among the
Baptists and Presbyterians were times
and dates for Wiccans. Shocked
and curious, I asked the chaplain standing next to me to explain. He
said
Wicca is a recognized government religion and that there were a
large number of individuals on the base
who attended those
"services." Being from the Bible Belt, I'm pretty ingrained in my
Biblical beliefs and find it hard to believe Wicca is, an acceptable
religion or the fact government/police agencies have consulted with and
used taxpayers' dollars to pay psychics for years. But it is and they
have. According to the press release, the upcoming event will focus on
Awakening Spirits, Invoking Wisdom and
workshops involving Green
Living, Chakras, Staff and Wand Making, the similarities and difference
of prayer and spell, Medicine Wheels, Chant, Child identification and
Main Ritual. There is also going to
be a little Sede Music for
entertainment. I was disappointed to find no Merle Haggard or Gene
Watson.
We don't have to approve or disapprove of the Aug. 27 event.
But we do have to be tolerant of others, even if their beliefs differ
from ours. Our Constitution gives Wiccans the right to worship and
assemble just like any other group or religious organization. I
truly believe our forefathers believed strongly in a
higher power.
They also understood about religious persecution and how important
tolerance of others is
to maintain a free society. If the devil is just waiting until Aug. 27 to
make his appearance in Batesville then we'd better prepare ourselves.
Chances are, he's already here. If he weren't we wouldn't need so many
churches. The truth of the matter is, the city has no choice in letting
this group have use of the park as long as they obey the rules and
regulations. The last thing this town needs is a war - and a holy
one
at that. Angelia Roberts is the managing editor of the Batesville Daily
Guard. She can be reached at
angeliaroberts@hotmail.com or by calling
the Guard at 793-2383.
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