Patrick McCollum, a Witch Hero in Need

Patrick

Many of you know or have heard of Patrick McCollum. A man of many accomplishments and a devoted Priest of Brigit and goldsmith, Patrick has done as much, if not more, than anyone to ensure Pagan rights. For years he has served with the Lady Liberty League, in which he was an active participant in the Pentacle Quest*, has been consulted by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

In the area of prison ministries alone, Patrick has been the Wiccan/Pagan Chaplain for the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for many years, serving about 900 Pagan inmates in the enormous California prison system (a major growth industry, I'm sorry to say). This service requires him to travel up and down the state to remote areas where prisons are located, all at his own expense -- and we all know what's happened to the price of gas.

He has consulted on religious accommodation in prisons with the governors, attorneys general and/or prison authorities in at least 14 states plus the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He serves as liaison between the American Academy of Religion and the state chaplains of all 50 states. Furthermore, this past February he testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on religious accommodation; his testimony appears in the Congressional Record.

A sober-looking Patrick testifying before the
U.S. Civil Rights Commission in Washington, DC

Not only is Patrick a dear personal friend, but also he serves as the Director of the Chaplaincy Program at Cherry Hill Seminary, the first Pagan chaplaincy course ever.


Patrick fiddling at a Cherry Hill
Seminary retreat at Camp Salamander
in the Santa Cruz Mountains

The reason I'm writing all this about Patrick -- and I am only scratching the surface -- is to tell you that he is dealing with a medical condition for which I'm asking your help. On August 15, Patrick underwent surgery for a long-standing problem with his spine. The surgery itself went well, but two days later Patrick suffered a complication that necessitated further surgery on August 18. He has been in ICU at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, California since then, and remains there, although much improved.

Patrick welcomes healing. Given what I've told you about him, and that you have a photo and know where is is, I ask that you remember him in your prayers and rituals, light candles, appeal to his Lady Brigit, and do whatever else you can to hasten Patrick's relief from extreme pain and his ultimate recovery.

Patrick welcomes cards, but, please, no phone calls or visitors yet. His wife, Barbara, could also use some energy.

* Dr. Todd Berntson's film about the quest, "A Hero Denied," will have its first public screening at the Cherry Hill Seminary Winter Intensive in San Jose (the day before PantheaCon begins) in San Jose, California in February. The screening will be followed by a talk by Todd about the making of the film, and by both Todd and Patrick about the quest.

Updates & Expansions

The Modesto-based Association of United Pagans has posted some evocative photos of Sunday's event here. The three showing people holding the pentacles before they're attached to the markers I find especially powerful.

On another matter, Anne Hill has written some lovely ruminations about Reclaiming which speak eloquently for my feelings as well.

More on Pentacle Quest on West Coast

Victoria has already told readers about the hillside across from the Lafayette BART station that's covered with crosses, Mogen Davids and crescents. Yesterday pentacles were mounted on three markers, for Pagan soldiers. Nevadan Sgt. Patrick Dana Stewart, a member of Circle Sanctuary in whose name the pentacle quest was pursued, died at 37 in Afghanistan. North Carolinian Stephen Snowberger, III, of Sacred Well Congregation was only 18 years old when he was killed by an IED in Iraq. James Price of Kentucky, a member of Aquarian Tabernacle Church, wasn't much older, only 22. These three are not the only American Pagan war casualties. I suspect the selection of whom to honor might have been because these are three whose families Victoria was able to contact and speak with before the event. In any case, I hope this gives them some sense of how much their soldiers' lives were appreciated and are now mourned.

I was deeply honored to have been asked to read a bit about PFC Price, a radar communications specialist, in the ceremony. Since her son's death, his mother has become a Pagan.

Thorn has described this ritual in more detail. I, too, was taken aback to hear Druid Taliessen say that their deaths were not in vain. Yes, they can have a pentacle on their grave, as they should. But no one dies or is killed simply to have a pentacle on his or her tombstone. What is the value of this war that's claimed so many innocents? I see none.

In addition to the folks from the Pagan Alliance, who sponsored the event, there was a sizeable contingent from the Association of United Pagans who'd come all the way down to the Bay Area from Modesto, plus three Dianics and three Reclaiming Witches, Pagans you might not necessarily expect to see at such an event. Many of us are parents ourselves, and all of us know someone, or many people, who serve in the military and have been injured or killed in this immoral action.

Jason from the PA took lots of photos; he says they'll be viewable on the PA website but they're not there yet. I saw others with cameras and one reporter from the Daily Journal, a local San Francisco legal paper. I was disappointed not to see more press coverage of this important milestone. I'm sure more will appear in due time.

Pentacle Quest Celebration

Here's where I'll be this Sunday. I hope as many locals as can will join us. This is the only West Coast commemoration of this historic attainment.

Pagans to celebrate court victory and honor our own war dead.

The Pagan Alliance invites you to participate in a ceremony celebrating the recent settlement of the religious-discrimination suit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Under terms of the settlement, the VA will now include the pentacle on its list of 39 emblems of belief approved for use on headstones, grave markers and memorial plaques.

Please join the Pagan Alliance on Sunday, May 6 at 2 p.m. at the Iraq War memorial adjacent to the Lafayette BART station. We will consecrate the site, place pentacle markers to honor the two known Pagan soldiers who lost their lives in the conflict in Iraq, and we will celebrate the freedom-of-religion victory. The ritual will be led by Druid James Bianchi, a member of the Pagan Alliance.

The memorial is on Deer Hill Road, between Thompson Road and Oak Hill Road, directly facing the Lafayette BART station parking lot. For more information about the memorial site, please consult this website, which was created before the case settlement.

Banners, flags, drums and ritual garb are encouraged. Veterans and active-duty members are invited to wear military uniforms. Media coverage is anticipated. Because of extreme fire danger on the hill there will be no smudging, incense, candles or any open flame. We will consecrate the site using water from Brigid’s well. Accompanied children are welcome.

Please bring one small pebble with you and plan to leave it behind on the site. Let’s show the world that we deeply value our constitutional rights and the terrible sacrifices being made by our young men and women. We will gather directly outside the BART station in the area facing the handicapped parking lot and will process across the street to hold the ritual.

If possible please consider using BART instead of driving to the site. Sunday BART schedule from San Francisco to Lafayette can be found here. Sunday BART schedule from Pittsburg/Bay Point to Lafayette can be found here.

For more about this entire campaign, watch for the release of the film "A Hero Denied."

Lost?

No, not exactly lost. More like mired, traumatized by seemingly endless family crises. That's what accounts for my recent silence.

My 96-year-old mother, whose mind is gone and whose body is not far behind, told my sister Catherine recently: "I've decided not to die." She lives in one of those euphemistically named "convalescent hospitals." She hates it there. She's miserable. Yet she's never in her room, always seeking social contact somewhere in the facility. She cannot write, read or use the phone, which means she's cut off from far-flung relatives who enjoy keeping in touch with her. She's very unsteady on her feet and has taken several bad falls, one of which is the cause of her being in that facility in the first place, yet she constantly tries to get up and walk. I guess in some ways that's a good sign. She's tried to walk out of the facility. The staff has to monitor her so she doesn't fall or leave. She has no place to go, and she barely knows where she is anyway.

Neither Catherine nor I has the space or resources to care for her in our homes. Our father's legacy to ensure her care in her declining years is rapidly dwindling. Sadly, Mom's situation is not an unusual one in our society.

The other piece of bread of this sandwich in which I am the meat is my 30-year-old daughter. She's been in crisis that's breaking my heart, and my bank account. I've felt loved and supported by my dear friends and family during this difficult time. My partner Corby's been a wonder throughout everything. Still, love and support can only go so far. She has to take it the rest of the way on her own.

Enough of this whining. I'll be back on a more regular basis when I can manage it.

In the meantime, I direct you to my friend Victoria's blog, where she's posted some of those wonderful sheela na gig quilts I mentioned earlier. Here's a photo of the sheela at Killinaboy Church in County Clare; that's Corby gazing up at it.

And let us celebrate the victory of the Pentacle Quest. Watch for my friend Todd Berntson's forthcoming video called "A Hero Denied" documenting the whole quest.