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 A Battle is Won in Nevada, The Quest for VA Approval of the Pentacle Intensifies
Author: Paula Johnson
Posted: December 24th. 2006
Times Viewed: 8,829
In spite of the December chill, more than 75 people came together to attend the public dedication of Sgt. Patrick Stewart's plaque on the Wall of Heroes in Fernley, Nevada. In addition to family and friends from the local area were Pagans from other parts of Nevada and from other states, including Utah, Florida, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. They gathered to honor Wiccan war hero, Sgt. Patrick Stewart who was shot down in Afghanistan on September 25, 2005. Earlier this year, when his widow, Roberta Stewart attempted to order his memorial plaque from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) her request was denied. The reason, she was given, was that her husband's emblem of religious belief, the Pentacle, was not one of the 38 symbols of belief approved by the US Department of Veterans Affairs for inclusion on the memorial markers it issues.
  Roberta Stewart finally was able to lay her beloved husband to rest, on December 2, 2006, more than a year past his death. This happened because the Governor of Nevada, Kenny Guinn, intervened and provided a memorial plaque with the Pentacle on it, saying that Sgt. Patrick Stewart had died for his country and that was all he needed to know.
Selena Fox, High Priestess of Circle Sanctuary, led the order of the service for the Dedication. It began with drumming by WinterSky and Aryel Greencraft of the Ancient Cauldron Coven in Sacramento, California. Selena then welcomed all and introduced retired military chaplain and Christian minister, Rev. William Chrystal. Chaplain Chrystal led a group of Pagan veterans in a salute to Sgt. Patrick Stewart, and then described his own relationship with Sgt. Stewart. He honored Sgt. Stewart's Wiccan beliefs when he said, "I wear this uniform proudly, as Pat's Chaplain and as a Christian minister. I think it was Red Cloud the Sioux who said that there many paths to the Great Spirit."
Selena then led all in a call and response litany of thanksgiving, and this was followed by Roberta Stewart, with grace and dignity, expressing her deep appreciation to everyone who had been involved in making the memorial plaque a reality. She thanked US Senator Harry Reid, Governor-elect and US Congressman Jim Gibbons, and Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn and his staff. Roberta stated: "I'm very proud of the state of Nevada, the state that stood up for the Constitution of the United States."
Divine God, Goddess, Great Spirit,
You who are known by many names as Creator,
As all that is,
As the Great One and the Many,
We honor you,
And invite you,
To watch over and bless our Dedication today
Rev. Selena Fox's Opening Invocation
Sgt. Patrick Stewart's Plaque Dedication
December 2, 2006
Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery - Fernley, Nevada
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During the Thanksgiving, a representative from Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid's office, delivered the following statement, from Senator Reid, "This day is long overdue. Ever since Sergeant Patrick Stewart's death, his wife Roberta has worked to ensure he is properly recognized. I commend the Nevada Office of Veterans Services for making it happen. All of our troops deserve nothing less that to be properly recognized. I will continue to work closely with the US Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that the issue is addressed at the federal level."
Nicholas Vander Poel, Regional Representative for Nevada Governor-elect and Representative Gibbons also spoke at the Dedication: "I remember standing in Rancho San Rafael, telling Roberta if there was anything we could do, please do not hesitate. We did not want to let her down. We were constantly in contact with the VA and we wanted to make sure that Sgt. Stewart was recognized." Following the Dedication, Representative Gibbons released this statement: "Sgt. Patrick Stewart made the ultimate sacrifice defending the freedoms we enjoy, religion being one of them. Sgt. Stewart defended a constitution that said he had the freedom of religion and it was only fitting to see him receive a plaque honoring his beliefs. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to Roberta and the family."
Following the Thanksgiving, there was an interfaith plaque blessing with rituals and prayers from Wiccan, Native American, Jewish, and Christian traditions. Selena began by using Wiccan tools from the Stewart household to bless the plaque with Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. Then, she was joined by about a dozen other Wiccan and Pagan priestesses, priests, and elders from a variety of traditions as they spoke in unison "Keepers of the Fire, " a blessing created in honor of Sgt. Stewart by Tia Hu of the Sacred Well Congregation.
 Next, Mato Witko, of Comanche and Irish heritage, and a pipecarrier and Sundancer in the Lakota tradition, blessed the plaque, and Roberta and her family with prayers and smudging. This was followed by prayers in Jewish and Christian traditions.
I felt particularly honored to participate in the interfaith portion of the ceremony by reading a traditional Jewish prayer of remembrance, typically said at the unveiling of a headstone. The prayer was one of remembrance and expressed the hopes and prayers that all religions have in common regardless of belief, the desire for peace in the world.
Although I am a Wiccan High Priestess, I am of Jewish birth and it felt like a true mitvah (Hebrew word for good deed) to share the prayer of my ancestors with those who had assembled to honor and remember Sgt. Patrick Stewart.
There was no doubt that everyone in attendance was very happy for Roberta Stewart and grateful to Governor Guinn for the one time gift of this marker. This is the first Wiccan Pentacle in United States history to ever appear on a government-issued veteran memorial plaque in a veteran's cemetery. The Blessing portion of the Dedication culminated with an opportunity for all to do blessings in their own way. The latest version of Celia's song "Symbol" considered by many to be the "anthem" of the Pentacle Quest, played in the background as nearly everyone in attendance lined up to individually touch the Plaque.
There was a sense of awe as those present got their first close-up glimpse of the plaque. I watched the faces of my colleagues, people I have come to know, respect and care about, as they tenderly and reverently touched the marker and the Pentacle upon it. There are no words to describe what I saw in their eyes. It was a very emotional day and many appeared to be deeply moved. I believe everyone in attendance will always remember what it was like to experience and share the magic and sentiments that plaque with Pentacle evoked.
After all the prayers and blessings were said the Dedication seemed to almost organically evolve into a Religious Freedom Rally. Each of the speakers called for the VA to add the Pentacle to its list of approved symbols. Emotions were high as those in attendance braved the freezing cold and while shivering, listened to speakers demand that the VA uphold the US Constitution. It is fair to say that all in attendance shared and expressed a steadfast belief that the VA must uphold equal rights for Wiccan and other Pagan veterans and their families.
Wolf, a Pagan elder and veteran from the Reno Pagan Community shared his thoughts about the significance of honoring all religious traditions in the military. He agreed with Rev. Chrystal's observations that "the freedoms we have been bequeathed by the founders are not necessarily always given to us by our government."
 Patrick McCollum, Coordinator of the Lady Liberty League's Chaplaincy Affairs, High Priest of Our Lady of the Wells Church, and a National Liaison for the American Academy of Religion Chaplaincy Program, recalled that Thomas Jefferson, in1776, quoted the great English philosopher and scholar John Locke, when he said, "Neither Pagan nor Mohomitan (Muslim) nor Jew ought to be excluded from the rights of the commonwealth because of his religion. Shall we suffer a Pagan to deal with us and not suffer him to pray to his god? It is the very refusing of toleration to those of different opinion which has produced all the bustles and wars on account of religion."
Patrick went on to say, "I am a man of faith, a Pagan chaplain devoted to the service of my country and to all those who find themselves in need, no matter what their faith. And I believe in the inherent dignity of each and every human being as our founders did, whether Christian, Muslim, Pagan, Jew, Buddhist or non-believer, including a myriad of many other possibilities and I have to tell you that I believe that our founding fathers would roll over in their graves if they knew what the Veteran's Administration was up to."
Speaking on behalf of the Lady Liberty League and as a National Interfaith Representative of Covenant of the Goddess, I thanked the Governor of Nevada for his gift. Then, I personally asked President George W. Bush to intervene and read the following remarks made by President Bush on October 31, 2006; "All of America's veterans have placed our nation's security before their own lives creating a gift that can never be repaid."
In my personal appeal, I asked that President Bush repay Wiccan and Pagan soldiers who have died in wars both past and present by honoring their constitutional right to freedom of religion so they might in the Presidents words "sleep in valor beneath this sacred ground."
Jill Medicine Heart Combs, a member of the National Board of CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) and a National Board member of Pagan Pride Project International spoke about her husband, Gerwin Dee Combs. "My husband is a Wiccan veteran. For the last two years he has been in a VA hospital. He is in a coma and his medical records reflect that he is in a persistent vegetative state. I know at any moment my husband could die and I know he would want a Pentacle on his headstone and as of now, he could not have one."
Jill became visibly more emotional as she spoke, "Congresswoman Jean Schmidt of Ohio's 2nd District wrote a letter to me this summer stating that the VA is concerned about the "legal and moral aspects" surrounding VA approval of the Pentacle. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects freedom of religion. It is not the job of the VA to determine the morality of any particular religion, but for the record my husband's religion is moral. I will tell you what is immoral. It is immoral for the VA to deny religious freedom to veterans who have served their country in the fight for freedom."
Selena concluded the Freedom Calls portion of the Dedication with her own call to the VA to approve the Pentacle and uphold the US Constitution. She then read statements from two family members of deceased Wiccan veterans.
She began by reading a statement from the mother of Stephen P. Snowberger III, an 18 year old, Wiccan soldier who died while fighting in Iraq on May 11, 2006. As I listened I felt a profound sense of sadness. It is, in my opinion, cruel and inhuman to expect a mother to lose her 18-year-old son in defense of democracy and freedom and then deny her the ability a final act to honor his sacrifice with the placement of the religious emblem his religion on his memorial plaque. Although this young soldier's mother is not Wiccan, she expressed her commitment to honoring her son's beliefs and the Quest.
Karen DePolito, the widow of Korean War veteran, Jerome Birnbaum also contributed her perspectives to the day's program. Selena read her words which both expressed her happiness for Roberta but also her feelings of anger towards the VA and sadness for having to continue to wait for VA approval of the Pentacle so that her husband, too, can have a veteran memorial marker with a Pentacle on it.
Rev. Selena Fox, High Priestess and Senior Minister of Circle Sanctuary, then read a statement from Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which is representing Circle Sanctuary, Karen and Roberta, and Isis Invicta Military Mission, in federal lawsuits filed against the VA on November 13. In his statement, Rev. Lynn reaffirmed in no uncertain terms AU's commitment to the Pentacle Quest.
The Dedication ended with all in attendance gathering in a circle around the "Wall of Heroes." Rev. Selena Fox led the crowd in repeatedly chanting, "Liberty and Justice for All!"
I am very happy that Roberta Stewart has at last been able to find closure to her long ordeal. Roberta is a beautiful and brave woman who will forever have my admiration and respect. Roberta continues to be a part of the Pentacle Quest. She knows that other families are waiting for their beloved dead to be honored with their own plaque complete with the religious emblem of their choosing.
The Pentacle Quest has completed this important victory, but is still continuing. In fact, it is currently intensifying, with lawsuits against the VA now being considered by judges in three different federal courts.
While we have won the battle for Patrick Stewart, this is just one victory in the war for freedom. Today, even though there are others who still wait and those who will come after them, the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to refuse to approve the Pentacle, the Wiccan emblem of belief, for use on the headstones, plaques, and markers of deceased veterans.
In life and in death Patrick Stewart was a true Warrior. Now from beyond the grave his battle still rages on. From a cold stone wall in a small town in Nevada the message of this very special memorial plaque with the Pentacle on it shines like a beacon. It is a hope for all Wiccan and Pagan veterans everywhere, a call to Washington to say -- we will not be forgotten.
Paula Johnson
Media Relations Coordinator, Lady Liberty League
National Interfaith Representative, Covenant of the Goddess
Footnotes:
Photos courtesy of Circle Sanctuary.
Group Photo: Prior to the Dedication of Sgt. Stewart's Plaque with Pentacle, some Lady Liberty League members from across the country met for breakfast near the Cemetery. Left to Right: Selena Fox (Wisconsin), Todd Berntson (Minnesota), Paula Johnson (Florida), Ayrel Greencraft & WinterSky (California), Roberta Stewart (Nevada), Jill Medicine Heart Combs (Ohio), & Patrick McCollum (California).
Please continue to send support to the Veteran Pentacle Quest.
For videos, photos, text of remarks and other coverage of the Dedication see:
http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/veteranpentacle/dedicationmain.htm
For more information about the Veterans Pentacle Quest, see:
http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/veteranpentacle
For updates about the Quest, subscribe to Circle Times, a free and occasional e-bulletin. Sign-up on-line:
http://www.circlesanctuary.org
Article Specs
Article ID: 11386
VoxAcct: 274794
Section: military
Age Group: Adult
Days Up: 1,315
Times Read: 8,829
RSS Views: 84,077
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ABOUT...
Paula Johnson
Location: Boca Raton, Florida
Website: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/veteranpentacle/dedicationmain.htm
Bio: Paula Johnson is the Media Relations Coordinator for the Lady Liberty League and is a National Interfaith Representative for Covenant of the Goddess. She is a Wiccan priestess from Florida who is currently completing her Master's degree in Mass Communications at Lynn University.
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