Goddess Bless America:
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| Lady Liberty League Report - Circle Magazine, Winter 2001 |
Pagans joined with countless others across the country and worldwide to provide help in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001. Pagans were among the rescue and relief workers at ground zero at the World Trade Center. Pagans all over the country lined up to donate blood and volunteer at blood drives, some going together as a group or a coven. Pagans also contributed money to organizations helping the victims of the attacks.
Various Pagan rituals were held in the days that followed the attacks in locations from Washington DC to New York to California. Groves, covens, and open circles held both public and private ceremonies. Many rituals and circles were organized over the internet and several online altars were created as well. Some Pagans created buttons and t-shirts with American flag images and slogans such as "Goddess Bless America" and "In Gods We Trust."
Shortly after the attacks, Selena Fox and Dziwozona set up a special altar in the Temple Room at Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve. This altar served as a focal point for a variety of rituals, meditations, and other workings in the weeks that followed. We began a USA Healing Hoop to aid our ritual work. In personal meditations and in group rituals, Pagans tied on blue, red, and white ribbons as they focused on healing, protection, and renewal for the USA as a whole as well as for the victims of the attacks and their loved ones. At the Lady Liberty League website, we included a USA healing page (www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/usahealing).
In addition to doing one-on-one counseling by phone with Pagans directly impacted by the attacks, Selena facilitated several rituals and sharing circles, including ones at Craftway Circle on September 14 at Circle Sanctuary Land and one at Pagan Pride Day in Madison, Wisconsin on September 16. On September 12, Selena facilitated an interfaith sharing circle at the St. Benedict's Center in Madison, and a remembrance section was part of Circle Sanctuary's Samhain display in the lobby of Madison Hospice in Fitchburg. Several rituals and workings were held at Circle Sanctuary during our Welcome Fall Festival, September 21-22, and during our Samhain Festival, November 2-4. At our September events, we raised funds which we donated to the Liberty fund of the American Red Cross.
Three days after the attacks, on Thursday, September 14, Jerry Falwell appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network on "The 700 Club" and talked about the terrorist attacks with show host and fellow televangelist Pat Robertson. Falwell proclaimed his view that the attacks happened because God had lifted his "curtain" of protection from America due to "secularization," and blamed Pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays & lesbians, the ACLU, and People for the American Way. Robertson agreed. News of this bigoted remark spread quickly, in part because it was picked up by the global television network, CNN.
Falwell and Robertson were widely criticized for these remarks, not only by those they blamed, but by most Americans, including the White House, which declared the statement to be divisive and inappropriate. Robertson distanced himself from the remark and claimed he hadn't understood what Falwell said.
Some of the Pagan activists associated with Our Freedom: A Pagan Civil Rights Coalition issued via US Newswire a joint statement denouncing remarks by Falwell and Robertson. In addition, Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary spoke by telephone to Falwell staff and then faxed a formal request for an apology directly to Falwell at his Virginia headquarters. In a project similar to this Summer's successful "I am Pagan" postcard mailing, the Pagan Unity Campaign sponsored the "Bless America Project." In addition, many other Pagans called, faxed, and emailed both Falwell and the media.
Later, Falwell publicly apologized for the remarks and said that no one but the terrorists were to blame for the devastation of September 11th. National US news anchor, Diane Sawyer, interviewed Falwell on ABC's Good Morning America show on September 20, 2001. In a very hard hitting interview, she countered his claim that his comments had been taken out of context by playing back the actual tape of the TV show. She then asked him point blank if he truly believed that the groups he mentioned were a danger to America, after which he admitted they were not.
Pagans in the US Armed Forces and National Guard are among those being activated and deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom. The Military Pagan Network (MPN) has established the Adopt a Pagan Soldier Program, which will allow Pagan churches, covens, and solitaries to "adopt" a Pagan serving in the military during the current military action. MPN plans to connect each group or individual with a soldier to whom they can write, offer support, and possibly send care packages. In addition, MPN plans to send out lists of prohibited items that should not be included in these packages, and The Blessed Be plans to make special care packages available to those wishing to send them. Positive response to this program has been so overwhelming that there are currently more Pagans wanting to adopt a soldier than there are soldiers who have made themselves known to MPN. Know Pagans deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom who might want to be part of this program? Tell them to contact MPN. If you are a Pagan serving in the military and want to participate in this program, please sign up at www.milpagan.org, if possible, or contact MPN, PO Box 1225, Columbia, MD 21044; email: coordinator@militarypagan.org.
This Fall, in response to the attacks on the USA and the subsequent Operation Enduring Freedom, Selena Fox and SilverDrake Fey of Circle Sanctuary founded the Psyche Healing Corps, a network of mental health professionals willing to provide free counseling support and referral help for Pagans serving in the US military and their families and for Pagans directly impacted by terrorist attacks on the homefront. If you are a counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, or other mental health professional interested in becoming part of the Psyche Healing Corps, please contact us as soon as possible for more information. Please include your name, postal address, email, and telephone number(s), along with a description of your skills and experience. Contact SilverDrake Fey: silverdrake@earthlink.net.