Reflections on Standing for Liberty in Washington DC

As I crossed the harbor my ancestors sailed across to this New World in the 17th century, I was reminded of the freedoms we take for granted and just assume are part of our life forever. Sitting there, sailing from Boston to the city of Salem, I checked my watch and saw that the boat was leaving for my home city at the same hour Rev. Selena Fox and Roberta Stewart of Circle Sanctuary were a meeting with government officials in Washington, DC. I sent empowering thoughts for the approval of getting the Pentacle on the list of approved symbols for our nation's veterans. As the breeze picked up I felt the winds of change upon the shores of this country.

I had just spent three days with Mrs. Stewart, and a little more than a week with Selena and the Lady Liberty League team in Ohio and then Washington, DC. The privilege, pleasure, and honor it was to be there in service to the Pagan and Wiccan communities was sometimes overwhelming. Roberta is someone I had only had email communications with over the past several months as we worked as a team on this quest. Her poise and dignity shine through like a beacon in the storm -- stalwart and strong. At the same time, her heart is open and clear, beaming the kind of integrity that is not often found in human beings. Clearly she is guided not just by her Gods and Goddesses, but also the spirit of her husband, the love of her life.

On July 4th, 2006, about 300 people sat, stood, danced, drummed, sang, and chanted. They came to support the idea that all people, all faiths are equal under the eyes of the law in this nation, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America. The sun was blazing hot and humidity high, yet there seemed fountains of water to drink and nourishment came from the quest we were on.

What is it that has some people drive, fly, take trains, and walk to a place hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of miles from home on their own dime to do something like this? We wondered how could we harness the energies of our community's freedom in such a way that would make a difference?

As tents were erected and the sound system checked, I walked the rim of Farragut Square in Washington, DC. Signs were planted in the ground like a mighty fence surrounding us bearing statements for all to see as they passed by. We were literally two blocks from the White House. While some thought the President was away, it became clear he was actually in town. The flag was up on the roof that told the world that he was there. All I could do is cast a wish, a thought, a spell into the ether that he would know we were there and we were not going to be silent.

Soon it was time to start the festivities. My job was to support the media tent, speakers, and Mrs. Stewart as the press came. Most of the media really understood what was at stake if one group's freedoms stayed oppressed. They were concerned about the lack of religious accommodation for our veterans. Media included CNN television, AP radio, and Pagan press were on site to take the story to the world. The morning of the rally, the Washington Post published an article on page two about this issue.

Speakers arrived and lots of networking began. More people came. Drummers came. More chairs unfolded and people sat waiting to make the difference they had come to make. People well known in our communities for their spiritual leadership came to support one another and the issue. The thick air of the day seemed to lighten as activities buzzed around us.

Organizer Caroline Kenner shared how she created this rally. Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State spoke of the need to keep church and state separate. As a minister, he is a strong voice for this, coupled with his matter-of-fact of speaking, it was clear he gets the idea to his bones. It is our faiths that guide our consciences, and he reminded us of that. To take our faith away was to take away our right to exercise our own voices. He spoke with such clarity, conviction, with without ego. It was clear though, in listening to him, that we must never take freedom for granted.

For many years I have known that our own community was a wealth of talent and strength, and it was evident in our own community's speakers. Roberta Stewart and Kathleen Egbert (Rosemary and Abe Kooiman's daughter) spoke of the toll this yet unfulfilled quest for the Pentacle has taken on their families. They shared the feelings that have come up for their children, the loneliness of losing someone and yet being unable to mourn because they have to keep fighting to get the Pentacle on the VA list for their loved ones. Their stories are not fully known and the injustices they have endured are countless. For them, closure is down the road. Imagine hearing from your neighbors that you deserved to have your loved one die because she/he was a Witch/Wiccan/Pagan? Yet these women were gracious, loving, and knew anger was not going to help their cause.

Kathleen shared a poem about what happens when we, as people on this planet, do not watch out for one another. If we do not do that, then when it is our time to need someone, no one will be there. Roberta shared her heart-wrenching story, her pain, her rage with our government, and her plea for them to set things right. She shared about her daughter's difficult experiences with all of this in school and in her community. She also shared the family and community letters to the government officials and how it often felt like no one was listening.

Journeying home, I remembered Roberta's and Kathleen's stories. I also remembered the stories of the families of the Witch trail hysteria victims. The disillusionment with one's government, the betrayal, the taunts, the teasing and yet, on the other side, the vision of something bigger coming from the experience. But why is it we must fight for something that we have been taught is our right?

Since the day of the rally, I have been thinking about how our government seems to be acting like the religious authorities during the Witch trials and the Burning Times. As I reflected, I fought visions of ropes hanging from trees, fires burning, and people yelling from the perimeter to burn or murder the Pagans and Witches. I let go of flashes of children crying and women wailing, families mourning.

These visions and thoughts were easy to dash though because in front of me had been the rallying cry instead of victimization. Instead of ropes and inquisition teams, there had been friends, families, and statues of Liberty. I was reminded that together, when standing in solidarity, we are stronger than alone. As I listened to the words and witnessed the warriors and warrioresses standing shoulder to shoulder for the greater good, raising voices, singing the messages of equality, it was a clear vision. We were not going to sit back on this one!

Rev. Selena Fox's message about the course of this quest took on moments of the best tent revival I had ever witnessed. She stood appropriately dressed in a brilliant blue dress, a huge pentacle on a red and white striped ribbon around her neck, and her bare feet firmly on the Earth, She shared stories of the nine year struggle that numerous groups have gone through to get the Pentacle on the list of approved symbols. With her she carried a letter signed by heads of five major Wiccan churches, which, in the past as well as the present, have filed applications for the Pentacle to be added to the list of symbols approved by the National Cemetery Association for veteran memorial markers. She and others carried petitions around and enrolled the support of people there to help gather signatures to send to our government officials. Her leadership and collaborative efforts with the larger Pagan communities, leaders, and people was totally amazing.

Phyllis Curott talked about her concerns regarding the dangers we face as a nation if our community's religious rights are infringed upon. I was left to wonder if the theocratic politicians have thought about what happens in the future when the laws they passed get used unfavorably against them.

Patrick McCollum shared his journey as one person who is being able to make a difference in federal agencies, while working inside prisons and in other bureaucratic systems. His revealed a personal story of how is worked with a prison official and listened to dominant faith rhetoric for a week, how it got old, and, at times, was disempowering. But how, in an odd moment of trust in his faith, the paradigm shifted to a way in which breakthroughs in that system happened.

Washington radio personality, Caroline Casey gave us her analysis of the times we live in from an astrological and numerological perspective. Byron Ballard of the United Religions Initiative shared the value of interfaith work and building bridges with other faith communities.

Such strong faith these people stand in. I am proud to serve the community with them as we work as a team. We are a gifted community with leaders, not only making a difference within Paganism and Wicca, but in the world for others, too. It's a community of service, with faith as its guide.

What would a rally of our community be if it were not for our storytellers and bards? Celia, with her siren voice, sang of freedom. Her song Symbol, about the Pentacle Quest, Sgt. Stewart, and related issues, brought people to tears. Guerilla Poet's sassy truth, in the rapper's voice, was stirring, and created a crowd for us to begin the day. Mz Imani's rendition of America the Beautiful blasted through the sound system so loudly that I have no doubt that the President, who was in town that day, could hear it. From art comes beauty, from beauty we connect to the spiritual place that expresses the Divine for us. From there we make a powerful statement.

Sgt. Stewart, Rosemary and Abraham Kooiman, and other deceased Wiccan veterans awaiting the Pentacle deserve help from their tribe members to fight for their sacred symbol to be carved in stone. Their presence and spirits could be felt. It was similar to the line in the song Breaths, "The dead have a pact with the living." And for me, I clearly see that is a two-way pact. It is up to us to fight for their last wishes.

These people, and the others who remain nameless, were in the souls of those who have served our nation. Their heartbeats were felt through the beats of the drum, the dancing feet, and clapping hands. And from the great beyond, in their resting places, I had a sense of them leading us in to the battle for equality under a Constitution that says we, as a nation of Americans, have freedom of religion and conscience.

After walking home from the boat dock and pier, all that was clear to me was that we must never take any of what we have for granted. For like a shift in the wind, new administrations come and go, and we must be the canaries in the coal mines reminding our nation that there is danger lurking when we stop paying attention to the liberties we have. We must honor the gifts of freedom. We must be willing to fight for it. For the minute we don't, there may be no one there to save us!

Jerrie Hildebrand has been affiliated with various national Nature-centered, Wiccan and Pagan organizations since 1986. Currently she is the assistant director of the Lady Liberty League, and also works with the Our Freedom network. She is an ordained minister with Circle Sanctuary. She also leads an interfaith women's collective in Massachusetts. Her work as an artist, individually and for business, is tied with her love of transformational thinking and processes. Jerrie is owner and principal designer for an award winning creative solutions and marketing company with 30 years experience blending her spiritual work as an artist and business woman. She is also the mother of a wonderful twelve year old who loves the religion of baseball! Jerrie can be reached at jerrie@circlesanctuary.org.

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