First Wiccan Chaplain in History To Meet with U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Historic Briefing to be Held on Friday

BBSNews 2008-02-07 -- (CS) A Wiccan Chaplain and Statewide California Department of Corrections, Patrick McCollum will speak at a briefing on prisoners' religious rights at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Washington, DC on Friday, February 8, 2007. This marks the first time that a Wiccan expert has spoken on religious freedom issues at a Commission briefing.

"It is an honor to be invited to participate in the dialogue and to share a Wiccan's point of view," said McCollum. "Those in minority faiths are seldom given the opportunity to be heard, even when the issue concerns their rights. I am hopeful this invitation is indicative of what we can expect going forward and that there truly is a desire on the part of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to ensure that inmates receive equal treatment, and a willingness to better serve minority religions."

Rev. McCollum has been a member of Circle Sanctuary, an international Wiccan church for nearly thirty years and has been an activist for Wiccan and Pagan civil rights through the Lady Liberty League (LLL) which the church sponsors. He was part of the LLL team which succeeded in getting the US Department of Veterans Affairs to add the pentacle to its list of emblems of belief that can be inscribed on the veteran gravestones it issues.

As LLL's National Coordinator of Prison Ministries, McCollum has worked for inmates rights at state and federal correctional institutions across the nation for more than a decade. Rev. McCollum recently became the Director of Prison Chaplaincy for Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS), which offers graduate level education to Wiccan and Pagan chaplains serving in institutional settings. In addition, McCollum is also chair of the National Correctional Chaplaincy Directors Association.

Other speakers at Friday's meeting include representatives from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, American Civil Liberties Union Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Homeland Security, Office of the Deputy Attorney General as well as the Task Force for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

The briefing will be held beginning at 9:30 am on Friday, February 8 at U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 624 Ninth Street NW, Room 540, Washington, DC.