Jacob Davis, a Wiccan student at Southeastern Local Schools in Ohio, challenged the traditional Christian clergy-led prayer at his school’s graduation ceremony, saying he’d prefer a moment of silence instead.

“Traditionally, the school has had a reverend deliver an invocation and benediction at the ceremony, but the practice recently was challenged by senior Jacob Davis. Davis, who raised his concerns in a Letter to the Editor at the Chillicothe Gazette, had conducted a petition of classmates for a moment of silence instead, gathering about 44 signatures. Principal Leonard Steyer was prepared to make a decision about the prayer Friday when he received a copy of a letter faxed to the district Thursday by a staff attorney for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State … Davis, a practicing Wiccan, said he is uncomfortable being asked to participate in a Christian prayer at his graduation, and contends the tradition violates separation of church and state provisions. “I think the best thing to do is have no other prayer,” Davis said … Davis indicated a student-led prayer wouldn’t bother him (even though he wouldn’t partake) because the student would be exercising his or her right to free speech.”

Davis was supported by the Lady Libery League and Americans United in his request, and it looks like his efforts were successful because Superintendent Brian Justice announced yesterday that no clergyperson will give an invocation or benediction.

“Southeastern High School graduates will not have a clergyperson delivering an invocation and benediction at their ceremony. Superintendent Brian Justice explained Wednesday he and the board are not anti-prayer, but are obliged to follow the law. “We will not violate the laws … (I and) my board of education believe in prayer, but we’re not for violating the law. Are we happy about it? No,” Justice said. Issues over the school’s tradition were raised by senior Jacob Davis, a practicing Wiccan, who felt the prayer violated the law and provisions for the separation of church and state. Davis issued his concerns through a letter to the editor to the Chillicothe Gazetteabout two weeks ago before speaking with administrators, Justice said.”

This most likely won’t eliminate prayer at the ceremony, no doubt one of the student speakers will decide to invoke Jesus or God during their time on-stage, but Davis has managed to remove school-sponsored public (Christian) prayer. Further, Davis has proven that only by speaking out and risking criticism and mockery (and I can only imagine some of the hate-mail Davis will be receiving in the weeks to come) can you effect the change you want to see in the world. Before now no one bothered to do anything about the school-sponsored clergy-led invocations and benedictions, it was considered a “tradition” and one that even non-Christian students probably didn’t give much thought to. But thanks to Davis the lulling refrain of “this is how we’ve always done it” has been challenged and the assumption of Christian adherence removed from the school’s functions. Speaking out may not always get you what you want right away, but sometimes merely speaking out (and a faxed letter from Americans United) does work.

Here’s a quick look at some stories of note that you may have missed over the Solstice weekend. First, I would like to quote author Deepak Chopra on the controversy over Barack Obama picking Rick “friendlier version of James Dobson” Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration.

“In the midst of controversy over picking Rick Warren to offer an invocation, it’s been overlooked that reality is shifting in America. We are a largely secular society where the vast majority of people do not attend church. When religion enters the picture, we are a pluralistic society, not a Christian one. The right wing may posture as if Christianity deserves special privilege and pride of place. Their posturing has convinced a lot of people for the past twenty years, but it’s high time we threw the whole charade out the window. Barack Obama got in trouble with Jeremiah Wright and now he’s in more trouble with Rick Warren. He should take this as a lager lesson. Anyone he chooses to invoke God at his inauguration will be divisive, either overtly or covertly.”

I think that Obama the pragmatic centrist may have outsmarted himself this time around. For some specifically Pagan responses to the Warren pick, check out Medusa Coils, Thudfactor, Radical Goddess Thealogy, On Holladay, and The Pagan Sphinx.

What happens when your religion doesn’t have a goddess? Does it try to create one? The Boston Globe interviews Miri Rubin, author of “Mother of God: A History of the Virgin Mary”, who reveals some interesting tidbits about the development of Mary in the Christian Church.

“There developed a representation of Mary, a little statue, that when the statue was opened up, almost like a Russian doll, you found inside a representation of the Trinity, and this is to say that within Mary was everything, and it’s all englobed and so on. And theologians say this is absolutely abhorrent, this is not historical, this is totally ridiculous.”

Sounds awfully like a Mother Goddess to me. But then, to me, some corners of present-day global Mariolotry seem little more than a sanctified Christian manifestation of a goddess religion.

A paper in northwest Florida looks back at a year of suspicious goat decapitations, and interviews Dee Thompson, director of animal services for PAWS (Okaloosa County’s Panhandle Animal Welfare Society), about the killings. Thompson, who previously conjectured the killings might be connected to Palo Mayombe (which they described as a “dark” branch of Santeria) doesn’t seem so sure of the religious angle now.

“It was a long, strange year of cases for PAWS, Fort Walton Beach police and Okaloosa sheriff’s deputies. Between Aug. 26, 2007, and Aug. 6, 2008, nine goats turned up headless. None of them were traceable. After the ninth incident, Thompson had begun to wonder if it was personal. In 2007, Thompson was tasked with collecting a rape kit from a mutilated dead goat in Mossy Head in Walton County. Bacteria destroyed her DNA sample, but not before investigators determined it was human. As gruesome as the incident was, that goat became a running joke in town. And because Thompson was the one who tested it, she suspected someone might be toying with her.”

So it might have been a sick twisted joke at her expense and not some sort of dark religious spectacle? Too bad the press was so reluctant to give more time and space to theories that didn’t involve “the occult” or Santeria.

The Wisconsin State Journal sits down for a drink with Circle Sanctuary’s Selena Fox and talks about the Winter Solstice, legal issues affecting Pagans, and how Circle is faring during the economic downturn.

“I think there’s general stress, so it’s really important as we go into the solstice time to not only cherish what we have, but to really strengthen our connection with family and friends — our support network. Just as I encourage people to kindle light to brighten their solstice, I think it’s also a good idea to remember that life as a journey has rough spots and smooth spots. It’s important to look at challenges as opportunities to move in new and better directions.”

Fox says that 2009 will see them focus on developing a green cemetery for Pagans, and a possible trip to Australia for the Parliament of the World’s Religions.

In a final note, Dispatches From the Culture Wars notes the passing of the notoriously anti-Pagan bigot (and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation) Paul Weyrich.

“One wonders what principle he was refusing to bend upon and what “moral courage” Weyrich was showing when, in 1999, he launched a campaign to get Christians to boycott joining the military until Wiccans were banned from joining the armed services. The only “principles” at work there were bigotry and discrimination … this is a man … who hated the very notion that anyone he doesn’t approve of had religious freedom.”

The blog post reprints one of Weyrich’s anti-Pagan rants, in which he calls Wicca “evil” and claims that allowing Pagans into the military will cause God to withdraw his protection from American troops (this is a guy who thought Pat Robertson was too liberal). For more on Weyrich’s nuttery, click here. He is no doubt in heaven with Jerry Falwell, where they can commiserate about the wickedness of Pagans until the end of time.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

The Religion Clause blog reports that a case involving a controversial Nativity Scene erected on city property in Green Bay, Wisconsin this past December has been dismissed by the judge.

A brief moment of religious inclusiveness in Green Bay.

This ruling isn’t exactly a rousing victory for Mayor Jim Schmitt. While Green Bay won’t have to pay damages, this “Christmas Wars” showdown hasn’t endeared him to the local press, and even local clergy have told him to keep city hall secular.

“Mayor Jim Schmitt has met with clergy to get their ideas on a city policy. They agreed that the city should stick with secular decorations and leave the religious displays to area churches and synagogues.”

This case has displayed the worst impulses of politicians. Enacting policy in order to “take the fight to” organizations they disagree with, inviting religious diversity to cover their tracks, and then insulting a local Wiccan organization (Circle Sanctuary) by refusing to replace a holiday display that had been vandalized. It makes one wish that Green Bay’s mayor had the same good sense as Muskego’s.

“You have to be respectful of all religions and if you start putting one display up, you have to put up displays for everybody,” Muskego Mayor John Johnson said. “If you put up a Nativity scene and then a group asks you to put up a Hanukkah display or a display for the Muslim holiday, do you tell them no? You can’t.”

While the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s suit was dismissed, they, and the Green Bay residents who filed with them, really won the larger battle. It seems very likely that Mayor Jim Schmitt and the city council will take the advice of local clergy and keep things secular this year. Avoiding future games of litigious “chicken” for the sake of proving that Green Bay is more Christian than Madison. Let’s hope this case fizzling out will be a harbinger of the larger “War on Christmas” finally losing momentum among the punditocracy.

Opening oral arguments are supposed to begin tomorrow in a lawsuit over a nativity scene installed at the Green Bay city hall building, but the Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a motion to delay after learning that Mayor Jim Schmitt is planning to present a new holiday display plan to the city council in October.

“Based on comments to the media by the Green Bay mayor indicating the city may adopt a policy to place only secular decorations at City Hall, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has asked the judge to delay oral arguments scheduled for Monday, Sept. 15, in its Green Bay nativity scene lawsuit.”

It seems that Schmitt has been meeting with local clergy, and they have been telling him to keep city hall secular.

“Mayor Jim Schmitt has met with clergy to get their ideas on a city policy. They agreed that the city should stick with secular decorations and leave the religious displays to area churches and synagogues.”

A peaceful (and secular) solution to this issue would most likely be in Schmitt’s best interests at this point. Local commentators seem to have lost patience for this “unseemly circus”.

“Remember this all started after the city of Peshtigo received a letter from the foundation protesting a nativity display in a public park, and then-council president Chad Fradette and other aldermen decided, in Fradette’s words, “So now the Freedom From Religion Foundation can pick on somebody a little larger than Peshtigo.” This reckless action — which had everything to do with picking a fight and precious little with the meaning of Christmas — reaches its logical conclusion Monday as oral arguments begin in the foundation’s lawsuit against the city.”

This “picked fight” between Green Bay and the Freedom From Religion Foundation sucked several minority religious groups, including Wiccans, into the fray, and resulted in some anti-Pagan vandalism.

“Someone who vandalized a Wiccan wreath atop City Hall early today fled the scene, but left a ladder behind. At 12:43 a.m., a Green Bay police officer was flagged down by a citizen who was driving by and reported seeing someone on a ladder at Green Bay City Hall, 100 N. Jefferson St., taking down a holiday decoration …”

Here’s hoping that a drawn-out court battle can be avoided, and the city sees the value in not favoring one form of religious expression over another.

Last winter’s saga concerning a Nativity display, the Green Bay City Council, and a vandalized Wiccan wreath is finally heading to court on September 15th.

“The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Liberty Counsel will face off next month in federal court over the nativity display installed at Green Bay City Hall last Christmas season. Oral arguments are to begin at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 15 before federal Judge William Griesbach at the federal court building, 125 S. Jefferson St., Green Bay. The Freedom From Religion Foundation and 14 area residents are suing the city of Green Bay, Mayor Jim Schmitt and former City Council President Chad Fradette over the display. With the suit, filed at the end of last year, the foundation seeks a court order forbidding the city from installing a religious display on public property, whatever further relief the court deems fair, and costs and attorney fees for the action.”

To briefly sum up the story, the Green Bay City Council decided to put up a Nativity display on top of the city hall building after the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation threatened a smaller Wisconsin town to take their Nativity scene down (they did). In an attempt to protect themselves from litigation, Mayor Jim Schmitt announced that any religious group that wanted to place their own display next to the Nativity could do so. That’s where the Wiccans come in.

Green Bay employee installing a Wiccan wreath.

The Pentacle wreath was donated by Wisconsin-based Circle Sanctuary, but no sooner had the Pagan display gone up, when it was vandalized in the night. The wreath only sustained minor damage, but instead of replacing it, Mayor Jim Schmidt decided that only the Nativity could stay up (he also claimed he had no idea the wreath was donated by Pagan Witches), and no other religious displays would be allowed until they could “develop a set of guidelines”. Discussion of new guidelines wasn’t given a date, and the Nativity stayed up alone until December 26th. City Council President Chad Fradette was obviously spoiling for a legal showdown.

“After the vote, Fradette declared, “I’m trying to take this fight to the people who need to be fought. I’ll keep going on this until this group imposing Madison values crawls back into its hole and never crawls out.” Fradette also warned that he would reach out to the Alliance Defense Fund and the Liberty Counsel for legal assistance in helping him defend the display.”

Well the “Green Bay values” versus “Madison values” battle royal is finally here, with the Religious Right organization the Liberty Council representing the city of Green Bay. Will the case be dismissed? Will Green Bay be forced to keep it secular this Winter? Stay tuned for further developments. I may even decide to drive down from Milwaukee and see this clash of the titans for myself!

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel publishes an article about how Pagans that Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary knows are excited that a “unicorn” (a deer that grew only one horn due to genetic mutation) was born in Tuscany.

“Unicorns are considered sacred creatures in ancient and contemporary pagan traditions,” said Selena Fox, founder and senior minister of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church, resource center and nature preserve with a worldwide ecospirituality ministry on a 200-acre nature preserve about 30 miles west of Madison. “Some pagans are part of the emerging field known as crypto zoology, in which science and myth converge. There are several theories about unicorns having actual origins in living creatures. Well, this report seems to confirm that.

The piece seems more like a way to plug the ongoing Pagan Spirit Gathering, than to have a discussion about the significance of a single-horned deer. For some reason the article keeps bringing to mind Oberon Zell-Ravenheart’s old “unicorn” goat-raising business.

Canada seems to be big on controversial child welfare cases lately. First we had the swastika/Odinist case from last week, and now the Children’s Aid Society has been called in, and a report filed, after a psychic claimed a young autistic girl was molested.

“Leduc’s weird tale began on May 30, when she dropped young Victoria off for class at Terry Fox Elementary and headed in to work, only to receive a frantic phone call from the school telling her it was urgent she come back right away. The frightened mother rushed back to the campus and was stunned by what she heard – the principal, vice-principal and her daughter’s teacher were all waiting for her in the office, telling her they’d received allegations that Victoria had been the victim of sexual abuse – and that the CAS had been notified … “The teacher looked and me and said: ‘We have to tell you something. The educational assistant who works with Victoria went to see a psychic last night, and the psychic asked the educational assistant at that particular time if she works with a little girl by the name of “V.” And she said ‘yes, I do.’ And she said, ‘well, you need to know that that child is being sexually abused by a man between the ages of 23 and 26.’” … things got worse when school officials used the “evidence” and accepted the completely unsubstantiated word of the seer by reporting the case to Children’s Aid, which promptly opened a file on the family.”

Here you thought the use of spectral evidence had been done away with! Luckily the girl had recently been hooked up to a GPS and an auditory monitoring system which conclusively proved that the girl was never sexually abused. But now the mother doesn’t want to send the child back to the gullible educational assistant (for obvious reasons), and wants the school to pay for special therapy. Something the school has refused to do at this point.

Controversy swirls in the UK after a local Pagan meeting space/shop in Reddish was refused classification as a temple under the Places of Worship Act of 1855.

“A bid to set up the UK’s first official Wiccan temple in Reddish is living on a prayer after the Government refused to recognise the building as a genuine place of worship. Sandra Davis, high priestess at the Crystal Cauldron, on Gorton Road, is appealing the decision she claims is discriminatory. She applied to have her business – a shop and meeting room – recognised as a temple but this week the General Register Office, part of the Home Office, refused … The Home Office argues that the religion does not involve worship of a supreme being so is not legitimate, a point which Sandra strongly refutes.”

Doesn’t involve the worship of a supreme being? I expect that Pagan advocacy groups in the UK are already discussing strategy and responses. Considering the growing numbers of modern Pagans in the UK, this will be an issue that will only intensify in years to come. More on this as I hear it.

The newsroom of the Miami Herald turns to Santeria in order to save their struggling newsroom in the face of an increasingly digital world.

“And then somebody brought a chicken into the newsroom. A sign affixed to the bird — a statue of a rooster in full crow — said: “Brought in by a Santeria priest … to help save our jobs. Make an offering.” The bird, placed last week on a bank of file cabinets in the newsroom of The Miami Herald, drew flowers, wine, pennies, peppermint, dolls, candles and other oblations. A few days later, the McClatchy Co., which owns The Herald and 30 other newspapers around the country, announced it was cutting 10 percent of its work force. At The Herald, that means 190 jobs throughout the newspaper’s various departments. So if Santeria — a combination of Catholicism and the West African Yoruba religion — has any miracles to work, it better get busy.”

Santerian rituals aside, editorialist Leonard Pitts Jr says that the old-school newspaper business needs to change or die, turning to the web not as a side-project of the newspaper but as the primary means of delivering news. Unfortunately many news organizations seem stuck in the past, and are unable, or unwilling, to change.

In a final note, this Summer Solstice, in addition to your normal religious/ritual plans, you might also want to spare some time to pray for Native American sacred spaces.

“The sixth annual National Days of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places will be observed across the country on June 20 and June 21. The day highlights the dangers posed to sacred places like Mount Taylor in New Mexico. Tribes are seeking to protect the mountain from uranium development amid controversy. “We honor sacred places, with a special emphasis on the need for Congress to build a door to the courts for Native nations to protect our churches,” said Suzan Shown Harjo, the president of The Morning Star Institute, which organizes the event.”

Public prayers will be performed across the country at many sacred sites, and in Washington, D.C., where the day will be observed on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on the West Front Grassy Area at 8am on June 20.

That is all I have for now. Have a great day!

Cherry Hill Seminary and the Lady Liberty League have released a joint press-release concerning Pagan chaplain Patrick McCollum’s upcoming presentation before the US Commission on Civil Rights in Washington, DC.

“The Rev. M. Patrick McCollum will be part of a six-member panel of experts presenting to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on Friday, February 8, 2008, on Religious Discrimination and Prisoners’ Rights. The panel is being convened to shed light on the nature and extent of the problems which have arisen in this context and to discuss what can be done to resolve inmate grievances in United States prisons … ‘It is an honor to be invited to participate in the dialog and to share a Wiccan’s point of view,’ said McCollum in a recent interview. ‘Those in minority faiths are seldom [offered] the opportunity to be heard, even when the issue concerns their rights. I am hopeful that this invitation is indicative of what we can expect going forward; that there is truly 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.’”

McCollum’s historic testimony comes at a time when the issues concerning minority faiths in prison have never been more visible. Lawsuits are being fought over the hiring of Pagan chaplains to service the growing number of Pagan inmates, the issue of Pagan syncretism and dual-adherence in prisons is becoming a heated topic, and numerous legal challenges are taking place as Pagan prisoners try to carve out more rights for themselves.

Issues of religious freedom in places like prison or the military, two places where Pagans have been making waves lately, are bellwethers for the eventual entry of modern Paganism into the social and political mainstream. The days of non-Christians feeling left out are slowly coming to an end. In its place will come greater visibility, political power and influence, and harsher scrutiny from those opposed to our growth. If you think Mormons and Muslims have it rough now, just wait till Pagans, Buddhists, and Hindus start making themselves heard.

So when McCollum swears to the Goddess to tell the whole truth, and gives his testimony on Friday, he will be talking about Pagans in prison, and the chaplains who want to serve them. But he will also be inching modern Paganism that much closer towards full inclusion and participation in deciding how America looks at minority faiths.

ADDENDUM: Speaking of Pagans in prisons, you might want to check out Get Religion’s coverage of the recent Christo-Pagan inmate story.

ADDENDUM II: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has released its own press release on Friday’s panel discussion, and has included a full list of scheduled speakers.

“Abu Qadir Al-Amin, Imam, San Francisco Muslim Community Center; Carolyn Atkins, Warden, Maryland Correctional Institution-Jessup; Frank Cilluffo, Director, Homeland Security Policy Institute, The George Washington University; Lane Dilg, Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief; Gary Friedman, Chairman, Jewish Prisoner Services International; Alex Luchenitser, Senior Litigation Counsel, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State; Patrick McCollum, Statewide Wiccan Chaplain, California Department of Corrections; Steven T. McFarland, Director, Task Force For Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice; Patrick Nolan, Vice President, Prison Fellowship; Joseph Pryor, Chaplaincy Administrator for the Federal Bureau of Prisons; and Gregory Saathoff, Executive Director, Critical Incident Analysis Group, University of Virginia.”

For info as I come across it.

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

The National Post discusses the “trouble with Mary” (specifically her virgin birth), and archetypes of belief that collectively influence us.

“Christ is born at the darkest time of the year. That’s not an accident. There are a lot of extremely complex ideas behind that. So here’s one: the redeeming hero emerges when the need is greatest. The hero is born not only when things are darkest but also when tyranny has reached new heights. There are dozens of examples like that which underlie the way these stories are constructed; they are stunningly profound and people relive them all the time.”

That quote, from psychologist Prof. Jordan Peterson, ties into his theory that belief is as “necessary as air and water” (and also echoes a point Pagans have been making during this time of year for ages). That everyone, no matter their philosophic orientation, holds onto core beliefs (because the universe “is far more complicated than we are smart”) to steer them through life.

American Indian columnist Dorreen Yellow Bird weighs in on the recent “Lakota Freedom” movement, and admits it is a good idea, but a good idea come too late.

“Means and his group have some points – perhaps 200 years too late, but they do have some points … We have, however, gone beyond those years. We have taken on the federal government as our government, too. That means the government also provides us funding and supplies for programs such as Head Start, housing, social services and so on – just like it does for the rest of the country … Finally, there the treaties. For the Three Affiliated Tribes, the Fort Laramie treaties of 1851 and 1886 provided land. True, the U.S. government took some of that land rather surreptitiously, but we were able to hold the line because of that legal document – a treaty. Those documents are important, shouldn’t be abrogated and should be taken seriously. Means and his group are seemingly out of step, but they remind us of our tragic history.”

The Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel has printed an editorial from Jason Leopold that paints a chilling picture of Christian indoctrination at basic training camps.

“The Christian right has been successful in spreading its fundamentalist agenda at US military installations around the world for decades. But the movement’s meteoric rise in the US military came in large part after 9/11 and immediately after the US invaded Iraq in March of 2003. At a time when the United States is encouraging greater religious freedom in Muslim nations, soldiers on the battlefield have told disturbing stories of being force-fed fundamentalist Christianity by highly controversial, apocalyptic “End Times” evangelists, who have infiltrated US military installations throughout the world with the blessing of high-level officials at the Pentagon. Proselytizing among military personnel has been conducted openly, in violation of the basic tenets of the United States Constitution.”

Leopold says that much of the military evangelism is carried out by Military Ministry, who have gained unprecedented access to places like Fort Jackson Army base in Columbia, South Carolina. The question remains on how safe our Pagan solidiers (and other religious minorities) will be if this increasingly Christian military is left unchecked.

Coming back to the Green Bay Pentacle wreath controversy, Muskego Mayor John Johnson explains why his city won’t be dealing with the problems Green Bay now has.

“You have to be respectful of all religions and if you start putting one display up, you have to put up displays for everybody,” Muskego Mayor John Johnson said. “If you put up a Nativity scene and then a group asks you to put up a Hanukkah display or a display for the Muslim holiday, do you tell them no? You can’t.”

Always refreshing to hear from someone in Wisconsin who understands how to manage a Constitutional holiday display. In related news, you can now download the NPR program Here On Earth featuring interviews with Circle Sanctuary’s Selena Fox (who put up the Pentacle wreath in Green Bay) and Graham Harvey, professor of Religious Studies at the Open University, UK, discussing the Winter Solstice.

“This hour on Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders, Lori Skelton and her guests celebrate winter solstice, the longest night of a year with stories from different religions and cultures around the world.”

You can download the show, here (mp3 link).

That is all I have for now, may your celebrations of the returning sun be festive tomorrow.

As if by clockwork, last night a man tried to removed the Pentacle wreath on top of the Green Bay City Hall which was placed next to a controversial Nativity scene.

“Someone who vandalized a Wiccan wreath atop City Hall early today fled the scene, but left a ladder behind. At 12:43 a.m., a Green Bay police officer was flagged down by a citizen who was driving by and reported seeing someone on a ladder at Green Bay City Hall, 100 N. Jefferson St., taking down a holiday decoration … The suspect was described as a white male, 5-foot-10 to 6 feet, between 150 and 170 pounds, wearing a gray parka-type jacket and gray hat with ear flaps. The ladder was left at the scene. The wreath was taken down and found behind the shrubs. There was minor damage to the wreath. There was no other damage to the other decorations or the building. This incident remains under investigation.”

Luckily the wreath was on top of a roof, so the suspect couldn’t simply back a truck over it. Perhaps religiously-motivated vandalism is how Green Bay shows how its different from their more cosmopolitan neighbors in Madison and Milwaukee? In any case, it remains to be seen if this incident will affect the decision-making at the special City Council meeting on Tuesday. Will they decide to call the whole thing off like Olean did?

ADDENDUM: Looks like Green Bay isn’t handling this situation too well…

“In an about face, Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmidt says no one else will be able to put symbols on Green Bay City Hall for right now. The mayor told several people who showed up at City Hall with symbols today that news. Those people weren’t happy … One woman who showed up Monday asked how a ‘Pagan Pentacle’ ended up on City Hall if she wasn’t going to be allowed to add her symbol. Another told the mayor if her symbol couldn’t go up, everything would have to come down … Mayor Schmidt says until the city council debates the proposed guidelines tomorrow night, the city will not allow new symbols on City Hall.”

Looks like a lot of unhappy people will be awaiting the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting.

While vandals and controversy may have ended the display of a festive holiday Pentacle in Olean, NY, it looks like the story will continue in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Green Bay employee installing a Wiccan wreath.

This comes after the Green Bay City Council decided to thumb their noses (“tell the Madison people that Madison values need to stay in Madison”) at the Freedom From Religion Foundation for challenging a Nativity display in a small Wisconsin town. In order to maintain a veneer of legality, Green Bay invited other religious groups to contribute their own symbols to the display. Nearby Circle Sanctuary (who provided the wreath), is the first to take Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt up on the offer.

“When I learned that Mayor Jim Schmitt publicly invited the contributions of other expressions of faith, I decided that our church should offer to contribute a Yule wreath with pentacle to the holidays display. Our pentacle wreath represents our celebration of Yuletide and the new solar year, and also is part of our observance of Interfaith Awareness Week in Wisconsin which we have been celebrating all week,” – Rev. Selena Fox, Senior Minister of Circle Sanctuary.

The question now is will it stay up? The Green Bay City Council has scheduled a meeting this coming Tuesday to discuss the resolution installing the Nativity, and if the Council acted properly in approving Council President Chad Fradette’s request/vendetta. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (which is based in Madison, Wisconsin) says that if the “legally messy situation” isn’t cleaned up at Tuesday’s meeting, they will bring forth litigation against the city. In the meantime, Hindu, Unitarian-Universalist, and Buddhist groups have all approached Green Bay in order to have their own symbols placed next to the Nativity (requests the City says they have to honor since they haven’t drawn up any guidelines regarding holiday displays). So it looks like Green Bay will have some interesting times in the coming weeks.

PS – For a lighter side to the Pentacle/Nativity controversies, the Pagan-themed comic “Oh My Gods” has released two strips inspired by these recent news events. Part one. Part two.