Pagan Community Notes: Patrick McCollum, PFI-Ukraine, Mills College and more

Patrick McCollum has announced that he will be awarded the 2016 Ralph Bunche Medal For Peace by the International Human Rights Consortium. He will be receiving the medal at the UN’s Commission for the Status for Women held in March. McCollum explained that the Peace Medal was named after Ralph Johnson Bunche, who was “an American political scientist, academic, and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Israel.”  It was designed and sculpted by Alex Shagin, the world-renowned metal sculptor and coin designer best known for designing Olympic medals and other similar items.

In his announcement, McCollum also said that he will be the last recipient of the award and that he is thankful to “the many friends and colleagues who have supported and encouraged [his] work for World Peace over the years.” He added, “I share the honor of this award with all of you.”

Ukrainian Pagans, Shamans, Witches Schedule Walpurginacht Public Peace Prayer

KIEV, Ukraine –On April 30, two thousand witches were expected to gather publicly to work for peace in a land that has been rocked by Russian-backed rebellion. Despite the size of the event, only minimal information about it made its way out of the Ukraine. Fialkora Mykytenko, national coordinator for PFI Ukraine, posted an announcement of it in her native Ukrainian. Here is a translation:
On April 30, Walpurgis Night, a (witches’) sabbath will be held in Kiev, with the official approval of the Defense Ministry, and with two thousand people in attendance. The organizers’ web page indicates that this will be the first such massive gathering of practitioners of magick, psychics, healers, and representatives from a wide range of esoteric cultures.The ceremony will be directed toward the restoration of peace and harmony in the territory of Ukraine and the adjoining nations, and be based on the time-honored rituals of civilizations throughout the world.