Wiccan soldiers celebrate
Posted in World, Lifestyles, SpiritualityMarch 31, 2007 at 1:14 pm (UTC)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan–Members of the Wiccan religion celebrated the arrival of spring outside the Christian fellowship centre at the NATO military base here.
Canadian Maj. Malcolm Berry smiles as he recalls being approached a few weeks ago by a group of soldiers of the Wiccan faith – a neo-pagan religion strongly tied to nature.
“They wanted to welcome the spring in a ceremony where they are very thankful to Mother Earth and the new moon with pagan prayers,” said Berry, the senior chaplain for Task Force Afghanistan.
“We had no difficulty with that. We just didn’t want them to do it `sky-clad’ (naked) in this environment because it would be too dangerous.”
The six Wiccans – a Canadian and five Americans – were invited to hold their service outside the Christian fellowship centre.
They were given water, candles and food that they were welcomed to eat inside the centre after the ceremony.
The Wiccans were treated with the same respect as any Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist.
“We are way ahead of the curve in terms of adaptability, understanding others, being sensitive to the needs of all Canadians,” said Berry, a friendly, talkative Anglican minister from Oromocto, N.B.
Maj. Lisa Elliott, a Wiccan, said being allowed to openly celebrate her beliefs makes her a better soldier and makes it easier to serve her tour in Afghanistan.
“You are challenged when you come over here just to deal with the situation, and by somebody supporting your faith it makes it less challenging,” said Elliot.
Source
- Wiccan soldiers celebrate. (2007, March 31). Toronto Star. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
May 5th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
This is GREAT!!!!!! As a vet this is finally a step in the righr direction, faith helps all solders deal with the pains of war.
May 29th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Fantastic. I am a vet and even though I came to Wicca after I left the service, I am happy that the mitary has “chosen” to allow Wiccans to openly practice their rites and rituals.
July 12th, 2007 at 10:42 am
The Hindu religion has many or may be all the elements of Paganism and we do this kind of rituals in all regions of India in some form or the other, the concept being the same. We have festivals like Holi, Baisakhi, etc.
Happy for these people to be able to do this in Afghanistan, as it was once a Hindu region - all places east of the Hindu Mountains were Hindu in belief & so the name - where such festivals were common place. Happy that section of the whole of Mother Earth was stimulated there. THANX!
Regards & Hari Omm . . .
Abhijit.