The number of pagans and Wiccans inside prison walls is growing rapidly in this state (and others), as our numbers are growing outside. Pagan faiths are now recognized officially in prisons on an even basis with mainstream faiths.
But the number of Wiccans and pagans who have run afoul of the law is presenting a problem for prison administrations and chaplains. Pagans and Wiccans are entitled to be supported in their faiths, just as are Christians, Muslims and Jews. But how? Paganism doesn't have many recognizable and accessible central organizations, as do the mainstream faiths from which authorities draw volunteers and contract chaplains. Right now, there is a crying need for competent volunteer chaplains to fill open positions that have the potential to develop into part-time jobs as contract chaplains.
It's time we did something about filling that need. Sure, the bottom line of pagan faiths is personal responsibility, and you can argue that if someone is in prison, he or she hasn't shown much personal responsibility in life. But look around you -- many of us on the outside fall short in that area. The difference is mainly a matter of degree. How many people do you know who still aren't sure of how they will pay their rent next month, or have run up credit card debt beyond their means, or are chronically underemployed? As I said, it's just a matter of degree.
Our pagan brothers and sisters behind the walls deserve to be supported in their beliefs and encouraged to grow in their sense of responsibility, just the same as do Christians and Jews and Muslims. Unfortunately, organizing pagans is like herding cats, as I've often said. The result is that we don't get the same treatment as members of "organized" religions, only because we don't have the same clout. These days, luckily, the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) gets that recognition from the state. We've worked hard to earn it. But the number of pagans and Wiccans behind bars is rising fast, and our clout needs to keep up with it.
I've worked with the Washington State Department of Corrections continuously since a day way back in 1984 when I was hired by the attorney general's office to testify in a federal court in Tacoma, to educate the court about the Wiccan faith. The case was about an inmate who was suing the state because he was denied access to Wiccan religious materials. In those days, if you insisted you were Wiccan or pagan, you more often than not got thrown into "the hole" (solitary confinement) until you came to your senses and found a "real" religion.
That case got settled out of court on the judge's recommendation, and I have stayed involved with WaDoC ever since. I was also asked to represent Wiccan and pagan interests on the Religious Services Advisory Committee (RSAC), a group that oversees religious freedom issues, guides programs in state prisons and answers directly to the secretary of corrections, the governor's cabinet officer responsible for those institutions.
Since 1984, things have changed, and now there are Wiccan and pagan groups in almost every institution across the state. But most of them can't meet often, if at all, for lack of a volunteer sponsor to supervise and direct the group. And that's a shame.
Suppose you did volunteer. Is prison ministry safe, especially for a priestess? I can tell you that as a volunteer sponsor or chaplain, you are one of the inmates' few direct contacts with the outside world. As a priestess, you may be the only woman they see who isn't in a guard's uniform. Inmates anxiously look forward to your repeated visits to lead and teach the group. If any inmate should do something as simple as insult you, and you decided not to return, the remaining inmates would be very unhappy with the offender and might make his or her life miserable in retaliation, or worse. That's the kind of insurance a volunteer has, in addition to the presence of closed-circuit cameras and uniformed custody officers everywhere. And today's prisons are often less like the depiction in the movies than like community colleges, except the door locks click when you walk up to them.
In return for your work, you get a special sort of satisfaction. The return rate of inmates who are deeply involved in sponsored pagan groups is noticeably lower than for the general prison population, and that's something we can be proud of. We teach them personal responsibility, and it shows. I have worked closely with a number of inmates in the past 20 years, and I can honestly say that the majority of them seem to take responsibility for themselves and their lives when they get out, and they stay out. Many of them have learned how to have real lives and jobs and families and today are productive members of society. Prison ministry isn't for everyone, but it is one of the most rewarding things you can do as a Wiccan or pagan priest or priestess. There is no feeling quite like the one that comes from knowing you have helped someone turn their life around.
Before plunging headfirst into prison ministry, there are some unique considerations to take into account. I have been doing prison ministry continuously for over 20 years at several institutions, and between that and my position on the RSAC, I have learned a lot the hard way about what to do and what not to do.
One of the unique considerations is punctuality. It is okay to be early, but if you are one minute late for the appointed entry time, you may not get in that day. Prisons run on rigid rules for valid reasons. Although that may be frustrating to some volunteers, it is what is and will always be. You may also have to wait after the appointed entry time for staff to locate someone to electronically search you for contraband, since prisons are always short-handed. Prison staffers tend to be suspicious, paranoid even, since people have tried every scam imaginable to sneak things from a BLT sandwich to drugs inside the walls. If you try such a stunt, you will in all likelihood become a resident yourself. But pagans and Wiccans in this state's prisons are starving for teaching and worship opportunities, and those can't happen without volunteer sponsors from outside.
If volunteering time to help lead and teach our pagan sisters and brothers who are locked up is something you'd like to learn about, please contact me at the Aquarian Tabernacle Church, P.O. Box 409, Index, WA 98256, phone me at (360) 793-1945 or e-mail me at scribe@AquaTabCh.org. Then we can talk about the ins and outs of this rewarding work. Who knows, it might even lead to a few hours employment a week as a part- time paid contract chaplain, and the pay is pretty good. The need exists in all 17 prisons scattered across Washington, and county jails and federal facilities as well. All it takes to get into prison ministry is a solid knowledge of the many varieties of paganism, a willing heart, a recommendation, a criminal records background check and a few hours of orientation at the institution. Then you are good to go. The feeling of doing something that really changes someone's life profoundly for the better is the best feeling in the world.
Pete Pathfinder Davis is the archpriest and founder of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church tradition of Wicca (1979), which now has legally recognized and tax-exempt churches across the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia and South Africa, with groups elsewhere in Europe. He is also the originator of the Woolston-Steen Wiccan Theological Seminary, a degree-granting college-level school for pagan clergy, and SpiralScouts International, the original and now the largest mixed-gender scouting group for pagan youth. For more information, see www.aquatabch.org, www.spiralscouts.org, and www.wiccanseminary.edu on the Web.