Hooray for the Americans United for Separation of Church and State!
Americans United: Americans United Presses VA For Right Of Wiccans To Use Pentacle Symbol At Military Memorials:
National Church-State Watchdog Group Will Represent Wife Of Fallen Soldier And Wisconsin-Based Wiccan Church
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is stepping up its effort to persuade the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to approve a Wiccan symbol for headstones, plaques and other memorials of deceased veterans.
Americans United is now officially representing Circle Sanctuary, one of America's oldest Wiccan churches, and church member, Roberta Stewart, a Nevada woman whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, died in combat in Afghanistan on Sept. 25, 2005. Sgt. Stewart's helicopter was shot down by the Taliban during Operation Enduring Freedom. Circle Sanctuary, headquartered near Barneveld, Wisc., has church members throughout the United States and elsewhere.
Circle Sanctuary and Roberta Stewart seek to have the Wiccan emblem of belief, the pentacle, included on the government-issued memorial plaque honoring Sgt. Stewart. His plaque is to go on the Wall of Heroes at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery near Fernley, Nev.