- Signatures: 2,766
- Goal: 10,000
- Deadline: 8-13-2007
The Sacred Well Congregation is currently pending as an endorsing body for military chaplains. We need only to be able to present a viable candidate for appointment without waiver.
On July 6, 2006, we received a formal request from US Army Chaplain (CPT) Donald M. Larsen stating that he wished to be considered as our candidate for the AFCB certification process and immediately thereafter to change his endorser to the Sacred Well Congregation.
Before this request was made, CH Larsen was a dedicated and distinguished battalion chaplain serving in Iraq. This request led to unethical, unprofessional and discriminatory conduct on the part of at least two US Army senior officers, resulting in the immediate withdrawal of endorsement of CH Larsen.
There is a clear and present need for a chaplain of the Wiccan faith in the US Armed Services. The Sacred Well Congregation has met every requirement put before us in our quest to become an endorsing body for military chaplains and CH Larsen followed procedure in his attempt to change his endorsing body to the Sacred Well Congregation. This latest roadblock is the result of unethical behavior on the part of biased parties.
This petition is in support of the Sacred Well Congregation’s attempt to become an endorsing body for US military chaplains and CH Larsen’s ability to serve in that capacity.
On July 6, 2006, we received a formal request from US Army Chaplain (CPT) Donald M. Larsen stating that he wished to be considered as our candidate for the AFCB certification process and immediately thereafter to change his endorser to the Sacred Well Congregation.
Before this request was made, CH Larsen was a dedicated and distinguished battalion chaplain serving in Iraq. This request led to unethical, unprofessional and discriminatory conduct on the part of at least two US Army senior officers, resulting in the immediate withdrawal of endorsement of CH Larsen.
There is a clear and present need for a chaplain of the Wiccan faith in the US Armed Services. The Sacred Well Congregation has met every requirement put before us in our quest to become an endorsing body for military chaplains and CH Larsen followed procedure in his attempt to change his endorsing body to the Sacred Well Congregation. This latest roadblock is the result of unethical behavior on the part of biased parties.
This petition is in support of the Sacred Well Congregation’s attempt to become an endorsing body for US military chaplains and CH Larsen’s ability to serve in that capacity.
| Number | Date | Name | Age | Gender | City | Affiliation, if any, with the military (reserve, active duty, dependent, none,etc.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,769 | 4:33 pm PDT, Aug 28 | Elizabeth Bradley | 0 | Female | Crossville | none |
| 2,768 | 11:36 am PDT, Aug 18 | Bruce Strong Jr. | 0 | Male | Glendale | I am a disabled Veteran once served with the United States Army |
| 2,767 | 12:53 pm PDT, Aug 12 | Brandon Graff | 25 | Male | San Antonio | Also attempting to enter as a Wiccan Chaplain, though with no such backing. |
| 2,766 | 7:52 am PDT, Jul 15 | Steve Duba | 0 | Male | Eagle River | Active duty USAF, and a member of the Sacred Well Congregation |
| 2,765 | 4:25 am PDT, Jun 30 | Rich Gore | 46 | Male | Greeneville | None |
| 2,764 | 11:46 pm PDT, Jun 9 | Clifton H Sasser III | 23 | Male | APO | Active Duty |
| 2,763 | 6:24 pm PDT, Jun 5 | James R. Van Kollenburg | 57 | Male | Lombard | none |
| 2,762 | 2:53 pm PDT, Jun 5 | Krystina Stark | 0 | Female | Beebe | none |
| 2,761 | 1:10 pm PDT, Jun 5 | Anonymous | 18 | Male | Easton | None-But want to be Reserve. |
| 2,760 | 6:57 pm PDT, Jun 1 | Claire Ellrick | 30 | Female | Etowah | Army wife |
| 2,759 | 11:31 am PDT, May 25 | Anna Nyander | 27 | Female | Lawton | Active duty military spouse |
| 2,758 | 9:43 am PDT, May 25 | Pamylle Greinke | 53 | Female | Peconic | Daughter of a WWII Vet, who insists that this country he fought for perserve one of its basic premises, freedom of religion, in one of its own institutions ! |
| 2,757 | 8:29 pm PDT, May 15 | Anita Kofta | 47 | Female | Holmen | a |
| 2,756 | 11:23 am PDT, May 9 | Lawrence Ellrick | 31 | Male | Etowah | Active Army |
| 2,755 | 3:30 pm PDT, May 7 | Jody Bennett | 32 | Female | South Wales part of the United Kingdom | Kimberly Campbell, from Orleans wrote "I have no affiliation but truly believe that Freedom of Religion means ALL RELIGIONS!" I coudn,t have said it better. |
| 2,754 | 8:16 pm PDT, May 1 | Elysabeth TREKKER | 61 | Female | France | I am Wiccane of French.ET. |
| 2,753 | 11:11 pm PDT, Apr 25 | Jr. Rodriguez | 33 | Male | San Diego | Active National Guard |
| 2,752 | 12:42 am PDT, Apr 22 | Ryan Bailey | 27 | Female | anchorage | I am an army vet! |
| 2,751 | 3:16 pm PDT, Apr 20 | Rebecca Hemingway | 27 | Female | Citra | I'm a Wiccan Minister myself through the Unitarian Universalist Church! |
| 2,750 | 3:29 pm PDT, Apr 19 | H. Miller | 26 | Male | Winchester | Former MST3 in the US Coast Guard, Son of 2 veterans of the US Air Force and many more serving over the past 200+ years |
| 2,749 | 11:11 am PDT, Apr 17 | rei torna | 25 | Male | sahuarita | ANG |
| 2,748 | 9:12 pm PDT, Apr 14 | Kricket Kelley | 27 | Female | Panama City | discharged from Army, daughter of Navy Vietnam Veteran, grandaughter of 2 Army WW2 Veteran, and great grandaughter of Navy WW2 Veteran. |
| 2,747 | 3:23 pm PDT, Apr 14 | Christopher Mahoney | 0 | Male | Virgina Beach | active duty |
| 2,746 | 3:17 pm PDT, Apr 10 | wendy schneider | 30 | Female | Fairview Heights | no. |
| 2,745 | 5:19 pm PDT, Apr 7 | michael scott | 19 | Male | sandusky | none |
| 2,744 | 10:41 pm PDT, Apr 4 | Anonymous | 55 | Female | Baltimore | NONE |
| 2,743 | 8:35 pm PDT, Apr 4 | Jennifer Lyle | 23 | Female | Lakeland | Pagan Child of an Army Vietnam Veteran. |
| 2,742 | 6:00 pm PDT, Apr 3 | Amy Secrest | 34 | Female | New Brighton | None; I agree that ALL religions should be represented in our military |
| 2,741 | 10:28 pm PDT, Mar 31 | Darlene Davis | 46 | Female | Garden City | none |
| 2,740 | 5:28 pm PDT, Mar 30 | Don Gossett | 50 | Male | Ely | veteran |
| 2,739 | 4:03 pm PDT, Mar 29 | kimberly dobson-nesti | 0 | Female | West Bloomfield | none |
| 2,738 | 3:21 am PDT, Mar 26 | Zhoie Young | 20 | Female | Ballarat | good luck |
| 2,737 | 3:00 pm PDT, Mar 25 | Megan Shafer | 28 | Female | North Tazewell | none |
| 2,736 | 1:55 am PDT, Mar 24 | Shannon Sultan | 24 | Female | Milwaukee | I am a Muslim and I support your cause. You have this right to have your leader. Nobody should be allowed to deny it. You are not causing harm, there is not evil in it. You simply believe differently. I wish you good luck and send you positive thoughts that this petition helps in your quest. |
| 2,735 | 2:46 pm PDT, Mar 23 | Brett Berner | 45 | Male | Palm Harbor | 11 YEARS ACTIVE DUTY COAST GUARD 9 YEARS AIR FORCE |
| 2,734 | 6:43 am PDT, Mar 21 | Raven Darkmoon | 0 | Female | Ukraine, Chernigov | none |
| 2,733 | 7:54 pm PDT, Mar 20 | Crystal Wittenberg | 23 | Female | APO | Active Duty |
| 2,732 | 9:43 am PDT, Mar 20 | Debbie Williams | 42 | Female | Belmont | none |
| 2,731 | 9:09 am PDT, Mar 17 | Jennifer Jimenez | 22 | Female | Effort | None |
| 2,730 | 8:23 am PDT, Mar 13 | Courtnie Harber | 0 | Female | Hopkins | Served in the Air Force. I am a military wife and come from a military family. |
| 2,729 | 3:12 pm PST, Mar 6 | Jason Bourgeois | 0 | Male | Saucier | All Americans that serve in the Armed forces sacrifice enough for this great Nation, and they should have the comfort and the strength derived from their individual Religious Beliefs/Practices. I believe this would go along way to attract more carrer soldiers. |
| 2,728 | 2:59 pm PST, Mar 6 | Laurits Thurston | 31 | Male | Lawton | Active Duty |
| 2,727 | 12:50 am PST, Mar 6 | Aaron Burkey | 18 | Male | Albuquerque | Active duty |
| 2,726 | 12:44 am PST, Mar 6 | Amanda Burkey | 18 | Female | Albuquerque | Dependent |
| 2,725 | 7:06 pm PST, Mar 5 | Jane Petty | 38 | Female | Kingwood | Major, USAFR |
| 2,724 | 4:41 pm PST, Mar 5 | Wendy Latimore | 39 | Female | Twentynine Palms | I spent an entire career in the military being unable to practice my beliefs openly because of the refusal of others to learn about my religion. It is time for the military to step up and provide priests or priestesses to their soldiers, sailors, and airmen! According to military regulations (check the military chaplains' website), anytime there are more than 3 people of the same faith who wish to practice, the base must comply by providing a location for them to practice their faith. The military leaders need to re-read and follow the regulations! |
| 2,723 | 10:20 pm PST, Mar 4 | Anonymous | 36 | Male | Fayetteville | CW3, SC XVIIIth ABC, G6 |
| 2,722 | 7:11 pm PST, Mar 2 | Ali Brown | 54 | Female | Lillooet | daughter |
| 2,721 | 6:42 am PST, Mar 1 | Shayn Lavender | 37 | Male | APO | Active Duty Air Force in Okinawa Japan |
| 2,720 | 12:20 pm PST, Feb 25 | sandra lockaby | 32 | Female | north pole | army spouse |
| 2,719 | 9:13 pm PST, Feb 24 | Anonymous | 36 | Female | Eagle River | Active duty Air Force |
| 2,718 | 5:12 pm PST, Feb 24 | Brittany Bisbee | 24 | Female | Hensley | none |
| 2,717 | 10:07 pm PST, Feb 23 | DR NEILSON PHD | 0 | Female | Navarre Beach | Come from a long line of those who have served their country & uphold the U.S. Constitution in regards to Freedom of Religion. |
| 2,716 | 4:04 pm PST, Feb 22 | john solomon | 21 | Male | virginia beach | Active Duty-Navy |
| 2,715 | 7:28 pm PST, Feb 21 | Gina Callahan | 36 | Female | South Burlington | Gina Callahan |
| 2,714 | 5:03 pm PST, Feb 21 | Anonymous | 0 | Male | Lancaster | none |
| 2,713 | 1:23 pm PST, Feb 21 | Raven Campbell | 18 | Female | Orleans | I may not be a member of the military, but I know amny people who are, and who are Wiccan. They deserve to have Wiccan chaplins, just like the Christians ahve theirs. |
| 2,712 | 9:21 am PST, Feb 21 | Mystical Moon Pandora | 30 | Female | Tooele | My brother was over in Iraq. When he did they didn't put the Druid fire, well or tree on his gravestone. Which he told the family to do so. He also told the Sregant to do so. He was not treated nicely either. Specially when he would do "his own rites". This is very sad that our own millitary can't see freedom is for all and for all religions! |
| 2,711 | 7:54 am PST, Feb 21 | barbara terry | 53 | Female | east hartland | none |
| 2,710 | 7:19 am PST, Feb 21 | Kimberly Campbell | 0 | Female | Orleans | I have no affiliation but truly believe that Freedom of Religion means ALL RELIGIONS! |
| 2,709 | 5:56 am PST, Feb 21 | Elizabeth Ryan | 21 | Female | Portavogie | none |
| 2,708 | 6:26 pm PST, Feb 19 | Jhennifer Edwards | 0 | Female | Stockton | I am a dependant of a retired Naval Personnel. If our country is truly about religious freedom then why are we having such a huge issue of allowing those of the Wiccan faith the right to proudly wear, show and exhibit their symbol as all others have been allowed. |
| 2,707 | 12:01 pm PST, Feb 19 | Marcie Jellema | 42 | Female | Swannanoa | Son is active duty USAF. |
| 2,706 | 9:42 am PST, Feb 19 | Skeeter Sanders | 54 | Male | Huntington | None |
| 2,705 | 6:30 pm PST, Feb 16 | Tracy Abbott | 39 | Female | St. Albans | Family member of the military members |
| 2,704 | 12:36 pm PST, Feb 16 | Anonymous | 44 | Female | Fair Haven | Disabled Veteran Sergeant-Retired USAF and a Pagan |
| 2,703 | 12:12 pm PST, Feb 16 | Victoria Greenia | 31 | Female | Eden | A1C Air Guard, daughter of Senior MS, wife of Sergent in Army, and sister to specialist in Army. We all need religion, give us ours! |
| 2,702 | 4:03 pm PST, Feb 14 | Lincoln Crunk | 20 | Male | offutt afb | active military/air force/ security forces/ 55 sfs / f flight |
| 2,701 | 2:42 pm PST, Feb 14 | Michael Jellema | 19 | Male | Offutt AFB | Active duty |
Save Our Wiccan Chaplain
The Sacred Well Congregation has been engaged with the Armed Forces Chaplains Board (AFCB) since September 1998 attempting to secure status as an endorser of chaplains to the Armed Services. This would allow us to nominate a member of our faith group to serve as a chaplain in the US military. Through a long series of bureaucratic maneuvers, and both passive and active bias on the part of some key officials, eight years later we still have no Wiccan Chaplain.
The Sacred Well Congregation is currently pending as an endorsing body for military chaplains. We need only to be able to present a viable candidate for appointment without waiver.
In the spring of 2006, US Army Chaplain (CPT) Donald M. Larsen contacted our Congregation to discuss the possibility of changing his endorsement. On July 6, 2006, we received a formal request from CH Larsen stating that he wished to be considered as our candidate for the AFCB certification process and immediately thereafter to change his endorser to the Sacred Well Congregation.
In a deviation from procedure, CH Larsen’s then-current endorsing body, the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC) was notified that CH Larsen was considering a change of endorsers and that, also, he was speaking to the Sacred Well Congregation, a Wiccan Church, about becoming his new endorsing body. Within hours CH Larsen’s endorsement was pulled by the CFGC. Without an endorsing body, CH Larsen is unable to act as a military chaplain. Furthermore, with no current endorser, a letter of good standing cannot be issued to the AFCB on CH Larsen’s behalf. This letter of good standing is crucial to his standing as a viable candidate without waiver for the Sacred Well Congregation’s AFCB certification process.
There is a clear and present need for a chaplain of the Wiccan faith in the US Armed Services. The Sacred Well Congregation has met every requirement put before us in our quest to become an endorsing body for military chaplains and this latest roadblock was caused by the unethical, unprofessional and discriminatory conduct of at least two US Army senior officers. This conduct has led directly to the immediate withdrawal of endorsement of a dedicated and distinguished battalion chaplain serving in Iraq.
This petition is in support of the Sacred Well Congregation’s attempt to become an endorsing body for US military chaplains and CH Larsen’s ability to serve in that capacity.
The Sacred Well Congregation is currently pending as an endorsing body for military chaplains. We need only to be able to present a viable candidate for appointment without waiver.
In the spring of 2006, US Army Chaplain (CPT) Donald M. Larsen contacted our Congregation to discuss the possibility of changing his endorsement. On July 6, 2006, we received a formal request from CH Larsen stating that he wished to be considered as our candidate for the AFCB certification process and immediately thereafter to change his endorser to the Sacred Well Congregation.
In a deviation from procedure, CH Larsen’s then-current endorsing body, the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC) was notified that CH Larsen was considering a change of endorsers and that, also, he was speaking to the Sacred Well Congregation, a Wiccan Church, about becoming his new endorsing body. Within hours CH Larsen’s endorsement was pulled by the CFGC. Without an endorsing body, CH Larsen is unable to act as a military chaplain. Furthermore, with no current endorser, a letter of good standing cannot be issued to the AFCB on CH Larsen’s behalf. This letter of good standing is crucial to his standing as a viable candidate without waiver for the Sacred Well Congregation’s AFCB certification process.
There is a clear and present need for a chaplain of the Wiccan faith in the US Armed Services. The Sacred Well Congregation has met every requirement put before us in our quest to become an endorsing body for military chaplains and this latest roadblock was caused by the unethical, unprofessional and discriminatory conduct of at least two US Army senior officers. This conduct has led directly to the immediate withdrawal of endorsement of a dedicated and distinguished battalion chaplain serving in Iraq.
This petition is in support of the Sacred Well Congregation’s attempt to become an endorsing body for US military chaplains and CH Larsen’s ability to serve in that capacity.
Note: This Save Our Wiccan Chaplain petition was submitted by Dr. David Oringderff. ThePetitionSite.com is a free service provided to help concerned citizens rally support for issues they believe in. The opinions expressed by this petition do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of ThePetitionSite.com or Care2.com. There is no express or implied endorsement of this petition nor any newsletter offers (except those from Care2.com) by Care2.com, Inc, ThePetitionSite.com, or our sponsors. If you believe this system is being abused, please contact customer support.
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