Wiccan, county make their cases

Correspondent:: König Prüß, GfbAEV
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2005 09:34:37 GMT

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Wiccan, county make their cases
Now, it's up to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to decide
whether Simpson, a witch of the Wiccan faith, can be excluded
from the list of clergy invited to give the opening prayer at Chesterfield
Board of Supervisors meetings.

"I'm no attorney, but it's clear to me that my local government
can't discriminate against any religion," Simpson said yesterday,
following a hearing at the University of Richmond School of Law
that lasted more than an hour.

"I am always hopeful," she said. "I believe that my position
in this case is the accurate one."

Simpson, who calls herself a witch and a Wiccan priestess,
plans to become a minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church.
To that end she will pursue a master's degree in theology at
Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania starting this fall.
full story at:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031780631873&path=%21news&s=1045855934842