Merry Meet and Blessed Be!
Merry Meet and Blessed Be!
At AppleOak Grove we follow The Old Religion, Paganism, Wicca, Druidry, the way of Nature and of the Earth Mother. We are Pagans and we worship the Old Gods.
We believe that everyone has the right to identify and follow their own spiritual path. We do not seek actively to convert others to our faith; we will help those seekers who come to us to learn of our ways so that they may make their own conscious choices of which path is right for them.
It is our hope these pages will show the world that we follow a valid and respectable spiritual path. We seek to promote better relations with all the religions of the world, and religious services and support to the larger Wiccan / Pagan communities.
The free exercise of religion is a Constitutional right for all United States citizens. For those that are unfamiliar with these, I have them posted below with corresponding links. To learn more about AppleOak Grove, please enter the link at the bottom of the page. Thanks! Rev. Tim Rickman and Rev. Edwina Rickman
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (emphasis added). This law prohibits the establishment of a state church and establishes the free exercise of religion for all United States citizens. Thus, all citizens are protected by the government to pursue their religious beliefs, customs, and traditions without fear of reprisals or sanctions by the government.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 elucidates the First Amendment with regard to religion:
To be a bona fide religious belief entitled to protection under either the First Amendment or Title VII, a belief must be sincerely held, and within the believer’s own scheme of things religious. (USCA Const. Amend 1: Civil Rights act 1964 701 et seq., 717 as amended 42 USCA 2000-16).
Based on the above legislation, and specifically pertaining to the Wicca religion, the District Court of Virginia declared in 1985 (Dettmer v Landon, 617 F Suup 592) that:
Wicca is clearly a religion for First Amendment purposes…Members of the Church sincerely adhere to a fairly complex set of doctrines relating to the spiritual aspect of their lives, and in doing so they have ‘ultimate concerns’ in much the same way as followers of more accepted religions. Their ceremonies and leadership structure, their rather elaborate set o articulated doctrine, their belief in the concept of another world, and their broad concern for improving the quality of life for others gives them at lease some facial similarity to other more widely recognized religions.” Judge J. Butzner of the Fourth circuit Federal Appeals confirmed the decision (799F 2nd 929) in 1986 saying: We agree with the District Court that the doctrine taught by the Church of Wicca is a religion.”
Other Names by Which Known: Old Religion, Earth Religion, Witchcraft, Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Goddess Worshippers, Shamanism. Note: Wicca has some basic similarities as well as surface differences with the named groups.
Pertaining to Hate / Bias Crime - AppleOak Grove will Prosecute
The FBI defines a hate crime (a.k.a. bias crime) to be: "a criminal offense committed against a person, property or society which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin." "Hate Crime definition," FBI, at: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_02/html/web/offreported/02-nhatecrime12.html
Tennessee Code : TITLE 39 CRIMINAL OFFENSES : CHAPTER 17 OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE : PART 3 DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RIOTS : 39-17-309. Civil rights intimidation.
(a) The general assembly finds and declares that it is the right of every person regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion or national origin, to be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, harassment and bodily injury caused by the activities of groups and individuals. at:
http://198.187.128.12/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0
Wicca is a federally recognized religion and is practiced openly around the world. Tim and Edwina are ordained Ministers and live their spiritual lives openly to their community, their goal is to raise the public’s awareness concerning the religion of Wicca and Druidry. AppleOak Grove does have some celebrations where friends gather with us from positive faith paths. At times Reverend Tim Rickman and Reverend Edwina Rickman will do media coverage about their religion. We cannot guarantee anyone who attends AppleOak Grove gatherings that they will not be photographed or interviewed by the media or private individuals. If you do not wish to be, we will try to abide by your wishes.
However, we cannot promise you total anonymity.
© 1999-2010 Rickman's Castle - All photos on this site are our personal photos, do NOT use any photo, background, midi, graphics, etc., without prior permission! Thanks!