As a bit of background, I spent four years working with the earth based religious groups at Lovelock Correctional Center. I did this from 2004 till 2008 when I left Nevada entirely. As an outside facilitator I had a little more leeway in providing for the religious needs of my students than the facility chaplain. (Whose name at Lovelock at the time I was there was Richard Garcia, a very kind and spiritual man. I really liked him as he was extremely respectful of all the different religions he had to assist) Being a facility chaplain can't have been easy since you are charged with meeting the needs of all inmates not just the group you may be affiliated with. Outside sponsors like myself served a vital role in bridging gaps for certain groups. Even though most of my work was with the Wiccans, from time to time I did interface with the Druid group and the Asatru group.
It was through my volunteer work at Lovelock that I met Lorne. He had a bit of trouble getting to class for the first couple of months since he was in a different yard but he finally managed to get transferred to the other side and was able to attend classes with about 12 others. Wicca, as a practice on the inside, gets its share of "posers" people who attend these types of classes because they think they can get different "stuff" for their religious practices than everyone else. Needless to say, I had a few of them...however, Lorne was one of three exceptional students. He had quite a bit of knowledge when I met him and he was very hungry for more. He was also very sincere in his desire to learn more about his path. He felt that it would really help him gain insight as to some of his attitudes towards women. I was able to spend about a year with Lorne before he was transferred to Nevada State Prison and I was no longer able to contact him since I was still working on the inside. As a teacher, I was crushed...I was losing one of my best students and while I knew he would carry on in his studies without me, it left me very empty inside.
Being a pagan in prison is not easy. You can forget about using any tools since most have been deemed "a threat to the safety and security of the institution". Using herbs or even growing things are for the most part, forbidden as well. Grounds where groups practice usually have to be shared with other groups. (something the Odinists/Asatrus really hate doing) Rituals must be done during daylight hours only since once the sun goes down, all inmates are confined to their houses/pods/tiers. Food has to be provided by the prison if there is to be food there at all and IF clearance is obtained in advance and IF it is one of the holidays they will provide for and IF the correctional officers remember to pick it up from the chow hall...most of the time practitioners of the group just donate small amounts of food from thheir personal stuffs for their rituals...a small box of crackers here, a bunch of drink mixes, cookies, etc.
As a facilitator, it was wonderful to watch all my students grow in their faith and craft. It was amazing watching Lorne grow in the one year that he studied with me, he was so hungry for knowledge. When we re-connected I was very pleased to see that he continued on in his studies and that he had grown so much as an individual and as a leader at NSP. He takes his faith very seriously and for that I am really glad. He's a much better partner since he took the time to learn about himself and about women...giving them an equal voice, seeing them as a partner not just as an appendage. If you ever have the opportunity to ask him about women, you should...the answers will be startling.
Yes, I am very happy that I am the recipient of all that he has learned and happier still that this is yet another items that binds us together.
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