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Pagan Community Notes: Florida Pagan Alliance, Ásatrú Ibérica, Global Wicca Conference and more

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FLORIDA — The Florida Pagan Alliance president has removed Florida Pagan Gathering and its host organization the Temple of Earth Gatherings from its community initiative roster. Alliance president Michele Webster wrote, “It is our determination, based solely upon facts, that Temple of Earth Gathering/Florida Pagan Gathering is in direct violation of the community not competition initiative,” created by the alliance members in 2017 unify “the community, both Pagan and non-Pagan,” and foster ways to “to work together towards common goals.” Organizational leaders sign on and agree to certain terms.

The alliance board reportedly discovered that, while the FPG organizers had signed the initiative, they had not complied. One reason cited was the changing of the dates of the organization’s big Samhain event, which now conflicts with other local events. The location of the Samhain celebration was recently changed, according to the TEG board, due to construction at the old site; this shift required a date change as the new location was booked up.

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Pagans working in interfaith ecology group in Marin County

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MARIN COUNTY, Calif. — Pagans have participated in, and provided leadership for, Marin Interfaith Climate Action since it began in March, 2017. Marin Interfaith Climate Action is composed of Bahá’ís, Buddhists, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Progressive Protestants, Unitarians, and members of the Unity Church. Aline “Macha” O’Brien of the Covenant of the Goddess has provided the Pagan presence in this group. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, congressman Jared Huffman of California spoke at a town hall meeting, urging the roughly 800 people attendees to build local leadership on the issue of climate change.

Canada

Threats to Jewish community centers concern Pagans

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TWH — Jewish facilities have been targeted with vandalism and bomb threats in recent weeks, and that has some of their Pagan neighbors on edge even as they stand ready to assist. Hundreds of headstones were damaged in two Jewish cemeteries this month, and 100 bomb threats have been reportedly called into Jewish community centers and temples in the United States and Canada in what’s being called “telephone terrorism.” It was enough to get a mention by President Trump during his first speech before a joint session of Congress, although those remarks have been criticized for not outlining to plan to stop the attacks. While most of the bomb threats targeted community centers in the eastern United States, they were located in a total of 33 states as well as two provinces of Canada. The calls may have originated overseas, authorities believe, and used voice-masking technology, as in this example posted online.

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Honor for the unhoused in San Jose

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Last month saw the second annual memorial to people who had died homeless in this city, located 42mi southeast of San Francisco. Among the participants in this interfaith event was Rowan Fairgrove from Covenant of the Goddess. She agreed to share more about the event and her work in this area with The Wild Hunt. According to the 2015 Point-in-Time Count for Santa Clara County, there were 6,556 people without homes there in January of that year, which is the month that these counts are performed throughout the Unites States.