[Photo Credit: 22860 / Flickr]
Some choose to honor his work within the privacy of their practice. For example, T. Thorn Coyle noted that “Solar Cross Devotional will honor the legacy of Dr. King, focusing on economic and racial justice.” However, many others are attending larger public community events such as the second annual #96Hours action held this weekend in California’s Bay Area.
Organized by the Anti Police-Terror Organization, the #96Hours event consists of a weekend of scheduled actions, including protests, interfaith vigils, rallies and other activities, culminating in a march through the city of Oakland. Groups and individuals participating in the various activities include members of Coru Cathubodua, Solar Cross Temple, Golden Gate Kindred and more. Brennos Agrocunos, Vice Chief, Coru Cathubodua Priesthood said, “As Coru priests committed to core values of sovereignty, kinship, warriorship, and service, one of the ways we enact these values is in the streets standing shoulder to shoulder with members of all faiths in our communities, calling for justice and an end to oppression, and providing medical and logistical support to other activists.” We will have more details, including photos, tomorrow.
While King’s words and his life had a very specific purpose during a very tumultuous period in U.S. history, over time his message has been distilled down and come to permeate U.S. culture with a meaning that far exceeds the focused goals of that particular decade. In the wake of this past year’s events, King’s message appears to be returning with such a force, in many ways, to its very origins, regaining a new vitality and forward momentum. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. – Dr. Martin Luther King, a Letter from Birmingham Jail
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On Jan. 23, musicians Sharon Knight and Winter will be awarded the Lost Chord Award by the Society for Ritual Arts (SRA) in Berkeley, California. They are being honored for production of The Portals Project. As explained on the website, “Our honorees combine a love of antiquity and romance with an affinity for the haunting and melancholy, adding a hearty dash of feistiness, and reminding us that we can all see the world through the eyes of enchantment.”
Organizers go on to say, “The Lost Chord Award is given annually […] to a musician or musical group for work that embodies the mission of the Society – to inspire a spiritual sense of wonder, awe or connectedness.” Knight and Winter will be the organization’s first honorees.
The ceremony will be held at the Northbrae Community Church in Berkeley, California. It will begin with a meet-and-greet at 6pm, which will be followed by performances by harpist Diana Rowan, fiddle player Michael Mullen, indie band Imager, singer Margaret Davis, and Hungarian shaman Ivan Szendro. The convocation will be given by Chief Luisah Teish and keynote by author Diana Paxson.
Tickets are available on the event site, and all proceeds got to Knight and Winter’s Portals project and to the SRA. For those not in the area, SRA also plans on streaming the event.
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In October 2015, Elder High Priestess and founder of the Gaia Group Crystal Tier died, after a long life of dedication to spiritual exploration and leadership in the New Jersey Pagan community. Crystal was born into a New Jersey musical family as Christine Gittler. She loved animals and reading and, due to a transient lifestyle, was often the caretaker of her younger siblings.
In her teens, Christine began her spiritual journeying, moving to Italy to join a rigorous Benedictine order of Catholic nuns called the Disciples of the Divine Master. When the order didn’t appeal to her, she returned to the U.S. to study with another group called the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Although she didn’t take her final vows, she was able to teach in schools across the country.
However, by the 1970s, Christine’s spiritual life took a turn. She began studying with Raymond Buckland’s group on Long Island and, while there, she met her life partner Roger Tier. Together, the two eventually founded their own magical tradition called The Gaia Group, and grew to become vocal environmental and political activists, which led to the creation of The World Peace Network. Christine and Roger continued this public work over the following two decades.
In her later years, Christina suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and spent much of her time studying yoga, knitting and writing letters. Her husband Roger died suddenly on Samhain 2011, and her own disease only worsened, leaving her crippled with pain. On Oct. 9, 2015, Christine died peacefully in a New Jersey nursing home. High Priestess and friend Francesca Ciancimino Howell said, “Crystal was an enlightened, truly awake soul. We of The Gaia Group and The Temple of Gaia were privileged to have known her as Initiator.” What is remembered, lives.
In Other News:
- Immanion Press has released the long-awaited book: The Pagan Leadership Anthology: An Exploration of Leadership and Community in Paganism and Polytheism. Within its 340 pages, this new anthology, edited by Taylor Ellwood and Shauna Aura Knight, includes 30 essays by 30 different authors, who share “their failures and successes as leaders as well as [show] you how you can become a better Pagan leader.” The book is available directly through the Immanion Press website.
- In February, Starhawk will be in New York City to facilitate a workshop and ritual with BrightFlame. The event, called Stories for the Future, will “explore our ancestral and personal stories,” culminating “in a powerful ritual of collective myth creation.” Organizers explain, “Stories shape our imagination and our ideas of the possible. How can we use the power of story to help us envision a positive future, and inspire people to want to work towards it? Stir in a little magic–the art of shaping and shifting consciousness, of connecting with the deep creative energies of nature, bending time and opening awareness.” Starhawk will also be available to sign copies of her new book. Stories for the Future will take place on Saturday, February 20th in the Westbeth Community Center. Tickets are on sale now.
- Green Egg Magazine has announced that it is currently seeking submissions of “original works, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, politics, art, photography, and music,” for the 2016 Spring issue. Editors are also asking any authors who would like their books reviewed to contact them via email. The announcement reads, “We’re looking for writers with knowledge and experience in any issue that is of interest to Pagans, Wiccans, Witches, etc.” Green Egg Magazine was founded by Oberon Zell in 1969.
- Two conferences are quickly approaching. In Claremont, California, the Conference of Current Pagan Studies will open its doors on Jan. 23. “This academic conference welcomes the community to be part” of the effort to demonstrate that Pagan Studies is “a legitimate field of study.” Then, on the following weekend on Jan 29, EarthSpirit’s Feast of Lights will welcome its guests to Amherst, Massachusetts. “A Feast of Lights is weekend of warmth at the coldest time of the year – a festival of Earth spirituality and the arts, of community and hope, of tradition and creativity.”
- For our readers in Australia, the Tasmanian Pagan Alliance is preparing for its upcoming annual Harvest Festival. The event includes “Workshops, Bread Making, Craft Activities, Bardic Circle, Communal Harvest Altar, Ritual, Feasting, Dancing and Trade Table/Market Stalls.” This year’s theme “Celebrating the sweetness of the Wild Harvest.” Harvest Festival 2016 will be held Jan 29 – 31 in Forth, Tasmania.
- And, lastly, we say goodbye to British actor Alan Rickman. What is remembered, lives.
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