The Parliament of the World’s Religion wrapped up last Friday and by all Pagan accounts, of the event it was a resounding success. This is the first article in a series covering the Parliament events from a Pagan point of view.
First, The Wild Hunt joins a chorus of Pagan voices congratulating Phyllis Curott, a Witch, attorney, author, and founder of the Temple of Ara, who is a Trustee and was the Program Chair of the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions.
“It was a wonderful & powerful Parliament!” said Rev. Selena Fox, senior minister and high priestess of Circle Sanctuary. Fox attended Parliament as a member of the Circle Sanctuary delegation.
Photo Credit: Rev. Meredith “Merrie” Beckman
Her colleague, Laura González added “As an Indigenous woman (Mexica), Chicagoan, and Pagan, it was truly an honor to lead the procession welcoming every person of all faiths represented at Parliament of the World’s Religions. My first in-person Parliament and it was truly a transformative experience. My eternal gratitude to Phyllis Curott for inviting me to be part of the procession and opening ceremony. Spiritual words were spoken in Nahuatl, Spanish, and English.”
González drew praise from other attendees. Oberon Osiris said that “Circle Sanctuary Interfaith Minister Laura Gonzalez made history as both the first woman and first Pagan to open the proceedings, leading the procession to the stage and giving the initial welcome. Very awesome!” He added “I expected huge diversity in programming and was not unimpressed. Far too many sessions to ever attend but it was important to me to not go to only Pagan things.”
Editorial Note: The honor of the first Pagan to be identified in an opening plenary at the Parliament belongs to Donovan Arthen, in Barcelona in 2004. He was 16 at the time.
Lawrence Lerner said “Our community had an exceptionally welcoming, inviting interfaith room, curated by Twila York, featuring 20 insightful talks, two tables brimming with reading literature and books, and contributions from a dozen or more Pagan traditions and groups. Rev. Laura Gonzalez added to the grandeur with a powerful presentation during the opening ceremony in front of 8,000 attendees. It was a moment of progress and cultural norming. During one of the first modern Parliaments, members of one faith group walked off stage when the Goddess was invoked.”
Editorial Note: The objection where Greek Orthodox members walked off the stage in 1993 involved a rumor circulated that an animal sacrifice had occurred at the Pagan Full Moon ritual in Grant Park.
Parliament Ceremony [Photo Credit: Selena Fox© shared as a courtesy]
Rev. Dr. Dennis D. Carpenter of Circle Sanctuary was also part of the delegation. This was his fifth Parliament and observed how many speakers also focused on the climate crisis. His main takeaway, he said is the urgency of action. “May all Nature Spirituality folks act on their shared values of respect and reverence for Nature and recognition that all life is interconnected.”
Another member of the Circle Sanctuary delegation, Colleen Koziara, said that making connections was wonderful and that she intentionally avoided Pagan events. She also noted, “My greatest surprise/joy was at the complete lack of shock or issue when I described myself as Pagan!”
Ron Zorn of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans agreed “I was able to connect with many people who identify as Pagans as well as those who are curious about those of us who follow an earth-based spiritual path. Walking around the convention and connecting with Unitarian Universalists who had CUUPS chapters or Pagans as members of their congregation, and wanted to know more about Paganism, was such a treat. Where else are there 200 different faith paths in one place but at the Parliament?”
Red Tent Crone Ceremony [Photo Credit: J. Hildebrand© shared as a courtesy]
The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) was also represented at Parliament. Clergy member Andrea Joy. She said that six CoG members, among whom were Osiris and Lerner, shared a workshop with an audience of primarily non-Pagans focused on healing the Earth. “The workshop was a high-level introduction to the Western elements of Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Spirit. A brief explanation of the elements was shared along with a slide representing things associated with the element. A simple activity, including clapping for Fire, breathing for Air, singing for Water, sitting strait as a tree for Earth, and imagining a white circle surrounded by a black circle for Spirit was used to help the participants experience the element.”
Joy said that CoG members and other participants from the Pagan community “blessed seeds, which were passed out in biodegradable bags, were sent home so that participants could either plant them or look at them to remember what they experienced in the ritual.”
Morgana Raventree, National First Officer of the Covenant of the Goddess attended Parliament and was impressed by The Water Ceremony, held in the Women’s Village. “After several readings, a bowl was passed around the circle, each woman was invited to add water. Many people added water from various bodies of water around the country, but there were also waters from Ireland, Australia, and other countries added. The water was blessed, then as a group, we all made a procession to the Main Hall upstairs to the Women’s Assembly,” Raventree reported. She said they drummed and made noise, then processed.
Raventree emphatically commented that it was “powerful” and “emotional.”
Lady Belladonna Laveau, Matriarch of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) who led their delegation observed that the Parliament was somewhat smaller than in previous years but no less intense. She was impressed by the Pagan presence this year. She noted the event seemed more centered on honoring the Eart. “The last time I attended Parliament, the scientists appealed to us as their last hope, encouraging religious leaders to make saving the earth a moral imperative. In looking to see how we had done that, I noticed that eco-spirituality wasn’t a concept I was aware of at that time, and now it’s heavy on many minds. That’s progress! Eco-spirituality is paganism! It’s also a basic tenant of many faiths. Even when I was Mormon, we considered ourselves a people who valued natural things, living off the land, homesteading.”
Rt. Rev. Terry Riley, 3rd Degree High Priest and Founding Elder of the Southern Delta Church of Wicca – ATC, said it was the first he attended Parliament and presented on “How to start a Community Garden and Food Pantry.” He was excited that though the theme of Parliament was Freedom and Human Rights, there was a significant focus on worldwide Food Insecurities. He said, “What I took away from Parliament and what impressed me was how many clergy of all Faiths were so willing to interchange ideas and discuss different ways to minister to people in need other than their congregation.”
Mary Malinski shared a live reflection on the Parliament on Facebook
Rev. Hps. Jerrie Hildebrand, President Emerita & Communications Liaison
of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, co-led the Red Tent Crone Ceremony with Selena Fox and Patricia Fero. Hildebrand recounted “Many women stood to claim the word for themselves in its many forms. It was transformative, I believe our oldest participant was 87 years old.”
Lerner added that making connections was also an important focus of Parliament. He said that “the best part of PoWR are the connections made outside panels. It is up to us to pursue opportunities to learn from others, share, and enable cultural norming and religious identity for the Pagan community. Events like PoWR are rare and I took the opportunity to join every panel I could find on religion and ethics. My next book is on Pagan ethics so the discussion all around gave me perspective. Reconnecting with people I have only seen on Zoom over the last few years filled a void in me.”
Koziara also saw the interfaith opportunities that Parliament provides. “It is only by looking and stepping forward with our arms open in a sense of common purpose that we will truly create a new healthier and kinder world for us all.”
Laveau added that seeing everyone’s commitment to their faith and the opportunity to interfaith work was inspiring. “That’s what we, of all faiths, are trying to do. Seeing others as devoted as me to their faith is encouraging. Finding a thread of common ground, and knowing we are striving for the same thing, fed my soul and connected me to humanity. I came home with inspiration and purpose.”
Rev. Meredith “Merrie” Beckman reflected, “I set an intention to network and to be open to what is. The Universe responded, placing me in the precise right location and at the precise right time. This was a life-changing experience.”
Beckman said the Parliament reminded and empowered her. She said in her recent ordination she vowed “to a spiritual life of discernment and inner transformation with an equally holy commitment to sacred service.” She added that her vows ended with the words, “I will lead with love and sprinkle kindness.” And that is what I will do! Amen, Ashe, Aho, Namaste, Selah, Shalom, and So Mote It Be!”
“The connections I made at the Parliament of the World’s Religions 2023 have set a course for how I will be showing up in the world,” she told The Wild Hunt.
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