CHICAGO – One of the highlights of the 2023 Parliament of World Religions for Pagan attendees was the Fighting for Freedom Ritual held by the shore of Lake Michigan. Timed to coincide with the New Moon, the ritual was held outside in part so that local Chicagoans who were unable to attend the ticketed Parliament activities could participate in the global community that gathered for the event.
The ritual was organized by Twila York, who also organized the Pagan Faith Room inside the Parliament venue.
Photograph of the Fighting for Freedom Ritual courtesy of Twila York.
“When Phyllis Curott asked me to be the local Pagan committee host,” York told me in our interview, “I knew immediately that there had to be a community ritual. A ritual that welcomed Pagans who lived locally and welcomed those who traveled from all over the world to be a part of The Parliament. It had to be a ritual that welcomed people of all faiths as a way to bring our community to the larger community.
“The ritual also had to represent the larger Pagan community,” she continued, “including voices from outside the United States. Paganism is such a diverse community, and I wanted to represent that even in a small way at Parliament. This led to seeking officiants who could conduct a ritual in multiple languages, spoken by people from multiple continents. Some people sang, some chanted and others spoke which created a powerful and layered ritual.”
York opened the ritual with an impassioned and impromptu speech about the need for Pagans to fight for freedom for all. “Be the change that we desperately need, right now, today!” she exhorted the crowd of about a hundred Pagans and Pagan-curious Parliament attendees.
Twila York speaks to the crowd. Photograph courtesy of Rose Trejo from Chicago.
The official theme of the 2023 Parliament of World Religions was “Defending Freedom and Human Rights,” with a particular emphasis on gender-related oppression and human rights that are endangered by environmental destruction. Programming tracks for the global gathering included tracks on women’s liberation and empowerment, food and health equity in the face of climate change and pollution, and how religion can serve as a motivating force to care for the Earth we rely on for our survival.
Many Pagan attendees at Parliament reported feeling that Pagan theology was especially well-suited to address these crises and that they hoped Pagans could help the global community to embrace leaders of all genders and restore harmonious relations with the natural world.
The Fighting for Freedom ritual was hosted by Matt Williams, the lead coordinator of Greater Chicagoland Pagan Pride.
“As a solitary practitioner,” Williams told me, “the theme of ‘Fighting for Freedom’ deeply resonated with my path. I wanted to phrase my part of the ritual to embody the fights we all have on a macro and micro scale. It doesn’t matter if you are fighting unjust laws by the state, or your own personal battles. You are never truly alone in your struggles. The community, the powers, the deities, and the life force itself are all with you.”
Rev. Laura González Priestess of the Goddess and Circle Sanctuary Minister, performed the Land Acknowledgement and the Spirits Blessing, speaking a mix of English and Nahuatl.
“Most of my ministry is online, teaching, doing readings, and facilitating ceremonies. But I also attend Chicago festivals, the crown jewel being Greater Chicagoland Pagan Pride. So when the coordinator of Chicago Pagan Pride asked me, I was there with bells on.”
As an Indigenous person, it was especially important to González to perform a land acknowledgment and to perform the blessing in the tradition of her people. Her tradition is Indigenous to Mexico and she considers herself an immigrant to Chicago, but she feels that keeping Indigenous traditions alive is a matter of global importance.
González reminded those gathered that the McCormick Center was built on the land of the Potawatomi, Menominee, Miami, and Meskwak, as well as a plethora of other tribes. Chicago has always been a hub for cultural exchange and for diverse people to live together, as evidenced by the long list of peoples who called this place home in the centuries and millennia before European arrival.
Driving home the importance of land acknowledgments, González told me that she was later thanked by members of these tribes who were in the audience at the ritual.
After the acknowledgment of the Land, González invoked spirits including the Spirit of Progress.
“There’s actually a statue called the Spirit of Progress,” González explained to me, “which depicts the Goddess Diana, and was first built in Chicago for the 1893 World’s Fair. To me, Chicago is a place where people come to forge and create themselves. It’s a place where many different people find success and thrive.
“I believe that people in Chicago, whether they arrived two hours ago or 200 years ago, are welcomed by this same Spirit of Progress. So I invoked Her to come support us in our ritual, and in the work of fighting for freedom.”
González told me that to see her local Pagan community welcoming people of all faiths from around the world, and to get to participate in holding space for the work of Progress in the global community, was magic.
Rev. Laura González leads the officiants in a Spirits Blessing in a variant of the Nahuatl language. Photograph courtesy of Rose Trejo from Chicago.
Rev. Rolando Gomez Comon, also known as Apu Adman, flew in from the Shrine of Luntiang Aghama in the Philippines to participate in the Parliament of World Religions. The Shrine of Luntiang Aghama honors gods and nature spirits Indigenous to the Philippines and is part of the global Correllian Wiccan Tradition.
Comon was excited to learn that this ritual was organized around fighting for freedom—a fight he sees as key to his work helping marginalized people in the Philippines find support and acceptance through Indigenous spirituality. He spoke the Ancestor Blessing portion of the ritual before the gathered attendees from around the world in Tagalog.
“When I read that we could dance, sing, and speak in our own language, I knew it would be an opportunity to speak out the name of our Diwata on the world stage,” Comon told me in our interview. “Our native gods are almost forgotten because of colonialism, and freedom from the colonial mentality is what I prayed for in the ritual.”
Photograph courtesy of Rev. Rolando Gomez Comon.
Robert Schreiwer is a founder of the Pennsylvania Dutch Heathen organization of Der Urglaawe, the Steer Emeritus and a Godsman of The Troth, and the Senior Manager of Heathens Against Hate. This was the third Parliament of World Religions where he presented on his faith-based activities. He hoped the 2023 Parliament would help him find new allies and resources for providing Pagan elder care in the midst of a broken healthcare system.
“When Twila York asked me if I would like to be part of the Fighting for Freedom Ritual, I jumped at the chance,” he told me in our interview. “I chose to call the North due to the significance of that direction in Urglaawe. I sang the North portion of the Urglaawe cognate of the calling of quarters: die Aarufing. In our tradition, we call to the nine winds, who are said to be the children of Holle. The North wind, whose name is Gibbel, brings to the ritual the compassionate spirits of earth, stone, and quietude.”
“Twila’s opening speech of the ritual was a powerful call for us to unite for our freedom of religious expression,” Schreiwer said. “Matt Williams, who is also one of the leaders of the Urglaawer of Chicagoland community, oversaw the remainder of the ritual. It was an inspiring night that helped to form new bonds through which the Pagan community can grow our networks to meet our shared challenges in the future.”
Rt. Rev. Ser. Raene Packery APS came from South Africa for Parliament. She called the South quarter for the ritual.
“Participating in the Fighting for Freedom & Dignity New Moon ritual was important to me because it provided a sense of connection to my own challenges as a South African Pagan Witch,” Packery told me. “I feel it allowed me to contribute to the ongoing journey towards freedom, equality and justice. To be able to call forth the Guardians of the South, and thus the elementals of fire, held great significance as it allowed me to invoke the energy and spirit of my homeland.
“This act served as a powerful way to amplify my intentions and contributions within the ritual, as I aligned my identity with the energies that the Southern Quarter represents to me and my culture as a South African and a Wiccan Arch Priestess.”
Officiants gather to prepare. Left to right: Rev. Laura González, Matt Williams, Lady Belladonna Laveau, Rev. Ser Arlene Fried, Rev. Ser Eric Hébert, Rt. Rev. Ser. Raene Packery APS, Robert Schreiwer. Photograph courtesy of Correllian Press.
Lady Belladonna Laveau, Matriarch of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church International, and Lord Dusty Dionne, Archpriest of the Church, flew in from Washington state to participate in Parliament. They called the West quarter for the ritual together.
“It was an honor to participate in the Freedom Ritual at Parliament of World’s Religions,” Laveau told me in our interview. “It was important to me because I see the erosion of our civil liberties, and I know how quickly Pagans can become the focal point of hate and fear. If we stand strong together and focus on what makes us the same, we can overcome the complex obstacles that we face in the world today.”
“As we witness the problems facing the world, I see that it’s a lack of Pagan and Indigenous values that has brought about imbalance. This imbalance is the root of the many crises the world faces every day. When we focus on what makes us the same, our love for nature and the many expressions of perfection we find there, we can restore a balanced lifestyle that walks with respect and gratitude.”
“Here is where we are all free,” Laveau told me. “This is the prayer of my heart. I hope we continue to do good work like this together.”
Lady Belladonna Laveau, Lord Dusty Dionne, and friends call the West. Photograph courtesy of Correllian Press.
Rev. Ser Eric Hébert and Rev. Ser Arlene Fried of the Correllian Nativist Tradition flew into Parliament from New York City. They called the East quarter together.
“I asked to be a part of the ritual,” Hébert told me, “because we wanted to represent the Correllian Nativist Tradition. Freedom for All Peoples is an essential component of the Correllian faith. As Paladins of Gaia, it is our mission to serve our Goddess and protect the Earth, even from ourselves. This was a ritual to send out grace and peace in a world full of conflict, hate and fear.
“I was particularly honored to be in circle with such a wide diversity of Pagans from all over the globe.”
All the participants I spoke to seemed unified in their excitement at the opportunity to bring together so many Pagan traditions and cultures from around the world. Different faith traditions coming together to address issues of global concern is the purpose of the Parliament of World Religions today, and the Pagan presence at Parliament was an enthusiastic microcosm of that spirit.
While it was impossible to interview every individual who played a role in facilitating this ritual for this article, Twila York reminded me in our interview that it’s important to remember all the unseen labor that makes community rituals possible. Other participants who performed labor essential to the ritual included Mambo Jae Marie, Rev. Phoenix Coffin-Williams of the Correllian Nativist Tradition, Lisa Bruce, Angela Munn, Rev. Ser. Meranda C. Favro, George Richards, and Emma Rose Goerisch.
“It is easy to discount people like us who do the background work at rituals and other community events,” York told me after spending much of the week of Parliament working and coordinating volunteers to ensure that the Pagan Faith Room, Pagan children’s activity area, and the Fighting for Freedom Ritual all ran smoothly. “We may not be the ones in the middle of the circle weaving, but our connections, organizing, and work help to ensure that the threads are gathered and ready for the weaving.
“It was a powerful magical ritual that night, with almost one hundred voices calling for freedom and ready to fight for it,” York recalled. “Our voices are strong, we are ready to fight, and we will not go quietly into the night.”
Guest Correspondent Catherine Carr earned her B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan in 2011 and worked in clinical research for five years before leaving the field to become a full-time writer. Her book World Soul: Healing Ourselves and the Earth Through Pagan Theology was published in 2023.
She became a student of Cherry Hill Seminary and the Village Mystery Temple and Dream School in 2020. She now offers life coaching from a spiritually oriented perspective, ritual facilitation, and quarterly classes for those seeking to deepen their spiritual community work and their personal practices.
The Wild Hunt is not responsible for links to external content.
To join a conversation on this post:
Visit our The Wild Hunt subreddit! Point your favorite browser to https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Wild_Hunt_News/, then click “JOIN”. Make sure to click the bell, too, to be notified of new articles posted to our subreddit.