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On Sept. 28, the Badger Herald, a University of Wisconsin, student-run newspaper, published an article detailing their experience at Madison Area Pagan Pride Day (MAPPD). Traditionally, PPD coordinators welcome journalists, student or otherwise, to their events. In fact, it is one of the outreach objectives of the entire international PPD project. Writers are invited to participate with the hopes of a published article serving to educate the local community.
Unfortunately, in the case of the Badger Herald article, titled “I spent my Saturday praising the gods of old at Madison’s Pagan Pride Day,” the outcome wasn’t exactly what PPD organizers or attendees would have expected or wanted. Student Aaron Hathaway described his experience: “The attendees appeared to be sourced exclusively from the bulk quinoa sections of various organic co-ops around Madison … If I were asked to define Paganism based simply on my experiences at this event, I would guess it’s a mixture of viking roleplay, animism and ethnically ambiguous arts and crafts…”
Hathaway’s attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor did not amuse Pagan readers who happened to stumble upon the article. Several PPD attendees criticized his ethics, saying that he never introduced himself as a journalist or asked to take photos – a standard and often necessary courtesy at all Pagan events. Circle Sanctuary members were in attendance and confirmed this to be the case.
Since the article’s publication, Rev. Selena Fox and Circle Magazine‘s Florence Edwards-Miller have met with MAPPD coordinator Jessica Maus. They are turning this unfortunate circumstance into a “teachable moment.” Fox said, “I have had a series of phone meetings with administrators at the University of Wisconsin, including the Office of Equity and Diversity in central administration as well as with administrative advisors in the School of Journalism. I also have reached out to the student editor of the Badger Herald to discuss the situation. Circle Sanctuary and the Lady Liberty League see this as an opportunity to turn concerns we have heard about this article into a teaching moment for students, faculty, staff, and administrators and the University of Wisconsin system as a whole.”
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The Parliament of the World Religions is close at hand, and we will be sharing a look at what Pagans and Heathens can expect from their experience. But today we focus on a recent announcement by the Council. The organization has published the names and bios for the keynote speakers in the Emerging Leaders category.
The diverse list of young speakers includes EarthSpirit Community’s own Isobel Arthen. The article says, “Isobel Arthen is an environmental activist, organizer and trainer. She grew up in a community with an understanding of the Earth as sacred. That spiritual perspective has driven her to make change in the world, particularly around issues of climate justice.”
Arthen is the daughter of Andras Corban-Arthen and Deirdre Pulgram Arthen, and has grown up around the Parliament experience and interfaith work, in general. The upcoming event in Salt Lake City will not be her first. During this year’s festivities, Arthen is attending as a representative of the PeaceJam Foundation and member of the Emerging Leaders Task Force. She will be speaking together with the other listed youth leaders.
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Texas Local Council of Covenant of the Goddess, regularly offers basic classes in Wicca. However, this fall, organizers are trying something new – diversity education. The organization, based in Dallas, is hosting a free community outreach event titled, “Let’s Make a Difference!” They have invited Dr. Beth Fawcett, PhD, MPH., a local professor of sociology who “specializes in race and ethnicity courses. She credits her students for inspiring her to step outside the classroom to promote diversity and social justice.”
During this daylong event, Dr. Fawcett will lead a Privilege Walk. The announcement reads, “Be a part of this powerful experience that helps us recognize in a very personal way how power and privilege affect our lives, even when we are not aware of it. … join us after the walk as Dr. Fawcett leads a discussion and presentation on diversity and racism.”
Held at the Arlington Unitarian Universalist Church, the event will include vendors, a Unity ritual, BBQ, and a raffile with prizes. All donations and money gathered will be given directly to the organization Black Trans Advocacy. “Let’s Make a Difference” will be held on Nov 14 from 10 am – 4 pm.
In Other News:
- California’s Adocentyn Library has announced its first Friends of the Library meeting. R. Dean Jones writes, “We are gathering to assemble a group of like-minded people to help the Adocentyn Research Library.” The purpose of this group will be to provide the needed organizational support for the building, maintaining and growing of this unique facility. Adocentyn is located in Albany, California. The meeting will be held on Nov. 15 at 5:30 pm.
- In an article for South Africa’s Penton Independent Alternative Media, Arias Fåglar talks about South Coast Pagan Moots. She details how the popular moots got started and how local people can join the fun. “In May 2015 we all met at the local baker’s shop, Lilly’s Bread Bin, in Margate for Bunnies and Beer. And that’s where it all started to go well for us …” The group has been meeting regularly ever since and is hosted by KZN Pagan Network. Since developing and attending these moots, Fåglar said, “We discovered our own bit of magic.”
- Get your new Witches Almanac. The latest edition of The Witches Almanac is now available. The publication has been in print, in some format, since 1971 and was established by Elizabeth Pepper. The almanac contains “pictorial and explicit delineations of magical phases of the moon” along with short articles covering “various aspects of occult knowledge.” This new edition covers spring 2016 to spring 2017 and, as noted in yesterday’s article, contains Pope Francis’ astrological chart.
- Humanistic Paganism has begun a new project. The editors are putting together a book called “Godless Paganism: Voices of Non-Theistic Pagans.” To do this, they launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $687 dollars to cover publishing costs. The goal was met in just 2 days. The new book will contain the “writings of atheist and other non-theistic Pagans.” Editors have also put out a call for submissions on the topic. And, as a side note, The Wild Hunt would like to personally thank the Humanistic Paganism editors and readers in advance. All donations earned above the goal of $687 will be donated to The Wild Hunt fund drive.
- Prairie Land Pagan Radio (PLPR) has a new home. The online station is now completely owned by Prairie Land Productions LLC, which supports both PLPR and Prairie Land Entertainment. The announcement came over the weekend. Broadcaster Lynn Williams writes, “I will be broadcasting at an earlier time both Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 1 PM CDT …I am open to bookings from pagan musicians, artists, authors, bands, singer/songwriters, crafters etc….. If you are planning an event … I want to hear from you!“
That is it for now. Have a great day and remember to support your journalists!
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You might want to add the country in which Penton is located to the moot item.
Thank you for covering the TLC-CoG and Friends of the Library events, and for making us aware of the non-theistic Pagans book.
As many of the names are found in England, I had to look up KZN–I thought it might be a radio station, but it’s a coast area on the Indian Ocean side of South Africa.
Stop thinking so much like me, Deborah! 😉
Kudos to Circle Sanctuary for turning a sophomoric sneer in print into a teaching moment rather than the all too frequent campus attempt to ban offensive speech.
Something like this happened at the Las Cruses Pagan Pride a couple of years ago. The “journalist” wrote a very unfavorable review and made several Satanic comparisons. The good thing was that many people wrote in to the paper he worked for and complained. A negative was turned into a positive.
Good luck to the group in Texas. I like what they are trying to do.