Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: The Seeker’s Temple, The Patrick McCollum Foundation, CUUPS and more!

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The Seeker’s Temple, based in Beebe Arkansas, has announced that it is closing its doors. In a Facebook statement, High Priest Bertram Dahl said, “The city of Beebe has not only managed to make things too difficult to stay open here, but are also attacking us personally and threatening the life of our family.” Tonight will be its final public meeting. As we reported in June 2014, Dahl, with his wife Felicia, had moved to Beebe, where they re-established the Seeker’s Temple. After some time, the Dahls found themselves at the center of a local controversy due to ongoing conflicts with both the town and a neighboring church. As noted by the Temple’s announcement, those problems never ended. In a recent post, Dahl reports that many of his outdoor statuary were vandalized.

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Religious Freedom Updates: Arkansas, Alabama and Virginia

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Over the past few months we have been reporting on several stories involving religious freedom challenges. Here are updates on those stories:

Beebe, Arkanasas makes national news

On June 17, we reported that Arkansas resident Bertram Dahl had been denied the necessary permits to open a Pagan temple on his property. In addition, he was harassed by a neighboring Pentecostal church and, eventually, arrested on charges of disorderly conduct. This past week, the national news picked up Dahl’s story. On July 28, The New York Times published the article, “Pagan High Priest Finds Few Believers Inside City Hall.”

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Update on Beebe: “That man’s God is not my God.”

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[The Wild Hunt has an update on the alleged religious discrimination against Seekers Temple in Beebe including an interview with temple High Priest Bertram Dahl.] 

More details emerge in the conflict between Mayor Mike Robertson of Beebe, Arkansas and a Pagan church. High Priest Bertram Dahl said the city of Beebe welcomed him, his church, and store to relocate to the town with open arms – until they found out the church wasn’t a Christian church. Now the mayor claims Dahl’s Seekers Temple and metaphysical store cannot open due to zoning issues. In our interview with the Dahls they say it has nothing to do with zoning and everything to do with religious discrimination. Beebe area Pagans asked the Dahls to relocate from El Paso, Arkansas to Beebe as it was more centrally located.