News

Pagans engage in community service through the Red Cross

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TWH –The call came in at 3:30 on the morning of Feb. 4. A southbound Amtrak train had collided head-on with an unmanned CSX train. A conductor and engineer had been killed, more than 100 passengers were injured, and everyone on the train had been through a traumatic experience. Over the next day, Holli Emore was among Red Cross workers from the South Carolina chapter providing comfort to the passengers, bringing in food, safeguarding privacy while local leaders express sympathy and support, and ensuring that even unspoken needs were met.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: BBC petition, Cherry Hill Seminary, Arnold Crowther, and more

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As we reported in the past, a U.K.-based petition has been making its way around the internet. Its mission is to urge the BBC to be more considerate of Pagan religious views. Created in January 2018 by Druid Stuart Jeffrey, the petition, which is titled BBC should make Pagan voices heard, has garnered closed to 2,000 signatures. Jeffrey believes that the station should contain occasional programming that explores Paganism and that “they should feature a Pagan voice on Thought for the Day at least once a year.” He writes, “The BBC recently published a review of its religious programming however despite getting the views from a range of religious leaders, no Pagans were consulted. Thought for the Day (T4tD) goes out on Radio 4 and despite it being multi-faith it has no Pagan voices on it.”

In a press release, Jeffrey announced that the petition will be delivered to the BBC Tuesday, July 17 at 11am. He said, “Almost 2,000 people have call [sic] on the BBC to make Pagan voices heard.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: TDoR 2017, Interfaith Podcast, new Pagan survey, and more

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TWH – Today marks Transgender Day of Remembrance. People around the world are honoring those people that have been lost in 2017 due to transgender-related violence.  There services and rituals that are being held specifically within Pagan communities. Trans woman Brianne Ravenwolf of Circle Sanctuary will be co-facilitating a ritual, which will live stream on Facebook at 1 p.m. central. We spoke with Ravenwolf in 2016 for our annual TDoR article. She said, “For me [TDoR is a] very solemn day and has been.

Paganism

Pagan chaplain joins Red Cross team offering spiritual care

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TWH –Whether it’s a shifting climate, rising intra-cultural tensions, or terrible luck, many natural and man-made disasters have been covered in the news of late. Hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and even mass shootings can have similar impacts on survivors, despite the differences in cause and physical damage resulting from each. Those impacts can include psychological and spiritual harm. Although better known in Pagan circles as the executive director at Cherry Hill Seminary, Holli Emore is also trained in providing disaster spiritual care through the Red Cross. She recently returned from a trip doing just that in Las Vegas, in the wake of the concert mass shooting which recently took place.

News

World Goddess Day: women speak out

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TWH –World Goddess Day, the event started by Brazilian author Claudiney Prieto in 2014, will fall on Sept. 3 this year. “The goal of the World Goddess Day project is to grant to the Goddess one day of visibility to share her many myths, stories and worshiping diversity, so everyone will remember or will realize that the first religion of humanity was the worship of the Goddess,” according to the web site. Some of the goddess-focused events already planned for this day can be found on Facebook, and those interested are invited to volunteer as local coordinators. The inclusion of the sacred feminine in Pagan religions is why many women were drawn to them in the first place.