News

Priest Paul Cudby builds bridges between Christians and Pagans

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SHEFFIELD, England — The process of interfaith engagement between the Pagan and the Christian communities in Britain is relatively recent, but is already quite firmly established. Christians have been welcomed into the Druidic orders for some time; there have been at least two members of OBOD who have also been ordained Christian ministers. And, initiatives, such as the joint Pagan/Christian weekend meeting at the Ammerdown Centre – a Christian retreat centre – have proven successful. This is a result of outreach on both sides, and several Christian priests have been at the forefront of contacting Pagans with a view to understanding rather than conversion. One of the central features of this work has been a mutual interest in Forest Church: a means by which Christians engage with the presence of their god within creation by conducting their worship outside through meditation, silences, prayer walks and rituals.

Paganism

Toronto set to host 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions

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TORONTO – The organizing committee for the Parliament of the World’s Religions held a press conference at Toronto city hall Tuesday, and made the announcement that the 2018 gathering will be held at Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Nov. 1-7, 2018. The seven-day event is expected to draw more than 10,000 people, and offer more than 500 programs, workshops, and dialogues. In addition to this, there will be exhibitions of dance, photography, music, art, and various related events presented by representatives of religious communities and cultural institutions from around the world. Toronto is the largest city in Canada, and the seventh largest in North America.

Paganism

Column: Come Gather ‘Round People

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I have trouble watching Cabaret, the 1966 musical that choreographer Bob Fosse would direct in an Academy Award-winning film 1972. It’s a scary work of art.  Cabaret is set in the Berlin of the Weimar Republic in 1931, a city and time at the height of a joie d’vivre during a wave of liberal attitudes; resplendent with what we might think of as libertine or even Pagan approach to life and sex. The film opens with the catchy song Wilkommen by the carnivalesque master of ceremonies singing:
Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: BLM Down Under, Donald H. Frew, Pagan Dawn and more!

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MELBOURNE — The Black Lives Matter movement has reached Australia. So far, there have been rallies in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. The ABC, Australia’s state-owned and funded national public broadcaster, reported that 3,500 people attended the Melbourne rally on Sunday, July 17. The movement, which began in the U.S., has a struck a chord with Australia’s aboriginal people. Although aboriginal people make up only about 3% of the Australian population, they reportedly make up 26% of the prison population.

News

Pagan chaplain’s voice for change is heard by global conference

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Mary Hudson made waves when she became the second Pagan chaplain at a higher education institution in the United States, continuing a service that began with the advising the Syracuse University student Pagan club. Two years after that chaplaincy appointment, Hudson decided to attend the Global Conference for Chaplains in Higher Education, which was being held at Yale that year. Unfortunately, the experience left a decidedly bad taste in her mouth, which she shared with the conference organizers. They took her feedback to heart, and asked her to return this year as a presenter. Hudson would like very much to return to the conference to do so.