News

Texas House passes religion-based child care services bill

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AUSTIN, Texas —  The Texas House of Representatives passed HB3859 Wednesday, moving the state one step closer to enacting a law that, as it reads, aims to protect the “rights of conscience for child welfare services providers.” The bill was authored by Rep. James Frank (R) from Wichita Falls and, as he stated in a recent comment, “One of our biggest challenges is a lack of adequate, quality foster homes. […] A substantial part of any answer to this problem will be found in the faith-based community.” Rep. Frank’s comment was made after the bill was passed and directed at mainstream media, who generally began calling the bill discriminatory. Frank responded, “At a time when we need all hands on deck, we face the real risk of seeing a large number of [faith-based] providers leave the field, as they are forced to make the choice between devoting a substantial amount of resources in fighting litigation and other adverse action, or using those resources on other services to fulfill the tenets of their faith.”

Paganism

Pagan Community Notes: climate march, Margaret Alia Denny, Buckland Gallery, and more!

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TWH – The 2017 People’s Climate March brought over 200,000 protesters to Washington D.C. and smaller venues around the world. Saturday’s event was planned prior to the election, although many protesters focused on recent decisions being made by the Trump administration. Paul Getsos, the National Coordinator for the People’s Climate Movement said:

“This march grew out of the relationship building among some of the country’s most important progressive organizations and movements. In 2014, the march was planned as a singular moment to pressure global leaders to act on climate change. There was a simple demand – act.”

Living

A Very Merry May!

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For many Pagans, Heathens, and polytheists, it is once a time of celebration. The days surrounding the first of May mark many traditional spring festivals and religious holidays recognized around the world. Of these, the most well known is Beltane or Bealtaine, which, in some traditions, honors the union of goddess and god, or marks the beginning of a Celtic summer. It is also considered the high point of Spring on some Wiccan calendars. In many secular and non-Pagan religious communities, the day is celebrated as May Day, complete with the iconic Maypole, music, and dancing.

Book Reviews

Book Review: The Path of Paganism by John Beckett

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The Path of Paganism: An Experience-Based Guide to Modern Pagan Practice by John Beckett. Published by Llewellyn Publications (336 pages). Walking a Pagan path will always have its challenges and whatever stage of the path we are on, a guide who give us pause for reflection on key aspects of our beliefs and practices is most welcome. This is why John Beckett’s new book The Path of Paganism, to be released in May, is so important. Beckett is a Druid who was raised in what he describes as a fundamentalist Christian family, finding his way to Paganism when he was an adult. Beckett is a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) and an officer of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS). With a foreword by the renowned Kristoffer Hughes, head of the Anglesey Druid Order, Beckett’s book is made up of four parts: Building a Foundation, Putting it Into Practice, Intermediate Practice, Living at the Edge.

Living

A blessed spring equinox

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TWH – This week marks the celebration of the vernal (spring) equinox and the astronomical beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. The actual equinox occurs Tuesday, Mar. 20 at 12:15 am EDT (10:29 UTC). At the same time in the southern hemisphere, it will be the autumnal equinox, and the beginning of the fall season. Many Pagans, Heathens, and polytheists celebrate the spring equinox as Ostara, Lady Day, Shubun-sai, or simply the coming of spring.