Living

Charitable giving at Pagan Pride

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TWH –This is the time of year when, in advance of the nearly-inevitable “real witch” stories that are written in October, many Pagans try to shape the public image of their religions by participating in local Pagan Pride Day events. While not all of these are affiliated with the Pagan Pride Project, that organization’s model is why the bulk of PPD celebrations take place in late summer or early autumn. Sanctioned events are expected to include press releases inviting media coverage, public rituals, and fund raising for a charitable cause. According to the Pagan Pride Project website, the rationale for a charitable component is:
A food drive or other charitable activity, to share our abundant harvest with others in need, and to make a clear statement to those who have misconceptions about Paganism. We know that our ethics, based on concern for ecology, personal responsibility, and individual freedom, mean that we feel strongly called to actions of social responsibility.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Denton CUUPS, Convocation, Asatru Folk Assembly, and more

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DENTON, Tex.– Eight months after a fire damaged its building, Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship came together in a newly constructed space to celebrate and recommit to its mission. As we reported in December, the Denton church was repeatedly vandalized by a single teenager, who eventually set fire to the building. At the time, Rev. Pam Wat said, “The damage from the fire is significant, but not overwhelming.” Since that point, members were invited to hold their services in the First Christian Church, located across the street. As noted by Denton CUUPS chapter coordinator John Beckett, “They displayed the best of Christianity.”

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Sacred Well Congregation, Charlie Murphy, Nova Scotia Druids, and more!

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BUTLER, Mo. —  The Sacred Well Congregation, an “independent, non-evangelical Wiccan Church,” announced Thursday that it has become an “Ecclesiastical Endorsing Organization for the Department of Veterans Affairs.” The announcement reads, “We will now be able to endorse qualified clergy from Wicca and Earth-Centered Spiritualities who wish to apply for chaplaincy positions with the VA.” The Sacred Well Congregation needed to meet a number of very specific criteria to qualify for this designation. These requirements included things such as functioning exclusively as religious ministry, being a tax-exempt religious organization, and agreeing to abide by “all federal, VA, and VHA laws, regulations, policies, and issuances on the qualification and endorsement of persons for service as VA chaplains, federal employment, and veterans health care.”

Paganism

In Search Of Pagan Pride

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UNITED STATES –To acknowledge the many Pagan Pride Day events that take place at this time of the year, The Wild Hunt endeavored to learn more about the staying power of this movement by answering the question: what’s the longest-running pride event out there, and to what can it owe its success? The answer is somewhat obscured by the autonomy which touches every corner of Pagandom; even though there is a Pagan Pride Project  (PPP) dedicated to supporting these events, it is by no means the official arbiter and archivist of all things prideful. Indeed, the term is not copyrighted out of a sense that no one owns it. However, because of the support structure it provides, PPP has a decent institutional memory. We tapped into that memory through National President Brian Ewing, who has been promoting pride since before the turn of the century.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Four Quarters, City of Refuge, Pagan Pride Day and more

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Four Quarters Interfaith Sanctuary, a farm and campground located in Pennsylvania, was in the news after a festival-goer reported being attacked. Four Quarters opens its land to a number of yearly external events. One of these events is Big Dub, a 4-Day EDM festival that brings together “40 of the regions biggest electronic dance dj’s to perform and hold workshops.” On the final day of the festival, a women reported to festival security that she had been drugged and raped. Security turned the case over to local police who launched an investigation.