Pagan Community Notes: Covenant of the Goddess, hex ritual, Pagan copyright issues, and more

ONTARIO, Calif. — Covenant of the Goddess members elected a new First Officer Saturday. Canu, who has been a member for 25 years, will be moving into the position Nov. 1, along with the newly-elected board. Canu said,”My goals include drawing on CoG’s deep combined experience to: support our local councils’ and solitary members’ needs and goals, such as intrafaith interaction with the broader Pagan community; review our membership processes and barriers to joining the Covenant; support our interfaith work and plan for the periodic costs of interfaith representation at the Parliament of the World’s Religions and North American Interfaith Network events; and engage all of our members to make CoG more focused on, and communicative about, what we have to give directly, like community events, philanthropy, and networking.”

Column: Paganicon 2016

Minneapolis, Minn – For the past six years, Twin Cities Pagan Pride (TCPP) has hosted Paganicon, a three day indoor conference featuring the opportunities to learn, network and celebrate. Pagans and Heathens from across the U.S. are joined by Canadian visitors and the occasional overseas guest to partake of Minnesotan hospitality. Minneapolis is a large and dynamic city that is cut by the mighty Mississippi River and sits alongside the city of St. Paul. Together they are known as the Twin Cities.

Pagan Community Notes: Environmental Statements, Raven & Crone, Christopher Lee and more!

On Thursday June 18, Pope Francis is scheduled to release a “teaching letter,” also called an encyclical, on the environment. This highly anticipated document will most likely become big news of the week as the Pope enters the debates on climate change. A recent New York Times article suggested that, through this work, he is “seeking to redefine a typically secular discussion within a religious framework.” Many activists, around the world, stand ready to applaud his efforts to publicly engage in the global Earth Stewardship conversation and, thereby, hopefully increase pressure on communities, businesses, organizations and governments to enact change. To some Pagans and others, who already position the Earth or a connection to natural systems of place, at the center of their spiritual practice, the need for such a document might seem superfluous.

Pagan Community Notes: Katwood Sanctuary, Shekhinah Mountainwater Fund, Judy Harrow and more!

On Feb. 16, tragedy hit Katwood, a 40-acre Pagan sanctuary and sacred retreat nestled in rural southern Virginia. The homestead and all its contents were completely burned to the ground, leaving its full-time occupants, Priest Daniel and his wife Sue, without a place to live. Katwood has been the couple’s home for decades. Daniel, now in his 60s, is the founder and priest of Oak Tree Clan, a group that considers Katwood Sanctuary its spiritual center.