On 16 December, I wrote about the difficulties in defining paganism so that none of us were left out in the cold. The definition proposed at the Parliament of World Religions (PWR) was very Eurocentric. I would like to explore one of the issues I raised a little further.
Reconstructionists and those within rigidly defined orders, covens and other magickal groups have a set curriculum – a very structured system of lessons to assimilate. While it is true that many reconstructionists are self-taught, the reality is that they are largely poring over the same source texts.
There is, however, a rather large group of pagans, called eclectic solitaries (or solitary eclectics), who have the benefit of being totally flexible when cobbling together their personal magickal system from often disparate sources. While there was a time when eclectic solitaries (more…)
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 5:14 am
filed under: Pagan Issues, Politics
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The Parliament of World Religions (PWR) plays a vitally important role in facilitating interfaith dialogue. This year’s PWR had a strong emphasis on indigenous spiritualities.
The pagan contingent at the PWR sparked off controversy in allegedly proposing a very restricted definition of paganism. The information was provided by Ed Hubbard in his on-going commentary on the PWR:
http://paganmichigan.ning.com/forum/topics/updates-from-the-parliament-of
The core definition was:
“’Paganism’ is a collective term that most aptly defines Indigenous cultures of pre-Christian Europe, the Celtic and Germanic Tribes, The Balts, The Scandinavians, The Basques, The Slaves [sic] and many others.”
The problem with this definition is that it limits itself to reconstructionists and (more…)
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 6:29 am
filed under: Pagan Issues, Politics
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The time of the Winter Solstice is a time of giving, with exchanges of presents being indicative of good will. When purchasing gifts or giftcards, be mindful of Cherry Hill Seminary’s SCRIP programme.
The SCRIP fundraising programme has been used extensively by schools, churches and non-profit organizations of all kinds. CHS has two separate SCRIP programmes:
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Simplified SCRIP to purchase store gift cards from hundreds of merchants all over the country and online
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Every time you shop using these programmes, CHS will receive a percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you as it will be coming from the merchants you are shopping from.
The money that CHS actually gets from each transaction is quite small, but if enough people use the programmes, it will all add up. Both programmes are accessible through the above links.
It is also possible to donate straight to CHS.
Tony Mierzwicki
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 3:24 am
filed under: Economy & Finance, Pagan Issues
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I try to not involve myself in politics, but every once in a while something comes along that deserves attention. An event took place in late October which I should have blogged about but for various reasons did not, and I have no intention of boring anyone with a litany of excuses.
On 28 October 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law (as a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act). The bill in question is H.R.1913 – Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.
The OpenCongress Summary states: (more…)
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 1:00 am
filed under: Pagan Issues, Politics
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Saturday 5 December saw the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach host the Long Beach Womanspirit Winter Solstice Faire. As usual, the local pagans came out in force to check out numerous stalls and be entertained by some very talented performers.
While the primary focus was on the entertainment, there were a few well known authors in attendance. The ones whom I spotted were Ann Finnin and her husband David, co-founders of the Roebuck Tradition; author and agent, Denise Dumars; and, musician and author, Kenny Klein, and his wife, Anna.
I spent an enjoyable day there, making myself available to chat about Cherry Hill Seminary and the Winter Conference. I was assisted in my task by members of Covenant of the Goddess who had Cherry Hill Seminary flyers on their table.
The weather was quite pleasant, which contributed to a good turnout. While there were many familiar faces there, it was great to see some new people as well.
Tony Mierzwicki
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 3:13 am
filed under: Events, Womanspirit
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