The congregational model is certainly a viable option for at least some forms of paganism - I admit to yearning for the familiarity of it sometimes myself. It seems to be working well for the folks at Gaia Community, and there is a newly-forming pagan-based church in my area of North Carolina that I believe plans to seek UUA affiliation at some point.
Obviously it wouldn't work for everyone, but since nothing does I'm not sure that's a strike against it...
Erik
I do think Paganism is upsetting to some of our fellow UU's that are Humanists (one of our local UU congregation that I attend is mostly Humanists). But, Paganism fits right in with the 7th principal of the UU church. What one person may consider "flaky spiritualities and ancient occult practices," another finds very meaningful.
As far as the concern that we are building congregational Paganism- is that necessarily a bad thing? Or just a different form? I'm sure it's not for every Pagan, but for some of us it does fit our spiritual needs. Maybe it seems like we are selling out (joining a church, Sunday services even)?
But, Paganism within the safe borders of the UUA is, well, safe. I'm reluctant to go to someone's house that I don't know for a ritual. Even if I've met them first at a coffee shop.
Anyway, it is an interesting trend you pointed out- the building of congregational Paganism.
It's a matter of dollars and cents. Many public park systems require insurance in order to host events suche as a PPD. When you offer PPD as a free event, you still have to fundraise in order to cover the $300-$500 per year. Coordinating efforts with Pagan-friendly centers makes sense because the insurance is no longer and issue.
I was surprised to see that the Boston's Arlington Street Church (the UU mother ship) doesn't even have a CUUPS chapter. The closest one to me is at the First Parish Church in Cambridge. I can't find a Pagan Pride event on their calendar, but I do know that the church is very open to hosting pagan events.
I am curious, what would be wrong with a congragational Paganism? There are times I have craved that and, although, I've come to believe it would not suit me, I don't see such a movement as necessarily detrimental to Paganism as a whole? Terribly curious to hear where you are afraid this might lead, please share your thoughts.
As I understand it, your objection is not to congregational Paganism but to using a private fellowship building for Pagan Pride, which is contrary to the stated position of Pagan Pride.
I have several questions: Have you contacted any of these groups and asked them? What kind of materials and support are provided for local PPD groups from the national organization? What is the national PPD response to the issue—if they're even aware of it?
I think the point is an important one and I am curious.
On the other hand, let me point out that any PPD that donates to charity in the PPD name as a result of PPD donations is suceeding, albeit in a smaller way than if they were out in the public eye, of publicizing Paganism positively (now THERE'S an alliterative!).
Although I can see your concern, in this case, it kind of makes sense.
This area, in which I used to live, is not all that friendly to Pagans. To host an event within the UU church makes this event more accessible to Pagans and to the general public of this area. People have a "neutral" meeting ground.
If you live in an area that is not friendly to your beliefs, you are not likely to participate in PPD, no matter what the intentions of the day are.
I should clarify, as there were many places that you mentioned. I used to live near Stephens City, VA which was mentioned in your first post.
I'm of the old school of thought myself. I don't care much either for open pagan pride days or for the open doors inclusiveness that is sought in more restricted UU settings. I can understand and appreciate that it might fulfill some vaque spiritual need in modern pagans that might come from an originally Christian (or other) religous background, but I don't need it myself.
I much prefer the secret coven model, maybe advanced to the level of a Masonic type lodge, where membership is restricted and moderated to benefit the serious seeker, as oppossed to the Buffy The Vampire Slayer wannabees. Not that all of these can be summarrily dismissed, but it would give them an opportunity to be phased in, and learn what it is all about-and more importantly, what it is not all about-before they become full fledged members.
Location for PPD is complicated - having been part of the PPD committee locally this year, I was around for a lot of the site decision discussion.
For us (and I'd assume for a lot of other places), it's often a question of picking the best combination of trade-offs.
Public park would be nice - but weather can be a concern. Plus, the city park systems have some restrictions on vending and other activities that would be problematic. (and reservation systems can be problematic in our local parks.) Plus, with a larger gathering (the Twin Cities Pagan Pride is up in the upper hundreds), it can be hard to arrange multiple classes/rituals in an accessible/findable way that doesn't mean hiking all over creation to get to stuff (mobility issues for some people.)
In the recent past, the Twin Cities event was in the student union at the U of Minnesota (main public university campus). However, the nearest useful parking was a pay lot, and the student union was increasingly desiring student running of the event. Students on the board would have been fine - the U wanted them to have all of the chair positions, or almost all. (Besides being a problem for an event in September or October when much of the significant planning and arranging work takes place over the summer, it also takes it out of being a community event on other levels.)
At that point, you start getting a bit less fussy - somewhere that will fit the number of people you expect, that will not have issues with insurance, that has adequate parking and access to public transit.
I think our site for this year (in a community center) will work really nicely - but it also has some other considerations (it's smaller than we'd ideally like). We did look seriously at a couple of UU churches, but they either didn't have enough space or weren't free the weekends we were aiming for.
Deborah - I can't speak to all of your comments, but the Pagan Pride website has a bunch of information. People running local PPD events go through an application process. The Local coordinators have a email list where there is (as I understand it) substantial support and discussion and other information about what people have found works and doesn't work.
At the same time, options in different areas vary so much (and can vary for reasons not related to Pagan acceptance issues - like whether someone has a wedding that day, or whether it's orientation weekend for a particular school. Or in the Twin Cities, where we try to schedule in early October, because the local Renaissance Festival runs through the end of September, and we recognise there's a lot of crossover participation) that there's naturally going to be a bunch of variation.
I am not hugely concerned by situations where a UU church happens to be the best space - accessible, possible for casual traffic (not necessarily walk-by, but "Oh, saw this notice, want to go for an hour"), reasonable other arrangements, etc.
I would be m
PatrickKelley,
much prefer the secret coven model, maybe advanced to the level of a Masonic type lodge
Which is perfectly fine for traditions such as Wicca, Golden Dawn, and so on that come out of that background and mindset... but, of course, that's not the whole of the Pagan scene by a long shot. My own religion (Hellenic semi-reconstructionism), for instance, is based on a religious model that is much more oriented to public/civic expression than to the closed-circle model of traditional Wicca... and while private family devotions in the home are an integral part of it, the coven model simply doesn't apply except in the case of the Mysteries, (and not even always then).
LOVED YOUR WEBSITE!PLEASE VISIT MINE IF YOU HAVE THE TIME THANKS!HAVE A NICE DAY prescriptions vicodin news release viagra woman asterias beach cipro
Commenting by HaloScan
