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From the President
Greetings!
 February is the month of light and love. The light of the Goddess Brigit that fires the poet's brain; the love shared on the 14th when the influence of Aphrodite and Eros permeates the atmosphere.
CHS will be offering its annual Winter Conference with the delightful Steven Posch, followed by PantheaCon in San Jose. For those of you who may not know, PantheaCon, now in its 16th year, is probably the largest gathering of Pagans on the West Coast, drawing around 2000 people together for an endless round of workshops, lectures, panels, rituals, parties, you name it.
CHS students, faculty, and administration will be well represented. If you go, look for offerings from William Blumberg, Kirk Thomas,Tony Mierzwicki, and several others. We hope to see many of you there.
At the end of last month, several folks from CHS presented at the Sixth Annual Claremont Conference on Current Pagan Studies at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California. The event was broadcast live online via Elluminate. CHS is delighted to support the conference and delighted that the field of Pagan studies has become richer and more widespread. This is us, folks! We are building our own culture, and in the process changing the overculture as we take our places in the sun.
Please help us with your donations - establishing a seminary and gaining accreditation is a long and expensive process - as well as enrolling in our programs and volunteering. CHS is a collaborative effort. And while I'm at it, I tip my pointy black hat to the volunteers who produce this newsletter for you.
Blessings in the living land,
Macha/Aline O'Brien
Cherry Hill Seminary Supports Patrick McCollum in 9th Circuit Case Against California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. For more information, please read the official press release.
We can now be found on your favorite social networking sites! Become a fan of us on Facebook, and follow our tweets on Twitter!
Students, let your voice be heard! Now is a great chance for you to participate in our monthly newsletter. We're looking for your stories about a CHS project, paper, event, or a class that impacted your life. Got photos you can share? Contact Laura at lallen@cherryhillseminary.org with your stories and ideas. |
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Feb. 10th Ritual Workshop Open to the Public
Steven Posch, presenting the 2010 Winter Conference for CHS, has been called "the pagan rabbi" and "one of Paganism's top ritualists." Steven draws liturgical experience from a wide variety of backgrounds: Wicca, the Regency, and the Pagan Movement in Britain and Ireland, as well as Vaishnava Hinduism, Conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Steven is co-founder and chief liturgist of Prodea, the Twin Cities' oldest continuously-operating coven, and Beit Ashera Congregation (known humorously as "Golden Calf Synagogue"), of which he is cantor emeritus. His rituals are widely known and influential throughout the Midwestern United States.
"Just possibly one of the most important rituals of my life."
"Over the years, pagan ritual has largely lost its sense of mystery, and Steven Posch can show you how to put it back again. A technology of mystery: amazing."
"I now have to rethink every single thing I've done over the course of the past 16 years!"
"Steven Posch has single-handedly changed the way the Twin Cities [pagan community] does ritual."
"One of Paganism's top ritualists." - Macha Nightmare
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They're Everywhere! CHS Speakers at PantheaCon
Several members of the Cherry Hill Seminary faculty and staff are presenting this year at PantheaCon! Presenters from Cherry Hill include:
Friday, 1:30 pm: Celebrating the Crone - A Model Program and Ritual with Victoria Slind-Flor, former faculty member
Friday, 1:30 pm: Body-Stress Ecstatic Practices with Kirk Thomas, Board of Directors
Friday, 3:30 pm: Thelemic Tantra: Invoking Ra-Hoor-Khuit with Sam Webster
Friday, 7:00 pm: Druid Ritual with Danse Macabre with Jim Bianchi, Instructor
Friday, 9:00 pm: Pagans and the New Media with Jason-Pitzl-Waters, Board of Directors
Saturday, 9:00 am: Lost Gods of the Witches with Steven Posch
Saturday, 11:00 am: Sacred Seasons, Sacred Meals with Sabina Magliocco, Advisory Board
Saturday, 3:30 pm: Global Meltdown? McGyver 101: Pagan Survival Techniques with Patrick McCollum, Faculty
Saturday, 3:30 pm: Introduction to Wheat Weaving with William Blumberg, Board of Directors
Sunday, 9:00 am: The Ethics of Service with M. Macha Nightmare, Board of Directors. Holli Emore and Sam Webster will also be on her panel
Sunday, 9:00 am: Magickal Initiation in Ancient Egypt with Tony Mierzwicki, Board of Directors
Sunday, 3:30 pm: Beginning Energy Healing with Gus DiZerega, Instructor Monday, 11:00 am: Using Dreams in Pagan Practice and Ministry with Anne Hill, Instructor
For more information about PantheaCon, a full list of activities, and to register, please visit http://www.pantheacon.com |
Welcome New Staff Members
 Betsy Hopper, Cherry Hill's new Registrar, discovered the Goddess in 1994 and follows the path of the feminine. She is a third degree high priestess of Crow Gleann, a Goddess coven of women. Betsy is a technical writer who serendipitously found this profession after she graduated from Clemson University with an English degree and traveled to California to find her fortune. Back in South Carolina for over 20 years now, Betsy lives with her life partner and their canine and feline family. "A formal education is an important step in the advancement of the Pagan belief system, and I'm thrilled and honored to be a part of Cherry Hill Seminary."  Laura Allen joins the staff as Newsletter Coordinator this year. She has been studying paganism for nine years, with an interest in Irish reconstruction and Northern heathenism. Laura graduated Colorado State University with a BA in creative writing in 2008, and is currently enrolled in the Pagan Advocacy department at CHS. She founded the Northern Colorado Covenant of the River, and has begun work in Southern Colorado to develop a Norse/Celtic pagan community. Laura lives in Colorado Springs with her fiance and their wonderful cat and dog. "I'm excited and proud to be joining the staff this year. Cherry Hill does excellent work providing higher education to the pagan community, and I'm pleased to help achieve this goal!"
 Cosette Paneque is Cherry Hill's new Social Networking coordinator. Cosette has been involved with the Craft for 15 years. She is an initiate of the Georgian Wicca tradition, but has an eclectic practice that draws inspiration from many sources. She holds ministerial credentials through her membership in the Covenant of the Goddess, which she has actively served through the Everglades Moon Local Council. Cosette is a technophile with a mild case of neophilia and can often be found in the blogosphere, swimming through various social networking sites, exploring virtual communities, and trying to find ways to make her computer do more than it was designed to do. She has a background in journalism and recently returned to college to complete her education in English and Gender Studies. Her interests include mythology and ritual. "My thanks for the wonderful opportunity to join Cherry Hill Seminary. I am excited and proud to be a part of this institution and I look forward to contributing to its growth as it continues to provide quality education and serve as a forum for scholarship and community."
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Foundations Courses Still Open for Registration
Some of our Foundations Courses are still open for spring registration! We would like to remind everyone that guests can register for these classes as well as students.
Research and Writing in Pagan Studies, in session from March 15 until April 11
Sacred Nourishment, in session from March 1 until March 29
Group Dynamics 1: Forming, in session from February 15 until March 14
Group Dynamics 2: Storming, in session from March 22 until April 19
Genograms, in session from February 22 until March 21
For more information and to register for these courses, please see the Foundations section of our website.
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Toying With God by Nikki Bado-Fralick Released February 1
 Nikki Bado-Fralick, a member of the CHS Board of Directors, and Rebecca Sachs Norris, have recently published Toying With God: The World of Religious Games and Dolls This book examines the relationships among religion and commerce, play, politics, ritual, fun, and other aspects of contemporary culture. It is available from amazon.com or Cherry Hill's student bookstore. For a review of Toying With God, please visit Publisher's Weekly. |
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Cherry Hill Bumper Stickers Now Available!
We may not have a football team, but CHS now has a beautiful auto sticker! Order today for $7, or look for Holli at PantheaCon and buy one directly from her for only $6.
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 Cherry Hill Seminary provides quality higher education and practical training in Pagan ministry.
Cherry Hill Seminary is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organized in
the state of South Carolina. Web site copyright by Cherry Hill Seminary
in 2008, all rights reserved.
Contact us at P.O. Box 5405, Columbia, SC 29250-5405, 888.503.4131, or by email.
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