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From the President
 I was reminded, as I am each year, how important festivals and large gatherings are to the Pagan community. Even with the advent of the internet and a host of social media sites, the shared experience from communal activities reaffirms the importance of experience with such activates as group ritual, having a conversation while sitting at the same table, a hug, and even the simple smile between people who have yet to learn each other names. PantheaCon is such a festival, one of many, where thousands of Pagans (along with those who self-identify differently but still have some connection with the wider Pagan community) come together.
Cherry Hill Seminary is part of this experience. Students, teachers, staff, and Board members all participated and I am proud of all the great work they do. The very act of getting together seems to inspire me to become more involved. So, perhaps a reminder to myself, and any of you who may feel the need: get out and engage with others. The web is a great way of bringing the Pagan Community together, allowing me to connect with people I never would have within my local group, but it is the festivals that helps bind our community together.
This leads me to thinking about another gathering: the 2011 CHS Summer Intensive with Sam Webster, M.Div., on "The Path of Theurgy: Contemporary Paganism and Practical Neoplatonism." Sam is knowledgeable and highly engaging. Even more so, the interaction with other students provides those experiences that form some of our most basic understandings. I often return to my experiences from the CHS Intensive that I attended. I hope that many of you can give yourself the experience of interacting with and getting to know your fellow students at the CHS Intensive this summer!
- William Blumberg
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CHS would like to thank the Austin, TX Pagan Community for their highly successful event benefitting CHS. Contributions from individuals are what make it possible for CHS to offer quality distance education, available to all wherever you live!
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Important Dates
For Students
May 9, 2011 - End Summer Registration
May 16, 2011 - Begin Summer Semester
May 23 - Add/Drop Last Date
For Faculty
May 1, 2011 - Fall Course Information Due
May 6, 2011 - Spring Grades Due to Office
Foundations Courses
March 14 - April 9, 2011 - Foundations Spring Three
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A Sacred Feast to Benefit CHS
 CHS would like to extend a big thank you to all those who participated in A Sacred Feast, a cook-off to benefit CHS. Pagan organizations in the Austin, TX area came together to co-sponsor a cook-off and silent auction to benefit Cherry Hill Seminary. Proceeds went to Cherry Hill Seminary to aid in providing quality higher education and practical training in Pagan ministry.
Prizes were given in eight categories, including:
* Lovin' from the Oven - Breads & savory baked goods
* Gifts from the Garden - Vegetarian and vegan delights
* Best of the Beast - Lovingly prepared meat or seafood
* Blessed Bacon - Do we need to say more?
* Culinary Comfort - Snacks, soups, stews, casseroles, grains and pasta dishes you love to come home to
* Global Gourmet - Foods from around the world
* Light My Fire - All things hot and spicy
* Divine Desserts - Sweets for the sweet
Another thank you to Ellen Friedman, M.A., LPC on the Board of Directors, who helped coordinate this wonderful event, and to everyone who helped by sponsoring.
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CHS Graduation Ceremony
Cherry Hill Seminary celebrated the first graduation ceremony under the new program on February 26, 2011 at the Sacred Space Conference. The Department of Pagan Community Education awarded certificates to six students who completed their program studies. The Pagan Newswire Collective Washington, DC bureau was able to sit down with members of CHS staff to interview them about higher education for Pagans.
 | | Cherry Hill Seminary 2011 Graduation |
During her Commencement Speech, Katrina Messenger said, "You are our future. That's it. You are our future. Because you are the ones that set the bar of how high, how far, how good, how smart, how committed, how serious we can be as a community. You are our future." The full speech can be read here, and once again, congratulations to our recent graduates!  |
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CHS at PantheaCon
Cherry Hill Seminary students, faculty, and friends gathered last week in San Jose as part of Pantheacon, one of the largest conventions for Pagans and practitioners of magical and earth-centered religions in the United States. As usual, Pantheacon featured a delightful mix of lectures, rituals, hands-on workshops, and opportunities to socialize. I've returned home full of excitement and new ideas, and I know I'm not the only one!
Sabina Magliocco was the presenter for the annual CHS Winter Intensive, and Board President William Blumberg acted as our gracious host for the event. The presentation focused on issues of authenticity in folklore and in contemporary Pagan practice. Participants explored strategies through which contemporary Pagans and other groups have argued for the authenticity of their practices and discussed what makes an "authentic experience." We ended with the question of how to develop a "rigorous intuition," an intuitive way of knowing that does not ignore scientific or historical facts. Sabina also presented on her fieldwork in Sardinia as part of the main conference programming.
Pagan-Hindu interfaith dialogue was a significant feature of the con this year, and a major area of focus for Cherry Hill. Former Board President M. Macha Nightmare, Academic Dean Wendy Griffin, Social Networking Coordinator Cosette Paneque, and I co-facilitated a Hindu and Pagan ritual with Barbara McGraw and members of the Hindu American Foundation. Other events included a Pagan-Hindu dialogue panel (which will appear on Elemental Castings, T. Thorn Coyle's podcast series, in a few weeks) and a presensation by the Hindu American Foundation on the topic "Are Hindus Pagan?" The presentation focused strongly on similarities between Hindus and Pagans and ended by de-emphasizing the importance of labels.
 Neoplatonic theurgy continued to be a topic at the conference, with three rituals and presentations focusing on this kind of practice (our own Sam Webster will be exploring theurgy in CHS's 2011 Summer Intensive). Other CHS associates presented on a variety of subjects; I spoke on the "Exploring New Media: A Pagan Perspective" panel, moderated by Jason Pitzl-Waters; Tony Mierzwicki presented on Greek religion; George Hersh gave two lectures on topics related to Pagan psychology; and Barbara McGraw spoke on behalf of her partner Patrick McCollum about Pagan prison ministry (with Starhawk as co-presenter). The "Exploring New Media" panel will also be available in the future on the Elemental Castings podcast.
--Christine Kraemer, Chair, Theology and Religious History
CHS would like to thank Sabina Magliocco for her outstanding presentation on Folklore, Culture & Authenticity in modern Paganism.
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