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From the Director
"No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions," said theologian Hans Kung back in the 1990s, and it has become a rallying slogan for the international interfaith movement. Pagans will occasionally dismiss interfaith activity, telling me they are not interested in other religions or community work. I won't quarrel with those who wish to be solitary, but fear they miss the point. Kung preceded the statement above with one that should get the attention of all of us: "No peace among the nations without peace among the religions."
This ups the stakes considerably, ringing true with what I know of the history of religions. No peace - a chilling thought. Who would not want to simply extend the hand of friendship to others in the interest of a peaceful, safe world? Then there are those of us - many at CHS - who love the variety and richness of spiritual experience found across the planet. As Prothero says, God is not one, but humanity certainly shares some common denominators which can help us to embrace our more common differences without feeling compromised or threatened.
As more Pagans come out of the closet and engage with the wider faith community, others are watching with curiosity to see just who we are. My own interfaith work for the past two years has resulted in some astonishing, unexpected joys, like the minister in Charleston who made a public apology from the pulpit to me and all Pagans, or the imam who told a committee last spring that he needed to amend his use of language (e.g., referring to wicked people as "pagan"), or the interfaith friends who stood behind me recently when I was called a "Christ-rejector" in the newspaper by a local fundamentalist minister.
The North American Interfaith Network has welcomed Pagans for a good many years now. In July I joined interfaith friends, as well as Pagan colleagues Grove Harris and Rachel Watcher for the annual NAIN conference, held this year in Atlanta. Some of our students will remember taking a class with Grove in the past, and both she and Rachel serve on the NAIN board of directors. The picture below is me speaking with Ralph Singh, also on the NAIN board. Ralph was only one of many who showed me a warm welcome; I also owe special thanks to Dr. Carl Evans (a Methodist minister) for arranging for me to attend the conference this year.  As a minority faith, Paganism is particularly vulnerable to the whims of less-than-tolerant city councils, uninformed school officials, corrections officers and so forth. This means it's in our best interest to be involved in our religious communities wherever we live. But it's also fun and enriching. Furthermore, as society becomes more global, increasingly diverse, it no longer makes sense to identify solely with a narrowly-defined spirituality. In fact, that global society badly needs us to add our earth-based spiritual voices to the conversations shaping the future.
Many in the CHS community are involved with interfaith where they live, some for many years. CHS will continue to encourage support of interfaith engagement as a way for Pagans, and people of all faiths, and no faith, to live together in peace.
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You Can Help With Just One Click
We often hear that Cherry Hill Seminary is one of the best-kept secrets around. We do not rent mailing lists from others and never share our own lists. But word-of-mouth is the very best way to let people know about this veritable jewel.
Will you help by forwarding CHS messages to the groups to which you belong?
A link at the bottom of this newsletter makes it easy to forward our news and announcements without the formatting becoming garbled.
Thanks for spreading the word! |
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Important Dates
For Students
Aug 12 - Foundations Sum 3 classes end
Sep 10 - Fall classes begin
Sep 17 - Drop/Add deadline
For Faculty
Aug 26 -All grades due to office
Sep 14 - Spring course proposals due to dept. chair
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Announcing Ministry Department Chair
Cherry Hill Seminary is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Patrick, Ph.D., to the position of Chair of the Department of Ministry, Advocacy and Leadership. Bob brings a lifetime of ministry experience, plus his years of Pagan and UU involvement -- a significant asset for our students and faculty. Following are highlights of a recent interview.
Q: Please share a little about your spiritual path.
A: My focus these days is union and integrating lessons of the past with the present. I don't see myself as having left anything behind. It all travels with me. I was raised and eventually ordained as a Methodist minister. I left Methodism for Catholicism and was given permission from Rome to be ordained as a married Catholic priest, but my path led elsewhere. My wife and I left church altogether for several years during which I explored Buddhism (via Thich Nhat Hanh), the Tao te ching, Native American practices and
 | | Bob Patrick with Holli Emore, CHS Director, during her trip to Atlanta (see story below). |
Druidry. I am an Ovate in OBOD and co-founder of the Druid Order of Three Realms. My family and I found our way to Unitarian-Universalism in which we are active to this day. It is a good vehicle for integrating all the wanderings of my path into an interconnected web, and I am privileged to be in a local UU community which values covenanting together to support inquiry, trust and compassion. My daily practice of meditation, prayer, magic and walking in the world is as a Druid, and I value the Christ as one way of talking about the Interconnected Web of All Being.
Q: What else you do when not teaching for CHS?
A: I hold a Ph.D. in Latin and teach a very large and engaging program of Latin in a robust public school system in metro Atlanta. As a young person, I heard the call to language study. I have experience with Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, French and German as well. There is something magical about finding ways to communicate with others in their own language. That same magic greets me in gardening which I learned from my very rural and down-to-earth grandfather in Alabama. I also paint (water colors and acrylics) and love poetry. I am a certified massage therapist working part-time for 15 years in this arena, and enjoy physical activities, especially those that connect body, mind and soul, like yoga, tai chi and weight training. As I write this, I am sharing a chair with our Dachsund, Jewel, and the room with our Boston Terrier, Buster. My wife and I have raised three wonderful children, each of whom are just barely beginning their adult lives.
Q: What will you bring to your position as department chair and what do you hope to accomplish? A: Teaching experiences at multiple levels (high school, graduate school, middle school, undergraduate), hopefully, will inform my work in the department, as well as work in differentiated instruction, multiple kinds of learning, and personal and ministerial work in spiritual direction and social justice. In her poem, "Messenger", Mary Oliver says that her work is to be still and be astonished. The fourteenth-century Persian poet, Hafiz, says that he once had a crowbar that he thought to use to break into the house of the Divine, and then he realized that he owned the joint. Both speak of the surprising, confounding, astounding, unbelievable and yet most compelling connection we have with the Divine ones, the Mighty Ones, the One, the Interconnected Web of all Being. While there are practical aspects of work in the department, every step of practical work is a step into this kind of universal connection.
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Foundations (4-week sessions)
Session One
Pagan Elders and Ancients: Maxine Sanders - Daryl Morazzini
Basic Shamanism: The Self - Valentine McKay-Riddell
Session Two
Synchronicity and Divination - Angela Farmer
Basic Shamanism: Communication with Othersr Session Three - Valentine McKay-Riddle
Death & Dying: A Pagan Overview - Jennifer Bennett
Composing Effective Eulogies and Obituaries - Macha NightMare
Pagan Spiritual Autobiography - Daryl Morazzini
Basic Shamanism: Community Service - Valentine McKay-Riddell
Pagan Community Education
Vivianne Crowley
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Our Student in the News!
 The Huntsville (Alabama) Times recently ran a story, "Pagans prepare to celebrate Lamas Aug 1," which was an interview with CHS student Carol Kirk ("Lark"). Nearly as interesting as the article are the comments posted beneath it. Thanks for representing Paganism so ably, Lark.
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Participate in Research on Pagans
A Pagan psychotherapist is conducting research on injustices faced by the Pagan community. If you are interested in participating in an interview about your experience, please contact her at vbrown @ mispp.edu.
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Fall Parties Will Benefit Scholarship Fund
For those who heard about the Hypatia Society drive in the spring but just couldn't throw a house party then - fall party season is around the corner and contributions made during that drive will be put in a new scholarship fund. What's not to like? Read about the spring parties here, and watch for an announcement soon about the opening of the fall scholarship drive. |
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