From The Director
 Today I met with my contact at our sheriff's department here in Columbia, SC. She has been the appointed liaison to the Pagan community for the past seven years, during which time our sheriff and our liaison have both attended a Pagan Round Table dinner to give a talk and receive an award from us. Privately, both of these individuals are professed Christians, but they have a keen understanding of the importance of nurturing and working with the diversity found throughout this capital city county. I was pleased and proud when she congratulated us on our endowment, having seen news of it online. I was also able to share with her a copy of the new Oringderff-Rimer book (see below-right) Cults and Criminals. She has already passed around Dr. Oringderff's email announcement with many in her department, including the staff psychologist. This is just one example of the many ways that members of our CHS family interact with our wider communities, contributing to the health and vitality of the places where we live. Today I tell my own story, but each of you have your own, and these positive experiences go on year-round. We are proud of Patrick McCollum's role in helping establish Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month in California. And I hope everyone has caught the two-part interview with Macha NightMare about her recent participation in the Mountaintop summit.We love to see news of publication each time one of you releases a new book. Often you are presenting at events, from conferences and symposiums, to summer festivals, to interfaith panels and professional training sessions. We frequently speak of our interconnectedness, of the web of life, but most often we are speaking either abstractly or of only the Pagan world. But each of us is part of the larger world with all of its concerns. A rich and full life includes numerous dimensions of participation - in local arts, advocacy, volunteerism, and more. For many of us, the summer is a season of regrouping between semesters, rejuvenation between graduation-and-prom time and settling back into a routine in the fall. While you are in the flush of summer abundance, consider what is your role in your own town, county, state or other community. How do you make life better where you live? How do you represent Paganism to others? How do others perceive Cherry Hill Seminary, knowing that you are a student or faculty or volunteer? Is there something you've been putting off, and maybe this year is the time to step out? Whatever your way of living out your values, be sure to share with us. Depending on the item and space available, we love to beat the drum for our own. Help us let the world know what a vibrant CHS we are -- Holli Emore |
Show Your Face Contest
Ask a friend to turn on the camcorder while you tell how CHS has changed your life.
We will choose several of them to put into a promotional video telling people about CHS.
Our thanks to you? A free Insights class in Fall 2013!
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Important Dates
For Students
Jul 8 Fall registration opens
Jul 14 Insights 2 classes end
Jul 15 Insights 3 classes begin
Aug 11 Insights 3 classes end
Aug 25 Summer classes end
Sep 2 Fall registration ends
Sep 9 Fall classes begin
Sep 9 Insights 1 classes begin
For Faculty
Jul 28 Insights 2 grades due
Aug 25 Insights 3 grades due
Sep 8 Summer grades due
Sep 14 Spring course proposals due
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Endowment Challenge Results!
 On May 1, 2013, Cherry Hill Seminary received notice of a generous challenge by one of our supporters. If others would give to a scholarship endowment, this donor would match their contributions, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000. So many of you answered the call that as of our July 1 deadline, we raised a total of $12,471 in gifts and pledges. Thanks to your support, and to that of our challenging donor, Cherry Hill Seminary is excited to announce that we now have a $22,471 endowment. The endowment will generate interest that will fund the Cherry Hill Seminary Scholarship. The Cherry Hill Seminary Scholarship will be awarded in the future to support students nearing the completion of their Master of Divinity, to assist them with the expense of attending their second intensive, which is required for graduation. In addition, income from funds raised beyond the initial $10,000 goal may be used to support future non-intensive scholarships. On behalf of the current and future students who will benefit from this endowment, we offer our sincere gratitude to those of you who donated and to those who spread the word about the endowment challenge. 
Though the deadline for our matching challenge has now passed, it is never too late to donate to support the mission of Cherry Hill Seminary. For more information and to make a donation, please click here.
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Our CHS Family in the News
On June 24, Reverend Patrick M. McCollum, Cherry Hill Seminary Chaplaincy Advisor, was present for the signing of SCR-32, which established October as Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month in California.
Cherry Hill Seminary Executive Director Holli Emore was quoted in The Wild Hunt's coverage of Pagan reactions to the Supreme Court's June 26 DOMA and Prop 8 decisions. Read more at The Wild Hunt.
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Fall Registration is Open!
The following classes begin on September 9.
(four-week course)
Instructor: Kristin N. Rivers, Ph.D.
"In this first of three classes, explore the exciting new field of Transpersonal Genealogy: defined as (a) feeling called or pulled to research a particular ancestor, (b) feeling guided by that ancestor in one's research, and (c) how the lived experience of that ancestor impacts the psycho-spiritual development of the researcher. Share stories of your own experience(s) with Transpersonal Genealogy, and discuss how it has impacted your life. This course combines experiential learning with engaging lecture, thought-provoking video, and conscientious discussion of class postings."
 Instructor: York Dobyns, Ph.D.
"Overview of evidence, particularly modern scientific evidence, foraccepting some forms of magick as efficacious techniques, including an introduction to basic principles of science and scientific reasoning."
(fourteen-week semester)
Instructor: Valentine McKay-Riddle, Ph.D.
"Continuation of learning and work begun in Leadership I, serving as a "practicum" in which the learning experiences in theory gained in Leadership I will be put to use in the community leadership project chosen by each student in consultation with the professor."
Instructor: Deirdre Rogers, Ph.D.
"Introduction to Advocacy will challenge students to identify those values in their own traditions which call for engagement, and to craft for themselves a working statement of spiritual engagement based on their own practices and cultural contexts. This course will introduce students to advocacy work for diverse populations through social, legal and community network. Students will explore different methodologies of advocacy and effective advocacy implementation. The work that students accomplish in this course will inform their work in many of their other courses and may be used as the foundation for the MAL Master's Praxis and Thesis."
Master's-Level Courses
(fourteen-week semester)
Instructor: Anne Hill, D.Min. "When we engage in professional Pagan ministry, we are not only practitioners of our craft, we are representatives of our religion. We are held radically responsible for our actions and their consequences by our deities, our communities, our world, and ourselves. We live and work in a society where actions we take as Pagans are viewed through the lens of a different set of assumptions than our own. We are scrutinized very carefully by those who are gatekeepers, who have a primary responsibility to protect and serve their constituencies. This course will examine ethics and boundaries relating to self, to clan/tribe, to society and to our world, from both Pagan and non-Pagan perspectives. Students will develop individual codes of ethics and articulate personal boundaries." Instructor: Sarah Whedon, Ph.D. "The emerging interdisciplinary field of Pagan Studies requires specific tools in order to conduct academic research. Additionally, the course will cover conventions of academic essay-writing. In order to succeed at graduate-level work, students must be able to effectively analyze texts, make rational arguments about them using textual and other evidence, differentiate between personal and academic voice, use proper citation practices, and be familiar with academic standards of evidence. This class will prepare students to engage in a mature and sophisticated fashion with theological and religious studies texts and guide them in a research project ending with a final paper."
Instructor: Christina Taylor Beard-Moose, Ph.D. "A critical examination of two major ritual types: Rites of Passage and Rites of Intensification. Through classic readings and new interpretations of rites around the globe in Anthropology, we will identify similarities and differences. Students will also create their own ritual complete with an anthropological analysis of the rite." Instructor: David King, M.Div.  "Explores the unique role of the Chaplain in the three concentric circles of ministry: Family, Faith Formation and Ecumenical Community. First and foremost, the chaplain must be the spiritual minister and advisor of both his / her biological family and local faith family. Second, the chaplain must function in and minister to his / her faith formation. Third, the chaplain must function in and minister to the Ecumenical communities of faith, thus bringing spiritual relevance to the greater society. The Three Concentric Circles of a chaplain's ministry are interrelated and interdependent; this course provides the tools to function effectively in and move among all three circles." Instructor: Valerie Cole, Ph.D. address a variety of psychological issues are explored. Students begin to practice counseling skills with each other and with nonclinical populations. "Students learn counseling skills including development of basic rapport, active listening and effective use of questions. Psychotherapeutic interventions for specific populations and to |
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