Preparing & Being


With predictions of another record winter storm on the way, emergency workers such as my husband are busy today preparing for those who may find themselves with no power, heat, water, shelter or food. And earlier this week I moderated a panel of law enforcement experts on the subject of preparing for violence at our places of worship.

At Cherry Hill Seminary we say that we are preparing people for ministry in their communities. But what does preparedness mean in a time when the majority of Pagans surveyed identify as solitary, when overall religious identification across the country is declining and the odds of recovering one's educational investment through a future religious career are rare?

For more than ten years we at CHS have scrupulously asked ourselves these very questions as we strive to serve your needs and remain true to our mission. It's the reason we have evolved from primarily witchcraft-specific local training in Vermont to a full range of academically-strong master's programs, adult certificates, continuing ed short courses online, and printed basic lessons for inmates who cannot join us online. It's why our students have access to a faculty mentor (new this year if you've not yet been assigned), chaplaincy support, and research assistance. It's why you will see us periodically post articles and resources like our free Don't Look Away slideshow about dealing with sexual abuse.

Because it's a little different at a seminary. We are more of a community than most colleges, and we are acutely aware that part of what we are doing is helping our folks grow spiritually into their role as spiritual leaders. This involves mucking about together sometimes, bumping heads gently in the classroom, and having committed people who will give us genuine feedback and support, who will listen to our crazy ideas and reflect back in ways that both challenge and nurture.

But back to the trends - why go to all this trouble if there are not "pulpit positions" waiting for us? Because human needs don't change - we still need each other, no matter how isolated we may become at times, or how far we step away from anything resembling organized religion. We still hurt, fall ill, lose loved ones, experience devastating losses and heartache, and we also still wish to celebrate life's joys with others of our tribe.

As long as those human needs exist, some of us feel compelled to improve our skills for responding when needed. And trust me - you will be needed, sometime, somewhere. That's why we all need Cherry Hill Seminary - this year. --Holli Emore, Executive Director 
 

Resources

Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes is finally available on Kindle! Purchase now



The Open Halls Project announces that the U.S. Department of Defense has requested, reviewed and accepted our Heathen Resource Guide for Chaplains.

Important Dates
 
For Students
Jan 25 Insights 1 classes begin
Jan 29
Drop/Add deadline
Feb 1 Early bird price for Greening last day
Feb 21 Insights 1 classes end
Feb 29 Insights 2 classes begin
Mar 27 Insights 2 classes end
Apr 4 Insights 3 classes begin
May 1 All Spring classes end
May 23 Summer classes begin 
May 30 Insights 1 classes begin
Jun 3 Drop/Add deadline
Jun 26 Insights 1 classes end
Jun 27 Insights 2 classes begin
Jul 24 Insights 2 classes end
Jul 25 Insights 3 classes begin
Aug 21 Insights 3 classes end
Aug 28 All semester classes end
Sep 12 Fall classes begin 
For Faculty
Feb 1 Summer course proposals due
Mar 7 Insights 1 grades due
Apr 11 Insights 2 grades due
May 15 All Spring grades due
Jun 6 Fall course proposals due
Jul 11 Insights 1 grades due
Aug 8 Insights 2 grades due
Sep 5 Insights 3 grades due
Sep 12 Full semester summer grades due
   
Cherry Hill Seminary is the leading provider of education and practical training in leadership, ministry, and personal growth in Pagan and Nature-Based spiritualities.

For more information, visit www.cherryhillseminary.org, or contact CHS@cherryhillseminary.org.

 
Feb 1 Last Day For Early Bird Price!

Don't miss the best intensive ever. Following close behind the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris and the Pope's encyclical on climate change, Laudato Si, Cherry Hill Seminary and the University of South Carolina once more join forces to present a weekend of training, discussion, scholarly papers and more.

Keynoter Bron Taylor is just the tip of the iceberg. Presenters include a variety of religious voices and social change activists. New information is being added daily to this site.

Register and make your travel arrangements today!

And while you are at it, please share this announcement with your friends who may not see CHS or other Pagan news.

Purchase Taylor's books to put yourself in a green frame of mind, Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future, or Avatar and Nature Spiritualities.

Finally, visit The Shalom Center to take in the blogs of activist Rabbi Arthur Waskow.

 
Curious About Our Speakers and Presenters?

Bron Taylor, Ph.D. - Dr. Taylor is Professor of Religion, Nature and Environmental Ethics at The University of Florida. He is also a Carson Fellow of the Rachel Carson Center (at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munchen), and an Affiliated Scholar with the Center for Environment and Development at Oslo University. As an interdisciplinary environmental studies scholar, Dr. Taylor's research and teaching engages the quest for environmentally sustainable and more equitable societies.  Read more

Wendy Griffin, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita from California State University, Long Beach, where she taught for 26 years and served the last five as Chair of the Department of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies. She is one of the very first American academics to publish field work in Pagan Studies, was the founding co-chair of the Pagan Studies Group for the American Academy of Religion, and the co-editor of the first academic series in Pagan studies.  Read more

Jonathan Leader, Ph.D. - The State Archaeologist, Jonathan Leader received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida Gainesville, and currently heads the S.C. Office of the State Archaeologist. His research interests and background include the ancient Near East, Micronesia, Eastern United States pre- and proto-history, submerged resources, cultural resource management, remote sensing and GIS, archaeometry, archaeometallurgy, and conservation.   Read more

Will Moreau Goins, Ph.D., has worked tirelessly for more than four decades to shape a Native American policy agenda that addresses issues at the core of indigenous identity. Guided by the teachings of the ancient wisdom keepers, Dr. Goins presently serves as Chief of the Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquois & United Tribes of South Carolina. Read more


Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Ph. D., founded (1983) and directs The Shalom Center, a prophetic voice for peace, eco-social justice, and healing of the Earth. Rabbi Waskow was honored by T'ruah with their first Lifetime Achievement Award as a "Human Rights Hero." In 2015 The Forward named him one of the "most inspiring" American rabbis. Read more

 
Shamanism, Divination, Effigy Mounds, Conflict Resolution, Fundraising

Insights 4-week courses:

Basic Shamanism I: The Self  Wednesdays 9 pm ET, Jan 25 through Feb 21
Basic Shamanism II: Communication with Others  Wednesdays, 9 pm ET Feb 29 through Mar 27
Basic Shamanism III: Community Service  Wednesdays 9 pm ET, Apr 4 through May 1
Beyond Bake Sales to Real Fundraising Wednesdays 9 pm ET, April 4 through May 1
Communicating for Collaborative Win-Wins: Conflict Resolution  Tuesdays, 8 pm ET, Feb 29 through Mar 27
Secrets of Effigy Mounds  No live meetings, April 4 through May 1
Synchronicity and Divination  No live meetings, Jan 25 - Feb 21

CHS Peeps In The News

 CHS student and hospital chaplain Marcella Fox was mentioned in a Service Excellence post on the blog of her employer, PeaceHealth healthcare system. Her role was providing care for the family during the Code Blue resuscitation efforts and the subsequent surgery, as well as care for hospital caregivers affected by the situation


Faculty members Christine Kraemer, David Kling and Margo Wolfe are featured in the anthology The Leader Within: Articles on Community Building, Leadership, and Personal Growth. Christine's essay is based on a class sheI originally presented at CHS, "Managing Multiple-Role Relationships in Pagan Communities." 
  
This weekend's Claremont Conference on Current Pagan Studies will feature several CHS friends: Academic Dean Wendy Griffin ("The Retelling"), Former board chair Aline O'Brien ("Into the Labyrinth:  Finding the Way as a Volunteer in Abstruse Prison Culture"), former faculty Gus DiZerega ("Rethinking Social Justice in Accordance with Pagan Values"), and former board chair Nikki Bado ("The Athame Cuts Both Ways: Pagan Responsibility and Social Justice"), not to mention the organizing hard work of current board chair Jeffrey Albaugh.


Holli Emore was interviewed by Broadly magazine for a winter solstice article called "Women Who Worship Isis."  In January she moderated an interfaith program called Facing Fear In Our Houses of Worship, featuring FBI, DHS Office of Civil Rights and local law enforcement officials.


 
Congratulations to Peter Silverman, who won the drawing for a free Insights course because he gave to the Fall Drive! 

CHS Artist-in-Residence Lauren Raine recently completed her residency and shared a final sculpture with us, called "We Are Weavers."  Thank you for a wonderful two years, Lauren!