A Pagan View of Compassion

July 28, 2013 By 4 Comments
representing Paganism at an interfaith exhibit, with Michi Harper

Cherry Hill Seminary Executive Director and fellow Patheos Pagan blogger Holli Emore is working in an interfaith group who has a goal to get their local city council to sign the Charter for Compassion.  The Charter is “a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the center of religious, moral and political life.”  As part of this effort, she’s asking Pagans for their theological basis for compassion.  This is my attempt … [Read more...]

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A Commitment to Nature

July 7, 2013 By 4 Comments
03 23 Concord River

One of the centers of the modern Pagan movement is Nature, and since my earliest explorations I’ve heard Paganism called an “Earth-centered path.”  As John Halstead described and I’m trying to integrate, Paganism has multiple centers, but Nature remains one of the most visible, and it’s one of the most important to me. What does it mean to be a Nature-centered Pagan?  What does it mean to have a commitment to Nature?  There are many possible answers – this is what it means to … [Read more...]

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Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes

April 14, 2013 By 10 Comments
drum circle 04.13.13

I spent this weekend in Columbia, South Carolina at the Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes Symposium, which was presented by Cherry Hill Seminary in conjunction with the University of South Carolina. There were paper presentations, responses, conversations, dinners, drumming, and two wonderful talks by Ronald Hutton, Professor of History at Bristol University in the U.K. and author of fourteen books, including the highly influential The Triumph of the Moon. I got enough ideas and quotes … [Read more...]

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