Thinking about Pagans in Advent

Venus of Willendorf, circa 24,000 B.C.E – 22,000 B.C.E. The Venus of Willendorf is one of the earliest images of the body made by humankind. Questions remain as to why this early art was created, how it might be used, etc.

advent (n.) ”important arrival,” 1742, an extended sense of Advent ”season before Christmas” (Old English), from L. adventus ”a coming, approach, arrival.”

How are you doing in this crazy season that is upon us?

I’m deeply grateful for friends among the world’s faith traditions. I learn something from each and every one of them, and I’m very grateful for the lessons. I’m grateful for diversity of opinion and belief that exists in the world, because just as cellular diversity is crucial to a healthy body and healthy environment, so too diversity in the wider world can promote healthy societies.

For instance, my pagan friends remind me the need to be grounded spiritually, and they are connected to nature in profound ways. I joke with one friend about how much she talks to what the rest of us might call “inanimate” objects, and I listen to her deeply intuitive perspective. Sometimes she tells me how she misses the church, especially at Christmas. I ponder the timing of Christmas, how Christians chose this time in the calendar year for celebrating Christ’s birth, when pagans were celebrating the Winter Solstice. I think of Matthew 4:16:

…the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.

Darkness this time of year has the power to get our attention in the northern hemisphere. It can feel pervasive, as the sun starts to set not long after the kids get home from school.

This week I’ve been thinking about my pagan friends as I think about Advent, and as I teach “Neo-paganism,” as we complete a semester of “Major World Religions.” I tell the class we started the class, traveled the globe, and are ending  in much the same place we began, with earth-based religions. With this in mind, the blog of interviews I edit, “Real People, Real Lives, Real Spirituality,” features an interview with Kris “Mrs. B.” Bradley this week, who also blogs for Patheos at “Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom.”

Kris “Mrs. B.” Bradley, Interview #191

 

Name: Kris “Mrs.B.” Bradley

Where you live: Central New Jersey

What you do as a vocation or avocation?

I’m primarily a wife and mom, filled in with stretches of writing.

Your two favorite books:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchet

Your two favorite songs:

Lullaby by The Cure

Groove is in the Heart by DeeLite

Why you are interested in spirituality?

I can’t remember ever not feeling that there must be something/someone out there watching out for us.  It took me a long while to put a name to it, but I’ve always felt that energy around me when I needed it.  Being raised in a home that didn’t regularly practice any faith in particular, I was given the opportunity to really explore what spirituality and religion meant to me and find the perfect path for myself.

Your favorite quote:

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” – Henry David Thoreau

Your favorite web sites:

I really enjoy Bishop In The Grove by Teo Bishop.  He’s always contemplating, always growing and learning – and teaches some important lessons along the way.  It’s everything a good Pagan blog should be.  I also really enjoy Facebook, where I participate in a great community of really positive people who come together every morning to share their blessings.

Your hero?

Jane Goodall. This is a woman who found her passion and has spent every minute since then devoted to making the world a better place.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?

I think all lessons are continually ongoing and as changeable as the tides.  One I’m always working on is patience – with others, and with myself.

A place in the world where you feel spiritually “connected?”

Near water.  I find the beach to be the perfect balance of the elements, plus it’s also a threshold between world (the world of the land and the world of the sea), which makes it a great place to commune with deity for me.

Editor’s Note: Kris blogs in a number of locations. You can catch her writing at
“Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom” or at her site: http://www.krisbradley.com/ along with a link to her new book

For further reading, here is one of the books Mrs. B. recommends:  Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions by Joyce and River Higginbotham

Wishing you peace in this season!