I had some decent sleep the night before, so (relatively) bright-eyed and bushy-tailed I began my second day at PantheaCon. First, after a rather pricey bowl of oatmeal, I attended the 9am panel discussion “Pagans in Global Interfaith Work” led by Don Frew, National Interfaith Representative for C.O.G., and featuring contributions by Rowan Fairgrove, T. Thorn Coyle, and others. It was an interesting history of how modern Pagans started getting involved in interfaith work, with a lot of attention was (understandably) given to the recent Parliament of the World’s Religions. The point was made of how large interfaith gatherings have allowed Pagans to network and dialog with indigenous religions, Hindus, and other minority faiths that they might not have be able to otherwise.

After the interfaith panel, I went to “Pagan Power: Pagan Freedom, Pagan Rights”, a talk led by Selena Fox and Patrick McCollum. A history of the Lady Liberty League was given, including how an anti-Wiccan law proposed by Jesse Helms back in 1985 fueled the group’s creation. There was some discussion about Patrick’s current case against the California Department of Corrections, a new site was pointed out that contains copies of all the amicus briefs filed in the case so far, and Starhawk, who was in attendance for the talk, briefly mentioned her new essay at On Faith in support of McCollum. It was pointed out that the best way to help Patrick right now is to write to California officials, letting them know that Pagan prisoners deserve the same treatment and considerations as any other faith.

After that presentation, I attended a Cherry Hill Seminary meeting (photographic evidence), and later had a (much needed) lunch with the fabulously talented Cosette, who also works with/for CHS (and the Pagan Newswire Collective).

Fortified with vegetables, I ventured to the “Warrior Return Ritual” panel discussion featuring Erynn Rowan Laurie, Phillip Bernhardt-House, and Rev. Jessie “Medb” Olson. It was a deeply moving experience that showcased how important it is for our community to provide rituals of leaving and return for our Pagan soldiers and veterans.

After dinner a snack, I went to another talk featuring Erynn Rowan Laurie, “Constructing Celtic Reconstructionist Rituals”, that was quite illuminating, and gave some solid and practical advice concerning CR practice (there were also some highly amusing Irish myth anecdotes by Phillip Bernhardt-House).

Then is was time for my talk (“Pagans and the New Media”)! I can never tell how I’m actually doing during these things, but everyone seemed to enjoy it, and the feedback was positive. I also got folks to tweet a bit to Twitter from their phones while I was talking.

After that I chatted with some  wonderful folks, and visited a couple of the hospitality suites. I can’t even express how wonderful it is to meet so many amazing people I’ve only interacted with online. I wish I could list them all right now, but instead, I’ll simply thank them all for their kindness and generosity of spirit. I’ve also been deeply moved by folks who walk up to me to chat about my blog, or my A Darker Shade of Pagan podcast. It really drives home the connections that can be made with this medium.

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to the “Earth Based Religion: Are We Really?” panel discussion, and a concert by Pandemonaeon! Again, stay tuned for my next update, and keep an eye on The Wild Hunt’s Twitter feed (also keep an eye on the #pcon hash-tag for updates from several PantheaCon attendees).

Tags: Celtic Reconstructionism, Erynn Rowan Laurie, Lady Libery League, Pantheacon, Patrick McCollum, Selena Fox, Starhawk