American Mystic West Coast Premiere: The new documentary film “American Mystic”, which focuses on the beliefs and practices of a Lakota sundancer, a Spiritualist, and Pagan priestess Morpheus Ravenna, is set to have its West Coast premiere in San Francisco on October 23rd.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qhIWz4Lp-E

“Save the date for the long-awaited West Coast premiere of American Mystic! The film will be coming to us on the weekend before Samhain, with a one-night special screening Saturday October 23, 9:30 pm at San Francisco’s Roxie Theater.  After-party to follow. More details will be coming on that, so mark your calendars for this not-to-be-missed event, and we’ll post the details here!”

The Wild Hunt will have an interview with director Alex Mar of Empire 8 Productions, a full review of the documentary, and more details about the DVD release in the near future. What I can say at this point is that this is a powerful film, and if you’re in the San Francisco area you shouldn’t miss this opportunity to see it on the big screen.

Patrick McCollum at the UN: Pagan chaplain Patrick McCollum,who just received the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism, and was honored at the 25th anniversary of the Lady Liberty League, was invited to participate in the 2010 International Day of Peace at the United Nations in New York on September 21st. Rev. McCollum began the morning by blessing the Peace Altar at the center of the UN compound, and then later participated in the opening flag ceremony during the ringing of the Peace Bell, which marked a world-wide cease fire for one day.

“It was a powerful day,” said McCollum, “a time signifying hope and equality for all people, World Peace, and a reverence for our planet.” Following the International Day of Peace, Rev. McCollum participated in 4 additional days of meetings as a member of the Executive Board of Directors of the United Nations NGO, Children of the Earth.

Rachel Bevilacqua/Rev. Magdalen Custody Case: Long-time readers may remember my previous reporting on Rachel Bevilacqua (aka Rev. Magdalen) a member of the Church of the Subgenius who has been fighting a long and bitter custody battle with her former boyfriend. Now, it seem like the fight is finally over according to a comment sent to me by Modemac at The High Weirdness Project.

“The final deadline of September 22, 2010 came and went without any last-minute attempts by Rachel Bevilacqua’s former boyfriend to appeal the custody decision. This means that the custody case is now officially CLOSED IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Any further attempts to disrupt Rachel’s relationship with her son would have to be filed in the state of Georgia. This means that he would most likely have to SPEND MONEY to do so. In other words: After four years of hell, IT’S OVER.”

Keep in mind that this “victory” came at the cost of thousands of dollars, personal bankruptcy, and a still-standing ban on exposing her son to any Subgenius materials. I recommend reading the exhaustive run-down of this case at Modemac’s The High Weirdness Project: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Cases like this are indicative of the struggles faced by parents who are adherents to minority religions. As more parents use religion as a “wedge” in custody battles, Reverend Magdalen’s case threatens to become a mere statistic in a larger trend of parents having to defend their faith in court.

RDNA on Bonewits: The latest issue of Reformed Druids of North America’s (RDNA) newsletter, the Druid Inquirer, features lengthy remembrances of Isaac Bonewits, who recently passed away after a struggle with cancer.

“As leaves fall, so do Druids. This issue is focused on the life and career of Isaac Bonewits (1949-2010) who died on August 12. You can separate his life into period into four quarters. First growing up a disgruntled but curious Catholic 1949-1965. Then he was most active in the RDNA from 1968-1983 and then became the founder and first Archdruid of ADF from 1983-1996. The last quarter of his Druid career was a focus on his family, the internet growth of Druidry, dealing with health problems, publishing books and the nurturing of the various projects from his youth. As with his mentor Robert Larson’s passing in 2005 and Norman Nelson in 2009, we are devoting this issue to providing you more resources in understanding the scope of Isaac’s Druidical influence.”

You can download part one, here, and part two, here. This is vital reading for anyone wanting to understand the evolution of Druidry in America, and Isaac Bonewit’s place in that history.

Welcoming PNC-Heartland: In a final note, I’d like a welcome another new addition to the Pagan Newswire Collective’s bureau’s project, PNC-Heartland, serving Kansas, Western Missouri, and surrounding areas.

“The PNC-Heartland Bureau was launched on 23 September 2010 by two Kansas City and one Wichita Pagan who are committed to gathering Pagan news in the Kansas and western Missouri region.  They have established a blog at http://pncheartland.wordpress.com.  If you have questions, news or would like to be part of this effort, please contact us at pncheartland@gmail.com.”

Yet another forward movement in creating a news infrastructure for the Pagan community, I wish them the best of luck. Stay tuned for announcements regarding the launch of PNC-Main’s web site and our official “coming out” at Pantheacon.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

“This topic came up over and over at the Pagan Spirit Gathering, a camping style festival of around 900 attendees held in Missouri this past week. As I was a PSG nOOb, I’m unsure if it was normal for this discussion to happen as often as it did, but it seemed to be at the forefront of peoples’ minds. Speakers touched on it, attendees brought it up during Q&A sessions, and it was bandied about in casual, private conversations.  Even topics that you may think would have nothing to do with being public vs closeted quickly turned in that direction.”

Some have expressed skepticism at such a “holiday”, most notably Chas Clifton and NeoWayland. The problem, I think, comes from what we mean when we say “out” (or “in” for that matter). I’ll be frank and open about the fact that I advocate for Pagans coming out of the “broom closet”, and did so at my talks during PSG. However, being “out” doesn’t necessarily mean plastering your car with bumper stickers, interjecting your faith into every conversation, or ostentatiously wearing a pound of Pagan “bling”. It certainly doesn’t mean placing yourself or your children in immediate danger if those are your circumstances. It means not living a double life, it means being out to your family, even if it’s uncomfortable, and it means being willing to request and expect equal treatment in the workplace.

Pagans being “out” about who we are to those who love us, to those we interact with on a daily basis, changes the world. Even the conservative Christian polling organization The Barna Group acknowledges this in their research.

“About 5% of America’s adult population associates with faiths other than Christianity (e.g., Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, etc.). Within this group, about half (47%) were registered as Democrats, 30% were independent, and one-quarter (23%) were Republicans. The ballots of this group were most often cast for Barack Obama (62%) rather than John McCain (36%). The support provided to the Democratic candidate is identical to the backing this group provided to John Kerry four years ago (61%) …Among voters who had a favorable view of Wicca, Sen. Obama was the favored candidate 64% to 35%.“

It is important to look at the language in that last line. It isn’t about Wiccans specifically, but people who had a “favorable view” of Wicca. To further extrapolate, the family, friends, and co-workers of the estimated 1 million modern Pagans in America tended to favor the candidate favored by the majority of modern Pagans. But this isn’t just about voting and politics, it is about eradicating stereotypes and altering perceptions. It’s about changing the strange biases and assumptions that even “tolerant” people have about modern Pagan faiths. It’s about not being thrown under the bus because “there isn’t a Pagan in our office/school/organization”. Again, coming out won’t be a panacea for every Pagan, but if all who are willing and able took one day to say “I’m a Pagan”, to humanize our often misunderstood religions, it could change more than any of us realize.

Heathen Harvest Closes: The long-running web magazine Heathen Harvest, which specialized in post-Industrial and neofolk music, is ceasing publication.

“My reasons for choosing to close Heathen Harvest echo those of the Miguel (DJ TekNoir) and Lee Powell the owners of Gothtronic and Judas Kiss.  After dedicating seven years to the post industrial community I find my time divided between Heathen Harvest and the other pursuits calling me in life.  In addition the costs of funding Heathen Harvest have increased along with our success and the ever increasing number of submissions for review.

We have now reached our peak journalist capacity based on my available personal funds and the number of submissions far exceeds our staffs capabilities.  I feel satisfied that the Heathen Harvest volunteer staff have given enough throughout our seven years  and now its time to bow out and allow someone new and fresh to pick up the banner and lead the charge.”

As Malahki Thorn mentions in his public statement, Heathen Harvest is joining music sites Gothtronic and Judas Kiss in the decision to step down from covering music. It’s hard to fully appreciate the contributions Heathen Harvest has made to outsider, underground, and often, Pagan and esoteric music. Many of the bands I play on A Darker Shade of Pagan enjoyed coverage at Heathen Harvest, and it was a resource for me when I was looking for new bands and artists. I’ve seen a lot of sites that have supported Pagan and esoteric music, even if that wasn’t their primary mission, fold in recent years. Serpentine has folded its distribution service, Woven Wheat Whispers and Dancing Ferret/Noir shuttered in 2008, and now three more sites are going quiet. With music distribution ever-more decentralized on the Internet, will lovers of Pagan music find themselves without any sort of guide or resource to the sonic riches that now abound?

Do They Know It’s X-Day At All? In a final note, I just wanted to wish all my Subgenii readers, particularly Modemac and Lady Karris of The High Weirdness Project, a very happy X-Day. Maybe this will be the year where the men from Planet X will swoop down and save all paid members of your church while the rest of us are destroyed.

“The Blessed Day when the Alien Sex Goddesses shall at last arrive on Earth and proceed with THE RUPTURE! All card-carrying, Truly Ordained, PAID UP SubGenius Ministers shall be SNATCHED UP into the Cosmos to spend Eternity (or at least the Journey to Planet X) engaging in a VAST ORGAZMONIC RITUAL OF SEXHURT!! After SIX MILLION YEARS of persecution, discrimation, and torture at the hands of the Conspiracy, we shall FINALLY take our place at the right hand of JHVH-1 and HAVE OUR REVENGE on the ones who have made our lives a SHEER, UNENDING HELL!!!”

If not, well, better luck next year.

I want to start with an update on an older story. Rachel “Reverend Magdalen” Bevilacqua, a Subgenius who has gone through nearly two years of custody battles, is making a final push to ensure the legal system is no longer used against her arbitrarily by her ex-husband. Bevilacqua has endured a truly bizarre chain of events that included defending her involvement in adults-only Subgenius events.

“We’ve made it so far from the days when I lived in a 10 by 12 box apartment crying myself to sleep every night, never knowing how my son was, never knowing if I would ever get him back. We’re so close to being free from the threat of being compelled to return to Orleans County, which has hung over our heads since my son was a baby. All we need is $2,500 to get started, with a full retainer of $5,000. Of course, if things go badly, it could run into another $80-$100,000, but I’m focusing my slack waves on the thought that this new Judge Griffiths is going to be reasonable and let us go. If everyone who receives this email donates just $10, it would easily cover Mr. Goewey’s fees. I realize this is the worst possible time to ask for money again, with gas prices and food prices and unemployment the way they are, but I can’t raise more than about $1,500 on my own, not by September 26 anyway. I’m forced to once again appeal to you, who’ve helped our family so much in the past, or one more push to finally get free.”

I recommend reading the exhaustive run-down of this case at Modemac’s The High Weirdness Project: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Cases like this are indicative of the struggles faced by parents who are adherents to minority religions. As more parents use religion as a “wedge” in custody battles, Reverend Magdalen’s case threatens to become a mere statistic in a larger trend of parents having to defend their faith in court.

Tim Harford at The Financial Times looks at the economics of witch-hunts and (unsurprisingly) finds that hard times often translate into dangerous times for people who live on the margins of society.

“Edward Miguel, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-author of Economic Gangsters, a book about the economics of crime, corruption and war, has studied the Tanzanian situation. He argues that there is a direct economic motive for the attacks. Tough times in a Tanzanian household may well result in starvation, and the elderly – especially women – are at risk of being sacrificed to free resources. As evidence, Miguel points out that victims of witch attacks in Meatu district – almost all old women – tend to be from the poorest households. The murders are much more common during years of drought or flood.”

Harford also notes the research of Emily Oster, who ties the European witch-hunts to extremely cold weather during the “Little Ice Age”. So if economic hard times translate into witch-hunts, what is the solution? A more robust social safety net.

“If the problem truly is an economic one, the solution might be, too. One possibility is to give the elderly generous pensions. Witch-killings all but stopped in South Africa’s North Province after such a pension scheme was introduced in the early 1990s.”

In other words, the more secure people feel, the less likely they are to look for a suspicious neighbor to persecute.

Jeffrey Weiss at the Dallas Morning News religion blog mocks the inflated growth estimates for Wicca touted in the book “Generation Hex”, calling it the “least plausible” claim for fastest growing religion he’s ever heard.

“2012 is, hm, four years from now. Wicca currently represents, hm, less than 0.3% of Americans. For that prediction to come true would take some serious magic.”

Weiss turned to the Pew Forum’s landmark U.S. Religious Landscape Survey for data instead of uncritically using the conclusions of Steve “Hour of the Witch” Wohlberg, as the book’s authors did. For more on “Generation Hex”, check out this post.

Did you know that most Wiccans don’t actually practice Witchcraft? So says The News Herald’s Ryan Young.

“Liars and practitioners of the “dark arts” have given Wicca a bad image. Most wiccans don’t practice witchcraft and the ones who do have a firm belief in using magic only for good or to survive.”

I suppose I should appreciate the sentiment instead of pointing out that Wicca is religious Witchcraft, or that the term “Wicca” is an antecedent of the word “Witch”.

Conservative commentator Bob Parks apparently had nothing better to talk about on Saturday, so he decided to mock Pagan supporters of Barack Obama.

“I am so glad Republicans aren’t this messed up. I wouldn’t be able to show my face in public.”

I hope no-one clues him in on the “messed up” beliefs of Sarah Palin’s co-religionists and supporters or else he would have to go into isolation. A friendly tip: never underestimate how weird “your side” can be, it will save you considerable heartache in the future.

In a final note, volunteers are gathering to re-chalk the famous Cerne Abbas giant.

“Britain’s most famous fertility symbol is having a makeover of epic proportions. Volunteers have been drafted in to re-chalk the 180ft tall (55m) Cerne Abbas giant, after accusations that he had become the invisible man … conservationists became concerned the naked figure had disappeared under a mass of grass and weeds, after an unusually wet summer and lack of grazing sheep from local farms.”

20 tons of chalk will be used to spruce the giant up. The efforts should be done in ten days, and locals have arranged for 50 sheep to temporarily graze the land. After all, we wouldn’t want one of Britain’s most famous fertility symbols to fall into disrepair.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!
]]> http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/09/pagan-news-of-note_15-3.html/feed 1 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/02/religion-and-custody-battles.html http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/02/religion-and-custody-battles.html#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:42:00 +0000 Jason Pitzl-Waters http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/02/religion-and-custody-battles.html The New York Times reports on the recent increase of custody cases that are centering around religion. While at one time custody arrangements were often fairly simple, with the mother of the child usually gaining custodial duties, nowadays more and more parents are battling it out in court and issues over religion are being used as a wedge to prove unfitness. A trend that is making many judges uneasy.

“Judges do not want to take on custody disputes rooted in religion, said lawyers like Gaetano Ferro, who until recently served as president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Mr. Ferro said, “How will a judge say in any rational fashion that Islam is better than Buddhism, Catholicism better than Judaism, or Methodism better than Pentecostalism?” As a result, more and more states have tried to keep custody disputes out of court by mandating mediation. But the effect has been piecemeal, and religious disputes have proven to be among the most difficult to resolve, lawyers said.”

A consequence of this trend is that custodial parents who belong to a religion that may seem strange or “cultish” to an outsider are getting their rights challenged more often, and in some cases losing custody to the parent who belongs to a more “normal” faith.

“We were easy targets because we were made to look like cultists,” Mrs. Snider, 36, said. “I think whether anyone admits it or not, almost all of the ruling had to do with religion. Nothing I had done was called into question except that.”

This trend has had reverberations within the larger modern Pagan movement. Several recent custody hearings have had the parents adherence to a Pagan faith factor into the case. One of the most notable being the infamous SubGenius custody battle, in which a mother lost custody of her son, and didn’t get it back until the biological father was imprisoned for drunken driving, she had racked up over 100,000 dollars in court costs, and was forced by a judge to remove all materials relating to the Church of the SubGenius from her home. Even after all that, she still only has “temporary” custody.

“Magdalen still does not have permanent custody of her son. Judge Punch took the case back and, for whatever reason, he has only given her a temporary custody order. This means that when Jeff gets out of jail, he could (in theory) take up the legal reins and continue harassing her once again.”

So how do we solve these problems over faith, divorce, and custody? Some states are hoping that increased mediation will help solve some of these problems.

“Some states like California and Connecticut have taken innovative steps to get parents to resolve custody issues outside court. In Connecticut, for example, those seeking a court order have to meet with a family-relations specialist in an effort to negotiate. If that fails, they attend a daylong session to settle their differences before a panel that includes a lawyer and a mental health professional.”

Meanwhile, some lawyers are pressing to give the children in such cases greater autonomy at ever younger ages.

“If Julie Ann Bergmann (the mother) and her supporters win this case it could create a legal precedent in which a minor as young as 13 could choose their own religious life despite the wishes of the parents. The ramifications for modern Paganism are immediately clear. A child who converts to a modern Pagan faith could refuse to attend Christian Church or be forced into a school that inhibited his or her religious choices. It would also help protect Pagan parents from custody challenges brought by Christian relatives (so long as the child expressed a preference for modern Paganism).”

Neither solution has made much headway in the legal system, and it seems likely that these sorts of cases will happen more often as religious minorities, and non-mainstream variations of the dominant monotheisms, continue to grow. Eventually, one of two roads will have to be taken. Completely leave out matters of faith from custody battles, or directly involve faith communities and experts on religion in the custody process. Neither path will please everyone, but our current system seems far too whimsical and uninformed to make wise decisions involving children and religions outside the mainstream.

“For legal reasons, I obviously can’t go into too many details, because there are other parties involved in this. Basically, some time last week, Jeff was in a car accident involving a brick wall, a lot of alcohol, and another passenger – NOT MAGDALEN’S SON, praise “Bob.” Because of past incidents involving him and at least one other DUI, he is now facing at least two felonies, a misdemeanor, and three traffic charges – which, combined, could land him in jail for up to eleven years. All of this means that, due to the sudden extreme circumstances, Magdalen has temporary custody of her son at this time. There will be a new custody hearing in the middle of August. Jeff’s criminal hearing will be in September, but that is an entirely different matter.”

Even stranger is the fact that the judge on the new custody hearing is none other than Judge Punch, the same judge who recused himself after coming under fire for his fixation with the Church of the SubGenius and for calling Bevilacqua a “mentally ill” pervert. But it seems like Punch is looking at things a bit differently this time around.

“He literally took the case out of Judge Adams’ docket and inserted himself in. He is now handling the case once again, however because of everything that has happened, he is apparently viewing the case in an entirely different light.”

At this point Bevilacqua is hoping to pursue both this new custody case and appeal the ruling that keeps her from having SubGenius materials in her home (except for a locked “office”). But to do that she’ll need more funds, so if you are interested in supporting her in either case you can donate to her cause, here (or here to donate directly through Paypal). Considering all this recent craziness perhaps a certain pipe-smoking divine figure has been invoked after all. Needless to say more updates will follow as I get them.
]]> http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/07/bizarre-twist-in-subgenius-custody-case.html/feed 0 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/07/subgenius-mother-loses-son.html http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/07/subgenius-mother-loses-son.html#comments Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:11:00 +0000 Jason Pitzl-Waters http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/07/subgenius-mother-loses-son.html A heartbreaking custody case that has been in litigation for years has ended in tragedy. Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua’s son was absconded while on a visitation to the child’s father, and subsequently she was barred from all contact with her son after photos of her at an adults-only Subgenius event were submitted by her son’s father as proof that she was an unfit parent. The original judge in the case called Bevilacqua “perverted” and “mentally ill” before stepping down under a growing scrutiny of his actions, and the father drew out proceedings for as long as possible in hopes of wearing Bevilacqua down. Now an appeals judge has ruled against Rachel Bevilacqua, giving custody to the father.

Rachel Bevilacqua with her son.

“After originally being scheduled for June 22, the decision of the appeals court in the case of Rachel Bevilacqua (Reverend Magdalen) has been announced. In a brief two-page announcement, the court has awarded custody of her son to the father. Stating that the father “deserved” custody of Magdalen’s son, the court declared that the father’s home would be his primary residence, and the matter is being referred back to family court to arrange for visitation rights for Rachel. The decision cancels a number of paragraphs of the decision of Judge Eric Adams, in January 2007. However, it does not remove Judge Adams’ order for Rachel to remove all SubGenius materials from her home. Even though her son is no longer in her custody, she still cannot keep any SubGenius materials in her own home, except for a specially designated ‘office’.”

It is unclear what will happen at this point, Bevilacqua is mired in over 70,000 dollars in legal bills (click here if your interested in helping her out with those bills), and she may not be able to afford appealing to a higher court. No official statement by Bevilacqua has been made at this time.

Whatever the final outcome, this case has been emblematic of the ongoing issues Pagans and other minority religions face in divorce and custody cases. Often what a judge doesn’t understand (or approve of) will be used against a parent in court, leading to situations like Bevilacqua’s. The only real recourse in cases like these is to slowly educate the public, form coalitions, and fight like hell to be given equal treatment under law. Until then, we are left with mockeries of justice like this custody case, where a mother in punished for her associations.

“Rachel Bevilacqua (a.k.a. Reverend Mary Magdalen) lost custody of her son after a conservative custody judge was outraged at the fact that she is a member of the Church of the SubGenius. As a result of appearing in a adult-rated parody of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” custody of her son was taken from her and awarded to the boy’s father (the couple was never married). Rachel and her husband have fought a long, expensive battle to win custody of their son, while her ex-boyfriend’s legal costs have been entirely been handled by a pro-bono lawyer (who is a friend of his). Legal costs have exceeded $70,000 as of March 2007.”

As typical in cases of this nature, the one parent tries to draw out legal proceedings until financial situations force the other parent to drop out. Suffice it to say, justice won’t be done by such a situation. That fact that Bevilacqua’s affiliation with the Church of the Subgenius was (and still is) used against her is emblematic of the ongoing issues Pagans and other minority religions face in divorce and custody cases.

Here is what Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua has to say about the current legal situation involving custody and visitation for her son.

“Basically, although I did win the case, it’s now going to appeal. Orleans County has, of course, offered to pay all the expenses for my ex’s appeals case, while I still have to pay for my appellate lawyers, which it turns out are different from regular lawyers and require a new $10,000 retainer to hire. I’ll still be represented by the same firm, Lipsitz, Green, Scime, Cambria, but a different individual will be handling the case. We go before the Fourth Circuit Appellate Division on June 2, and then they will make their decision within 30 days of that. I am cross-appealing to ask that the parts of the decision forbidding me to make or keep SubGenius art inside my home, travel with my husband for his job, and homeschool my son, be struck down. Until then, my son has to stay with my ex, though I am supposed to get ‘extended visitation.’ So far, I have not yet been able to actually access that extended visitation, as my ex says it will take a court order in writing to make him comply, and all we have is a verbal order. I hope that will be straightened out soon.”

If you have the means, why not donate to her legal fund:

For a full and detailed recounting of this situation, head over to Modemac’s page devoted to this case. Read the Rev. Ivan Stang’s call for support, or read Boing Boing’s call for donations.
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