The main altar at the last CUUPS Convocation in 2004. I\u2019ll have pictures from this year\u2019s Convo in Tuesday\u2019s blog post.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRevisioning surveys gathered data from over 300 CUUPS members, Pagan-friendly UUs, and UU-friendly Pagans.<\/strong><\/p>\nAffiliation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- 13% are current CUUPS Continental members and 12% have been members in the past.\u00a0 75% have never been members.\n
\n- We aren\u2019t doing a good job of presenting the value of membership in CUUPS Continental.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- 29% are affiliated with a local CUUPS group, 71% aren\u2019t.\u00a0 However, 77% have some affiliation with a UU congregation. Over half have no affiliation with a non-UU Pagan group.\n
\n- If you\u2019re looking for potential members, they\u2019re probably already in or around your congregation. Are you publicizing what you do within your church? Within your local community? Are you doing it well? Are you consistent with your events?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Age and family<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- The median age of respondents is 45.\n
\n- That makes us an old religious group, and old religious groups aren\u2019t long for this world. How do we bring in younger people?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- 71% have no children living with them. Of those that do, about half don\u2019t bring their children to events.\n
\n- Should we appeal to families with young children or appeal to young adults with no children? A family oriented CUUPS group is going to look and feel very different from an adults-first CUUPS group.<\/li>\n
- Denton CUUPS was founded by college students \u2013 we\u2019ve always taken the adults-first approach. Your situation may be different \u2013 do what\u2019s right for you. But you can\u2019t do both \u2013 pick one or the other.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Identification (multiple responses permitted)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- 60% Earth-centered, Environmentalist, Eco-pagan<\/li>\n
- 50% Pagan<\/li>\n
- 38% Witch, Wiccan, Magician<\/li>\n
- 28% Goddess Worshipper<\/li>\n
- 27% Polytheist, Heathen, Ethnic Reconstructionist<\/li>\n
- 21% Naturalist, Humanist, Non-theist<\/li>\n
- 18% Pantheist, Animist<\/li>\n
- 17% Druid\n
\n- What does this mean for your rituals and other programming? If you\u2019re not doing some Nature-related stuff, you\u2019re missing a lot of folks. If you\u2019re only doing Wicca, you\u2019re missing some folks. If you\u2019re afraid of the word \u201cwitch\u201d you\u2019re missing some folks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What do we do?\u00a0 What are our daily spiritual practices?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- 84%: observation of the natural world<\/li>\n
- 65%: meditation<\/li>\n
- 50%: prayer, visualizations, reflection and writing,<\/li>\n
- 40%: devotional reading<\/li>\n
- 40%: energy work<\/li>\n
- 30%: spell work and divination<\/li>\n
- 30%: libations and offerings\n
\n- Most of us do the easy stuff and the familiar stuff.<\/li>\n
- A significant minority do the more advanced stuff.<\/li>\n
- Can our more advanced members teach our newer members?<\/li>\n
- You don\u2019t need CUUPS to provide content \u2013 there\u2019s tons of stuff already out there.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Pagan holidays \/ high days \/ holy days \/ sabbats<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- 94% of us observe the Wheel of the Year.<\/li>\n
- 5% observe tradition-specific holidays.<\/li>\n
- 1% don\u2019t observe any holidays.<\/li>\n
- Only 9% say they observe holidays by themselves out of choice.\n
\n- If you do nothing else, hold a public circle on the eight major holidays of the Wheel of the Year.<\/li>\n
- Do them all, do them consistently.<\/li>\n
- Denton CUUPS holds our circles the Saturday closest to the event, although we\u2019ve done a couple of Friday circles when Samhain or Winter Solstice fell on a Friday.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- What do we do on the high days? What do we do when our group is composed of Witches, Druids, Heathens, Nature lovers and Goddess worshippers?\n
\n- Don\u2019t try to satisfy every member every time!<\/li>\n
- Rotate circles: do a Wiccan circle, then a Druid circle, then a Heathen circle.\u00a0 If you\u2019re going to be a Druid, then be a Druid.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What other (non-ritual) things can you do as a group?\u00a0 <\/strong>A list of everything that got at least 40% positive response:<\/p>\n\n- sky watching<\/li>\n
- attend festivals (Pagan and music etc.)<\/li>\n
- visit museums<\/li>\n
- gardening<\/li>\n
- handwork (knitting, jewelry making)<\/li>\n
- hiking<\/li>\n
- attend public concerts<\/li>\n
- attend fairs (Renaissance etc.)<\/li>\n
- bird watching<\/li>\n
- drum circles<\/li>\n
- gourmet\/vegan cooking<\/li>\n
- nature photography<\/li>\n
- camping<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How do you promote your group?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- 90%: we promote our events through our church newsletter and\/or social media<\/li>\n
- 55%: we have a Facebook page<\/li>\n
- 45%: we participate in Pagan Pride Day as a group<\/li>\n
- 41%: we have a listing on WitchVox or other Pagan sites<\/li>\n
- 38%: we have a YahooGroup \/ e-mail list<\/li>\n
- 31%: we post flyers for our events in the community<\/li>\n
- 21%: we do community service as a group<\/li>\n
- 21%: we advertise in local publications<\/li>\n
- 14%: we have a stand-alone website (not part of a social media site)\n
\n- We\u2019re doing the easy stuff. We need to do more of the harder stuff to reach more people.<\/li>\n
- Is this starting to sound like work? It is. But so is just about everything else that\u2019s worthwhile.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Of Gods and Spirits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- What is magic?\n
\n- 2% say there\u2019s no such thing.<\/li>\n
- 14% say it\u2019s not important to them.<\/li>\n
- 84% is split between psychological programming, manipuliation of energy, and Crowley\u2019s definition of \u201cthe art and science of causing change in accordance with will.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Our members are open to magic, but they disagree on what it is and what it can do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- How many Gods and Goddesses are there?\u00a0 Split almost evenly three ways: 3 or more, I don\u2019t know, and this isn\u2019t important to me.<\/li>\n
- 60% have had direct experience with spirit or spirits, and another 22% say they\u2019ve felt the presence of a spirit but had no direct communion.\u00a0 That\u2019s 82% of our members and potential members.\n
\n- Freeform responses: about 60% interpret their experiences theistically, 40% non-theistically.<\/li>\n
- Many respondents don\u2019t have vocabulary for discussing their experiences and they\u2019re very unsure what they should make of them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- How do you feel about the level of discussions and teachings among UU or CUUPS on how different peoples conceive of and work with Gods and spirits?\n
\n- 3% say there\u2019s too much.<\/li>\n
- 35% say they\u2019re getting enough<\/li>\n
- 62% say they want more<\/li>\n
- An anonymous survey is safe \u2013 coffee hour is not.<\/li>\n
- A CUUPS group needs to be a safe place to discuss spiritual experiences. We don\u2019t have to agree on what they are or what they mean \u2013 we shouldn\u2019t agree. But we should be able to talk about them without worrying that somone is going to laugh at us for believing \u201cwoo woo stuff.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A suggestion and a challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- You can say \u201cwe can\u2019t know\u201d and then stop. Or you can say \u201cwe can\u2019t know but I\u2019m going to see what I can learn.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Talk about your own first hand experiences.\n
\n- Remember: religious experiences are real. We can debate what that reality is, how much is internal and how much is external, but people have had them for as long as we\u2019ve been human. Religious experiences are real.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Explore Gods and spirits.<\/li>\n
- Read people who are working with them now.<\/li>\n
- Faciliate the experience of Gods and spirits.\n
\n- If you must, do it in a closed circle.<\/li>\n
- If you can, do it in a public ritual \u2013 show people some real magic and some real spirituality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- How do you know if you\u2019re right?\n
\n- Are you happier for your practicing? Less fearful? More connected and less alone? Do you sense a purpose where before there was none? Are you contributing to building a better world here and now, and a better future for our descendants?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Good religion will not make your life easier. If you take it seriously, it may very well make your life harder. Walking through life half asleep is a lot easier than living wide awake, aware of the world\u2019s problems and committed to doing something to make them better.\n
\n- Good religion won\u2019t make your life easier, but it will make your life more meaningful.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nThe Mission and Vision Statement of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, as approved by a vote of the membership in June 2015:<\/p>\n
CUUPS is a Unitarian Universalist covenant group dedicated to supporting UU Pagans, to promoting Paganism within Unitarian Universalism, and to promoting Unitarian Universalism within Paganism.<\/p>\n
Who are we?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n- We are both Pagan and UU.<\/li>\n
- We support UU values, principles, and causes.<\/li>\n
- We bring a UU approach to Paganism \u2013 we draw from many sources and we oppose any attempt to establish orthodoxy or anything resembling it.<\/li>\n
- We value Nature, our experiences of Nature, and our relationships with Nature.<\/li>\n
- We have an interest in gods and spirits.\u00a0 Fully aware of the uncertainty and diversity of such matters, we are exploring what they are and what it means to experience them.<\/li>\n
- We bring a Pagan approach to Unitarian Universalism, inviting UUs to explore Paganism and Pagan spiritual practices.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
How are we gathered?<\/strong>\u00a0 CUUPS consists of solitaries, chapters, and gatherings.\u00a0 Solitaries are individual members throughout North America and beyond.\u00a0 Chapters are groups affiliated with local congregations and chartered by CUUPS Continental. \u00a0\u00a0Gatherings are both formal and informal get-togethers among members and friends.<\/p>\nWho do we serve?<\/strong>\u00a0 Individual members serve various deities, principles, values, and communities as dictated by their own consciences.\u00a0 CUUPS chapters and CUUPS Continental serve our members, the Pagan community, and the UU community.<\/p>\nWhy are we here?<\/strong>\u00a0 Individual UU Pagans have many reasons for being CUUPS members.\u00a0 The job of our chapters and CUUPS Continental is to encourage individuals to be the best UU Pagans they can be and to provide resources to help them do so.<\/p>\nHow do we do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- We give people a community of interest to belong to \u2013 we create a shared identity and shared commitment.\u00a0 Our mission and vision statements form our foundation, and our internet site (currently CUUPS.org) is our storehouse of information and resources.\u00a0 We support our shared identity and shared commitment through our social media outlets, our newsletter, our podcast, and our blog.<\/li>\n
- The CUUPS Board of Trustees coordinates the work of our Librarians and Curators.\u00a0 \u00a0They facilitate dialogue within UU Paganism, they network and dialogue with other Pagan organizations, and they identify and share best practices \u2013 they show us what\u2019s possible.\u00a0 They look for ways to encourage deeper spiritual practice, to encourage more social and environmental action, and to facilitate events for participation and growth.\u00a0 They promote and advertise CUUPS \u2013 they make sure people who want what we offer know we\u2019re here.<\/li>\n
- We cover four main areas of interest.\n
\n- Information for beginners:\u00a0 the basics of Paganism, the basics of Unitarian Universalism, and the basics of CUUPS.<\/li>\n
- Practices to facilitate spiritual growth and to draw us into deeper community:\u00a0 regular spiritual practice techniques, rituals for individuals and groups, ideas for experiencing, honoring, and relating to Nature, and ideas for experiencing, honoring, and relating to gods and spirits.<\/li>\n
- Guidelines for chapter operations:\u00a0 forming a chapter, right relationships with host congregations and other institutions, and basic leadership skills.<\/li>\n
- Social justice:\u00a0 supporting UU values and causes, and supporting Pagan values and causes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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<\/a>