Top Ten Posts of Our First Six Months

Last Thursday, the Nature’s Path blog passed its 6 months anniversary and while we’ve had about 70 posts to date, I wanted to share a few that seem to have struck a chord among our readers, and those who found them when their friends shared these articles on Facebook. I’ve been deeply grateful and impressed with the quality of writing which we’ve been able to share with you and hope that this continues to be a thriving venue for UU-Pagan and Earth-Centered writings.

9.  The Scientific Pagan: Back in mid-April, Allison Ehrman wrote, “In the end, I don’t feel any kind of disconnect between my love of science and my love of and reverence for nature.”

8. Orientation along the Path: What it means to convert to Unitarian Universalism from Paganism: One of the very earliest posts to this blog, the really long title and lack of article art did not dissuade nearly 800 people from reading it. Valerie Freseman wrote that “being a Unitarian Universalist, and also a practicing, earth-centered pagan offers- an expansion of what I believe, and the ability to turn (or turn around) to whatever forces of guidance offer the truth for me while still being tested, and guided, by the values of a community.”
7.  CUUPS – Who Are We? This was an article contributed just before Imbolc by John Beckett dealing with the CUUPS Revisioning Process. And even for those people who were not necessarily interested in the details of Re-visioning, just seeing what the make up of CUUPS was worth a look.

6. Ancient Religion in Modern Life was written by Molly Khan who summarized it saying, “A Pagan and a Unitarian Universalist – how multiple spiritual identities can come together to form a beautiful spiritual practice that works in our modern world.” This post and everything after it were read by over 1,000 people during our first six months.

5.  Home for the (February) Holidays: Imbolc, Brigid and the Union of Opposites was a great rumination on the confluence of holidays in early February by Catherine Clarenbach. “Imbolc, a moment which goes by many names (including Groundhog Day!), is a beautiful combination of celebrations in both Pagan and Christian traditions.”

4.  Living the Light, Seeing the Dark another holiday related posting by Rev. Catherine Clarenbach came out last month and was very popular. “The Summer Solstice and its waning away suggests a certain wisdom that we don’t usually consider.”

3. The UU Church and the Secret Pagans was Peter Dybing’s first article for Nature’s Path where he discussed his initial experiences with his local UU Congregation. “This Pagan who has circled thousands of times in celebration of divinity is sitting in a pew, row after row of individuals surround me. ”

2. A Unitarian Universalist Pagan’s Thoughts on Ash Wednesday is what might be called a cross-over post as Rev. Catherine Clarenbach’s essay was not only of interest to her Pagan readers, but also gained quite a few Christian readers who wondered what a Pagan might make of this holiday. “Paganisms are, at their best, traditions that embrace the whole of human—and non-human—experience. That broad embrace is something that Unitarian Universalism writ large may learn more deeply, or in new ways, from its Pagan practitioners.”

1.  If Unitarian Universalism is so great, Why am I ‘still’ a Pagan? is our most popular post to date having been read by over 3,000 people. CUUPS Board member Maggie Beaumont wrote a great article, just before Imbolc, on why and how she retains her Pagan identity when she’s a member of a UU congregation. Not only does this article have a provocative title, but her own artwork also makes it special.