Nothing pleases me more than to see voices connected to our community write important stories that explore our experiences, and the influence we can have on the world. Today, I\u2019m honored to spotlight three such stories, published in three different media outlets.<\/p>\n
The Plight of Pagans in the Military:<\/strong> Journalist and author Jennifer Willis<\/a>, a Reconstructionist Jew<\/a> with \u201cstrong NeoPagan leanings,\u201d<\/em> writes an exploration of the challenges faced by Pagans in the U.S. military for the Religion & Politics<\/em> site<\/a>.<\/p>\n [Stefani Barner\u2019s] experiences with religious intolerance in the military resulted in her book,\u00a0Faith and Magick in the Armed Forces: A Handbook for Pagans in the Military<\/a>. Though far from the witch-hunts of the past, Pagan stereotypes continue to be problematic, but perhaps even more so within the U.S. Armed Forces. Though there are now military chaplains for many minority religions\u2014Buddhism and Hinduism included\u2014Pagan military chaplaincy can\u2019t seem to get off the ground, and until recently Pagan veterans could not have the pentacle\u2014the symbol of their faith\u2014inscribed on their tombstones in military cemeteries. But with increased accommodation of minority religions and a push for greater religious tolerance in the ranks, life could be changing for Pagans in uniform. \u201cThings have improved,\u201d Stefani says. \u201cI think that we still have a long way to go, but that\u2019s true for many, many minority faiths.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n For those who haven\u2019t been following my coverage over the years<\/a>, this is an excellent summary of the current status quo, and the struggles we\u2019ve faced in getting to the point where we are now. An auspicious first story dealing with modern Paganism at Religion &\u00a0Politics<\/em>,\u00a0a project of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis<\/a>. Be sure to read the whole thing<\/a>, and share this on social media.<\/p>\n Religion at the Rio+20:<\/strong> Huffington Post blogger\u00a0Grove Harris<\/a>, a\u00a0UN representative for the Temple of Understanding<\/a>, and a member of the Interfaith Consortium For Ecological\u00a0Civilization<\/a>, reports from the\u00a0Rio +20\u00a0United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development<\/a>. \u00a0Harris talks about a side-event at Rio+20 where spiritual leaders could discuss changing consciousness in regards to the environment.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my work with the\u00a0Temple of Understanding<\/a> and the Interfaith Consortium\u00a0for\u00a0Ecological Civilization<\/a> I convened a side event of interfaith spiritual leaders to discuss the need for consciousness change in our relationship to the environment.\u00a0We have spiritual resources to guide us in this dangerous time that can help us enjoy peace as well as take effective action.\u00a0Dr.Vandana Shiva <\/a>advocates saving seeds, all kinds of the non-genetically modified kind that have grown food for humans for a long time. Jayanti Kirpalani of the Brahma Kumaris<\/a> spoke of respect, respect for self, for home, for others and for the natural world.\u00a0\u201cWe have spiritual resources to guide us in this dangerous time that can help us enjoy peace as well as take effective action.\u00a0I was invited to speak on aligning awareness and action, and offered up a set of concepts: humility, intimacy, interconnectedness, acting into new awareness, composting as a spiritual practice, love as sustainable energy, and spirituality as nourishment offering freedom.\u201d\u00a0from addiction. This is my early harvest this solstice, the seeds of a book coming your way soon.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Considering that I just wrote about Pagans and interfaith<\/a>, here\u2019s an excellent example of a Pagan operating on the world stage within the interfaith movement. Working to help bring our values of nature as sacred to important summits on environmental policy. I\u2019m hoping that Harris issues more reports from Rio+20<\/a>, giving us a Pagan perspective.<\/p>\n Open-Air Community at St. Louis Pagan Picnic:<\/strong> Finally, here at Patheos<\/a>, Kathy Nance writes about the 20th anniversary of the St. Louis Pagan Picnic<\/a>, which happened earlier this month. Drawing over 4000 people, it may be the largest Pagan event held in North America, one that often goes unnoticed by the rest of the Pagan community.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been to 10 of our St. Louis picnics. It\u2019s ironic that I lived within blocks of the event from the second one on and had never so much as walked through before becoming Public Relations chairman for the 2002 event, then staying on for 2003. And that I\u2019d been asking, before that, \u201cWhere are all the Pagans?\u201d and assumed the answer was, \u201cIn California.\u201d\u00a0I\u2019ve been able to tell, every year, that there are people who are thrilled, even stunned, that there is such a vibrant Pagan community in St. Louis. I had some newcomers in both workshops I gave at Picnic. I saw and talked to others as I walked down vendors\u2019 row. I\u2019ve met a few so happy to find like-minded souls that they have tears in their eyes.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Many of us, myself included, often fall into the trap of thinking about modern Paganism in terms of 3 or 4 geographical communities that have shaped our history: The Bay Area in California, New York City, or New England\/Salem. Rarely do we stop to notice how modern Paganism is growing and thriving just about everywhere, like in St. Louis, Missouri. Luckily, Kathy Nance reminds us that sometimes our most vibrant communities can happen in places we might not suspect. For more on the St. Louis Pagan Picnic, follow their Facebook page<\/a>, or check out MagickTV\u2019s coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all I have for now, have a great day!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nothing pleases me more than to see voices connected to our community write important stories that explore our experiences, and the influence we can have on the world. Today, I\u2019m honored to spotlight three such stories, published in three different media outlets. The Plight of Pagans in the Military: Journalist and author Jennifer Willis, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[935,1033,3435,1206,1234,1498,3438,3436,3437,2217],"class_list":["post-9822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paganism","category-religion","tag-grove-harris","tag-huffpost-religion","tag-jennifer-willis","tag-journalism","tag-kathy-nance","tag-military","tag-pagan-picnic","tag-religion-politics","tag-rio20","tag-st-louis"],"yoast_head":"\n