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by BlackCat
The United States Air Force (USAF) is now officially recognizing neo-pagan belief systems in its military records. Due in large part to the work of Tony Gatlin, a major in the USAF, military personnel may now list as their religious preference as Pagan, Shaman, Druid, Wicca, Dianic Wicca, Gardnerian Wicca or Seax Wicca. Gatlin worked steadfastly on the project for five months as part of a broader effort by the Military Pagan Network, Inc. (MPN).
MPN was founded in 1992 and incorporated in 1997 as a store and information resource for neo-pagans in the military. A long-term goal of the organization is to see a Wiccan or pagan chaplain in the armed services. In a letter to the MPN, Gatlin writes, "I'm excited about the change. I think it will help meet the faith needs of a growing number of our Air Force family. It will potentially allow ministry personnel to plan better for deployment requirements, and it will provide the Air Force a clearer picture of the religious preferences of its personnel. I was proud to register my religion in the Personnel Data System and hope that others will be, too."
The Military Pagan Network got tax-exempt status in 1999 and provides services to military pagans throughout the United States. For more information, see http://www.milpagan.org.
The Pagan Education Network (PEN), sponsored the first-ever national summit for leaders of the many national pagan resource and educational groups and networks. The event was held in Bloomington, IN, on March 2-4. It was not a pagan festival per se, but rather a meeting time for the open exchange of ideas and perspectives among today's pagan activists.
According to the PEN Web site, "The goal of the summit was to allow people who lead nationally focused pagan organizations to meet face-to-face and discuss issues facing the national pagan movement. It was also dedicated to exploring ways we can work together to overcome challenges." Various local and state-level meetings are in the works. For more information, log onto http://www.bloomington.in.us/~pen.
The political action committee of the Pagan Unity Campaign (PUC PAC) announced a project to raise the political awareness of Americans about those who practice any of the many diverse religions of paganism. The PAC defined paganism as a life-affirming, positive, Earth-centric religion. According to Storm Bear Williams, chief political strategist, many in mainstream American culture wrongly believe that paganism is associated with Satanism or devil worship. The "I Am" Project is an effort to introduce pagans to their elected officials in local, state and federal governments.
Pagans from across the country are being asked to get a postcard that has a picture of their city, favorite local museum or other local scene. On the back they are asked to write, "I am a pagan ____." The blank should be filled in with any description, such as mother, son, veteran, banker, cook, teacher and so on. To give the postcards a more cohesive message, Mr. Williams of PUC suggests, "We are asking all volunteers to add the PUC PAC tag line: `I am free. We are united.' to the bottom of each card. It is also suggested that everyone stick with the `I am a pagan ____' format." The group is asking those who feel safe revealing their religious practices to use their legal names and full addresses. For those who are not open, only initials and ZIP code are requested.
The project will culminate with all volunteers sending in their cards during the week of the Summer Solstice, June 18-23, 2001. PUC PAC is asking that all mail them at the same time for maximum political and psychological impact. For more information, go to http://paganunitycampaign.org/iam.
The Tacoma-based Earth Centered Spirituality Group, the Puget Sound Pagan Alliance and the Tacoma Earth Religions Revival Association (TERRA), were all featured in a local newspaper story that favorably and accurately portrayed the groups' activities.
Affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association of Tacoma, the Earth Centered Spirituality Group holds meetings at the Tacoma Unitarian church. The ECS group has been sponsoring events in the Tacoma area since 1998 and has grown rapidly. More than 100 people attended the group's Winter Solstice celebration. Besides pagans, members includes agnostics and Christians and some that do not belong to the Unitarian congregation. Lisa Harris, facilitator and high priestess of the group, says, "Paganism attracts people from a wide range and appeals especially to women. They're not told that they were created from the rib of a man. They're not told that their deity is lord over them. It's divinity that you can actually relate to, the fact that the divine lives within you."
Melinda Taylor-Kelly, a founder of the Puget Sound Pagan Alliance, says, "We try to live a good life and not try to control others. We try to respect the Earth and all living creatures, which are creations of the goddesses and gods."
TERRA has also seen a great increase in membership. Attendance at its holiday meetings has grown from 6 people to as many as 145. Dana Corby, group founder, said paganism offers less forbidding images of God than those taught by Christianity. "We're not opposed to Christianity. We're simply apart from it." Yet she reports that it can be difficult for Wiccan healers to see hospital patients who have requested healing. Dana added, "Most of the things we're afraid of have gradually been getting better. All we really want from the greater community is to be left in peace."
For more information on Earth Centered Spirituality Group, go to http://members.nbci.com/uuatearth/index.htm; on Tacoma Earth Religions Revival Association (TERRA), go to http://www.angelfire.com/wa/terra; and on Puget Sound Pagan Alliance, e-mail pspa@nwlink.com.
The Aquarian Tabernacle Church has officially launched its youth program, "Spiral Scouts." The program is the church's response to such youth groups as the Boy Scouts of America and Campfire Girls. According to the church's Web site, the purpose of Spiral Scouts is to provide an opportunity for pagan families to interact with their children, for pagan children to interact with each other and to instill in children pagan concepts. Some of these are inclusiveness, the balance of gender energies, tolerance for differences of belief and other useful cultural customs and values. There is an emphasis on the pagan worldview and a desire on the part of the facilitators to promote the growth and development of interpersonal skills and life skills in these children.
While the orientation of the Spiral Scouts program is based in paganism, the organization is designed to be utilized by other groups, both nonsectarian as well as other minority faith groups. Pagan-based programs are designed to be easily replaced by alternatives based in other nonhostile minority faith traditions.
Public schools may celebrate Earth Day, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that the event does not establish a pagan or New Age religion in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
A unanimous Second Circuit panel, in an opinion written by Judge Amalya Kearse, reversed Southern District Judge Charles L. Brieant, who found Fox Lane High School's celebration of the environmental holiday a violation of the rights of students, who complained it foisted religious devotion upon them. While Earth Day conveys a message of "respect for the earth," the Second Circuit said, "Respect... does not inevitably suggest religion." Earth Day this year was April 22.
As further evidence of the important role of women in ancient societies, a unique Iron Age warrior queen's chariot, complete with the skeleton of its royal owner, has been found by builders in England. Archaeologists called in when the grave was discovered have unearthed a range of richly ornamental pieces of horse harness.
David Miles, chief archaeologist at English Heritage, has described the find as one of the most significant and exciting of its kind. "The person in the grave was clearly very important and buried with a rite that is almost exclusive to East Yorkshire and has links with the continent. It may be the earliest chariot burial so far discovered, and could solve the mystery of who these people were and why they buried their dead in a way different from other Iron Age Britons."
All together, 15 burial sites have been unearthed in the district, made by a tribe that would have been known to Julius Caesar as the Parisi, with origins in the champagne country of Northern France. They buried their dead with grave goods, usually a single brooch. Only the elite were buried with their chariots.
Sources for this Speculum include The Witches' Voice, The Alternative Religion Education Network, The News Tribune, and The New York Law Journal.