Category: Human Interest

Pagans find warm welcome at ‘Gateways to the Air Force’

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When potential Military Members join the United States Air Force they usually enter through one of two Gateways To The Air Force.  Future officers attend college at Colorado Springs Air Force Academy and enlisted trainees go through Basic Military Training (BMT) at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas.  Both places not only educate and train service members in warfare techniques they also help assimilate individuals into the Air Force culture.  In the past, that culture has not always been kind to airmen of minority faiths like Paganism, but what is it like now?  PNC-Minnesota spoke with Air Force officials, airmen, and civilian Pagan ministers involved at both gateways. On Tuesday we’ll take a look at the Air Force Academy.  Today, on Veterans Day, we’ll head to basic training at Lackland.

“We each walk our own path to the divine.  Be it in a God/dess faith or not.  Our airmen coming out of Lackland have been armed in so many ways with their military training.  More importantly, they should know that the Air Force has gone to great lengths to ensure their spirit was nurtured while in basic training,” says Rev. Tamie Rieth of Sacred Well Congregation.  She should know.  She’s been the Wicca Distinctive Faith Group Leader (DFGL) at Lackland for just over 6 years.  Rev. Rieth is one of 5 instructors who lead the weekly Wiccan services for BMT trainees.

Approximately 150 to 300 trainees attend the two hour Wiccan services held in the Receiving Center each Sunday.  Rev. Rieth and the other instructors spend the first hour answering any questions the trainees may have and the second hour is spent in meditation and chanting.

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Samhain and Ancestor Altars

Last week we asked readers to send in photos of their Samhain or Ancestor altars. We hope you enjoy looking at these meaningful and creative altars as much as we have.

Photo Adrian Hawkins - In honor of my Elder, First Priestess and most importantly my mother on her birthday - Lady Galadriel, Matriarch of the Unicorn Tradition and Grove of the Unicorn.

Photo by Carol & John Stiteler: The house altar is "Seasonal House Altar at WhiteWing Cottage" with symbols of Life, Death, and Re-birth including skull, antlers, bones, seasonal fruits and both fresh and dried flowers.

More photos after the cut:

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OccupyMN – Who are the 99%?

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The 99%.  If you ask demonstrators at the OccupyMN protest, they’ll tell you that’s who they are.   They say they are frustrated with a system of government that ignores the majority voice (the 99% of America) in favor of the richest 1%. They are angry with corporate influence on our government, tired of their standard of living dropping, and energized to do something about it.  What that something is, isn’t yet known, but they are talking over possible solutions.

Today the OccupyMN demonstration kicked off with speakers, a march to the Federal Reserve building, drumming, and approximately 400 demonstrators.  PNC-Minnesota spent most of the day at the Hennepin County Government Plaza in downtown Minneapolis.  We wanted to find out who the 99% are.  Media outlets and political pundits have categorized the protestors as trust-fund college students, union members, or out of work hippies, but does that perception match reality?

There are two ways to describe who the 99% are – traditional demographics or a more experiential approach.  Both have their advantages and disadvantages so we present both.

Experiential:

Demographics*
Some of the demographics may surprise you. The protesters are most likely in their early 20’s to mid-30’s, male, college educated, and employed. Although 35% said they were DFLers, very few were happy with the party of their choice. No one I spoke to said they supported the GOP. While 36% bring in less than $25,000 in household income, 43% of the demonstrators are in the richest 25% percentile.

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“God Factory” Art Show Opens Saturday

Roger Williamson with Painting

Roger Williamson of Magus Books and Herbs has a one person art show of his paintings entitled, “God Factory” , Mystery IS Energy… but what does that mean? opening this weekend at The Nicollet.  Comets-ov-Cupid and Jealous Jester will offer live music for the opening reception 7pm Saturday, October 8.  The Nicollet is a spacious relaxed space with fine coffee and food at the NE corner of Franklin and Nicollet Avenues in Minneapolis.  I talked to Roger about his art.

How long have you been painting?

I used to paint way back in school in Coventry, England. Later my father was helping to get me back on the straight, and signed me up for art school in the town we lived. He dropped me there the first day. I wasn’t very impressed with it. For the next six weeks he dropped me there each morning. I would walk in the front door, down the corridor and walk out the side door. He finally got a letter asking where I was… and he asked me where the Hell I had been. I really was in love with rock and roll, so I had spent my time in the south railroad coffee bar. It was the first time I had heard Bo Diddley, and I can still remember that experience. In those days you could go to college free in England. At that time I was totally preoccupied with music, and that continued until my thirties.

I was writing a book and I needed an image of the Lovers tarot card. I had never been happy with the images that were available. My art started from there. I was working in pastels then and did a series on the Enochian workings on the Earth Tablet. I did some automatic drawings about these experiences. It was like this floodgate opened, I couldn’t stop just churning out these pictures. It was almost like an exorcism. This started about thirteen years ago when I really started. It was such a shock when I would get one of these pastels framed, it was so expensive. I switched to oil so when I got one done I could just pound a nail in the wall and hang it up. I transferred my pastel technique to oil and then worked from there.

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Heathens purchase building for public Norse temple

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Volkshof Kindred, a Heathen 501c3 organization located in the Twin Cities, recently purchased a building to be used as a Hof.  A Hof is the name for a temple building in Old Norse.  The group says this is the first dedicated, group-owned, public Heathen Hof in North America.  The residential building, which the group is currently renovating, is located in a northern Minneapolis suburb.

Site of Volkshof Kindred’s new Hof in Brooklyn Center, MN

Volkshof Kindred on Facebook
Hof location:  5319 Oliver Ave N, Brooklyn Center, MN
To donate:  Paypal (link on website) or  send cash or check
to PO Box 290241 Minneapolis, MN 55429.
Donations are tax-deductible.
For more information:  email Webmaster@volkshofkindred.com

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The Kindred says the Hof will provide space for their board meetings, rituals, symbels and other religious and social activities.  It’s also available to other Heathen groups to rent for workshops or retreats.   Previously, the group met at the home of one of the group members. As the Kindred desired to have a public Hof, Chris ‘Gunnar’ Miller, who heads the Hof, says continuing to meet in a private home was no longer a viable option, “As a public entity, we have a responsibility to open our doors to newcomers. This sometimes means opening our doors to strangers, which carries a much higher potential for problems when our meeting space is someone’s home. In addition, as our kindred and our regional circle of friends widens, we are becoming more pressed for space when we get together, which has become more and more stressful for me and for my family. We needed and wanted a space that was truly sacred and dedicated to the gods and goddesses and that was the responsibility of the group. We wanted a space and a resource that we could share with the larger community to foster the growth of our folkway.”  Miller hopes that this will be the first of many dedicated, group-owned Hofs in the United States.  He feels public Hofs could  lend Heathenry some legitimacy and credibility.

Miller says the building was purchased through a fundraising effort that started several years ago, “So far, our fundraising has been slow and steady in general, although we were able to obtain a building much sooner than expected due to the very generous donations of a few friends. Now that we have the property, we need to continue raising money to repair and remodel the space, and on an ongoing basis to cover operational expenses such as property taxes, utilities, maintenance, etc. We are in the process of creating a short and long-term budget plan that will give us a better idea of how much money we will need on an ongoing basis.”

He stated that persons who donate “notable amounts” will be commemorated with a plaque in the new Hof.

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