NEWS FLASH: Sacred Paths Center to Close in May

3 Comments

Sacred Paths Center’s Executive Director Teisha Magee issued a statement by email today:

“After much heartache, soul-searching and tears, it has become clear that Sacred Paths Center cannot continue. Our expenses are too high in this location and we are just not getting enough money coming through the door. All of our resources are tapped, and our volunteers are worn out.”

Teisha states the center  will be closing its doors by the end of May 2012.  A  public announcement will follow later.

 

PNC Minnesota will provide follow up information as it is publicly released.

Nels Linde

Pagan Spirit Gathering looks to secure zoning permit – possible park closure

2 Comments

Stonehouse Park, a campsite where Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) is scheduled to be held, has come under fire by local residents for loud music festivals and illegal activities.  None of the complaints or arrests have occurred during PSG.  The park could be shut down by the County Board if members agree with  DeKalb County’s Planning and Zoning Committee’s decision to deny the park owners’ permit request.   PSG is now seeking a “special zoning permit that would allow Pagan Spirit Gathering to be held at Stonehouse Park this year even if zoning processes currently underway are not resolved this Summer.”

Originally, the county was looking to reduce the number of people permitted at the park to just 500.  After the first public hearing, Stonehouse Park was hopeful the limit could be raised to 4000.  But those hopes were dashed when 200 residents signed a petition to shut down the park.  If the county zoning board agrees with the petition and denies renewal of the Park’s 2008 permit the property would revert back to Agriculture-1 zoning, which means no public use would be allowed.

Concerns voiced by community memebrs and law enforcement include loud music late at night, underage drinking, and arrests at two events last summer where witnesses say multiple people were selling and smoking marijuana.  Park owners say they have improved procedures at the park and have barred those two groups from Stonehouse Park.

This is not the first time PSG has faced uncertainty due to drug charges at a campground by other events not related to PSG.  In 2009, PSG moved to Camp Zoe in Missouri.  In November of 2010 Camp Zoe was shut down by federal authorities after a four-year-long investigation allegedly uncovered rampant drug use and sales on the property.    In 2011, PSG moved to Stonehouse Park.  Now Stonehouse Park has come under increased scrutiny.

PSG’s Sharon Stwart has been working closely with Stonehouse Park, county officials and park neighbors in seeking a solution to the park’s Special Use Permit possible lower capacity restriction.  Today PSG sent out this message:

 As we reported in March, Stonehouse Park has been in the process of amending their required Special Use Permit with Dekalb County, Illinois.  Pagan Spirit Gathering Manager Sharon Stewart and others continue to be in frequent contact with a variety of local officials as well as neighbors and Stonehouse Park campground owners as part of the campground’s zoning process.

Although the outcome of the campground’s application for amending their existing zoning permit is not yet known, work also has begun on a special zoning permit that would allow Pagan Spirit Gathering to be held at Stonehouse Park this year even if zoning processes currently underway are not resolved this Summer. Circle Sanctuary is making contingency plans and continuing with preparations for holding Pagan Spirit Gathering 2012 at Stonehouse Park.
The DeKalb County Board is scheduled to vote on the petition to shut down Stonehouse Park at its May 16 meeting.  PNC-Minnesota continues to follow this story and will bring you updates as we receive them.

Mongolian Shamanism, Tibetan Buddhas breath new life, and Stephen Fry celebrates Samhain

Finding the hidden gems in Netflix is something I enjoy.  When I find one that also touches on Paganism or pre-Christian indigenous faiths  I feel I’ve hit the jackpot.

The Horse Boy – documentary – 2009
Disc or Play It Now

Rupert and Kristin Isaacson have tried every traditional Western treatment and therapy they can find to help their son Rowan.  Rowan has profound autism and basic skills like potty training are beyond him.  Worse, his parents worry over their inability to communicate with him, which results in frequent violent outbursts of frustration by Rowan.  Noticing their son is calm when around horses, they set off to Mongolia, and the horse Shamans, in the hopes they can help Rowan.

This movie is not about autism, although an expert is interviewed.  It’s a movie that shows what parents will endure for their child.  The lengths they will go for hope.  In this case, Rupert, Kristin, and Rowan set off on a grueling weeks long trip which pushes them to physical and emotional breaking points.  It’s not a pleasure trip and the family and director allow us an extraordinarily intimate and uncensored view of their struggle just to reach the Shamans.  Once there, the family hears uncomfortable pronouncements about themselves and endures ritual flogging.  Mongolian Shamanism, like other surviving indigenous religions, is dying out.

Pagans will recognize all of this as a ritual of transformation and it does transform everyone, even the highly skeptical Kristin.  Like most Mysteries, we can see everything that happens, hear everything said, and yet still not be able to explain it or why it worked.  This is a movie about magic.  I can’t say it any plainer than that.

NOVA: Lost Treasures of Tibet – documentary – 2007
Disc only

NOVA did something it didn’t intend to do – proved the Buddha icons really are alive.  The episode is ostensibly about Tibetan works of art being restored by Western conservationists.  Centuries of bad weather and neglect have damaged the sacred works of art in a remote Buddhist monastery high in the Himalayas.  Without immediate attention, they will be lost forever.  In Buddhist theology, the icons are alive and contain the spirit of the Buddha they depict.  There are very few monks and nuns attending these monasteries and no worshipers to light candles.  The place feels dead, the Buddhas gone.

As the restoration takes place, interest is renewed in the monastery and old building and art techniques are regained.  The Buddhas glow and pilgrimages to the holy sites begin again.  As the icons are brought back to life, the Buddhas breath new life into the community and the religious practices of the surrounding countryside.

This is a common spiritual philosophy in Buddhism, Hinduism, and many of the indigenous religions modern Pagans are reviving.  That temples are the homes of Gods.  If you build it, create the best possible icons, and honor the Gods there, they will call to others and bring them to the site.  The idea is that thriving communities form around temples, not that thriving communities build temples.  In this episode you can watch divinity manifest and rebuild a community.

Stephen Fry in America – documentary – 2008
Disc and Play it Now

Most people know Stephen Fry as a wonderful actor and comedian.  What they may not know is that Stephen from the UK was almost Steve from New  Jersey.  Finding out later in life that he was almost born and raised in America caused him to want to find out more about the USA.

In Episode 1: The New World, Fry travels through New England.  Of course one of his stops is Salem and he spends Samhain with Laurie Cabot.   As is the case all through this series, Fry is open to doing almost anything and is polite while it’s happening, but he’s also not shy about commenting on things he finds silly, appalling, or endearing.  He’s taken aback by the Samhain celebration, but that seems more to do with it being a religious observance than it being a Wiccan religious observance.  In this six episode documentary, Fry travels to all 50 states and explores the people and culture.I’ve watched the entire series and it’s fascinating to see our country through the eyes of someone from another culture.  So check it out for the stop in Salem, but you probably won’t be able to resist watching all six episodes.

Community Notes; April 30-May 6

Next Sunday is the huge May Day celebration in Powderhorn Park. There is nothing else on the calendar for that day. Really, what could possibly compete with the Heart of the Beast May Day celebration? There’s a huge parade which is scheduled to start at 1pm, but will most likely start later. There’s a pageant across the lake, to the stage. There are vendors and booths galore. It is the return of summer to our land.

Traditionally, Paganism was always the religion of the place it is practiced. With that in mind, the May 6th May Day celebration at Powderhorn Park is a huge part of how our community celebrates this festival on the wheel of the year. Hopefully you’ll be able to make it.

There’s a mixer for Heathen Men & Wiccan Women at Merlin’s Rest Monday May 7 at 7pm. Yes this event does have heteronormative love-connection overtones, but for many years heterosexual Wiccan women have had a difficult time finding spiritually like-minded heterosexual men. Also, the Pagan movement is very Wiccan-centric, so it’s important for Wiccans to mix with people of other paths to remember that this movement can accommodate many views.

Many Heathens are looking at modern Paganism and finding that it does not reflect who they are, and they are declaring that they are not Pagan. Historically, there are few people who have more claim to the Pagan label then Heathens, so losing them is significant. The Pagan movement is large enough to accommodate many different religions.

The character of the local Pagan community should be able to accommodate the Heathen community. We are the Northern folk. We are people of ice and water. Heathens should have a place in this Pagan community, and if they don’t feel like they do, then maybe more effort needs to be made to make sure that they do.

So hopefully next Monday’s mixer will be well attended, and hopefully there will be many more events which attempt to integrate Heathens and other Pagans. The loss of the Heathens could be the single greatest schism taking place in the Pagan community.