OccupyMN starts today

OccupyMN, our state’s version of Occupy Wall Street, kicks off today at the Hennepin County Government Plaza. The Occupy movement is a grassroots protest which began in New York City and has now spread to cities across our nation.  The movement says  they represent the “99%,” those income earners who make less than $380,000 per year in household income.

OccupyMN:  Facebook, Website
Protest address: Government Plaza, 352 S 5th Ave, Minneapolis, MN
Today’s Schedule:  9am – Event Begins
9am to 12pm – Set Up
12pm to 5pm Workshops/Lunch
5pm – Welcoming Celebration & Rally
7pm – Opening General Assembly
11pm – Plaza Quiet Hours
Live feed of the protest: here

LaDonna Redmond, a co-organizer of OccupyMN released this statement in a press release, “Today we are renaming Government Plaza ‘The People’s Plaza’. We intend to stay indefinitely and we welcome all Minnesotans to join us. If you are struggling; if have lost your job, or your home; if you have seen your child unjustly incarcerated; if you are homeless, living without healthcare, or drowning in debt; if you work full time but still are unable to afford food to feed your family; if you feel no one is listening to you; if you are fed up with the direction this country is going in — then you are one of the 99%. We are talking to you. Come and join us! This is your chance to be heard.”

The New York City Occupy Wall Street General Assembly is working on a document they call the Declaration of the Occupation of New York City.  The declaration is a list of grievances that cover a wide range of issues including economic abuses, discrimination, animal rights, the high cost of college tuition, and American colonialism.  As of yet, the groups have no demands.  Organizers say that’s the purpose of the protests, to allow the 99% to come together and formulate solutions to what they see as societal problems.   This is in contrast to what they say usually happens, the richest, most powerful 1% in this country make decisions that benefit them at the expense of the other 99%.  The Occupy movement says it is not political Left vs political Right, Liberal vs Conservative, or Democrat vs Republican, but is open to all the 99%.

Although there is no official ‘Pagan Cluster’ similar to Washington DC’s Occupy protest, several local Pagans plan to attend.  PNC is providing coverage of this protest, as we have covered other protests that have attracted the attention of the Pagan community, such as the union protests in Wisconsin and the Tea Party protests.  We will link to other PNC bureau coverage and PNC-Minnesota will be at the protests in Minneapolis.

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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Kari’s Thingtide Travels – Lightning Across the Plains/Midwest Thing

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By Kari Tauring

This is the fourth, and final, installment of my vandrestav journey this summer, 2011. The first two events, Trothmoot and Northern Folk Gathering, were specifically designed for practitioners of the spirituality of the Northern European folk tradition.  The Midwest Viking Festival was a celebration of specifically Viking era traditions, attracting Scandinavians as well as the general public looking for deeper root connections. 

ThirdRaven Kindred with Kari Tauring and Babette Sicard - photo credit: Third Raven Kindred

My final event this season was Lightning Across the Plains (LATP)/Midwest Thing. The event takes place at the Camp Gaea compound in McLouth, Kansas. It draws 200 plus Heathens, (70 of whom are children) from Michigan to Texas. This year we even had visitors from the coasts, Rhode Island and Los Angeles!

Many of you readers will know of Camp Gaea already. I first visited this sacred space in 2000 and again in 2001 when I played music for the Goddess Festival, an all women’s event. I was wholly impressed by the care taken in assuring that men did not enter the camp areas (even to suck out the toilets!), respect for multiple pathways, and sense of safety spiritually and physically. It was my deep wish and prayer of mine that the Northern/Heathen tradition could be represented at this amazing site. I was simply overjoyed to hear that JBK had begun to tend a Heathen Ve (worship space) on the grounds there. Through conversations and meetings we got to know one another and they asked me to be their honored guest at the first LATP in 2009. In 2010 they added the “Midwest Thing.” A Thing is where tribes/clans/families/kindreds who live far apart to meet in person and conduct business pertaining to the region. The parliament in Iceland and Norway is called the Thing (Ting).

Thing - photo credit Mark Stinson

While Jotun’s Bane Kindred (JBK) hosts LATP, attending kindreds share in leading ceremonies, providing work shops, and food preparation which creates the sense of regional partnership, community and belonging. This event serves to bring together the Midwest regions varied Heathen kindreds, tribes, families and individuals. It fills a need for a central gathering where all Heathen-identified persons and groups can come and meet one another, share knowledge and experiences, and begin to create the bonds of community that are so important in spiritual and religious development.

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Community Notes; October 3-9

Please help: this Saturday is the next Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance Highway Cleanup. Join us October 8 at 1pm at The Central Bank; 7111 21st Avenue, Centerville, MN. For more information, check: http://umpaganalliance.com/schedule.shtml

There is a new movie which you might not want to pay to watch, and might want to encourage other to not pay to see it either. “The Grey” shows wolves as aggressive hunters and killers, especially toward humans, which is not true. In fact, wolves almost always avoid humans, even leaving prey if a human approaches.

Eye of the Boar Coven will be offering energy healing circles the Second Saturday of the month from 7-9pm at the Eye of Horus, starting this Saturday, for free, although donations for space rental will be cheerfully accepted.

The Sacred Paths Center’s annual Silent Auction and Pie Social is about a week away: Monday, October 10, from 6-10pm. There’s still time to donate items for the auction or pies for the social. http://www.sacredpathscenter.org/?page_id=429