…it’s one of The Mysteries

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When Pagans talk about The Mysteries, we are describing an experience that, by it’s nature, can’t be described.  These aren’t secret things, Mysteries could be talked about in great detail and yet you would never understand them unless you were there.  All kinds of things happen during Mysteries that set you up for The Moment.  Some word or action or sight or smell suddenly sends a profound shock through your soul that continues to resonate long after the incense has cleared.

I’m just back from Sacred Harvest Festival and I can tell you, this festival was one of The Mysteries.  I didn’t realize it until today at the last morning meeting.

I had had a perfectly delightful festival experience, perfect weather, good friends, lots of food.  Yet I experienced that shock to my soul that signaled I was taking part in a Mystery all 9 days long and didn’t realize it until this morning.  All these little moments – a conversation, the rustle of the oak leaves, a compassionate glance from Crystal Blanton, campfire smoke, sunrise the color of Star Foster’s hair, drums beating, holding  my husband’s hand as we head to a ritual, laughing at a huge knit penis – were steps along the road to Eleusis.

A wristband to enter the festival or an ear of corn reaped in silence?

I could write all about those moments, you’ll read about some of what happened at the festival over the next few days, but unless you were there you won’t understand The Mystery I experienced.  Likewise, I can fill you in on the morning meeting, my “ear of corn reaped in silence” moment – but your soul won’t vibrate when you hear about it.  I can show you a grimy, tattered wristband that I wore all 9 days, but your eyes won’t tear up in humble gratitude like my are.

At the morning meeting we honored a young man and gave him a spear.  We thanked the Harmony Tribe board members, past and present.  We auctioned off the green penis.  Listened to a few songs.  Found out that we honored a Hindu Goddess on the same night as millions of Hindus were also honoring her.  Received a personal message from another Goddess.  Held back tears, laughed, hugged.  And then realized we were all leaving this place and these people.

Yes, I will see many of the people who attended SHF over the course of the year.  I’ve seen them before and I’ve attended SHF many times before.  I’ll be back to Harmony Park (where the festival is held) again.  But I will never again be in that place with those people.

But I will carry that glimpse of The Mystery with me always.

Local Pagan Performs at Fringe Festival

Twin Cities storyteller Michael Merriam, photo vie Michael's fb page

Michael Merriam was waiting to see if he would make the cut to be in the Minnesota Fringe Festival.  Then he was officially waiting when he was placed on the wait list for performers.  Then he got the word, he’s in, and festival goers have five opportunities to hear his storytelling performance.

There are fantastic stories in the spaces between realities. Storyteller Michael Merriam will reveal a mythic world hidden under the one we perceive, and you will see your Twin Cities in a wondrous new light.

Some of the stories you will hear from Michael:

Follow a blind, middle aged magician as she tries to protect a new friend and potential lover from her half-fae brother.
Hear the happy tale of a snarky Goth-girl, a snarly Unseelie, a dead body, and the Mississippi River.
Encounter a soul-devouring monster running afoul of the eccentric patrons of an all-night diner.

Darkly Through the Light Waters: Twin Cities Tales
A MN Fringe Festival storytelling performance by Michael Merriam

Five One-Hour Performances to Choose From:
Saturday, 8/6 @ 1:00 p.m.
Monday, 8/8 @ 10:00 p.m.
Thursday, 8/11 @ 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, 8/13 @ 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, 8/14 @ 2:30 p.m.

Single adult tickets are $12
+ $4 festival admission button.

More info and to buy tickets at the Fringe show page.

PNC-MN Goes to SHF

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We’ve loaded up our cars, put the mead in the cooler, and are on the road headed for Sacred Harvest Festival. Southern Minnesota – here we come!

"Why No, Officer, that's not an obstructed view out my back window."

Over the past year, Nels, Heather, and I have attended various Pagan festivals and heard about ones we wish we could attend. This is the first festival of the year that the three of us are able to attend as a group. Who knows what will happen with all of us in physical proximity of one another? (Not much. Heather and I go to bed at 10pm each night and Judy keeps Nels in line.)

Ahem. Anyway. What you can expect are great stories and interviews from the festival. We hope to be able to post some stories while we are there. Much will depend on the quality of the WiFi available at the camp. If the WiFi sucks like it did at PSG this year (too many people on one pipe) it may be a bit quiet on here. But let’s hope for the best.

If you can’t go to SHF, don’t be sad! Grab a bottle of mead and celebrate National Mead Day today. You can bet I will!

Letter to the Editor: SPC’s Ciaran Benson

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First, I want to thank you for your excellent write-up on what is happening at the Center.

Awesome work.

The PNC is really setting the bar for reporting on Pagan issues really high, and I appreciate that.

I do want to respond to this statement:

“The source says it unclear if the alleged possible problems with the bookkeeping are  from sloppy record keeping, mismanagement, or rise to an actionable item under Minnesota law”

Speaking as a board member for the Sacred Paths Center who has been closely involved with these issues, I want to completely confirm and agree with this statement.  We don’t know the answer either.  That’s the reason we’ve arranged for this audit.

We’ve talked with our attorneys and described what we’ve found to the Minnesota Council for Non-Profits and the MAP for Non-Profits center resources, and what we’re hearing from them is that our failings are very typical of non-profits of our age and size.

I was surprised to find that they weren’t surprised by what we were telling them.  In one case the person I was working with reached into a pile of Frequently Asked Questions From Board Members and handed me a sheet that basically listed everything I’d just told her.  Apparently, we’re very mainstream in our failures.

That’s not to belittle our failings – we really missed some obvious things that we should have been doing.  For example, we failed to file federal tax returns.  The IRS isn’t hot on our heals because we don’t owe them any money, but not having at least filed a return saying that we didn’t owe them money was dumb.  Not realizing that we hadn’t done it was dumb again.  Not checking to make sure that it had been taken care of and logging it in our corporate books was dumb a third time.

We apparently have dumb down.  We’ve shown we’re pretty darned good at it.

If we could bottle dumb, and people would buy it from us, then we would be where you would go to get it.

It’s important to note that as a non-profit in Minnesota, these failings are for the most part already public information.  Where it isn’t public information – that in and of itself is where we’ve failed.  The federal and state governments know exactly what our failings are, and anyone who wishes to review our Form 990 will see that we haven’t filed one.  All levels of government have been very helpful in pointing out to us exactly what forms and reports we failed to file, and they have been very encouraging in asking us to get our act together.

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UPDATE: Sacred Paths Center to Reopen

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Sacred Paths Center sparked speculation yesterday when they abruptly announced that the the center was closing “indefinitely” and would be conducting an internal and external audit.  Today, SPC Executive Director Teisha Magee, announced that the center would reopen Monday, August 8th.

We sincerely apologize for the confusion caused by our sudden closing. We want to thank Keys of Paradise for making their space available for the events that we inconvenienced this week. – Statement from Executive Director Teisha Magee

Magee also wanted to reassure people who had scheduled events at the  center between now and the reopening on Monday that the space they reserved is  available to them as promised previously.

The sudden announcement of indefinite closure, coming just a day after announcing the center had surpassed its fundraising goals to keep their doors open, caused some Pagans to speculate, “If it turns out people’s sympathy was being played to pay someone’s gambling debts, we better see more than an internal audit,” Kenneth commented on The Wild Hunt.  Rumors were further fueled by the resignations of two unnamed board members.

Magee said the reason for the closing was “to catch up on some neglected organizational items” and to do a physical inventory of the store.  Another task the SPC board is focusing on includes restructuring their organizational tools.

Sacred Paths Center put out this comment on their facebook page in response to a question:

   Sorry, we’ve realized that the word “audit” has been misconstrued. This is not an IRS-style audit, this is annual audit that all non-profits must do to show that they’ve used the donations they’ve received properly. This isn’t something being forced on the center, this is something the center is doing to make sure our Form 990s and other documentation meet the government’s standards for “best practices”. Because most of our organization is unfamiliar with these forms, we felt getting outside advice was appropriate.

An unnamed source disputes SPC’s claim that this is a routine audit.  They say that while the SPC board is acting in good faith and sincerely wants to resolve the issue, the temporary closure and audit were forced on the center by a SPC member.  “The member basically came in and said ‘you must do this or I’ll take certain steps’ – implying that they would report the center to some state authority.  The source says the board was aware of irregularities in the center’s books and planned to look into the issue, but the demand by the anonymous center member forced quicker action.

The source says it unclear if the alleged possible problems with the bookkeeping are  from sloppy record keeping, mismanagement, or rise to an actionable item under Minnesota law.  They noted that the member who demanded the audit firmly believes in the center,  still fully supports it, and says it is a good investment for the community.

SPC plans to publish a breakdown of the success of their Change and Grow campaign on Monday, August 8th. The full statement from Sacred Paths Center is reprinted below.

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