NorDCOG Lammas Ritual – Editorial and Interviews

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I attended the Northern Dawn Covenant of the Goddess (NorDCOG) Lammas Ritual with about 45 other people on Saturday July 23rd in Hidden Falls Park in St Paul, MN.  The ritual was written by  Veronica Cummer and presented by Veronica and Janus, with a cast assembled from the community. Titled “LAMASU: SACRIFICE AND BLISS” , the ritual was concise and powerfully presented. A variation of classic Lammas stories, this ritual was described as invoking, “the age-old themes of Life, Death and Rebirth, and will contain both Wiccan elements and elements of the Sorgitzak Path. Sorgitzak is based on interaction with and the teachings of a pantheon of Gods from the Old Forest.” The ritual told the story easily, and seemed to translate clearly to those present.

I remembered back to a time when, to many folks, public events like this might be their only Sabbat ritual experience. I wondered whether that has changed. I asked two questions:

Why was it important to come to a public (open to all) ritual?

Do you also celebrate Sabbats in private?

The Dark Lady of Mercy photo:Paul Rucker

Rachael Goodman,

Personally I think it is important for the community to come together publicly in a situation where maybe some people don’t understand exactly what we are doing in a ritual, but to let them experience it.

In private? I do.

Janus,

To build and share community and get to know each other. To know and worship together with those of like minds.

In private? Yes.

Jack Green,

To serve the community. To help present this sequence of Sabbats that are important to us, That help us relate to the cycles of nature. I like ritual outdoors, and don’t mind Non-Pagans witnessing it. They need to know that we are out here.

In private? Oh yes. Continue reading →

Earth House Donates to Sacred Paths Center

Starting in 2009, Earth House Project pledged to donate 25% of the proceeds from their Midsummer Gather to the Sacred Paths Center. Last Saturday, Earth House Project presented Sacred Paths Center with $978.62 in fulfillment of that pledge.  This is in addition to the donation of $937.24 Earth House presented to Sacred Paths Center in 2010.

Earth House says they make donations of this type to support an organization whose mission parallels their own. “We are particularly pleased that this donation comes at a crucial time for SPC. Only by working together can we build and grow.  We hope other groups with the income to do so will also contribute to our community Center as we have.”

On July 7th, Sacred Paths Center announced they were in a financial crisis and needed immediate funding or they would close their doors.  CJ Stone, SPC Board member and Spokesperson, said they needed to raise $12,000 by July 30th.  That would allow the community center to pay the outstanding bills and make the changes needed to steer the center in a direction that is financially viable.  As of press time, the center has raised $9795 towards that goal.

Earth House Project is a tax-exempt, non-profit, volunteer community working to build a resource center in the Twin Cities area for people of all nature-reverent spiritual paths.  Their goal is to create a Pan-Pagan Community Center to allow all Pagans to have permanent sacred space for ritual, be a beacon for newcomers in the community to find others to worship with, and provide meeting rooms, office space, and other needed services. The group plans to donate profits from rental of halls and meeting rooms back into the Pagan community.

Editor’ note: the article has been updated to include the current amount raised by SPC.

Summerland Spirit Festival Arrives by Storm

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image use with permission/Todd Berntson

Summerland Spirit Festival (SSF) received its initiation by storm when a flash flood on the eigth day of the nine day festival washed out a footbridge and, for a short time, trapped ten attendees. The campers escaped by creating a rope system that allowed them to reach the rest of the camp safely. No one was injured. Festival president Todd Berntson commented, “It was like something from CNN. Quite literally, there was a river that was flowing through our campground. It was surreal. In some spots, it was five feet deep and rushing quickly. Very dangerous.”

Continue reading →

SPC Launches “Change and Grow Fundraiser”

The Sacred Path Center has raised $6275 of their $12,000 goal. They have instituted immediate plans to aid raising the remaining $5725 of their goal though a  “Change and Grow Fundraiser”.  This list from their website  includes;

  1. The gift shop will have a “Change and Grow Sale” to eliminate slow-moving stock and reduce overall stock for targeted re-stocking. The sale will be announced July 22 and run to July 29. On July 29, we will also have food available for sale as a whoop-te-do to end the sale.
  2. We will auction on EBay a very valuable personal item CJ Stone has donated from Loui Pieper’s estate. We hope not only to get a good price for the item but to garner national attention from many different kinds of people. Continue reading →

Community Notes; July 18-24

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Wow, I’m still processing from Sacred Fire Circle in Paradise. Night after night immersed in powerful ritual experience; SFCiP is an astounding event, with really nice camping. The people were beautiful every one. There was some rain, but mostly during the times when we were trying to sleep, and the sound of the rain on the tents seemed to enhance the sleeping experience. Hopefully you’ll join us next year. http://sacredfirecircle.hawkdancing.com/index.html

Meanwhile, there are reports about Summerland Spirit Festival in Wisconsin which was flooded, some people lost personal possessions, cars were unable to start for being in too much water for a while, and some participants had to be evacuated by rope because the bridge washed away. Hopefully positive energy will be sent to those who suffered through that hardship.

The Sacred Paths Center has raised over half of the money they need, but they still need to raise quite a bit of money by the end of the month to stay open. They are accepting donations online, so even if you aren’t in the area you can donate to keep the dream of a Pagan community center alive. http://sacredpathscenter.com/

Community Notes is reprinted courtesy of Twin Cities Pagans Yahoo Group.

Editor’s Note:  The second paragraph was changed to add in the name of the festival and make the copy fall into line with what our Fact Checker suggested.  5:12pm Tuesday