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It’s no big revelation that the “Pagan Community” is a broad term that encompasses countless small groups that may (or may not) consider themselves “Pagan”.  We all know that the term “Pagan” comes with controversy and debate, but how often do we consider the other word in the phrase? 

We're back for Watery Wednesday, when we bring you news about Pagan and interfaith communities around the world. This week we have stories for you about the various controversies within Paganism, requests for submissions by both PantheaCon and Humanistic Paganism, and interfaith cooperation in North Carolina. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

"Twelve hundred years had not yet passed

When the land extended and the peoples multiplied.

It was one year ago today that my life changed forever.  It didn't change as much as it could have changed, and for that I'm grateful, but nothing has been the same since this day one year ago.  My own error resulted in my falling 10 feet onto the thin edge of the control panel of a spare washing machine.  I broke 6 ribs at both ends and broke my left shoulder blade in half.  I spent several days in the hospital, 2 months off work, and 6+ months in physical therapy.  I would never have made it through all of this without amazing support from my friends, family, and co-workers.  I am still paying off medical bills, but I am alive and healthy.  I am nearly back to the level I was before the accident (and in some ways I am actually healthier).  It still amazes me that less than 2 months after the accident I climbed on a plane and flew to San Jose to do my 3 workshop presentations at PantheaCon.  I owe thanks to many of the people at that event as well.  While lurching around with broken bones, trying to haul incense making supplies from one workshop to the next, a lot of people I'd never met helped me haul things around and set up or tear down.  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED IN THE LAST YEAR.

But there was more help given to me than that and I want to try and thank as many people as I can from the Pagan Community.  In less than 1 day after my accident I was able to get online and, very slowly, type a message with one hand.  I sent out that email letting folks know what happened and asking for any spare energy to help me with the extraordinary pain as well as energy to heal.  The response was overwhelming and nearly immediate.  Within an hour of sending that message, I began to feel the energy pouring in.  I know that there were groups or covens who sent me energy and that was an immense kindness that truly made a difference.  Even more surprising was the energy that continued to come to me for weeks, much of it being sent by Solitary Pagans who had never met (or even heard of) me and who lived hundreds or even thousands of miles away.  That Community of Solitaries, without any coordination whatsoever, continued this outpouring of love and energy for months.

Today is Watery Wednesday, the day we share stories for and about our many communities of Pagans (however widely defined.) Today we have  ideas on how to boost empathy -- on the internet; two Pagan-themed internet campaigns; Reclaiming events in Minnesota, and finding a Pagan Pride event near you.

The internet provides us with many opportunities to create community -- or tear it down. This article from Yes! magazine offers suggestions of how we can create more empathy in our online connections.

I was going to write about something related but different in my next column.  But I read Shauna Aura Knight’s excellent post about her stance on the Frosts this morning, and the controversy she has encountered has encouraged me to change focus.  It seems to me that much of the criticism and condemnation boils down to, "She's not playing nice."  Well, here's the problem with "niceness."  I must tread carefully to protect privacy so much of my language is deliberately vague.

One of our tradition members – an initiate of an initiate – contacted my husband and priest.  She said that her teenage daughter had told her that her husband had sexually abused her.  The couple have been married for many years; the girl in question is the man’s daughter genetically.  The mother was, quite understandably, in tears.  She wanted to know what she should do.

On an otherwise entirely normal Saturday in July 2014, a group of several dozen Pagans travelled from across the UK to join together in creating something which had never been attempted before.

The Pagan Symposium was a meeting in London of representatives from Pagan groups, organised from an idea by Mike Stygal, President of the UK Pagan Federation. The goals were kept deliberately vague, but at heart, the hope was that each group would be able to come together to share their experiences, skills and wishes to assist the wider Pagan community across the country.

The challenge of such ventures, of course, is that no single group can ever accurately represent all Pagans; also, the natural reluctance of many Pagans to affiliate with any group, when our paths contain such a strong core of individuality. In the past, strong egos have been an issue, or vastly differing ideologies. The analogy of 'herding cats' was mentioned, but with the happy conclusion that this had somehow now been achieved!