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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in parliament of world religions

 

Trying to describe the Parliament of World Religions in a short article is like trying to describe the biological abundance of a rainforest in a similar way.  It is impossible.  It was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences of my life.  That said, perhaps I can focus more narrowly here on what it meant for we NeoPagans in general.  For at least three reasons Salt Lake City’s Parliament of the World’s Religions was an important event for us and for Pagans worldwide.

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Sex and the Parliament of the World's Religions

More than a week later, my bags are unpacked (mostly), the laundry is done (almost), but my thoughts linger with the Parliament of World Religions. With religious observances starting at 7am (I will refrain from commenting on this choice of scheduling) and social activities continuing late into the night, experiences seemed to add up to weeks rather than days.

 

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Andrea Kendall
    Andrea Kendall says #
    The ritual rocked Macha. I also very much enjoyed getting up early and sitting by the sacred fire. I learned a lot from liste
  • Annika Mongan
    Annika Mongan says #
    Thank you for the links, Andrea! Those are really great resources.
  • Aline "Macha" O'Brien
    Aline "Macha" O'Brien says #
    Interestingly, I got some grief about the script's inclusion of some (not a lot) overt sexual references -- "the kissing of the ph
  • Annika Mongan
    Annika Mongan says #
    Thank you for sharing this, Macha. While it definitely surprised me, I'm glad that you included the references. It really did brin
Goddess in the Mainstream at Parliament of World Religions

The Parliament of the World's Religions, recently held October 15-19, 2015 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, is the oldest, largest and the most inclusive gathering of people of all faith and traditions. This year the Parliament connected the dots between spirituality, culture and politics with major speakers such as the Dalai Lamma, Dr. Karen Armstrong, Rev. Jim Wallis and Dr. Vandana Shiva, bringing their global wisdom and practice to the Parliament's theme, Reclaiming the Heart of Our Humanity. Speakers addressed three critical issues facing people across the globe; Climate change and care for creation, income inequality and wasteful consumption and war, violence and hate speech.

Blogger and Changemakers publisher, Tim Ward, spoke with Rev. Karen Tate, who moderated a panel on Friday, October 16 discussing the relevance of sacred feminine liberation thealogy called The Living Goddess. Tate also gave a presentation on Saturday, October 17th, Reawakening Our Earliest Sacred Stories, that addresses how pre-patriarchal mythology of the feminine face of god has all along given us a template for a more sustainable future.

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Response to Blog about Pagan Leadership

Because my response to PantheaCon and Leadership is so long, it seems worthy of its own blog entry.

Annika, the reason you found only older Pagans at the PWR meeting was because only older people came, not because younger folks weren't welcome.  Don Frew spoke about the history of the PWR because he had expected people unfamiliar with it to be the ones who came.  That turned out not to be the case, but for you.  Had I known it was going to unfold as it did, I wouldn't have needed to come.  I already knew most of what he had to say, and in fact have given talks on it to Pagans around the country myself.  Also, there were a few people there who were older, Pagan but not Witchen, new to interfaith involvement and who had never attended PWR and who came for that reason, to familiarize themselves with what it is and how it works.

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Posted by on in Studies Blogs
Hanging with My Peeps at PCon

This year’s PantheaCon nourished me.  I printed out a schedule ahead of time of events on the official schedule, as distinct from the many programs being offered in various suites throughout the weekend, that I wanted to be sure to attend.  I left plenty of space for serendipitous encounters.

I knew I had some responsibilities in the Pagan Scholars’ Den -- I dislike that term – for both Cherry Hill Seminary and the Pagan History Project with which I’m involved.  And I was scheduled to sit on one panel, “Tradition vs. Innovation.”  Beyond those things, I was open to see what arose.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
The Gods My People Swear By

I think it was Judy Harrow that told me this story. If not, apologies to my actual informant, whoever you are. As my father is fond of saying, “Age spares us nothing.”

Dateline: Chicago, 1993: the World Parliament of Religions. (This was the event at which the archbishop of Chicago used his political muscle to get the pagans a permit to do a ritual in a public park. Now that's what I call ecumenism.) It's the main event: religious leaders from all over the world are lined up on stage. The place is packed so full that they have to set up TV screens outside to accommodate everyone that wants to see. The pagans are all outside, watching. (There are, of course, none on stage.)

Some grandee gets up to talk. “Let us all be as one,” he says. “After all, we all worship the same god.” Nods, smiles, and knowing applause from the entire line-up on stage, including (shame on them) the Hindus. The audience eats it up.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • T-Roy
    T-Roy says #
    I don't name my Gods, they exist as identities, Hearth, Summer, Mother and so on but those aren't names, just labels. Not until
  • Lady Pythia
    Lady Pythia says #
    Delighted to share that the Parliament of World Religions returns to the States in 2015! We're not sure where yet. Andras will let
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    Yeah, this is one story about one incident. Having seen my own thinking change on a number of topics over the course of the years,
  • Alison Leigh Lilly
    Alison Leigh Lilly says #
    "Nods, smiles, and knowing applause from the entire line-up on stage, including (shame on them) the Hindus." Do you find it at al
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    It was certainly not my intent to declare shame on Hinduism or Hindus generally, Allison. During revision, I thought: Maybe I shou

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