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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 19531
[Pagan]
Date Posted:
3/29/2008
8:22:50 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 5,276
RSS: 16,487
Comments: 24
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Easter "Ostara" With The Pagans
Author: Teena L Myers (Blog) Source: NOLA (LA)
Title: EASTER "OSTARA" WITH THE PAGANS
Every Easter Christians don their Sunday best and stream into churches to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus. Pagans pack picnic baskets and head for open areas to celebrate resurrection, symbolized by spring's arrival. This year, I left my Sunday best hanging in the closet and joined the Pagans at Audubon Park. From Pastor Velvet, who founded Covenant of the Pentacle Wiccan Church, to the newly initiated witch struggling to tie a proper ritual knot, I found friendly, sincere people.
As a teenager Velvet Rieth meet with a group of girl friends, who shared a common experience. All of them were victims of pedophiles. They dubbed themselves the Crescent City Swamp Witches. That small group evolved into the Wiccan church Velvet currently pastors. Velvet told me there were three thousand Pagans in New Orleans before Katrina. Today, the number is closer to one thousand.
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Community Thoughts: There are 24 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Yikes! | Apr 1st. at 9:23:35 pm EDT
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Susan R Kagan (Metairie, Louisiana) - Email Me
I've known the writer for several years and she is anything but the stereotypical whack job of a Christian that y'all are having a fit about. She is more questioning of her faith than some of us are of ours. In that way, her belief is tempered by constant examination. That is why I respect her as a person and like her as a friend. She doesn't merely swallow dogma whole and regurgitate it at anything perceived as unchristian.
Her final paragraph was intended as a rebuke for her own congregation and others similar to it that would drive people with questions and issues away rather than let them find their own path to deity within a framework of the love that their Jesus preached. She is forever contending against the hatred and superiority displayed by the type of Christians for whom you have mistaken her.
The rush to judgment here is not very pleasant. There are no corpses or property damage to rail about. There are much larger problems to get upset about. Step away from the keyboard if you can get your panties into a serious bunch over a story about gloriously beautiful day in the park picnicking and sharing our common love of deity in friendship.
-Susan R. Kagan
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| Objectivity Should Be A Reporter's Hallmark. | Apr 1st. at 10:55:50 am EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
One of the reasons may be that many Pagans remain either in small groups or fiercely alone may be the fact that the church or denomination many left was very heavily organized, to the point that a group of elders or one leader makes the rules-and enforces them to the point of being a suggestive dictatorship both in and out of church.
Another, is the attitude of many church goers who feel that-unless one adheres exactly to the rule-book designated by their church or denomination (and their own egos) -you are somehow- miscreant and will have to strive harder to achieve their idea of "perfection". Which is why we may have difficulties with our own organizing. We are still dealing with the engrained detritus that has been force fed to us by a centralized control. And while it would be nice to get together enmass, we don't want to run the risk of becoming what we left behind in our choices forward.
While I'm glad the article deals somewhat more positively toward Pagans, there is still that arrogant "poor deluded fools" approach tacked on at the very end. A ruination to a good article and demeaning to the subject matter.
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| Vel AGAIN! | Apr 1st. at 10:44:47 am EDT
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Rev. Velvet Rieth APS C.P.W.C.- ATC (Metairie, Louisiana) - Email Me
Hey Witchs, Pagans and Wiccans! Me again......I am appreciative of the diverse 'voice' of our Old Ways and that you are all speaking your truth from that space of Spirit and Civil liberty.
I do not share the opinion nor experience that every or most Christians are against us or mocking us or hating us....whatever. It is just that the most obnoxious and stupid seem to get the 'camera focus' and headlines.
I have experienced the hardline 'word' at Clinics, in my Pro Choice activism heydays.
But what I saw and felt, aside from the usual 'hate' or disdain, was the need for the Zealots to avoid even hearing any other voice of Spirit, or of it.
Truly, it is sad that many Abrahamic churches do not allow for any other doctrine to be seen and felt as sacred and valid. Doctrine seems to have replaced Spirituality, and that is sad. As I mentioned before, in another posting and often say in Circle, we are seemingly the closest thing to 'followers of Yeshua' that exists today, if we allow for the behaviors and parables of Yeshua to dictate and define a religion. Think about it....we are in fields, 'considering the lillies', in deserts, mountainsides, hills, by the waters, in the waters, gardens etc, doing our energy and prayer work. Hmmm.....working the Elements.....stilling the waters as we do when heavy rains come to New Orleans, or accepting that whatever comes, is for a greater good and we know we will be offering something in return...and gaining much when the Spiral is complete. AND we are 'all about' RENDERING TO CAESAR (state) separately from RENDERING TO GOD (church) .
Holy Moley!! I am thinking that those 'Wise Men' whose Pagan Deity and Divinations led them to a remarkable baby boy, who would affect change, may have seeminly influenced the Spirit of His work.
I cannot and will not let the moodswings of a Humanity hostile doctrine, which is CHURCHIANITY, cause me any grief. I am thrilled that my own experience with Yeshua, as a child, only enriches my Spiritual and Magickal practice.
The most powerful 'voice' I possess, is the one of delight in the ability to use grace, humor, intellect and my capacity to keep and own JOY in Wicca, as the truth I communicate in the face of rigid religious practice. I bring this to Prisons, Communities, Forensic Teams, etc, when I lecture.
One of the best moments I have ever had, so help me, after discussing Wicca with Police Personnel, in an 'Occult Crime' Seminar, was the reaction at lunch, of two male officers from Afganistan...Muslim gents who just kept looking at me and repeating 'ALLAH as FEMALE???'
My response was " Let's hope so."
My respect to you all, Vel
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| We Must Remember... | Apr 1st. at 9:08:20 am EDT
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Lea (Cedar Park, Texas) - Email Me
that most in the christian community have been so brain washed for so long that they have simply lost their ability to choose. Their free will, their most sacred gift, has been taken from them and they do not even realize it.
They were dragged to church by parents who forced them to do as they did and it wasn't fair to them or to the parents who knew not what they did.
As a pagan parent, I do not force my kids to ritual with me, if they show an interest and the will to participate they do. I also make sure that if they ask to go to church with a friend, yes christian church or any other, I allow them to go with my blessings. I desire for them to learn all they can about the spiritual worlds around them and then make their own decision about their path in life at the appropriate age.
This poor reporter knows not what she does when she lies to get a story. Someday karma will reciprocate to her and she will know the pain of lies and deceit in good time. I feel sorrow for her and her belief in the big book of fiction and the people who forced it upon her and her forming mind at such a young age.
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| Devout Christians Blind Themselves | Mar 31st. at 9:37:44 pm EDT
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foreverknightfan (Dardanelle, Arkansas) - Email Me
The only real good thing I could say about this " reporter" is that she actually attended an Ostara festival.
Yes she viewed it all through her devout Christian eyes. And yes she gave an obvious pretense of being friendly to the Pagans in order to get what she wanted to distort.
Surprse, Suprise. Ever read " Wicca's Charm"? A Christian book where the author befriends teenagers and does not interview noted Wiccans directly. She used the same type of tactic.
How about what crappy actor Kurt Cameron did last year during a Druid ceremony when he and his posse acted rude and lied when asked of they were recording the event. Cameron's Christian group is called " Way of the Master".
Let's be honest here. Have ANY of us seen anything BY devout Christians that have been FAIR and nonjudgmental about us? Ever? They have accepted as "spiritual truth" that they and only they have the truth and everyone else is decieved by Satan and of false beliefs. They literally are not allowed to think of other beliefs as valid paths to deity other than their own. So her " explanation" that we turned Pagan because we were " hurt" or rejected Jesus is the only rationale she could find that conforms what she saw with her dogmatic beliefs.
Was her intention to find something to criticize us while affirming her faith? Maybe. Maybe she honesty wanted to understand a bit, but her religious prejudice prevented her honestly understanding us. Only she can say what her actual motives were. But I can see what she did can be seen as sneakly backstabbing self-righteousness. She does sound like the type of person who can be sweet to your face while sticking it to you.
We're still getting variations of this type of bigot, and it's not only devout Christians. A few atheist types consider us nut cases. And OC we get razzed by the radio jerks. What's important is that we stay true to who we choose to be, not what someone claims we are.
We have a right to be pissed off at this betrayal, at the distortions and the self-righteousness. And we SHOULD be cautious when a Christian shows interest in us.
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| Take It Easy... | Mar 31st. at 10:43:27 am EDT
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Lamplight Circle - New Orleans (New Orleans, Louisiana) - Email Me
I was there for the Ostara ritual, and am in one of the videos. I didn't know that someone would be interviewing people that day for nola.com. So after I was filmed, I went to her blog on nola.com to read some of her other works. They are all very Christian-focused... no matter what she writes about, it all comes back to Christianity and Jesus' love for us all. Since it's a blog and not a report for the Times-Picayune, I can't really complain.
The one thing that concerns me is that, throughout the entire article, she weaves the idea that we are Pagans (Wiccans, Druids, Discordians, etc.) because we fell out with Christianity. Either we were dissatisfied with the doctrine, or experienced atrocities in a Christian household, or just didn't get that down-low tickle from Jesus. There was little-to-nothing about our connection with nature, seeing the Goddess in all living things, the spiral of rebirth, life, and death again, etc. We didn't become Pagans because Christianity didn't offer us something to hold onto... we became Pagans because we felt the Goddess call to us. We felt her one day, and couldn't ignore her presence. And there isn't a single word in the article that expresses the awe and wonder that we derived from that.
I feel that the article should have been more informative. Instead, it does depict us as being esoteric and falling away from the "Christian God". It might behoove her to actually be a 1st party participant vs. a 3rd party reporter. Maybe then, she'd feel what we feel, and understand enough to write a less biased article.
Find More info -- HERE
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| I Don't Get It | Mar 31st. at 10:01:03 am EDT
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Lady-hearted Mojo (Irving, Texas) - Email Me
What was so horrible about this article that it deserves such vehemence from all of you? The author of the article decided to check out a Pagan celebration of Ostara, she interviewed Rev. Rieth about her work in a prision ministry, which btw, I sincerely applaud. It could not have been easy for Ms. Rieth to teach, guide, and maybe heal the very types of men that did so much harm to her in her own life. Yet do I see a single positive statement about that? No. The author also took the time to speak with attendees and record some of their comments (which I really enjoyed listening to) . Anything positive said about that? No. And then she let us know how she was going to be celebrating the resurrenct of her god, which is her business.
In response to a decent, informative article I see nothing but b*tching, complaining, and jumping to conclusions. I gotta tell ya, some of you of the "more-persecuted-than-thou syndrome" could give any zealous, narrow-minded Christian a run for their money when it comes to denigrating another faith.
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| So Let's See... | Mar 31st. at 8:52:37 am EDT
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John the Alchemist (Francestown, New Hampshire) - Email Me
The Pagans in the article are in the process of deriving spiritual sustenance from nature. The author fnds it necessary to leave them, go home, and derive her spiritual inspiration from an incredibly violent Christian snuff film - then accuses the Pagans of abandoning God!
The farther I get from the Christians the more bizzare and delusional their world view appears. They are welcome to it.
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| Pedophilia | Mar 31st. at 7:22:14 am EDT
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Fern Green (Grand Junction, Colorado) - Email Me - Web
The author seems to be implying that those who are interested in Paganism are all either victims of pedophiles or pedophiles themselves.
WTF?
This was a lame excuse for an article.
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| It Was Good Until The Last Part | Mar 31st. at 3:52:11 am EDT
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Moonlight Wolf (Bradford, England) - Email Me
Did anyone else think that he was snubbing Pagans? It certainly seemed that way to me.
"They're a nice bunch of people but they abandoned God after the Church failed them, I didn't and that makes me better than them and God will treat me better, so there."
Was what the last paragraph seemed to be.
Advice to reporters, if you want to be taken seriously, don't tack things on at the end that undermine others or even yourself. It just makes you look silly.
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| I Find It Funny | Mar 30th. at 11:29:26 pm EDT
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Orion 6Xray (Park City, Kentucky) - Email Me - Web
That the vast majority of "good christians" never actually read that so called good book, and those of us who have read it (I would recommend it) and realized how much of it is bull scatology are seen as abandoning god. On second thought I have abandoned their god, I will never kneel before an egotistical fit throwing insestual rapist.
I do not worship the same god as the christians and find it funny that certain Pagans find it offensive when we are told we don't believe in god. I take that as a complement and reaffirm those who say that to me that I do not worship their god.
I want to know how this writer can reconcile jesus stating the he was only sent for the nation of isreal, or how he was sent to set father against son mother against daughter, and how if you love your family member more than him you do not deserve the kingdom of heaven?
Look at it this way and in their term who is the true enslaver and evil deity in christian mythology:
Jehovah, who wanted to keep his creations enslaved and stupid (stupid = naked) .
Or
The Serpent, who offered enlightenment, freedom, and the ability to be as god.
Wake up people and realize the detritus like this comes from the mind of an enslaved schizophrenic who doesn’t want to use the free will she poses to come to terms with the lie she bought. Rather she wishes to continue the tradition the church started back early in the first century of belittling others and squashing the competition in the religion game. We are lucky that writing flagrant hit pieces on Witches and Pagans is en vogue since burning us is taboo.
Find More info -- HERE
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| ... | Mar 30th. at 8:34:37 pm EDT
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Draken (Bronx, New York) - Email Me - Web
...and people are turning a blind eye to the bimbo's evil. Can I call'em or what?
Seriously people, as long as these f*cking self-hating masochists insist on mocking us every chance they get, articles like this are going to keep turning up.
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| She Didn't Say That *We've* Abandoned God... | Mar 30th. at 10:49:05 am EDT
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DodiaFae (Rhode Island, Rhode Island) - Email Me
Quote:
"There have been times in my life that I considered abandoning the church that has not only failed me, but also treated me with cruelty. However, my God has never failed me, and I cannot abandon the church without abandoning him. 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,' Jesus said, 'ye have done it unto me' (Matthew 25:40) . I have also learned that if I take my grievances to God, he will make right the wrongs committed against me. Instead of forsaking my brethern, I decided to follow Jesus example of love and I pray, 'Father, forgive them. They know not what they have done.' "
End Quote.
She said that if *she* abandoned the church, *she* would be abandoning God, not that *you* have abandoned God because you left the church, or that I have, or that any of the folks that were at this ritual have. She was explaining her reason for staying in the church for herself. If this is what she feels she needs in order to enrich her being, more power to her. As much as I feel I would be abandoning a major part of myself if I didn't honor the feminine aspect of Spirit, I don't expect that to be what would work for her. If I'm not afraid to explain why I won't give up my beliefs, I can't expect another to be afraid to do the same.
Sometimes it's hard not to imagine that the author of an article is making a reference to you, just as it is very easy to put yourself in a story your reading. But, very often, when people say "I", they really are talking about themselves personally, and not trying to superimpose that "I" on others.
Sometimes it's very difficult not to take things personally. Believe me, I know. Getting past my issues with the church has been a long, hard process for me, and I still struggle with it much of the time.
But the fact is, if we react to everything we see, hear, or read as though it were a personal insult, we're giving away our power. It's just draining. Even if that statement was meant as a personal insult to all of Pagandom, reacting to it is just giving the statement credence. But I'm pretty sure that if she were a fundy, simply putting herself into that environment would have been considered sinful. Especially when you consider that she missed church for it. It's OK for Christians to be strong in their beliefs, so long as they are not over-stepping the boundaries of others. It's great, even. Just as it is great for us to be strong in ours.
I think that part of the problem is that we see the individuals of Christianity as "The Church", rather than as individuals. Most of us were once individuals of the church, but we weren't "The Church". "The Church", in my view, is comprised of the likes of Ratzinger, and those who helped keep the abuse scandals a secret while shuffling predators around from parish to parish, and those that milk the poor for their hard-earned cash to support their glamorous lifestyle, and those that actually will go out of their way to tell those that don't believe as they do that they're going to burn in hell. Not people who are willing to at least take a peak at the other side of the story. While they may be members of a church, they are not "The Church".
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| In Reading The Last Comments Of Her Article | Mar 29th. at 7:32:33 pm EDT
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DodiaFae (Rhode Island, Rhode Island) - Email Me
I did not get the impression she was asking forgiveness for her Pagan friends. If you read the paragraph in its entirety, she says:
"I have also learned that if I take my grievances to God, he will make right the wrongs committed against me. Instead of forsaking my brethern, I decided to follow Jesus example of love and I pray, "Father, forgive them. They know not what they have done."
I've gathered from this that she is referring to those that have committed wrongs against her. I doubt that she considers her Pagan friends among those people.
I think that the article was very well written, straight forward, and honest. I can't say I fault her for wanting to reaffirm her beliefs in whatever way she felt was necessary for her to do so after participating in a Pagan ritual. Anytime I go to into a Christian church (for a wedding, funeral, Christening, etc.) I always feel the need to connect with Nature and re-center myself in some way.
The point is, she participated in this ritual, and she wrote nothing negative about the Pagans involved. It was all positive. And yes, the church did fail these people (and me, and many others that I know) , so why should she not grieve for that? I actually appreciate the fact that *someone* is actually acknowledging this failure. It actually means a lot, when you think about it.
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| Abrahamic Masochism | Mar 29th. at 3:35:18 pm EDT
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Stormsinger (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) - Email Me
I hope that Rev. Velvet and her friends keep welcoming Teena into their circle, because from what I can see, she certainly needs it. How sad that she had to run from a celebration of life, beauty and joy to mentally beat herself up with one of the most masochistically violent movies ever made, regardless of subject matter. And then she reminds herself what a good little martyr she's being, clinging to the Church when it has treated her (and, apparently, these people who are her friends) so badly.
And then there's the hubris of "forgive them Father..." For WHAT? For starting a prison ministry? For facing their own demons and overcoming them, all by themselves with no help from anyone but the Gods-given power within them? For having the bardic gift (I can't call it anything less) to get a pedophile, one of the criminals most likely to blame the victim, duck responsibility, and reoffend, to TAKE responsibility for his deeds enough to refuse offered parole? I think she needs another line -- maybe the one about removing the plank from your own eye...
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