It's a wild place - wild, woolly and never curried below the knee. Yes they say it's been tamed, and it has, to a degree. People live there and thrive and survive. People bring the trappings of civilization and bring a semblance of order to the organic chaos, and yet, they remain subject to her whims.
I grew up there. She was, and still is, a wild place once you take time to know Her as She really is. An island steeped in lore and legend, overflowing with history, a place of wildness and freedom, the kind of untamed beauty that can never be faked or reproduced. She has a history of freedom and independence that She breathes into every person who stays on Her for any length of time, especially those of us who grew up there. A sense of freedom and independence that can never be taught or learned, it grows with you, it's in the air you breathe, in the ground beneath your feet and in the dark blue waters surrounding Her.
It was, and is, a place that will never truly yield to man. It is a collection of huge rocks rising from the depths of a wild blue sea whose own heart man has never managed to conquer. A place where the fae walk with us and ghosts of ancestors past are always there beside us, just out of sight, only a breath away.
A place where time, tide, season and weather still affect every day life and nature makes Her presence felt every day. A place where the old times and old ways are more than just forgotten words in a faded book, or a distant memory. A place where the road known as Allees es Fees is more than just the link between a collection of houses, it is part of the smugglers road and part of the hidden pathways of the fair folk.
A place of dolmens and cromlechs, German gun posts and old forts linked only by tidal causeways. It's a different world, one where the old, wild places only tolerate the intrusion of humanity and modern life. Where you can find a neolithic grave alongside Occupation concrete, black rabbits and blonde hedgehogs alongside cats and cars.
A place where people still watch storm tossed seas as the maroons boom a call to summon the lifeboat crew and the watchers silently pray for a safe return. This is an island where we grow up knowing that 'When the sea wants you, She will take you' isn't imagination or fancy, it's a reality of life. We learn as children not to whistle up the wind or paint a boat green, that priests do not belong on board ship, except for burial at sea, and to always keep an eye on the rising tide or the gathering storm. We knew why the undertaker wore red socks, and as children we learned the secret pathways and hidden places that adults pretended they didn't know about.
A place steeped in history for it holds the bones of our mothers, their mothers and our ancestors back through the years, and the air we breathe carries the breath of countless generations who have lived and worked the land before us. It's an island of smugglers, soldiers, farmers and fishermen, of quarrymen, golfers, sailors and visitors. A place of torchlit processions, arguably a modern remnant of a much older tradition, still played out by successive new generations of bright eyed children. Here the museum used to be a school, the breakwater used to be longer, the train runs in summer and doing the Dougie is a rite of passage. Soft sandy beaches and storm battered cliffs, windswept commons and whitewashed houses with lovingly tended flower gardens, narrow twisting cobbled streets and battered old barns live side by side and support each other.
It's a place where you picked daffodils in spring and blackberries in autumn, where we once picked sloes to take to Captain Jim for sloe gin and rescued overgrown goldfish from a bunker on Essex during the drought of '76. Where we remember the one legged heron that massacred many ponds and people know what the Sugar Loaf is and why it's there, and where we read the message on the sundial as we land and before we leave. Where we know that when the fog rolls in, we might as well be on another planet, and that if there's no planes flying, there will be no mail and no papers, and where it pays to keep shelves and freezer stocked lest a storm come in and the boat doesn't. A place where the Wombles live wild, if you know how to find them, and children ran free growing up on sun, wind, rain and open space.
It is a place out of time and space, a place in a world of it's own. A place that grabs the heart and soul of all who have lived there and never lets go, no matter how far we may travel or where we roam. It is a place that many times it feels as thoughTime itself has forgotten Her but those who were raised there never do.
She is the wild, untamed spark that beats deep within our hearts. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we can always hear Her calling us Home.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Halloween Pagans
Another thing that came up was Halloween pagans. I'm guessing every religion has their equivalent o Christmas Christians, those who only claim their religion once or twice a year and then forget about it for the rest of the year. We get the ones who come out on Halloween, and then spend the rest of the year calling witchcraft evil.
Yes there are some who are still in the Broom Closet and for them Halloween is the one time of the year it's socially acceptable to be a witch or a pagan or whatever - although in some places even on Halloween it's not acceptable but that's another matter.
And then there are the ones who just want a brief, safe, thrill, or to shock a neighbour or play - gotta say it - those who want a chance to "dabble" safely without any consequences.
Oh please. Paganism in whatever form is a way of life, not a dress you put on once a year. Same applies to any religion - either walk the walk or go play somewhere I can't see or hear you. I don't care what religion anyone is if it's real to them, dabblers and those who pay lip service but don't mean it - I don't have time for.
Please note, seekers, those looking for answers or being curious, that's not the same thing and that's fine - they're looking and asking, not pretending to be something they aren't.
Apparently my inner bitch is awake this morning :/
Yes there are some who are still in the Broom Closet and for them Halloween is the one time of the year it's socially acceptable to be a witch or a pagan or whatever - although in some places even on Halloween it's not acceptable but that's another matter.
And then there are the ones who just want a brief, safe, thrill, or to shock a neighbour or play - gotta say it - those who want a chance to "dabble" safely without any consequences.
Oh please. Paganism in whatever form is a way of life, not a dress you put on once a year. Same applies to any religion - either walk the walk or go play somewhere I can't see or hear you. I don't care what religion anyone is if it's real to them, dabblers and those who pay lip service but don't mean it - I don't have time for.
Please note, seekers, those looking for answers or being curious, that's not the same thing and that's fine - they're looking and asking, not pretending to be something they aren't.
Apparently my inner bitch is awake this morning :/
Starhawk
Something else that came up in conversation was Starhawk. Her Spiral Dance is pretty much universally considered a 'must read', and it's one I usually include in any list of books to read when asked that inevitable question - "What would you recommend?"
Comment was made though that many of her other works are more political, and they are, which isn't a bad thing. For a start it's very much a part of who she is and how she lives her life. It does however mean that her other works are not everyone's cup of tea. Personally I have several of her books, and in honesty those I don't have are missing more because i haven't run across them yet when I had spare cash rather than because I don't want them.
Apparently I'm more political at heart than most people would give me credit for ;) I always knew that, other people just don't notice lol
Whatever your opinion on Starhawk and her books, they are good and contain much of interest to Pagans, and everyone else, they're just not for everyone in the same way not everyone likes peanut butter.
Comment was made though that many of her other works are more political, and they are, which isn't a bad thing. For a start it's very much a part of who she is and how she lives her life. It does however mean that her other works are not everyone's cup of tea. Personally I have several of her books, and in honesty those I don't have are missing more because i haven't run across them yet when I had spare cash rather than because I don't want them.
Apparently I'm more political at heart than most people would give me credit for ;) I always knew that, other people just don't notice lol
Whatever your opinion on Starhawk and her books, they are good and contain much of interest to Pagans, and everyone else, they're just not for everyone in the same way not everyone likes peanut butter.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Burning Times and the Islands
There's a lot of heated debate surrounding the "Burning Times", the Inquisition, Witch hunts and everything associated with it.
I grew up in a place where they did burn witches and heretics. They burned them, hung them and more. Burning, as in the infamous image of burning them at the stake, was largely a European practise, though not a British one. The British preferred that their witches 'hang by the neck until dead'.
Except in the Channel Islands. There hanging was only one of several methods of punishment meted out to those convicted of witchcraft. Other sentences included banishment - for life or for a fixed term, burning, disfigurement or lashes.
There's a book, Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands that not only tells the story of witchcraft in the islands but also details the names and sentences of those accused of witchcraft and brought before the courts. The list is taken from the original french court records that still lie in the island archives.
"June 4th, 1624.
Ester Henry, wife of Jean de France.
This woman was burnt alive. The sentence states that her flesh and bones are to be reduced to ashes and scattered by the winds, as being unworthy of any sepulture."
The witch hunts, and witchcraft, are just one part of the history of islands steeped in myth, legend and history.
I grew up in a place where they did burn witches and heretics. They burned them, hung them and more. Burning, as in the infamous image of burning them at the stake, was largely a European practise, though not a British one. The British preferred that their witches 'hang by the neck until dead'.
Except in the Channel Islands. There hanging was only one of several methods of punishment meted out to those convicted of witchcraft. Other sentences included banishment - for life or for a fixed term, burning, disfigurement or lashes.
There's a book, Witchcraft and Devil Lore in the Channel Islands that not only tells the story of witchcraft in the islands but also details the names and sentences of those accused of witchcraft and brought before the courts. The list is taken from the original french court records that still lie in the island archives.
"June 4th, 1624.
Ester Henry, wife of Jean de France.
This woman was burnt alive. The sentence states that her flesh and bones are to be reduced to ashes and scattered by the winds, as being unworthy of any sepulture."
The witch hunts, and witchcraft, are just one part of the history of islands steeped in myth, legend and history.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Ancestors
Inspired by Tanila's comments about ancestors and ancestor photos I had to go find this. Samhain is coming, time to remember those who came before.
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It's not just our personal past we should remember for it's part in making us who and where we are now. We should also remember the people and the generations who have gone before us, our parents and grandparents and the many generations beyond them, lost now to the haze of history. They each had their part to play in how we came to be who and where we are now.
Most people don't think too much about their ancestors, and most people don't need to. It does seem though that there really is at least one born into every generation who does care, who is driven to find and document them and to rediscover them before they are lost to obscurity forever. Driven to put names, places, faces and dates together, to piece together some parts of their stories, be they happy, sad, tragic or heroic, for each of them did have their own story.
Perhaps it's the modern day equivalent of being the storyteller, the one who preserved for the next generation the tales of myth and legend, the stories of hardship and celebration, and shared them with everyone else during long winter nights huddled together around the fire. Maybe those who are driven to uncover family history are simply the modern day incarnation of an ancient tradition.
There will always be skeletons hidden away that some would prefer be forgotten, there will be heroes and homemakers, adventurers, rascals, scoundrels and simple hardworking men who did nothing more remarkable in their lives than toil day in and day out to keep their families housed and fed. They are all a part of our past and deserve to be remembered.
"Putting together a family tree is like weaving an intricate multi-dimensional tapestry without knowing anything about the final design, because that final design doesn't exist."
Peter Baltensperger - Roaming in Ancestral Cycles.
Some people will always be little more than names and dates, the rest of their story already forgotten. Others will carry more colour, the sadness of children lost in infancy, the joys of children surviving to adulthood and producing offspring of their own. Still others come to life in faded photographs, or put a name to previously anonymous face, or turn out to be the grain of truth behind an old family anecdote.
Better that someone collect and record the fragments so that it remains available for the next generation than for their stories, great or small, to be lost, for once they are lost they might be gone forever.
Some families lived generations in the same place, working the same land, facing the same struggles to raise their families. They deserve to be remembered too, or do we want to forget the Audoires, French descended farmers raising generations on rough farmland on a tiny windswept island? Like Jane, who raised thirteen children there before her eldest son, Peter Henry, inherited the farmland and sold it off, using the proceeds to buy her the 'first real house' she had ever lived in.
Do we want to forget the Patton boys of Grayson county, Virginia, who left behind wives and children to fight for the Confederacy, in defence of their homeland and for what they believed was right? Leftwich and Creed Patton, close as brothers could be, grew up together, enlisted to fight together, forever torn apart when Leftwich was killed at the Battle of Middle Creek. Creed fought on, leading his company through the rest of the war before he finally returned home.
Or should we forget the women they left behind to hold home and family together not knowing when or if they would see their menfolk again? Or the Patton sisters, Cynthia and Martha, who devoted years to helping raise Leftwich's children after he was killed in the War Between the States, four small children who never had a chance to know their father.
The same goes for the Guernseymen who volunteered to fight a war they could not drafted into because they believed it was right. Many marched away to the Great War and a lot of them never returned home, and many of those who did return were never the same again. Should we forget the women and families they left behind? Or the babies who died, as so many did in times past, before they ever had a chance at life?
Perhaps we should forget the women like the two Nancy Patton's, of different lines and generations, who each defied society, convention and church to raise the children they bore outside wedlock, and whose children each married and raised large families of their own. Or the Guernseman who stood before God and congregation on his wedding day and declared that the child his new wife held in her arms was his? Was it? who knows, it doesn't matter, his declaration is forever recorded immediately below his marriage in the church register and it would have taken a brave man to call it other than truth.
Perhaps we could ignore the quarrymen, like Thomas Smith Brown, who did nothing more than work long back breaking days quarrying granite in Guernsey, a world away from their native Devon and Cornwall. Or maybe immigrants like the Aeicheles who came from Russia, Poland and Germany, halfway around the world in search of a better life in Canada and America?
Maybe the Whalleys and Kays from Lancashire, who were 'only' miners and weavers, the very backbone of life in the north of England. Maybe the interestingly mis-transcribed "card loom worker" who was listed as the much more mysterious and exotic sounding "card Room Worker" when one census was released. Or perhaps the Scottish tenant farmer, William Murray, a man of obvious means, who late in life married the innkeeper's daughter and raised a large family.
Could we forget Cornish born Susan Jane who literally married the boy next door, then followed him to Canada with their children, suffering the loss of one child before she even reached Manitoba? Or Cecil, who was invalided out of the Great War, and had to wear his silver discharge badge so as to avoid being accused of cowardice? One war wasn't enough for him, for he also endured four long years of his island home being occupied by invading German forces, separated from the wife and child he had evacuated to safety in Rochester, and facing the same near starvation as everyone else who remained behind on the island, a starvation only alleviated by the ships of the Red Cross.
They all have a part in the story of our past, they are our roots, they are part of the foundation on which we can build our future, without any one of them we wouldn't be here. And for that, they deserve to be remembered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
It's not just our personal past we should remember for it's part in making us who and where we are now. We should also remember the people and the generations who have gone before us, our parents and grandparents and the many generations beyond them, lost now to the haze of history. They each had their part to play in how we came to be who and where we are now.
Most people don't think too much about their ancestors, and most people don't need to. It does seem though that there really is at least one born into every generation who does care, who is driven to find and document them and to rediscover them before they are lost to obscurity forever. Driven to put names, places, faces and dates together, to piece together some parts of their stories, be they happy, sad, tragic or heroic, for each of them did have their own story.
Perhaps it's the modern day equivalent of being the storyteller, the one who preserved for the next generation the tales of myth and legend, the stories of hardship and celebration, and shared them with everyone else during long winter nights huddled together around the fire. Maybe those who are driven to uncover family history are simply the modern day incarnation of an ancient tradition.
There will always be skeletons hidden away that some would prefer be forgotten, there will be heroes and homemakers, adventurers, rascals, scoundrels and simple hardworking men who did nothing more remarkable in their lives than toil day in and day out to keep their families housed and fed. They are all a part of our past and deserve to be remembered.
"Putting together a family tree is like weaving an intricate multi-dimensional tapestry without knowing anything about the final design, because that final design doesn't exist."
Peter Baltensperger - Roaming in Ancestral Cycles.
Some people will always be little more than names and dates, the rest of their story already forgotten. Others will carry more colour, the sadness of children lost in infancy, the joys of children surviving to adulthood and producing offspring of their own. Still others come to life in faded photographs, or put a name to previously anonymous face, or turn out to be the grain of truth behind an old family anecdote.
Better that someone collect and record the fragments so that it remains available for the next generation than for their stories, great or small, to be lost, for once they are lost they might be gone forever.
Some families lived generations in the same place, working the same land, facing the same struggles to raise their families. They deserve to be remembered too, or do we want to forget the Audoires, French descended farmers raising generations on rough farmland on a tiny windswept island? Like Jane, who raised thirteen children there before her eldest son, Peter Henry, inherited the farmland and sold it off, using the proceeds to buy her the 'first real house' she had ever lived in.
Do we want to forget the Patton boys of Grayson county, Virginia, who left behind wives and children to fight for the Confederacy, in defence of their homeland and for what they believed was right? Leftwich and Creed Patton, close as brothers could be, grew up together, enlisted to fight together, forever torn apart when Leftwich was killed at the Battle of Middle Creek. Creed fought on, leading his company through the rest of the war before he finally returned home.
Or should we forget the women they left behind to hold home and family together not knowing when or if they would see their menfolk again? Or the Patton sisters, Cynthia and Martha, who devoted years to helping raise Leftwich's children after he was killed in the War Between the States, four small children who never had a chance to know their father.
The same goes for the Guernseymen who volunteered to fight a war they could not drafted into because they believed it was right. Many marched away to the Great War and a lot of them never returned home, and many of those who did return were never the same again. Should we forget the women and families they left behind? Or the babies who died, as so many did in times past, before they ever had a chance at life?
Perhaps we should forget the women like the two Nancy Patton's, of different lines and generations, who each defied society, convention and church to raise the children they bore outside wedlock, and whose children each married and raised large families of their own. Or the Guernseman who stood before God and congregation on his wedding day and declared that the child his new wife held in her arms was his? Was it? who knows, it doesn't matter, his declaration is forever recorded immediately below his marriage in the church register and it would have taken a brave man to call it other than truth.
Perhaps we could ignore the quarrymen, like Thomas Smith Brown, who did nothing more than work long back breaking days quarrying granite in Guernsey, a world away from their native Devon and Cornwall. Or maybe immigrants like the Aeicheles who came from Russia, Poland and Germany, halfway around the world in search of a better life in Canada and America?
Maybe the Whalleys and Kays from Lancashire, who were 'only' miners and weavers, the very backbone of life in the north of England. Maybe the interestingly mis-transcribed "card loom worker" who was listed as the much more mysterious and exotic sounding "card Room Worker" when one census was released. Or perhaps the Scottish tenant farmer, William Murray, a man of obvious means, who late in life married the innkeeper's daughter and raised a large family.
Could we forget Cornish born Susan Jane who literally married the boy next door, then followed him to Canada with their children, suffering the loss of one child before she even reached Manitoba? Or Cecil, who was invalided out of the Great War, and had to wear his silver discharge badge so as to avoid being accused of cowardice? One war wasn't enough for him, for he also endured four long years of his island home being occupied by invading German forces, separated from the wife and child he had evacuated to safety in Rochester, and facing the same near starvation as everyone else who remained behind on the island, a starvation only alleviated by the ships of the Red Cross.
They all have a part in the story of our past, they are our roots, they are part of the foundation on which we can build our future, without any one of them we wouldn't be here. And for that, they deserve to be remembered.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Is your neighbour a witch?
Halloween is almost here, the favourite time of year of many witches and Pagans. Is your neighbour a witch? He could be and you would probably never know it unless he told you. And yes, witches and Pagan an be any sex.
Do you know if you live next door to a Pagan? Maybe you do. Paganism is the fastest growing religion in North America according to census figures, and that only counts those who openly identify as, and admit to being, Pagan when completing the forms. Many more Pagans are still hidden in the proverbial Broom Closet and keep their beliefs to themselves. Even those of us who are out rarely go around waving the fact in the faces of the people we meet every day. For a start ours is not a faith that believes in proselytisation, and we also consider that a person's faith is something between them and their gods and no-one else.
Anyway, most of us are too busy living our lives just like everyone else. We still have to juggle work, school, home, kids, bills and all the other facets of every day life. We're just like everyone else in that respect, and many others. We don't have two heads, we don't eat babies - except jelly babies. We don't put newts eyes or lizard legs in our supper, and we don't worship the devil. As an Abrahamic construction he's not even part of our cosmology so why would we worship something we don't believe in?
Generally speaking Pagans respect and honour the earth and everyone and everything on it. We note the passing of the seasons and the cycles of life, and of the Earth itself. Many of us worship in private, some alone, some in concert with like minded souls, depending on personal preference and circumstance. We consider that the gods will call who they wish to follow the Pagan path, so don't feel the need to actively seek out converts. Most of us, however, are more than happy to answer questions asked us about our beliefs as best we can.
Some of us do perform our religious rituals naked, many of us don't. Again it comes down to personal preference, location and the weather. The last being a not small consideration up here in Calgary. That and Pagans are no more likely to be exhibitionists than anyone else, so you're not likely to see us dancing naked in Olympic Plaza. Mind you, anything is possible!
Pagans respect life, so no we don't sacrifice animals or eat babies. We value children, especially our own and raise them to be free thinking individuals who know enough to be able to choose their own religion when they are mature enough to make an informed choice, even if they choose a religion different from our own. Pagans don't believe in any one right religion, only that the one a person is following is the right for that particular person. We accept and respect the existence of many gods, our own and those of others and do not disrespect the gods, holy places or sacred items of another religion. We ask only that other people show us the same respect.
Is your neighbour a witch? She could be but you probably wouldn't know just by looking at her. Pagans and witches come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and from all races, places, political affiliations and income brackets. In short, there are Pagans in all walks of life, you'd be surprised if you knew how widespread and diverse we are. But you know what? We're also just like you, we're no worse as neighbours than anyone else. Ask my neighbours, they live next door to a witch.
(Apologies for any typos - tiredness!)
Do you know if you live next door to a Pagan? Maybe you do. Paganism is the fastest growing religion in North America according to census figures, and that only counts those who openly identify as, and admit to being, Pagan when completing the forms. Many more Pagans are still hidden in the proverbial Broom Closet and keep their beliefs to themselves. Even those of us who are out rarely go around waving the fact in the faces of the people we meet every day. For a start ours is not a faith that believes in proselytisation, and we also consider that a person's faith is something between them and their gods and no-one else.
Anyway, most of us are too busy living our lives just like everyone else. We still have to juggle work, school, home, kids, bills and all the other facets of every day life. We're just like everyone else in that respect, and many others. We don't have two heads, we don't eat babies - except jelly babies. We don't put newts eyes or lizard legs in our supper, and we don't worship the devil. As an Abrahamic construction he's not even part of our cosmology so why would we worship something we don't believe in?
Generally speaking Pagans respect and honour the earth and everyone and everything on it. We note the passing of the seasons and the cycles of life, and of the Earth itself. Many of us worship in private, some alone, some in concert with like minded souls, depending on personal preference and circumstance. We consider that the gods will call who they wish to follow the Pagan path, so don't feel the need to actively seek out converts. Most of us, however, are more than happy to answer questions asked us about our beliefs as best we can.
Some of us do perform our religious rituals naked, many of us don't. Again it comes down to personal preference, location and the weather. The last being a not small consideration up here in Calgary. That and Pagans are no more likely to be exhibitionists than anyone else, so you're not likely to see us dancing naked in Olympic Plaza. Mind you, anything is possible!
Pagans respect life, so no we don't sacrifice animals or eat babies. We value children, especially our own and raise them to be free thinking individuals who know enough to be able to choose their own religion when they are mature enough to make an informed choice, even if they choose a religion different from our own. Pagans don't believe in any one right religion, only that the one a person is following is the right for that particular person. We accept and respect the existence of many gods, our own and those of others and do not disrespect the gods, holy places or sacred items of another religion. We ask only that other people show us the same respect.
Is your neighbour a witch? She could be but you probably wouldn't know just by looking at her. Pagans and witches come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and from all races, places, political affiliations and income brackets. In short, there are Pagans in all walks of life, you'd be surprised if you knew how widespread and diverse we are. But you know what? We're also just like you, we're no worse as neighbours than anyone else. Ask my neighbours, they live next door to a witch.
(Apologies for any typos - tiredness!)
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
New City Centre Plan?
Churches and other religious institutions weren't considered in the plans for the new city centre because they 'don't contribute financially' to the city? Seriously? That's just dollars gone crazy. Especially when we're talking about places like Mustard Seed, Inn From The Cold and Calgary Urban Project Society (CUPS)
All churches, of whatever religion, provide far more than simply a place to gather in worship. they provide community, social and recreational events and services, and foster a sense of community. And they do so for everyone whether they are members of their religious community or not. And that sense of community is something sadly lacking in many parts of life today.
Or, lets talk dollars. How much would it cost the city to pay for all the services currently provided by people like CUPS? Pretty sure the city wouldn't want to foot the bill. Yet without places like Mustard Seed many of those already disadvantaged and suffering would find lives that are difficult becoming impossible.
Seems almost as if those creating the new city centre plan are deliberately trying to marginalize those already suffering and force them elsewhere. Trying to pretend that the city doesn't have a problem with homelessness or poverty and doesn't have a need for organizations like Inn From The Cold.
Where are they supposed to go, all these non profitable religious institutions? Let me guess, anywhere but here? Go wherever you like as long as you're not our problem any more? That's how it appears.
Any plan for a revitalized city centre must include at least all those religious institutions already there. Saying they don't contribute financially is saying that the only thing in this world that matters is dollars and cents. And not people. They benefit the city and all the people in it in myriad ways, ways that cannot be measured in dollars - unless you want to figure out what replacing them and everything they do would cost the city.
Either count them in, or fix all the social ills of the city so that they are no longer needed for anything other than religious services and events and can move elsewhere with a clear conscience and leaving the huge gaping hole that their disappearance would currently create. Count them in and let them continue to provide all the good that they bring to the city. Calgary needs more caring, compassion and community, not less.
---------------------
So apparently I'm not alone, found this today -
Op Ed in the Herald;
All churches, of whatever religion, provide far more than simply a place to gather in worship. they provide community, social and recreational events and services, and foster a sense of community. And they do so for everyone whether they are members of their religious community or not. And that sense of community is something sadly lacking in many parts of life today.
Or, lets talk dollars. How much would it cost the city to pay for all the services currently provided by people like CUPS? Pretty sure the city wouldn't want to foot the bill. Yet without places like Mustard Seed many of those already disadvantaged and suffering would find lives that are difficult becoming impossible.
Seems almost as if those creating the new city centre plan are deliberately trying to marginalize those already suffering and force them elsewhere. Trying to pretend that the city doesn't have a problem with homelessness or poverty and doesn't have a need for organizations like Inn From The Cold.
Where are they supposed to go, all these non profitable religious institutions? Let me guess, anywhere but here? Go wherever you like as long as you're not our problem any more? That's how it appears.
Any plan for a revitalized city centre must include at least all those religious institutions already there. Saying they don't contribute financially is saying that the only thing in this world that matters is dollars and cents. And not people. They benefit the city and all the people in it in myriad ways, ways that cannot be measured in dollars - unless you want to figure out what replacing them and everything they do would cost the city.
Either count them in, or fix all the social ills of the city so that they are no longer needed for anything other than religious services and events and can move elsewhere with a clear conscience and leaving the huge gaping hole that their disappearance would currently create. Count them in and let them continue to provide all the good that they bring to the city. Calgary needs more caring, compassion and community, not less.
---------------------
So apparently I'm not alone, found this today -
Op Ed in the Herald;
Monday, October 18, 2010
Go vote, Calgary
So it's voting time in Calgary, and almost time down south of the border in the US midterms. The single most important thing you can do is actually get out there and vote! Whoever you decide to vote for, get out there and do it!
If you don't go and exercise your right to vote don't bitch about who wins. At least if you vote and your choice fails you know you tried.
I'm not going to tell you who to vote for - that's part of the democratic process - you get to decide for yourself. I do think, however, that a candidate should be measured by what they say about the issues, their plans to deal with those issues and their previous record - if they have one. Not by their race, religion, sexuality or gender, but by whether or not their plans and intentions are going to be good for the city (or state in US).
As someone on Twitter said (I forget who, sorry) 'I'd vote for a transvestite Tibetan Buddhist is she were the best person for Calgary' Or words to that effect.
Two things I look for in a political candidate are honesty and balls - both sometimes in short supply. The honesty to tell the truth about their aims and intentions, their take on the issues and on what issues they consider most important. And the balls to stand by those once elected and try to bring about the changes they promised. Doesn't mean they will always succeed, I know this, life isn't that smooth or simple, especially in politics - but they should stand by their words and try, instead of simply telling people what they think people want to hear in order to get votes and then throwing all those empty promises out of the window once they're elected.
Oh look, we're back to honesty.
We need politicians and leader where what you see is what you get, those we can trust to stand by what they say and try to live up to their campaign promises. We need honesty, transparency and balls (metaphorically speaking). We need leaders who are there for the best interests of the city (or state) and it's people, not just for themselves, their wallets, and their 'special interests'.
And the only way we are going to get that is if each and every one of us gets out there and exercise our right to vote.
Now quit reading and go VOTE!
If you don't go and exercise your right to vote don't bitch about who wins. At least if you vote and your choice fails you know you tried.
I'm not going to tell you who to vote for - that's part of the democratic process - you get to decide for yourself. I do think, however, that a candidate should be measured by what they say about the issues, their plans to deal with those issues and their previous record - if they have one. Not by their race, religion, sexuality or gender, but by whether or not their plans and intentions are going to be good for the city (or state in US).
As someone on Twitter said (I forget who, sorry) 'I'd vote for a transvestite Tibetan Buddhist is she were the best person for Calgary' Or words to that effect.
Two things I look for in a political candidate are honesty and balls - both sometimes in short supply. The honesty to tell the truth about their aims and intentions, their take on the issues and on what issues they consider most important. And the balls to stand by those once elected and try to bring about the changes they promised. Doesn't mean they will always succeed, I know this, life isn't that smooth or simple, especially in politics - but they should stand by their words and try, instead of simply telling people what they think people want to hear in order to get votes and then throwing all those empty promises out of the window once they're elected.
Oh look, we're back to honesty.
We need politicians and leader where what you see is what you get, those we can trust to stand by what they say and try to live up to their campaign promises. We need honesty, transparency and balls (metaphorically speaking). We need leaders who are there for the best interests of the city (or state) and it's people, not just for themselves, their wallets, and their 'special interests'.
And the only way we are going to get that is if each and every one of us gets out there and exercise our right to vote.
Now quit reading and go VOTE!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Dabblegate
Somehow I don't think Christine O'Donnell ever expected to become a teaching aid and opportunity for the
Pagan community.
Thanks almost entirely to her own efforts to apparently play it down, Dabblegate isn't going to be forgotten any time soon. And you know, that may not be an entirely bad thing - bad for her, not so bad for the Pagan community.
I was struck today by the realization that Dabblegate and Christine O'Donnell could actually turn out to be good for the Pagan community.
Let me explain. In the beginning was her now infamous comment about 'dabbling in witchcraft' in high school and having a date one a 'satanic altar'. Her comments were just another rerun of old, worn misinformed stereotype - although in one fell swoop she did manage to irritate both Pagans and Satanists alike - no mean feat. Pretty sure she didn't win herself any voters either but that's her problem.
Christine O'Donnell did, however, provide what Rev, Selena Fox called a 'teachable moment', and Selena, T Thorn Coyle and many others have been swift to make the most of that moment, publicly and privately, nationally and locally, to set the record straight as to what paganism is and who Pagans are.
Christine O'Donnell's denials, and her attempt to defuse the situation and salvage her candidacy probably sealed her loss of the Pagan vote when she tried to say that her 'dabbling' was simply a result of her hanging out with undesirables in high school.
Certainly her comments have given Paganism in general and witches in particular a moment in the national media spotlight, and there are enough well known Pagans willing to speak publicly to set the record straight. It has been a perfect chance to get accurate information out there in a calm, civilized way with a hint of humour. That in itself may well do the Pagan community more good in the long run than any amount of 'we do not worship the devil' type statements.
Then Christine O'Donnel comes out with her "I am not a witch" campaign ad, while looking as if she had stepped straight off the set of "Charmed". My first thought was that i would love to make an ad that began "I am a witch" and apparently i was far from alone in that thought. So far today I have seen two, and I just know that is going to be the tip of the iceberg - one kind lady http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com/ is going to collect up all the links she can find and assemble them in one place.
Christine O'Donnell's misguided, ill informed comments see to have backfired and brought out many Pagans and united them in a way that doesn't happen every day. She has given us a chance, both individually and as a community, to stand up and speak out and offer accurate, straightforward information and to show that we don't have two heads or bat wings - we are just people with morals, ethics and our own religions.
And she has also managed to crack open the door of the Broom Closet a little wide than it was before, and that can only be a good thing .
Yep, call me odd, but I can see many ways that as time passes we could well come to see Dabblegate as a good thing for witches, pagans, and the Pagan community.
Pretty sure it won't go down in history as a good thing for Christine O'Donnell though, unless she one day decides to come out of the Broom Closet. And I'm pretty sure she has permanently lost the Pagan vote. Sorry Christine.
Pagan community.
Thanks almost entirely to her own efforts to apparently play it down, Dabblegate isn't going to be forgotten any time soon. And you know, that may not be an entirely bad thing - bad for her, not so bad for the Pagan community.
I was struck today by the realization that Dabblegate and Christine O'Donnell could actually turn out to be good for the Pagan community.
Let me explain. In the beginning was her now infamous comment about 'dabbling in witchcraft' in high school and having a date one a 'satanic altar'. Her comments were just another rerun of old, worn misinformed stereotype - although in one fell swoop she did manage to irritate both Pagans and Satanists alike - no mean feat. Pretty sure she didn't win herself any voters either but that's her problem.
Christine O'Donnell did, however, provide what Rev, Selena Fox called a 'teachable moment', and Selena, T Thorn Coyle and many others have been swift to make the most of that moment, publicly and privately, nationally and locally, to set the record straight as to what paganism is and who Pagans are.
Christine O'Donnell's denials, and her attempt to defuse the situation and salvage her candidacy probably sealed her loss of the Pagan vote when she tried to say that her 'dabbling' was simply a result of her hanging out with undesirables in high school.
Certainly her comments have given Paganism in general and witches in particular a moment in the national media spotlight, and there are enough well known Pagans willing to speak publicly to set the record straight. It has been a perfect chance to get accurate information out there in a calm, civilized way with a hint of humour. That in itself may well do the Pagan community more good in the long run than any amount of 'we do not worship the devil' type statements.
Then Christine O'Donnel comes out with her "I am not a witch" campaign ad, while looking as if she had stepped straight off the set of "Charmed". My first thought was that i would love to make an ad that began "I am a witch" and apparently i was far from alone in that thought. So far today I have seen two, and I just know that is going to be the tip of the iceberg - one kind lady http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com/ is going to collect up all the links she can find and assemble them in one place.
Christine O'Donnell's misguided, ill informed comments see to have backfired and brought out many Pagans and united them in a way that doesn't happen every day. She has given us a chance, both individually and as a community, to stand up and speak out and offer accurate, straightforward information and to show that we don't have two heads or bat wings - we are just people with morals, ethics and our own religions.
And she has also managed to crack open the door of the Broom Closet a little wide than it was before, and that can only be a good thing .
Yep, call me odd, but I can see many ways that as time passes we could well come to see Dabblegate as a good thing for witches, pagans, and the Pagan community.
Pretty sure it won't go down in history as a good thing for Christine O'Donnell though, unless she one day decides to come out of the Broom Closet. And I'm pretty sure she has permanently lost the Pagan vote. Sorry Christine.
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