Faith

News:

As long as the grass grows and the poverty shows During the election cycle we tend to ask: What does America mean; where are we going? And then someone decides to check on the Indians to find out the answer, as though Indians represent America’s soul hidden in the attic. And of course politicians have long stood next to their “souls” and posed for pictures on the campaign trail. Within the last year, Diane Sawyer and “20/20” did a special on the sorry conditions at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and the New Yorker featured a grim photo essay on Pine Ridge too. The New York Times published a piece on brutal crime at the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and another on the deep financial problems at Foxwoods, the Pequot-owned “world’s largest” casino in Connecticut. Indians make the news, but the news isn’t really news, it’s just a way for the country take its temperature. Read full story from latimes.com

Arts & Entertainment:

‘With this broom, I thee wed’: offbeat family inspires play ‘I now pronounce you wife and wife."

Canadian singer-songwriter David Hein, 36, heard those words about 18 years ago when his divorced mom married her lesbian partner. At the time, same-sex marriage wasn’t legal, but the pair have since made it official.

Hein’s mom came out as a lesbian when he was a teenager. Around the same time, she recommitted to her Jewish faith. Her bride, though, was a Wiccan – a modern-day pagan.

Environment:

This is What the U.S. Would Look Like Without Environmental Protections (PHOTOS) In the early 1970s, an amazing photojournalism project called Documerica captured a polluted nation in the midst of establishing its first major environmental protections. Documerica was sponsored by the fledgling E.P.A., which hoped to document and examine the extent of the country’s environmental troubles. A team of talented photographers was assembled to shoot, in breathtaking, uncompromising detail, the unchecked air pollution, contaminated waterways, hazardous coal mines, and some truly disturbing waste issues across the U.S. Read full story from treehugger.com

Headlines:

Avowed Witch Hunters To Hold Harvard Conference

As reported today on MSNBC, a Wiccan TSA employee accused of witchcraft has been fired. As described below, listed apostles of a global evangelical movement that claims to fight witchcraft will, on April 1-2, be holding a conference at Harvard University.

While Salem has garnered all the attention, the real peak of the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s witch craze was in what is now North Andover, where two dogs were tried and executed for witchcraft. It’s been a few years now since witch hunting was in vogue in Massachusetts, but the upcoming Social Transformation Conference to be held at Harvard this April 1-2 could help rekindle the practice. Footage from a November 2009 evangelical conference held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village near Honolulu shows scheduled Social Transformation Conference speaker Dr. Pat Francis up onstage, her voice cracking with intensity, shouting out “In the name of Jesus we break the power, of witchcraft power, every witchcraft power, we drive you out!” Read full story from dailykos.com

Headlines:

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS - Japan Disaster Relief (Click to Donate)

Events:

Pagicon - Friday, March 25th through Sunday, March 27th, 2011. Doubletree Park Place in St. Louis Park, MN.

Festival Invites Public to Stand With Japan - Beginning at 6:30pm on March 24, people will gather at Sylvan Theater (15th Street and Independence Avenue, SW) before walking the Tidal Basin. All donations received throughout the fundraising effort will go directly to the National Cherry Blossom Festival Red Cross Online Donation Site, benefiting the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund.

Healing for Japan - A Sacred Mists “Window of Time” Global Event
In an effort to organize a healing event that involves Sacred Mists members as well as inspire others around the world to participate, we have set aside a window of time that will provide us all the ability to take part in the event wherever we are in the world and at any time that is most convenient for us to do so. During this window of time, we ask that you take as much time as you are able to send healing, …strength, and focus of will to those in Japan affected by this tragedy.Click here for more information.

“Black Death” a treat for medieval history buffs
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - You can’t quarrel with that title, “Black Death.” The film is black all right, pitch black, and death is everywhere.

The story is set in 1348, after all, when the plague began to sweep through Europe, decimating its populace by as much as half and spreading panic to every corner. Yet what a strange land for a horror filmmaker to pitch camp in since he has little to add when horror is a fact of everyday life.

An interview by Raymond Buckland by Bernadette Montana
It is with great pleasure that I post this interview today! Raymond Buckland has always been a huge influence on me, and is someone who has helped to shape our wiccan community today. Read full story from sacredmistsblog.com

Merlin Stone Memorial Sept. 24th
On April 10th, Z Budapest has called for a global remembrance of Merlin Stone. Here’s what Z posted to her Facebook account:

International Pagan Coming Out Day - May 2
Coming out to someone is a decision only you can make and it’s a decision best made when you are ready to do so. IPCOD encourages Pagans who are ready to come on out!

There are benefits, personally and for our religious community as a whole, as more Pagans come out. Some of these benefits include the reduction of anxiety caused by living a double life and creating a climate of greater acceptance for all Pagans. Read full story from pagancomingoutday.com

Haiti one year on: “living in a tent is not really a life”
The angelical voices of a choir dressed in pristine white singing hallelujahs do not match the hellish scenery that surrounds them: piles of debris, an acid stingy smell of rotten rubbish, women crying while waving their hands at the skeleton of what used to be the country’s main Catholic church, Cathédrale Notre Dame de L’Assomption, thanking God for still being alive, but some also blaming him for plunging the Caribbean country into an abyss.