Community
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Now Comes the Tainted Holiday
It’s American Thanksgiving again. Time for turkey, stuffing, cranberries and cognitive dissonance. Like so much of the history of the United States of America, Thanksgiving is a happy smiley story layered over appalling crimes against humanity. Ask the Wampanoag what they feel about the meal they shared with white colonizers 400 years ago. It is not a happy, smiley story. They are not grateful for encountering those people, or for that day. And yet, part of me is so pulled to the concept of a holiday for gratitude. Which is, after all, one of the Atheopagan Principles. Shouldn’t we have one of those? Yes, I think we should. The Harvest…
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The Atheopagan Libation–A Ritual We Can Share Globally
Recently, as we interviewed her for THE WONDER podcast, guest Susan Paterson of the Atheopagan Society Council suggested that it would be cool if there were a particular ritual that was shared by Atheopagan practitioners all over the world. I love this idea, so here is a suggestion that Atheopagans across the globe can adopt if they so choose. Thirteen being a special number for us, I suggest Atheopagans do this ritual at Thirteen o’clock (1 pm) on the 13th of each month, wherever you are–or whenever you gather with other Atheopagans. If you are at work (as I will be if it’s a weekday), take a few minutes to…
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New Title, Better Boundaries
If you’re familiar with this site, you may have noticed that the title has changed. Now, it is “Mark Green’s Atheopaganism Blog”. That’s to make it clear that the thoughts, opinions, ideas, and resources presented here are mine. Not necessarily those of the nonprofit Atheopagan Society, which is administered by a Council on which I have one of thirteen seats. We are evolving and growing as a community, and it is deeply important to me that Atheopaganism not be “mine”. So this is a step to ensure that the community and its collective activities are directed by itself, not by me, and that includes speech. Nothing will change here, content-wise.…
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On Community
Hey, folks. In case you just joined us: We are working to build something here: a community. A community. People of common heart and shared values. Even though we–Atheopagans–are spread far apart. Even though it usually takes the Internet for us to be together. In many ways, it’s an alien thing to me. I didn’t grow up in a community and I’m feeling my way forward now to figure out what it is about. I don’t have a feel for it, much as I wish I did. So: what is a community? I think it’s a place where you know to your bones that you belong. Where the people care…
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A Paradoxical Trip
So, I’m flying today, to help the environment. Seriously. I’m on a work trip to lobby in Washington, D.C., meeting with Congressional and Senatorial offices to promote wilderness protections and promote the designation of three new National Monuments. If ever there were a net-benefit reason to put that carbon in the atmosphere, this would be it. Wild lands are essential for biodiversity, and sequester tremendous volumes of atmospheric carbon when they are managed for thriving ecosystems. My organization, CalWild, is the preeminent voice for protection of wild areas on public lands in the state of California–an internationally-recognized biological diversity hot spot. California also plays an outsized role in climate policy…
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Happy Atheopagan Anniversary!
Today, August 5, is the 11-year anniversary of the launching of the Atheopagan community. The Facebook group was created on this day. Although the essay (which became the book) dates back to 2005, this is the anniversary I celebrate. Because this is the day when one guy’s ideas started creating a movement that would be about so much more than just him. 11 years is a long time in Neopagan terms. A lot can change. Consider, for example: the first legally-recognized Pagan church, the Church of All Worlds, was incorporated in 1968. 11 years later, Drawing Down the Moon and The Spiral Dance were published, two books that drove exponential…
