Thursday, June 26, 2014

How Clergy Evolved naturally in the Land of Cotton

 "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” - Colin Powell

There are many different types of Wiccan Clergy here in the South where I dwell and this gives one many options as to how you might work as Clergy as a Wiccan minister (I will try and share the different types next blog).  Many of us here evolved from being Highpriests or Highpriestesses that ran covens to people that decided to "found and form" Wiccan Temples or Churches.  Now before you get all blustery on me and "high and mighty" look at where we live.  WE live in the BIBLE Belt.  People here are harassed if they are different.  One of the first questions people ask you here when they meet you is "what church do you attend" and when you answer if it is a church they do not blink and eye, but if you say "Coven of the Raven Stinger" they definitely would shudder and cause a ruckus. If you use a language they understand, they leave you alone; and if you worship in a building they see you as hardly any different from them; which in many ways we are not. This is good; I have never met anyone that wants to live their life fighting and hiding!

Here where I live Pagan/Wiccan communities are not new in fact this is the logical reason why we grew into and formed Temples and Churches.  Covens and that model could no longer serve the needs of the people, at most Sabbats we were averaging over 50 and most new and full moons 30 to 40 easy.  Most of the people here know one another, it is that "small town" mentality and many have grown up in Wicca from their teens!  But like most of the landscape in America, Leaders in this faith and teachers are much scarcer than you would think.  Many people have a first degree status; but we find this is where most are comfortable at and this is where they stay.  They are active they go to almost anything and everything but first degree is their commitment level.  (Just in case you do not know first degree means the person has undergone at least one year and a day of training and iniation; it usually implies more than one year on average two; and for some who stop and start due to jobs and college and marriage and kids it can take much longer). Thus we have more people in the community than we do leaders but it should be stated the Clergy and Teachers are fiercely on working on changing this ASAP.

When you want to worship here in the South you can worship in the backyard at someones home or a park.  That is it.  When I first moved here no one worshipped in the back yard at someones home; and when I asked why I was told many had tried it but after a while people got tired of taking care of so many people and having their house run down and trashed.  I could see it...but what option did we have?  To go to a park, means you might have to reserve something,and pay for it and let them know you are coming (not a good idea).  Or better yet, get up at 5 am or 6am and go there with a sleeping bag and sit in the pavilion until time for worship since many parks here are FIRST COME FIRST SERVE.  Then if you do get the park, you get to put up with the glares and stares and just feeling darn uncomfortable while people take their kids to soccer games, walk their dogs, or just walk the tracks in the park.  Not a very happy warm trusting feeling is it?  I thought we wanted to create a warm, friendly environment to worship in....well at least I did.


Back to the two choices, Brian and I decided we would build a circle in our back yard of our brand new "first home" and a big altar and have our Church over at our home until we could do better.  We had a beautiful back porch, and an open carport and a privacy fence.  My home at the time was 3 bedroom and one bath it had a dining room, living, room den, and kitchen.  It also had a double driveway to park in.  So when we founded the Temple we decided that we would get people used to the idea of worshiping at a home, a building, and use the circle outside for rituals.  The plan was to do this until we could raise enough money to lease our first commercial space.  This we did for two years, and it was very tiring the upkeep was immense, the utility bills out of this world, the plumbing was always being patched, the yard was run down quickly, and we had to pay the city extra to pick up trashcans and recycling bins we had so many.  Every plate I had, every piece of silverware, every glass, and every tray, table and piece of furniture, and my bathroom was no longer mine it was the Temple's....though technically I took care of it; and technically I owned it and paid for it.  This was hard work, and stressful to say the least for a woman who worked full time and had a new baby.  But it worked!  Eventually the sacrifice of one's home and yard, led to us saving enough money to move to a commercial space.

Other Southern Clergy in the Mid south have open circles on their property too, and many have structures that they have built for people to dine in or have workshops in so let me state my sacrifices were not unique they were similar.  Some have managed to even build wonderful outside bathrooms and showers and kitchens.  This way their own home is their "own home" or the "parsonage" if you will.  But they all started out with people just coming over to their homes, and worshiping in their backyards until they could raise the money and materials to do more.  This is amazing, considering when you look back only five years ago this was not standard; and definitely not the way most people were accustomed to worshiping Down South. 

I am sure if you are reading this, you do not have to be told that the amount of money, sweat, blood, back breaking work it takes to build not just a beautiful circle, but a library, an shower house, a Pavilion where you can have workshops and study groups is a lot of work.  It takes time, and sacrifice on the part of the Clergy involved because most of the time they are doing most of the work by themselves with just one or two people helping them when they can drop by.   Most of the Clergy that do this were not carpenters in their previous lives and so it takes time for them to learn the skills and time for them to gather the materials, and definitely time to raise the money with their congregation to get the buildings raised, painted, roofed, and completed.  I should also state that most of the Clergy are not under 45, so this is a time in life where you probably don't have the physical stamina you once did. Did I mention that many work "real jobs" and their "clergy jobs" and run circles and Teach classes, and run and manage festivals and help other communities with their festivals while still hammering away one nail or board at a time on their "Temples to the Lord and Lady".

I have never met one Clergy in this area that does not pay the majority of the cost for anything they do out of their own pocket...not one. I have also not met ONE Clergy in this area that gets a salary or makes alot of money (and no I don't think this keeps them" honest" I think it makes them poor, lean and hungry).  Yes, they do have raffles, and workshops, and ask people to help during circles or have a volunteer crew at Sabbats, but in our religion we expect people to understand that you cannot have anything without a little sacrifice for the greater good; just like the God we worship who has an aspect we refer to as the "sacrificed one".  Thus, many people do not upgrade their cell phones, or have full cable, they do not buy newer cars they keep what they have and we learn how together pitch in our funds so that we as a community can have better for ourselves in a safe environment.  One less cup of Starbucks means five dollars to put in on utility bill that we all use!

Slowly, but surely we all have gone from having no where to worship at all to having safe structures to worship in!  In the more rural areas they have built worship buildings and have beautiful circles with statues and altars.  In the more urban areas we have rented commercial space and have erected Altars for all to light candles at and move our circle into place every ritual, while using the space for workshops and events during the week to raise the money needed to keep the roof over our heads.  Wicca is changing, we as a civilization are changing, and the Goddess "changes everything she touches'.  It is a good time to be Wiccan Clergy, for we are part of the Change definitely not against it; and it is a darn good time to be part of a Wiccan Temple here down South.


Maybe your communities have grown so much you also need Temples.  Some people ask how do you all have worship spaces; hopefully this share with you how it is done.  Lastly, remember that the next time you hear Wiccan Temple or Pagan Church it is more normal than not down here.  The landscape of our religion is changing with the times; and using the laws to our favor.  I pray that this post is clearing up some misconceptions about our path and workings.


Thursday, June 19, 2014

Why Wiccan Clergy?



Well I could answer this whole blog with WHY NOT?  To be fair though, I asked this question myself when the proposition was postulated to me about me just taking the leap from coven "Highpriestess" to Legal Wiccan Clergy.  Many people have misconceptions about the role, or even what the job entails and so for me the point of this blog; is not to convince you are even change your mind on the position of having legal Wiccan Clergy in our Midst(They were there before me and are already thriving).  It is however, to show you to some extent what Wiccan Clergy does, on a teeny scale, on a midling scale, on a large scale, and on a very large scale.

We (and yes I am making a claim of we here praying my other Wiccan clergy I know will not get upset at me for this) are normal everyday Pagans/Wiccans who give every ounce of energy we have to the community, to people, and to our faith.  We love our Gods and Goddesses, and we try to the best of our ability to help people.  Goddess knows it is not a "power over" thing that will sustain you as Wiccan clergy for you are definitely not working for power.  You are working for people, you are working for your Gods and Goddesses, you are working for you grove, temple, church, circle, you are aware you are representing your faith for people that may never meet another one of "you" (people say this to me all the time when they meet me).

We spend our mornings working jobs full time or part time so we can work our other full time job (that of being Wiccan Clergy) during evenings, nights, and on weekends.  We are available for counseling almost 24/7, we listen to people of all walks of lives and faiths.  We go to hospitals, we call those who are depressed, or need help when we hear it or see  it.  We teach classes (some of us online and in person) workshops, organize and run festivals to raise money for our community, and we always actively work in political and social arenas for our faith and for the cities we live in. We also represent our faith to the public every day, it cannot be hidden for once you are Wiccan Clergy you are "outed" and live in a goldfish bowl.  My favorite part of the job is the rites of passages: Crossing overs, Funerals, Maidenings, Motherings, Croneings, Rovings, Fatherings, Sageings, Baby blessings, Iniating Students, Handpartings, Divorces, Baby Blessings, and Handfastings/Weddings.

There are no trappings I can see, or "glamour" involved with being Wiccan Clergy.  It is not a paid job, though I feel it is like being a Mother and housewife definitely "assumed" and very "underappreciated".  The rewards of the job is the smile on people's faces, the love you feel when you walk in a room, the hugs you get every day, the sun rising, and the children laughing, and knowing that when you die you tried your damndest to leave the world a much better place.

The purpose of this Blog will be to share the day to day, or month to month, or possibly little "impertinent" things that come to mind or that I can share with you as I walk my walk along with many others.  I was trained by Elder Clergy, and if you must know in this job not only are you constantly "supplementing your education" with other books, classes, but you are also being taught the job as you do it, and if you are lucky (and I am very very lucky) you are supported and surrounded by Elders that in the 60's and 70's were radical Pagan/Wiccan/Witchy people that grew into seeing the practicality and good old fashioned need and sense of becoming Legal clergy for their people. 

I looked for blogs on Wiccan Clergy when I was becoming one over five years ago...there was nothing, nada.  I looked for books, and there was only one at the time.  A very good one, but only one (Kevin Gardner the man's amazing btw).  I was trained by a series of different elders for the job, one has crossed over, and the others are still working and walking the talk.  I hope to honor them and their teachings with this blog and shed some light on those of us who "take a beating and keep on ticking" and "live in the trenches" within the community serving them constantly whether it be on a phone call, hospital visit, or helping them get a job, or just lending them a couch and giving them a cup of coffee.  Wiccan Clergy are a need of the community, for as our numbers grow we too need ministers to serve the people and to administer rites of Passage, and to dispense the sacraments of the Gods. 

Lastly, ask yourself one question...WHY NOT Wiccan Clergy?  Why not?