My local community is, as I understand it, a fairly unique model of how various religions, traditions, and paths can work together even with vast differences. I’ve written before about the local Pagan community; an established Wiccan coven has sponsored and helped build the Heathen group, and Prairie Shadow Grove, our local congregation of ADF: A Druid Fellowship, also maintains a great deal of cross-pollination with various groups in the area. What I haven’t discussed before is the role the UU church plays in this interplay and relation of these various groups.
Last week, a member of my UU congregation posted on the facebook group for our church asking why we didn’t have a local CUUPS chapter. It’s a good question. The local Pagan scene is thriving for a comparatively-small Midwest city, and to any outside observer it appears strange that the UU hadn’t gotten involved in that. Of course, just seeing that there is no official CUUPS group completely misses the point of what the UU here has done for our community. There is no CUUPS group because the UU has been so involved, so supportive of the Pagan groups already in existence here, that there is no need for one.
The Order of the Red Grail is a Wiccan coven in my hometown that has been around for more than twenty years. For nearly all that time, the group has been holding open and public Full Moon Circles at the UU, inviting any and all comers. One of the High Priestesses is also a member of the UU congregation and is there faithfully almost every Sunday (I am not nearly so consistent in my attendance!). She tells a story of a short-lived CUUPS group that was started here several years ago and that she was a part of. Started with the best of intentions, the group ended up functioning mostly as a funnel to the more established Red Grail. With limited time and resources available from a leadership that was largely formed of the same people, the group eventually folded into the already frequent Full Moon Circles.
Recently Nebraska Heathens United has begun holding open Sumbels at the UU church, usually attended by several members of the Red Grail and our Druid group, Prairie Shadow – and even a few members of the UU congregation. That any church with ties to the community at large and a beautiful physical building would be willing to host Wiccans and Heathens for their own religious ceremonies is almost unbelievable to me, having been raised in a rather fundamentalist church that would balk at the idea of even speaking or interacting with such people, let alone so kindly sharing their space. I could not be more thankful for my UU congregation, for their commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of every person, even Pagans and Heathens. Of course, it’s likely that none of this would have happened without the dedication of long-time UU Pagans like my High Priestess.
Role of UU Pagans
This I feel is the primary role of UU Pagans. We are here to facilitate a conversation between the more conservative members of our congregations and Pagans, Heathens, Wiccans, or however we identify. By being a part of both worlds, we bring each closer to one another and help them to see the inherent compatibility between many Pagan and UU principles. We help each see the many benefits to working together in a culture, at least here in the US, that seems increasingly opposed to even liberal Christianity, let alone alternative ideas of religion like UUism and Paganism.
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