Our Pagan future depends on the people we are developing now and in the future. Among those is Christopher Penczak who at 36 has already done a great deal in our community. He considers himself a minister first, but he also is a teacher, a popular speaker at various Pagan events, a Reiki master, an certified flower essence consultant, an author of some seventeen books and a writer of articles and maker of CDs, and active in the Gay community.

By any person's standards, that is a lot to have packed in to 36 years of life especially when most of that comes after college. It is even more interesting when his training was in music and he had set off to Rock music career, and worked for awhile in the music industry, which he did for awhile as well.

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One of my readers told me about Alaric and his book and suggested that I get in touch with him. Once again we have a person trying to provide information about their path to help others that might be interested. I contacted him and he gave me permission for this interview.

Christopher:: How long have you been following the old ways and why?

Alaric: I have been Pagan for 38 years now. I embraced polytheism in the summer of 1971. I’d turned away from Christianity earlier after reading the Bible, and had been searching for spiritual fulfillment for some time. I’d read everything I could get my hands on about various religions, eastern and western.

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Jim was suggested to me by another reader because of his help in founding the Druid Order of Three Realms and for his authorship of novels about the man most of us know as Merlin. I got in touch with Jim and he gave permission for this interview and took time out of his busy schedule to give it.

Christopher: How would you describe yourself and how long have you been following the Druid path?

Jim: How would I describe myself. It almost brings a smile to my lips. Humans love to categorize, to define, to capture an understanding of the world, to place everything in its rightful place.

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The breakdown of the Soviet Union and the fall of Communism ended the official Atheism. There has been a rapid development of religion in Russian, not only Christian, Muslim and Jewish, but also Pagan.

In a online forum for Pagan Federation International I came across reports on some of the problems and development of Paganism there, some reported by Yggeld. So I asked if I could interview him and he kindly agreed to this interview.

Christopher: Could you give us a bit of background about you and perhaps what Pagan path you follow?

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I was alerted by a reader of a new Druid E-zine, Sky. Earth, Sea, a Journal of Practical Spirituality. I contacted its cofounders and editors to find out more about it and got permission for this interview. In the process I learned also of a new Druid order, The Druid order of Three Realms.

Christopher: Could you each give us a bit of background material about yourself?

Paige: I was raised in a rural, conservative Baptist environment, and remained loyal to that spiritual model until my late twenties – despite completing an MS in physics in my early twenties. Eventually, though, my spiritual path led me to study shamanic techniques rooted in Peruvian traditions, as well as element-based paths of personal spiritual development.

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Homeschooling is a fairly common practice in many communities, including mine. There are homeschool organizations, e-groups, forums, websites, and more that provide support and a means to share or obtain books and materials. Some homeschool families start with kindergarten; others don’t start until middle or high school.

Homeschooled children typically score higher on standardized testing, and they are highly sought after by many colleges.

Virginia is unique amongst the fifty states in that Virginia specifically allows parents and their children to claim “religious exemption” as a reason to homeschool. To claim religious exemption, both the parents and the children must hold a bona fide religious

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On Saturday evening, September 26, 2009, a Quan Yin Ritual, to honor and heal those who serve, will be held in Southern California. It is focused on providing healing and support for Pagans and other Goddess folk in the military and their families.

This Goddess Spirituality interfaith event is being organized and presented by two California organizations, the Abbey of Avalon and the Goddess Temple of Orange County, with the networking support of the Order of the Pentacle, a national Pagan veterans organization and Operation Circle Care (OCC), a Pagan troops charity sponsored by Circle Sanctuary.

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Rev. Patrick McCollum, Wiccan Elder, Circle Sanctuary minister, and director of the Lady Liberty League Prison Ministry Task Force, continues to be engaged in a major legal battle for free religious exercise and equal rights for Wiccans and other Pagans in California’s state correctional system.

In 2004, Patrick brought a lawsuit against the State of California and others on behalf of himself and Pagan prison inmates challenging the state’s “five faith” policy as unconstitutional and in violation of prison religion law. The five “recognized” faiths in the California correctional system are Protestant Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Native American, and Islam. Islam and Native American were added as recognized faiths as a result of battles with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Now, Paganism is having its battle with the CDCR!

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I am beginning to feel that the person who writes the script for my life, writes melodramas and soap operas for his day time job. [Grin]

Putting out a newsletter eight times a year is always a bit of a challenge. It was a bit more of a challenge after having eye operations three times this year. The last one was Setember 12 for both cataracts and retina detachment. Only one more to go, I hope.

Fortunely most of the hard work was done, and just some editing was left to do which I have done over the last few days and this issue will go out on time, perhaps a bit early. That depends how how soon I get the copy to my web guy, Bill Kilborn.

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