Covenant of the Goddess: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Samhain has come and gone.  The weather is cooling off and the leaves are changing color.  As the seasonal tides turn, so do those of Covenant of the Goddess (CoG). On November 1^st, the newly elected National Board took office to help steer the organization through yet another year of advocacy and adventure.  This date also marks CoG’s 38^th birthday having been officially founded on October 31^st of 1975.

Over the past year, CoG and its local councils found themselves doing incredible outreach work in so many areas. A very small sampling of this work included:

•        Financially supporting the Council for the Parliament of World Religions, Cherry Hill Seminary and Ardantane.
•          Attending interfaith conventions and working with local and national interfaith groups.  (For details see CoG’s own Interfaith Blog)
•          Acting locally as advocates for Pagan rights in cases of religious freedom. (e.g. Florida’s Kyrja Whithers and Pahokee Summer Solstice Festival) 
•          Communicating with the media and others to offer supportive information and corrective feedback at a national level (e.g. Fox News, CNN and Facebook)  
•          Representing Wiccans and Witches in Global forums and within our local communities.
•          Acting as chaplains in prison and military environments.
•          Working with and showing support for Lady Liberty League and The Pagan Federation International
•          Attending and sponsoring Pagan Pride Events, local classes and seasonal festivals.

In August, CoG held its yearly conference, Merry Meet and Grand Council, in the historic town of Salem.  During the event the members held an impromptu ritual to honor those killed in the name of witchcraft.  During that ritual onlookers gathered and some even joined in the work.  It was a high-point in the year for many of members.

Our social media presence has more than doubled since last year. In mid December we had 9,287 Facebook likes, no Pinterest account and only 37 followers on Twitter.  A year later, we have 21,332 Facebook likes, 217 CoGTweet followers and 125 CogPins followers.

As we move into the Yule season, we will begin our festive postings “Yuletide with CoG” to share the warmth of the season from our members to the greater community.  

For more information about Covenant of the Goddess, please go to our main website at www.cog.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.  If you’d like to donate to our members’ outreach work, you can do so through by contacting any of our local councils, our national officers or through PayPal’s Giving Fund or eBay’s Giving Works (both formerly called Mission Fish.)    

Removal of Witch Hunt Pages on Facebook

Thursday, 22 August 2013 19:08

Removal of Witch Hunt Pages on Facebook

The Lady Liberty League and the Covenant of the Goddess are delighted to announce that two Facebook pages advocating the death and torture of alleged ‘witches’ or ‘wizards’ have been removed for violating Facebook’s community standards.

Over the past week, LLL and CoG have been engaged in dialogue with the Pagan community and with Facebook over the presence of these disturbing, hate-filled pages. The pages appeared to be part of an ongoing-campaign of violence against powerless people within predominantly Christian communities, and did not initially target Pagans.  

Nevertheless, the Pagan and related Nature-Spirituality communities, who use similar terminology, were concerned by the hate-filled rhetoric and by the initial lack of response to removal requests.   After a communication with decision makers at Facebook, the company has agreed that such pages do violate its community standards and have removed them.

LLL and CoG applaud Facebook’s decision to remove these pages.  We honor Facebook’s stated commitment to protecting freedom of speech and the free exchange of ideas, and recognize that the decision to remove content cannot be taken lightly.  We are gratified that after giving the matter consideration, Facebook took a stand for human rights and for a world in which everyone can live free of the fear of violence.

We urge the Pagan community to join us in expressing our thanks to Facebook for listening and and making this positive change.  We hope Facebook will to continue to be a leader in the effort to address violence and hate wherever it festers. 

We also thank the many partners within the Pagan community who worked with us to engage in respectful dialogue with Facebook and respond to the situation in a coordinated and effective way.  This was truly a community effort, and we are thankful for the many people who gave their time, research skills, passion and spiritual energy to this cause.  Our community has once again shown that we can rally together and support one another in making the world a better place.

This victory will help make the internet a more civil place, but the real struggle is ongoing.  Around the world - not just in Africa, but in our own communities - vulnerable people, including children, are tormented or killed after being labeled as ‘witches’ or ‘sorcerers.'  Most are unconnected to our spiritual community, except that their attackers call them by the same words that we have reclaimed for our spiritual practices.  Yet we cannot and should not turn a blind eye to their suffering.  We urge the Pagan community to support worldwide efforts to eliminate persecution in the name of religion.

The Lady Liberty League, the Covenant of the Goddess, and our partners will continue to support efforts within our community to make violence unacceptable everywhere and to support efforts to promote human rights and freedom from fear for all.

August 22, 2013

Covenant of the Goddess' Response to the Witch Hunt Facebook Pages

The Covenant of the Goddess 

PO Box 12193, San Bernardino, CA 92423-2193

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: August 20, 2013

CONTACT:  Heather Greene, National Public Information Officer 

EMAIL: pio at cog dot org

WEBSITE:  www.cog.org    

Covenant of the Goddess reacts to Witch Hunt Facebook Pages

Over the past week, there has been an outcry within the Pagan community regarding two African-based Facebook pages that call for the death of witches and wizzards [sic].  The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) has been contacted by many of its concerned members as well as other community supporters, all of whom are looking to have these pages removed from Facebook. The pages include:

• https://www.facebook.com/WitchcraftTheBattleLinesHaveBeenDrawn
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/163986480405404/

Since last Thursday we have been monitoring the pages and working behind-the-scenes to find positive and effective ways of negotiating this difficult situation. Our most recent efforts have included interfacing with other national Pagan organizations such as Lady Liberty League and Circle Sanctuary. 

Of course, we all want to see these Facebook pages taken down due to the derogatory use of "witchcraft" language. However  the situation is more serious than just a case of hate speech and religious bigotry. These above-mentioned pages are calling for the murder of human beings. In many African nations, there is a dangerous climate of violence that uses witchcraft as its scapegoat. The above-mentioned pages are feeding that frenzy - one that has already led to the deaths of many African people, including young children. 

The Covenant of the Goddess supports freedom of speech, open dialog and religious expression. We do appreciate that Facebook, as a corporation, holds a similar philosophy in this matter.  However, we cannot condone a public call for the death of any one person or group regardless of religious affiliation or lifestyle choice.

We have advised our members and the greater Pagan community to avoid all personal interaction with the either of these two social media pages and ask that all complaints be sent to Facebook through its abuse and complaint system.  

We will continue our efforts and stand ready to act as needed.  

Please stay tuned to the CoG Facebook page for updates.

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Dogwood Local Council Joins Circle Sanctuary’s Operation Circle Care

It was during the "Barr Wars" of the 1990's that Dogwood Local Council, the Georgia-based branch of Covenant of the Goddess, first partnered with Selena Fox, Circle Sanctuary, and Lady Liberty League in the battle for Pagan Military rights.  Later, the Covenant of the Goddess, as a whole, joined with Circle Sanctuary, Lady Liberty League and other organizations in what is commonly known as the”Pentacle Quest.”   Their efforts succeeded in getting the Pentacle added to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs list of accepted emblems of belief available for VA-issued grave markers that honor deceased veterans.

Now, Dogwood Local Council is proudly leading the way towards a new partnership with Circle Sanctuary and Lady Liberty League called:  Operation Circle Care.   Every year, Circle volunteers gather select items from the Pagan community to be packaged and sent to Pagan soldiers deployed in hot zones across the globe.  Dogwood Local Council, as a partner organization, will be simultaneously collecting similar items in their own regions of Georgia and Alabama.

To kick-off its Operation Circle Care drive, Dogwood will have a donation station setup at its annual Spring Picnic on May 19, 2012.   All guests and visitors are encouraged to bring both Pagan and non-Pagan items, as listed below, for the cause.   All items will be shipped directly to the Operation Circle Care coordinators in Virginia for distribution throughout the year with special packages sent at Yuletide. In addition, Dogwood will have a letter writing and drawing station available for visiting children to contribute their own personal messages of support.

As noted by its officers, Dogwood Local Council hopes its efforts in Georgia aid in expanding Operation Circle Care’s reach as well as raising local awareness.  But, most importantly, Dogwood hopes their contributions, however big or small, bring joy to the many Pagan soldiers deployed around the world, who are far from where they call home. 

Suggested Pagan Items include:

Sacred Gem Stones and Crystals

Tarot cards, Oracles, etc.

Magazines

Jewelry

DVD audio recordings of meditations and music

Suggested Non-Pagan items include:

Black socks

Baby wipes (best equipment cleaner)

Sunscreen

Lip Balm

Hygiene items

Unopened pre-packaged food

Notes from home 

Turner Family Support Team at Bowdon Elementary School.

Several members of the Turner Family Support Task Force accompanied Stephanie Turner to the December 12, 2011 meeting with school officials.

(Pictured from left to right:)

* Rev. Charissa Iskiwitch, High Priestess, Coordinator of North Georgia Solitaries & Pagan Assistance Fund & Lead Chaplain for Church of the Spiral Tree Pagan Prison Ministry.

* Stephanie Turner, Mother of the Turner children;

* Rev. Ginger Wages (Hawk), National First Officer, Covenant of the Goddess.

* Lisa Palmer, Attorney working with the Lady Liberty League.

* Rev. Michelle Boshears, Major, US Army retired (Dawnwalker), Circle Sanctuary Minister & Military Circles Coordinator, Lady Liberty League Advocate, and Distinctive Faith Group Leader of the Fort Gordon Open Circle at U.S. Army Fort Gordon Garrison.

Other members of the Turner Family Support Task Force who joined the meeting in spirit: 

* Lady Miraselena, Public Information Officer, Dogwood Local Council, Covenant of the Goddess.

* Lady Arsinoe Meri Ma'at, First Officer, of the Dogwood Local Council, Covenant of the Goddess.

* Rev. Selena Fox, Senior Minister, Circle Sanctuary, and Executive Director, Lady Liberty League.

NOTE:  This situation has been resolved as of Dec 13 2011.  The wrap-up essay, entitled "A Week in Bowdon Georgia," is posted on several sites including PNC-Atlanta and Miraselena's Blog.  For more information on the case, go to the Turner Support Fan Page.