Buzz Coil: April 2012

A look at some posts of interest from our blogroll and sometimes beyond:

The Village Witch: The evolving story of the effort to preserve separation of church and state in schools in the mountains of North Carolina is continued in Byron Ballard’s three recent posts: April 13, "Buncombe County’s Board of Education ‘s Policy 652: the end is simply the beginning, writ large" ; April 14, "Buncombe County Board of Education’s Policy 652: and so we conclude" ; and April 24, "Just when you thought it Was Safe," about discovering that though the situation in county schools, had, in a sense been fvarably resolved, a similar situation is simmering in city schools.

Feminism and Religion: In this blog of many authors and many paths, in an April 23 post, "To A Friend, On the Death of Her Daughter," Carol P. Christ, answers the question, " What would your thealogy say to that?" when asked how she would respond to the teen suicide of a friend’s daughter.
Cynthia Garrity Bond’s April 2o post "Presumed Guilty by the Sin of Silence..." examines the Roman Catholic Church’s clamping down on women religious (aka nuns) 40 years after Vatican II’s more liberating changes. She point’s out that these changes are being put "under the knife by Pope Benedict ane his desire to turn back time to a medieval paradigm of control over women religious."
In her April 18 post, "Reproductive Justice," Gina Messina-Dysert shares her thoughts following participation in a formal discussion of contraception at Loyola Marymount University. Among her thoughts, this:

"The denial of reproductive justice in the Catholic Church is a symptom of

 the larger rape culture. When I use this phrase I am referring to a culture that not only perpetrates rape, but all forms of sexualized violence against women and girls.

  The denial of reproductive justice to women is indeed a form of sexualized violence."

Hail Columbia: On April 12, blogger Literata discusses the Roman Catholic Church’s latest (to me rather convoluted) plans to further limit health care to American women, in her post "Catholic ‘Fortnight for Freedom’ this Summer." Literata’s two April 18 posts, "Chicago 50 Update," and "Catholic Bishops complaints ignore legal history," describe other attempts to erase the separation of church and state in the U.S. The latter post describes an activities directed at Pagans, in particular.

　
The Wild Hunt: In his April 20 post, "Rep. Mary Franson Fights the Green Dragon," Jason Pitzl-Waters looks into Rep. Franson’s claim that Earth Day "is a celebration of a Pagan holiday," along with a documentary called "Resisting the Green Dragon," and other activities and assertions by radical right Christians who see environmentalism as "a battle between competing religions."

Hecatedemeter: In her April 20 post, "Thursday Evening Potpourri, blogger Hecate reveals that she will be a regular columnist for the magazine, Witches & Pagans. That post also contains references to a previous post in which she suggested that Earth Day be "A New Sabbat," and quotes an Earth prayer. Her April 26 post discusses "A Ceremony for the Worms."

Veleda: Max Dashu has posted a 3-part series on "Notre Dame de la Vie: Our Lady of Life." Beginning April 20, the series tells the fascinating history of a stone carving of a Goddess on the French side of the Alps at Saint-Martin de Bellevillle, estimated to have been carved "in the early centures bec." The series includes discussion of changes to the statue made by the Catholic church and others, especially in the mid 1800s, and the relationship/similarity of Notre Dame de la Vie to other goddesses. Parts 2 and 3 were posted on April 23. With many pics.

Way of the Rabbit: Yeshe Rabbit’s April 16 post, "Hometown Shrines:Ocean Goddess" takes us to visit the ocean and a shrine to the Ocean Goddess in Bolinas, CA (don’t miss the video!) This is part of Rabbit’s Hometown Shrine project, which she invites you to participate.

The Goddess House: In an April 12 post, Blogger A’st Moon writes about "Tanit of Carthage," also a Phenician goddess and at one time honored throughout the surrounding areas.
  
Broomstick Chronicles: Congratulations to Macha NightMare, aka Aline O’Brien, who shares in her April 11 post the press release announcing that she has received a Patrick McCollum Foundation grant in support of her work in interfaith relations.

Dirt Magic:  In her April 19 post, "Requiem for Isis," Starhawk memorializes her dear friend Isis, recalling how their friendship in high school, college, and up to the present.
  
This is Not an Owl: After attending a Sunday Service at the Goddess Temple of Orange County honoring the Goddess Sybele (aka Cybele),on March 25 Tracie Welser writes this "Open Letter to the Goddess Temple of Orange County," expressing her disappointment and taking issue with the Temple’s policy regarding M to F trans women. When I visited the blog, there were 85 comments to this post, including several from Ava, GTOC presiding priestess. 
 
Communing With Goddess: On April 13, blogger firefox712002 writes about women’s "Circles," including their growth, changees and sometimes dissolution. She asserts that "circles don’t really end," and describes how changes in her current group enabled changing n "archenemy" into a friend.

Blog o’ Gnosis: In her April 16 post, "On Turning Fifty," Anne Hill terms this her "year of gratitude‘ and reviews her life up to this point.