What Does Your Dream Organization Consist Of ???

Hi Family and Goddess Blessings,
I have been thinking a lot about the Society and what members may want in a growing organization like AAWS. I would assume there would be a desire to network, and find people in the area to start circles and to learn from each other, but I think there may be more. I would imagine most people would like to facebook, twitter or other networking. In developing the Society one really needs to know members ideas, input and dreams. After all an organization can not be successful with out the pleasure of its members. We cannot have a successful organization without most dreams of the members fulfilled. Would you like to create Merry Meets or retreats, swap information with other members in your area? Is communication very important to you?  Would you like to hear what others say about how they celebrate sabbats and esabats? If you would create an organization what would you do to make it a success?  We look forward to hearing all the responses.  


Blessed Be...     

Why Do African Americans Need their Own Website on Wicca?

                                                        By Jeanine

Long before I started practicing Wicca over thirty-five years ago, and when I was a young teen I was a member of a small church. We were religious about going, of course, every Sunday, some days during the week, and during some holidays like New Years Eve. I sang in a very small church choir, and was sometimes the lead singer. However, most of the days that I sat in church I was in total conflict. Although the Christian church was, in those days, and is today, considered the heart and soul of the African American family I struggled to find it in my heart. Listening to the music of the church was good and uplifting. What was troubling to me was when the preacher began to preach. Sure African American preachers are the epitome of effective messengering, charisma or bringing the message because of their liveliness, and the rallying and their sing-song presentation. But, for me, it was the message that was so troubling. “Eve is evil and you female is Eve” and “Your only salvation is through the “Man upstairs” and “Be submissive to your husband and be submissive to God.”  The truly conflicting messages to me was “You can only go to heaven if you accept Jesus as your lord and savior” and “No matter what you do in your life- as long as you accept Jesus as your lord and savior on your death bed you will be forgiven and join all the life-long saints in heaven.”

The problem I had with all of this is that Adam ate the apple too, I did not believe in submitting to anyone, and especially my husband, and as far as I could remember I always thought of God as a female, because I believed that God was inside me. At least I knew there was some female God somewhere, along with a male version. It took many years for me to understand I was not sinful for what I thought. I was just different, and different is not wrong. Because the bible is so embedded in the African American lifestyle, I am sure that there are many African Americans, male as well as female, who have similar ideas, feelings, internal conflicts, and fears of straying from the only belief system anyone close to them believes in and practices.

Since religion is the life and light of the human soul I sometimes imagine what it would be like if African American had more of an option to their spirituality, and how much progress there would be in our culture. I believe it is important to have alternative religions in a culture. It is good to know that we are not machines