Issue 22 Winter 2008/9
Coping with crisis
As we face what might become the worst eco-
nomic crisis since World War II, most people on
the planet are experiencing anxiety about their
prosperity, livelihoods, families, or even survival.
It is in such troubled times that supernatural reli-
gions appeal more than ever. When people feel help-
less, it’s tempting to believe that there are supernatural
beings or powers that can help out when they appeal to
them. If the help requested doesn’t materialize, then the
idea that there is some unknown purpose to suffering
may help believers to bear it. If all else fails, the vision
of a better afterlife offers light at the end of the tunnel.
These are all psychological strategies for coping with
intense personal anxiety and distress, as well as with the
kind of individual griefs and stresses that can occur at
any time.
Naturalistic folk tend to have trouble with these ap-
proaches – we know they are sugar pills, not real medi-
cine. When they work, they work only by strengthening
people’s own determination to act, or by giving them
stoicism in the face of disaster. Those resources de-
rive from human psychology, and they can be accessed
without imaginary props.
So how do Pantheists cope when life gets hard?
How do we protect our peace of mind when our foun-
dations are threatened? Are there distinctive Pantheist
strategies for dealing with crises – strategies that offer
spiritual support, but without abandoning our basic nat-
uralism?
In this issue WPM members and sympathetic writ-
ers offer their own experiences and approaches. There
are some common threads.
The heart of the pantheist approach is to find a source
of inner strength and peace in our relationship to Nature
and the Universe. We know that these are our home.
They always were, and always will be - our member-
ship in the Cosmos is the one thing that can never be
taken from us.
Nature on our beautiful planet has a special role to
play. It helps put our personal problems in perspective.
It is a source of peace, of energy and of renewal. The
rhythms and patterns of Nature go on above and beyond
the stress of daily life.
So when you feel hassled and haunted, go out into
nature and listen to the rustling of leaves. Lie on your
back and watch the flowing of clouds. Sit by the ocean
and feel your soul rolling with the waves. All these are
embodiments of the endless creative energy that flows
through everything – and through each one of us.
Get away from the stress and hassle of daily life
once a day, or at least once a week. Go out into nature,
or meditate with the help of natural objects, in a quiet
environment free of unnatural noises.
Pantheists tend to accept reality and face it squarely,
without seeking to deny it or minimize it. We don’t at-
tribute unpleasant events to the actions of angry deities
or demons – we look for their real causes.
We are realistic in our actions, too. We don’t resort
to prayers to imaginary beings, or to magical spells.
We don’t believe in the “Secret” that merely wishing
something will make it happen. Instead, we rely on our
own real resources of drive, determination and inven-
tiveness. We take pragmatic steps to deal with the situ-
ation.
We turn challenges to advantages. For example, we
can use financial stress as the incentive to make our
transition to a low cost, low material input life. We can
Dow Jones 1998-2008
Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

make the best of involuntary free time to take up a new or violent crime, you will usually find that they are
interest or activity. probably many times smaller than you would imagine.
We tend to be compassionate, and we care about In times like these it sometimes helps to watch the
the suffering of other humans or animals – so these new less often. News programs seem to present reality,
vast society-wide crises but it is a selective and
trouble us for the sake unrepresentative picture.
of others as well as for Grant me the serenity to accept They focus on bad news
ourselves, and we want the things I cannot change; - a world that seems to
to help. However - courage to change the things I can; be full of endless threats,
unless we are in unusual disasters, diseases,
positions of wealth and
and wisdom to know the difference. conflicts, murders,
power - it’s wise to avoid Reinhold Niebuhr abductions. Hopeful
taking the burdens of the news and heartwarming
whole world upon our heroism are thrown in
shoulders, because we won’t be able to carry them. We only as tokens. Even documentary programs obsess
need to find ways of doing what we can, without letting about natural disasters, dangerous predators, horrific
the need to help others destroy our core of peace and accidents. Sometimes television today seems like a
connectedness. As Helen Keller wrote: “I am only one, conspiracy to scare everyone out of their wits, every
but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can day. A good maxim might be: access bad news on a
do something.” need-to-know basis.
Of course, there are always some aspects of a Once we have changed what we can change, and
situation that are out of our control. Realism helps here reached a sober idea of the real risks that remain,
too. In the case of dramatic events such as terrorist Pantheism helps us to accept what we cannot change.
attacks or epidemics, humans have a tendency to We know that the Universe is an eternal dance of
exaggerate the risks to themselves – at the same time as flowing energies of which we are part. We know that
they ignore the real risks of normal everyday activities endless transformation and creativity are part of the
like driving or overeating. So try to discover the real dance, and it’s a dance that we love.
risks of the events that make you fearful in the area or
country where you live. In the case of war, terrorism Below: Persistence through change.
Petrified forest, Arizona ©Paul Harrison 2008

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 Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

Learn resilience and endurance from Nature

Pantheism, unlike many other belief systems, provides its practi-
tioners with an earthly understanding of how species cope with
crisis. As humans we sometimes separate ourselves from the
natural world, believing that the rules of nature do not apply to
us. Fact of the matter is that what we require to survive are the
very same things that other species require – food, shelter, etc.
So when you see a beaver’s dam destroyed after an entire season
of work, or watch a child devastate an ant hill in the blink of an
eye, you’ll quickly learn something about the natural world that
often escapes the attention of the casual observer – that there is
resilience, perseverance, endurance and relentlessness to rebuild
that which was lost or destroyed.
In the animal world, self-pity simply does not exist, nor does
playing the victim, in the hopes of others rushing in to rescue us
from perils. This may sound harsh and unsympathetic, and I am
not suggesting that humans dismiss their compassionate charac-
teristics, but it reminds us that the best medicine for times like
the ones we are in now is not to wallow in self-pity, but to start
rebuilding immediately, after all what else is there to do.
A few years back I was pruning some trees in my front yard,
and despite my best efforts to avoid cutting any trees down, I
decided, with two young oaks being so close together, one would
have to go, so reluctantly I cut the smaller of the two oaks down,
leaving nothing left but a stump that barely breached the sur-
face. Two weeks later there were about five new limbs about
two feet long sprouting out from the stump. So I cut them all off,
dug around the trunk and took off another two inches of trunk,
but yet again, the tree
“Rule number One decided that despite
of the Universe: the fact that it had
Survive, Endure, years worth of growth
removed with the
Persevere, and do what sweep of a chain saw,
ever it takes to grow” and that it would be at
least another ten years
before it would ever
come close to its former glory, its DNA code simply stated that it
would survive and therefore grow! This cycle, by the way, went
on three more times.
A few months later 9/11 occurred. As a junior air line pilot
in an industry that was bleeding to death, I found myself unem-
ployed in a field where there were no jobs, and I mean none! I
remember sitting in the pilot lounge with about ten other pilots,
all of them about to lose their jobs, and witnessing each of them
express feelings of anger, sadness and fear of what laid ahead.
I too was nervous about this new uncertain environment, and
headed home wondering what was plan “B”. As I walked from
Regrowth after wildfire, Mesa Verde ©Paul Harrison 2008
my driveway I glanced over at the stump I had battled over and
over again, and noticed that despite the fact that the growing sea-
son was long over, it had shot out another sprout. A sprout that was absolutely pathetic, only about a half an inch long, all
curled up and twisted, but still, it was growing. I thought, doesn’t this tree get it? It was done, finished, just die already.
Then, as if the tree were speaking to me, I realized: I was the one who didn’t get it. The lessons for coping are provided
by the Universe - we just need to know how to read them. Rule number One of the Universe: SURVIVE, Endure, Persevere,
and do what ever it takes to grow no matter how pathetic the results may be. I turned around and look at what I had, and
I had a lot, and then I thought about how much of my trunk had been cut, not much! So I went inside, and to my wife’s
surprise I greeted her with hope and enthusiasm, and with a genuine smile I explained to her, that everything was going to
be just fine, and it was. James Cavanaugh
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Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

Do what you can – and let go

T hree years ago my husband walked out, moved 600 miles away back to his hometown of Cleveland, and never came
back. Instead, we divorced and he almost immediately remarried. Of course I was sad, of course I was hurt, and may-
be a little mad, but not deeply. I handled this crisis in my life differently than I would have in the past before I became a
pantheist. Also since becoming a pantheist, my dad has had a couple of severe health crises which were potentially life-
threatening, requiring surgery. Again, pantheism helped me get through these crises differently (and I think much more
easily and less stressfully) than I would have handled them in the past.
I don’t have a personal God up there to pray to – no one to beg or bargain with to make my husband come back or
make my dad well. I’m a pantheist. I know how precious life is. I know how easily it can change. Not because I’m bad or
because I didn’t pray enough or because someone prayed harder or was better than me and got their way or maybe it’s
just God’s will or God is punishing me - but because that’s the way of nature, and I’m a part of it.
Wonderful things happen. Destructive things happen. Every day. Life is one thing after another and I’ve learned not
to wallow so much in the if only’s and the what if’s, but to do what I can
in the situation and then let go – to accept reality. Let people live their “Pantheism has taught me
own lives with or without me. Some relationships end: we don’t own each to live in the moment with
other. I have learned to respect and allow other people to find their own
way to happiness – without it diminishing my own life. I deeply and truly gratitude and wonder, to
wish them well, wish them happiness, wish them their own peace of mind be at peace with reality,
(in the ways they need to find it for themselves). and to see the natural
Illnesses happen; surgeries happen. I do what I can and face the fact
that loved ones will die, and so I will I. We did what needed to be done
process unfold.”
in terms of surgery, medicines, diet, exercise etc. A couple of times when
I thought my father would die, I felt sad yet I felt at peace at the same
time, not desperate like in the past. Beyond that, personally I hoped for the best, thought positively – but at the same
time I lived realistically, cried a lot, remembered a lot, appreciated every moment, and then at some point just trusted the
process. I don’t say this in a callous manner at all – all the time I was loving and supporting and loving some more.
Right now my dad is doing great. My ex-husband is living his life. And I’m doing great. The added bonus in all this
to me was that it made me stronger and helped me to get know myself better than I ever have – and to start loving myself
again.
As a pantheist I know that I’m part of it all now, and I’ll be part of it all when I die. No one can take that away. Not
believing in an afterlife, I know how important it is to live the life I want this time around and to be the kind of person
I want to be. I want to know that I loved people all I could, and left something of value to them through the way I
interacted with them,
so that they are left
with memories that
will sustain them.
For me, pantheism
is a path that is
practical, that I can
wrap my mind
around, but it’s
also a path of great
heart. Pantheism has
taught me to live in
the moment with
gratitude and wonder,
to be at peace with
reality, and to see the
natural process unfold
as it has for so long
and will continue to
do for so long after I’m
gone. I will continue to
be a part of it, just in a
different form.

Sharon Wells
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 Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

Be in the here
and now
T he world is going through a very
rough economic crisis, which may
affect many of us quite badly. So it is
rational to consider ways to protect
whatever wealth one has – however
small such ‘wealth’ may be. In one of
the recent runs on the market, I panic-
sold some of my equity-linked funds
which I had hoped would allow me
to live my declining years in modest
comfort, and put the sadly diminished
money partly into money market funds
and partly into a gold-backed fund. I
don’t know whether what I did is wise,
but that’s how I decided I might sleep
better.
I realized that I could also benefit
from paying more attention to some
Pantheist ideas, ideals and practices. So
let me share some which might be of
use in dealing with hard times:
Be here now! Learn from the past, plan
for the future, but live mindful of the
present – it’s the only life you’ve got.
Live simply. It not only helps the
planet and simplifies your life, it also
saves a lot of money.
Don’t buy things unless you really
need them. A Pantheist shouldn’t
waste his/her only life on this beautiful
planet struggling to keep up with the
Joneses.
Celebrate your real wealth: not
money but lovers, friends, family,
pets, the flowers in your garden, and
whatever else you love. Count as real
wealth walks in the woods, good health, life experiences, self esteem, music, art, books, science, moral and ethical values,
and your web of connections to all else on this beautiful planet.
Spend more time in your kitchen – cooking is a joy. You can eat out less and save money by cooking your own meals.
And by cooking your own food (organically and humanely grown local food if possible) you can reconnect emotionally to
the biological reality that other living beings are what you must eat.
Treat your food with the respect it deserves by making a beautiful meal
“Remember, all is change. of it. Invite friends over to share your cooking. The best conversations often
This hard time too happen around a dinner table when a few good friends share a good meal
and a few drinks.
shall pass.” If you find yourself unemployed, look for work but spend some of those
unemployed hours jogging, or walking, or making something of beauty with
your hands. You will find yourself happier if you do.
Take up a hobby. Some great hobbies cost very little. Some can even save you money e.g. a vegetable garden.
Lend a helping hand (time even if not money) to those in need who wish to help themselves (but not to freeloaders).
Consider volunteering. Every community has need of volunteers.
Share others’ joy, and listen compassionately to their concerns.
Remember ‘all is change’; this hard time too shall pass.
Finally, don’t forget to smell the roses! Walt Mandell
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Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

Own each moment of experience - good, bad or ugly

Each person took up the challenge we extended to them to live life as if each moment was important, as if each moment
counted and could be worked with, even if it was a moment of pain, sadness, despair or fear. This “work” involves above all
the regular, disciplined practice of moment-to-moment mindfulness, the complete owning of each moment of your experience,
good, bad, or ugly.
Cultivating mindfulness means learning to tap and focus our own wasted energies. In doing so we learn to calm down
enough to enter and dwell.
Cultivating mindfulness can lead to the discovery of deep realms of relaxation, calmness, and insight within yourself.
It is easy to get to this territory. The path to it at any moment lies no further than your own body and mind and your own
breathing. And this territory is always accessible. It is always here, independent of your problems.
Our psychological well-being may depend on being able to find someplace in nature where we can go and just hear the
sounds of the world itself, without the sounds of human activity, of airplanes, cars and machines.
From John Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living, Delta, 1990.

Accept the gifts that problems bring

M y mother lived all alone on a farm into her 90’s. I used to visit at least once a week – do her shopping – spend time
talking and listening to the same old stories again and again. Then one day some mini strokes took a portion of her
mind. Dealing with hospitals and doctors was a nightmare but at least I learned just how incompetent the system is in
treating dementia.
When I finally got her settled in a good place, I visited at least once a week – often more. Other so-called friends
and even close family never visited more than once for the year she suffered this terrible affliction – she could be quite
violent and extremely abusive verbally at times. During these visits I was a plethora of characters to her, but only on rare
occasions her son. I was a shoe salesman, preacher, FBI agent, airline pilot, physician, room orderly, casino owner, my
father, my brother, her father, her mother, her brother – I had been killed in a couple of wars – the list is legion – but it
became fun to play along and be all these people.
She told me things about her life I never knew, her long but sometimes
“Pantheism faces life rocky relationship with my father, long dead, including intimate details I
as it is, takes its gifts as probably did not want to know. She talked incessantly about her oldest son –
they arise, and accepts me – and how she loved him from the day he was born and all the things he
did to make her proud as a mother. Things and hardships about her life I never
its sufferings as they knew. Many times she would end the session abruptly saying she had to get
arise as well.” ready because her son – me – was on his way to visit her.
At her funeral, all those who could not take time for her in her last year of
affliction talked all that nonsense of going to a better place and their memories of her before her dementia. I just had to
smile inside because they rejected all those gifts she had to give in her last year. They were there to celebrate her death
when they could have shared that wonderful gift of her last year of life.
As Richard Bach wrote: “There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems
because you need their gifts.” Pantheism faces life as it is, and takes its gifts as they arise, and accepts its sufferings as
they arise as well.
Larger organized religions have failed miserably on this issue, The best they can do is condemn the natural world,
including most humans in it as evil, then posit a magical afterlife and promise it will be better there (or worse in the
reincarnation versions). All they do is turn fear inside out into HOPE – not fear faced, but replaced by a delusion.
I think what a Pantheist perspective does is focus one’s mind and spirit on the present rather than some ideal past
or more idealistic future. There is a Zen story about a man being chased by a tiger. He runs to a cliff and hangs over on
a root. He looks down and below him is another tiger. The root begins to loosen. He looks over and sees a large ripe
strawberry. He picks it and eats it. It tastes wonderful.
The first tiger is being chased by fears of the past. The second tiger is fear of the future. The root is the uncertainty of
life. The strawberry is grasping the present and ignoring the fears.
Modern religions tend to teach us to fear so they can sell us hope – but the Pantheistic strawberry is all there is!
JB Maddox (Verci)
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 Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

New chart of ourOriah

The Invitation Mountain Dreamer
galactic home by

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know if you can live with failure
I want to know what you ache for yours and mine
and if you dare to dream of meeting your and still stand at the edge of the lake
heart’s longing. and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a
fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are

squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre It doesn’t interest me
of your own sorrow to know where you live or how much money
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals you have.
or have become shrivelled and closed I want to know if you can get up
from fear of further pain. after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
I want to know if you can sit with pain and do what needs to be done
mine or your own to feed the children.
without moving to hide it
or fade it It doesn’t interest me who you know
or fix it. or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
I want to know if you can be with joy in the centre of the fire
mine or your own with me
if you can dance with wildness and not shrink back.
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes It doesn’t interest me where or what
without cautioning us or with whom
to be careful you have studied.
to be realistic I want to know what sustains you
to remember the limitations of being human. from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty I want to know if you can be alone
every day. with yourself
And if you can source your own life and if you truly like the company you keep
from its presence. in the empty moments.

Excerpted with permission from THE INVITATION. Copyright (c) 2001 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 10 E. 53 St., New York NY 10022

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Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

Expect nothing, fear nothing, enjoy what you have

Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius
(121-180 BCE) wrote his
Meditations during the last decade
of his life. These were not simply
theoretical thoughts about coping
with life’s gravest problems. They
were written while campaigning in
wars against Germanic tribes, in
the midst of privation, surrounded
by the deaths of enemies and
friends. Marcus was acutely
conscious of his own mortality,
and already deeply troubled by the
deep character flaws of his son
Commodus who would go on to
be one of the most monstrous of
Roman emperors.

Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom yourself to consider that the
nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things
like them. For everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be.
Uncontaminated by pleasure, unharmed by any pain, untouched by any insult, feeling no wrong,
a fighter in the noblest fight, one who cannot be overpowered by any passion, dyed deep with justice,
accepts with all his soul everything which happens. To be vexed at anything which happens is a
separation of ourselves from nature, in some part of which the natures of all other things are contained.
If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without
allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you might be bound to
give it back immediately – if you hold to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with your
present activity according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which you utter, you
will be happy – and there is no-one who can prevent this.
Think not so much of what you have not as of what you have. Stop the pulling of the strings. Confine
yourself to the present.
Take away the complaint “I have been harmed” and the harm is taken away.

8

Str uggling for official
govern m ent recog nition
In July 2008 Grant Gilbert in
South Africa became (as far as
we know) the first government-
recognized Pantheist minister
in the world – and it wasn’t
easy. Here’s his story.
Grant Gilbert and family, South Africa.
F rom my earliest teens to my late 20’s I was an outspo-
ken militant atheist and a very liberal campaigner for
both human and animal rights. Instinctively I have always
considered that all the world’s existing religions were ei-
ther blatant lies or well-meaning fairy tales. Many years
of personal study of all the major religions in some of the
world’s best museums and libraries re-enforced my athe-
ism but there was one small but HUGE problem!!
Deep, deep, deep down, I had to secretly acknowl-
edge to myself that there was definitely some form of
Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9
vibe or buzz within the universe. I could feel it. A very
faint force of sorts, a force that seemed to flow through all
things – through rocks, through trees, through the water,
through air, through stars, through EVERYTHING – ever
changing, ever flowing.
For many years I pondered over this problem. Even-
tually for my own sanity I invented my very own religion,
which in retrospect was actually 99 percent pure natural
Pantheism. Imagine my shock when I one day stumbled
onto the WPM website and found my own personal reli-
gion as being an actual existing religion. I was not alone!!
Although I had managed to naturally conceive the
idea of Natural Pantheism - Paul Harrison had not only
done the same many years before me but he had ex-
plained it so simply that we now all understand how truly
simple and beautiful it all really is. It was such a revela-
tion. With the recent birth of my children I decided I had
to do more than just be a follower. I feel I owe it to my
kids to be a better person and to leave some of this beauti-
ful natural world behind, for them and for their kids too.
So I decided to become a Pantheist minister and re-
ally help spread the word and awaken the general public.
I told all my friends and family that come what may I had
decided to dedicate a large part of my life to Pantheism
and especially to the spreading and building of a Pantheist
network in Southern Africa.
However to be taken seriously by the general public
and to compete with other existing religions and their fol-
lowers on an equal footing I decided I would have to get
my marriage officer’s licence. For anyone in SA to take
you seriously as a religious minister you must be able to
marry people – somehow the mere fact that you can le-
gally marry people gives the general public a feeling that
you are a genuine and bona fide religious minister.
I figured this would not be very difficult to accom-
plish, because I knew that SA has got one of the worlds
most advanced constitutions in terms of protection against
discrimination, freedom of expression, freedom of as-
sociation, and freedom of conscience, religion, thought,
belief and opinion. But I did not realize at the time what a
long drawn-out fight this would become.
I originally enquired at my local home affairs office
as to how to become a marriage officer but was quickly
informed that I must deal directly with their head office in
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Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

Johannesburg 1200km (745 miles) away from my home
in Capetown. And no they did not know the contact num-
bers - or any other relevant or helpful information.
After many, many hours of studying government
“They were adamant that the word
‘God’ or ‘Gods’ had to be in the
constitution. They said ‘Just add
the word God anywhere and we’ll
accept it.’ I refused!”
websites I found a phone number for the home affairs
marriage department head office. They told me I must
first get a letter from a recognized religion, requesting the
Government to allow me to sit the marriage officer exam.
I explained that we Pantheists were a new world reli-
gious order. In the beginning, I found that using existing
religious terminology definitely helped in opening up the
official government paperwork trail. New terms or words
tend to scare and shock most civil servants. I explained
that I was actually the head of our local South African
Pantheist “church” and titled myself as a Pantheist “Rev-
erend” (“celebrants” is a word not used here at all).
I was told that’s all fine - but I would first have to
have Pantheism classified as a religion and that would be
by government examination of our religious organiza-
tion’s constitution. I therefore put together a constitution
based on the WPM information with a few choice addi-
tions from some Pagan and humanist sites.
Our stated aims were:
•• To make the earth-honoring life-affirming nat-
uralistic form of Pantheism widely available as
a religious option and a rational alternative to
traditional religions.
•• To build up membership and promote Panthe-
ism.
•• To facilitate Pantheist child naming ceremo-
nies, weddings, and funerals.
•• To serve with love to meet human needs, car-
ing for the sick and aged, advocating dignity
and justice for all people, working for peace
and reconciliation among the nations, standing
with the poor and powerless, and committing
to their needs.
•• To nurture Pantheist members so as to grow in
faith, hope, and love, knowledge and power;
to see daily life as the primary setting for the
exercise of enlightenment, and to use the gifts
of the universe for their life together and for
their calling in the world.
•• To promote an expanding Pantheist presence
on the Internet and in other media of all types.
I made sure that NOWHERE in our constitution was
the word GOD used. Later I received a call from the De-
partment saying that they could not allow the constitution
to go through as a religious order as we did not have the
word “God” or “Gods” anywhere. They were adamant
that these words had to be in the constitution. Overall
they said the constitution was fine, just add the word
“God” anywhere and they would accept it. I refused!!
A long verbal sparring match with the civil service
started. One civil servant who was specifically deal-
ing with our case laughed and sneered at us all the way
through our many heated telephonic arguments - he con-

Lessons for future celebrants

The whole process taught us many lessons which might be useful to others thinking of becoming officially
certified marriage celebrants.
Irrespective of how many times you get shot down - and you will – don’t worry. Just continue to climb up
the chain of command. It appears the more educated intelligent people will be higher up and these should
normally be more understanding of our cause.
A lot of our initial success was based on using terminology that conservative government officials could
understand - like calling ourselves a church and using the title of Reverend. This definitely opened up the
paper trail a bit in the beginning if really needed and can be changed or amended later anyway.
We made a huge mistake in proclaiming too much of a “divine” belief in plants and rocks etc. We should
have stuck with the excellent WPM belief statement.
Religious discrimination is a very real and nasty affair once you are on the wrong side of it. Be prepared –
do not lose your cool no matter how much they bait or rile you up. My saving grace was to think of Gandhi
when stressed.

10

tinually referred to the fact that in an opening paragraph
in our constitution we had stated that we believe the di-
vine is in everything including plants and rocks.
How I regretted ever putting that paragraph in! Con-
tinually he would ignore our declaration of faith which is
the WPM core statement and sniggeringly say: “But you
believe in plants and rocks!” like we were really dumb
people. I could not now deny that statement; there was
nothing for it but to take the punch on my chin and just
stick to my course.
I realized I was getting nowhere with the lower grade
civil servants so I continued up the chain of command.
I knew that SA’s constitution guaranteed me religious
freedom on paper – but securing religious freedom with
predominately conservative and Christian civil servants
is a different matter. In the home affairs department I was
continually told: “I am not allowed to transfer your call to
my supervisor,” or “My supervisor does not deal directly
with the public – you must deal with me,” or “I may not
directly refer you to my supervisor but I will discuss your
case with them when next they are back from holiday/
hospital” etc etc.
Months and months went by as we were transferred
from one civil servant to another. By hook and by crook
and just by phoning enough times using different callers
and asking unrelated questions, we eventually figured out
The Capetown Pantheist Group
Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9
how the department works and managed to find out who’s
who. By this time one and a half years had gone by - I
was beyond angry and was threatening legal and constitu-
tional action. I had had enough and was prepared to take
this case to the highest court in the land if need be – irre-
spective of what it would cost me.
Eventually I managed to get the big boss lady in
charge of the entire marriage officers’ department, who
reported directly to the Minister of Home Affairs. She
was actually very nice and helpful, and quite shocked at
how badly we had been treated. She repeatedly apolo-
gized for her antagonizing staff. She even gave me her
direct phone number and told me she would inform/con-
sult the minister and their in-house legal department about
our case. A few days later she called back and told me the
good news that our constitution would be accepted with-
out the word God in it. However I would also have to sit
Civil Union exams in addition to the usual basic religious
Marriage Officer exams. This was actually a blessing in
disguise because it meant I would be able to marry gay
people and lesbians as well – as is every human’s right.
Even after final government approval, the religious
discrimination did not end. On the very day of writing my
final marriage officer exams, the head of my local home
affairs district office actively harassed me. She sarcasti-
cally enquired whether I believed in God? Did I believe in
11
Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9
the Bible? I was outraged, but tried to stay as cool as pos-
sible and just focus and concentrate on my final exam.
The exam covered all the laws and regulations regard-
ing marriages, in technical and legal language that you
CAN ONLY learn like a parrot. Get one word wrong and it
changes the whole law. It was like banging my head against
a brick wall for almost two and a half years to achieve the
above, but it was worth it if I help just one other person to
see the planet and universe as it is – magical in itself - with-
out the need for supernatural fairy tales and special dietary
rules, without the need for a God who is going to send me
to be tortured for all eternity because I mowed my lawn on
a Sunday.
12
In the end I passed, and the SA Government issued me
with certificates that confirm that I am a SA government
recognized and registered Pantheist Minister and an of-
ficially approved Marriage Officer for a legally registered
Pantheist church of South Africa! Pantheism is now an of-
ficially recognized religion in South Africa!
Now I plan to grow our small pantheist group, ap-
proaching Unitarian churches (I already gave my first
sermon), targeting environmentalist meetings and organiza-
tions, University students like freethinker clubs other Athe-
ist groups. Mostly I would like to focus on 18 to 35 year
olds - this is the most difficult group to reach but I believe
it will pay off the most in the long term.

So you want to be a celebrant?
The WPM has a two-tier scheme:
• On request, supporting members can get free certification to
officiate at the weddings of friends and relatives. All they need
to do is sign a statement that they will faithfully respect the
wishes of participants, and represent the WPM faithfully - or
not use the WPM name at all.
• Members who can document suitable prior qualifications can
get certification to marry anyone, and have the right to use our
name in advertising, on signing a similar statement.
It is the celebrant’s responsibility to find out the laws and
requirements, which vary from country to country and in some
federal countries such as the USA, from one state to another.
WPM certification does not confer any individual tax privileges
or free parking rights!
If you are interested write to celebrants@pantheism.net
with your detailed needs.
From the membership secretary
Mine is one of the first names that new members will see as
I send out welcome letters and a copy of Pan magazine, and
then, of course, you will hear from me again when it’s time
to renew. I wanted to let all the members know that being
membership secretary is a role that I take seriously, and I
consider myself fortunate to volunteer with the WPM in this
way and get to talk to some of you and hopefully answer
your questions or direct you to someone who can.
All the WPM board members feel strongly that our
members should know we are an active and supportive
group and when you have questions or concerns they aren’t
falling on deaf ears. In fact, sometimes you will get answers
to your questions from several people, including the WPM
president, treasurer, or our resident computer expert, and
we all work together to get things resolved. We try to get to
all questions in a timely manner; unfortunately sometimes
it make take a little longer than you hope but please be
patient, and if you think it’s taking too long, just email us
again. I have had several people tell me they are so glad
to know that there are “real people” working for the WPM,
so know that when you email membership@pantheism.net
you’re reaching a group of people who are committed to
making your membership in the WPM a good experience.
I also serve as a moderator on some of our lists and you
will occasionally see me post messages to the lists about
my own personal journey as a pantheist. Mostly, though,
I answer your emails and snail mails, send out welcome/
renewal letters, and post our monthly membership lists. I
live in western North Carolina and have a small local WPM
group and share my home with two cats and a dog.
My two grown daughters are my pride and joy, and
I enjoy spending time with them when I can, along with
being outdoors in these beautiful mountains (my pantheist
nickname is daughter_of_the_mountains), writing,
wandering through antique stores, volunteering for the
local cat shelter, and learning about my Celtic heritage,
while working full-time as a medical transcriptionist.
The WPM is made up of a wonderful group of people,
Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9
Other options:
Spiritual Humanism (http://www.spiritualhumanism.org/)
The Universal Life Church (http://www.themonastery.org/)
Both these organizations say they will ordain anyone – regard-
less of beliefs. Both make money by selling clergy materials,
some useful, many - in the ULC - spurious, frivolous or humor-
ous. Spiritual Humanism has a CD on the marriage laws of all
50 US states, in its “advanced clergy service pack.”
The Humanist Society (http://www.humanist-society.org/
celebrants/inquiry.html) has a network of celebrants in 33 US
states who will perform Humanist, nonreligious, and interre-
ligious weddings, commitment/same-sex unions, memorials,
baby namings, and other life cycle ceremonies. You can apply to
become a celebrant, which requires answering a questionnaire,
providing four references. There is an annual fee of $100.
WPM membership: Join or Renew
The World Pantheist Movement depends on the generous sup-
port of its members to sustain, improve and expand its activities
and services. If you would like to join or renew by check in US $,
please fill in the form below and mail check and form to us. Oth-
erwise please renew at http://members.pantheism.net/imdms/
or join at http://www.pantheism.net/join.htm
Please tick as applicable if this is an address change and if you
wish us to correct the database entry for you.
Name
Address 1
Address 2
City
State etc
Zip code
Country
New? Yes No
Change it? Yes I’ll do it
Membership level:
Basic ($30) Family ($60) Low Income ($12)
Other amount
Please mail this form with your check (US $ only) to:
World Pantheist Movement
P.O. Box 103, Webster, NY 14580, USA
intelligent, curious, knowledgeable, and willing to share,
and I’m glad to be a part of it, for almost 6 years now. If
you have questions or concerns or any kind of feedback
about your WPM membership, I hope to hear from you.
Sharon Wells
13
Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9

President’s Report WPM Summary Accounts 2007

INCOME
In 2007 our income and expenses contin-
Dividend From PayPal Money Market $232.25
ued to be roughly in balance, leaving us
with bank balances that would allow for Interest on Bank account $52.01
occasional experimental spending. They Membership Dues $11,299.02
are modest - the grand total would not be
enough to buy us a one-time one-third page
Other (transfer from former UK bank acct.) $227.07
ad in Scientific American. TOTAL INCOME $11,810.35
We have no staff costs because all our
officers and directors are unpaid volunteers.
Our major cost continues to be search ad- EXPENSES
vertizing – when people search for certain Keyword advertizing $4,708.05
words, they are shown short ads with links
Web hosting & domain names $483.00
to the World Pantheism website.
This serves two purposes for us. The Postage and shipping $608.81
first is informative - the snappy three-line Printing Costs $2,248.99
entries get the name pantheism better
known, and transmit the World Panthe- Incorporation fees $77.50
ist message in condensed form to people Finance Charges:
who are seeking information about closely
Credit Card processing fees $144.00
related areas. They spread our message
even if nobody clicks on the ads – and in M and T Bank fees $25.26
that case the message costs us nothing. PayPal fees $102.09
The second purpose is to get more people
interested in joining our free and member
Credit Card service renewal charge $449.18
lists and adding their details to our geo- Auto Fuel Reimbursed $8.60
graphic database. At present we are rather Equipment $184.01
widely scattered, which makes it more dif-
ficult to create local groups. Increasing our Services $149.00
numbers would make forming local groups Supplies $77.19
and special interest sections easier, and we
Misc (transfer from UK bank acct.) -$227.21
would also have more person-power for new
and existing WPM services. TOTAL EXPENSES $9,038.47
We have search ad accounts with Google, Net increment for 2007 $2,771.88
Yahoo and Microsoft. Google gets 8 to 10
times more impressions (showings) than the
other two. Altogether, since we started with Account Balances - As of 12/31/2006 $24,651.18
Google, our messages have been shown over Account Balances - As of 12/31/2007 $27,423.06
394 million times and our pages have gained
over 323,000 visitors. It’s the cheapest and
best-targeted form of advertizing: the cost
per 1000 messages (CPM) has averaged $0.05, or just one cent for every 200 impressions. The cost per direct visitor to our
site has averaged $0.07. Currently we are enjoying 6.6 million impressions per month. In August 2006 Google tightened
its rules and started to disable keywords if the ads did not achieve a minimum clickthrough rate. However, the threshold
was set quite high, especially for our type of activity which is not a specific product or service. Gradually almost all of
our keywords were disabled, and to re-enable them we had to pay more.
Our Internet costs will be lower in future years as all our pages are now hosted in one excellent low-priced place –
Site5. My own scientific pantheism site on pantheist theory and history also moved here after AOL suddenly closed down
their Hometown service where this site had previously been located.
Printing costs per issue of Pan have been lower since we shifted to using Fedex-Kinkos, and the print quality has been
much better. We would like to put out more issues of the magazine each year, but since it’s all done with volunteer labor,
this depends on securing enough help to do it. If you would like to help please email magazine@pantheism.net
Paul Harrison
14

Why I am
a Pantheist
New members write
When they join, new members
have the opportunity to make
their statement for publication.
I celebrate life, I cherish the
earth, I am a child of the
cosmos.
Valerie White
I have always felt that there
is a fiber that runs through
all of us and ties us to the
earth, nature, the universe as
we know it and beyond. I have
never been able to find a way
to express this feeling or be-
lief, but then I found the WPM.
The beliefs of the WPM fits like
a glove with how I perceive
the world and my place in it.
T. D.
I believe all of mankind needs
to fully understand where
they "fit" in the universe. The
more we understand and rec-
ognize the "magic" going on
around us everyday, the more
we will respect and honor it.
D. D.
I am at home tending nature,
in awe of everything that
grows, at home alone in na-
ture, the sky in unbelievable,
I do not attend a church or
traditional religion as it makes
the power of the Universe and
Nature too small. I am uplifted
by being outdoors. I wish my
knowledge was much larger
but I'm learning and enjoying
it.
Julie Homan
M y spiritual requirements
are met, not by abrogat-
ing my intelligence to revealed
religion and rituals, but rather
in the awe of natural science.
Shaiya Baer
T
he grains of sand on the
beach that I walk upon
are made of the same atoms
and energy as the waves that
lap at my feet, the wind, the
earth, the moon, the stars and
all of the most amazing things
I could ever imagine are all
part of and within us all. All
connected but with a different
destiny. Born from the same
universe that is trying to fig-
ure itself out - to better itself.
Knowing this gives me a great
respect for nature and human-
kind. The belief in self, in the
world and the universe will set
our true potential free.
Euan Wakenshaw
I see a numinosity in the
wonder of the natural uni-
verse that dwarfs all supernat-
uralist conceptions of deity.
A. G.
I am a lover of nature and I
believe we should be giving
and not taking from the earth.
We should be living in har-
mony with mother earth, not
abusing her for our own self-
ish needs for material things
we could live without. I be-
lieve god is nature and we are
all interconnected. Therefore
more compassion should be
spread. There is nothing more
beautiful than the truth. Na-
ture is the truth.
Julie Chapelhow
Pan Magazine Winter 2008/9
M y deepest experiences of
peace and wonder have
always come from consider-
ing the details of the amazing
macrocosm and microcosm
from which we arise, are sus-
tained and, at the end, re-
turned.
Michael Yonkers
I
've always felt a connection
to nature that could not be
explained by reverence to any
supernatural being. My beliefs
center around how all living
thing coexists with each other
and with nature in a timeless
cycle. I feel that, as individu-
als created by and returning to
nature, we are each part of a
universal consciousness that is
manifested in the peacefulness
and power of nature.
B. E.
IK. S.
just am. Always have been.
I have studied the Tao Te
Ching for many years, and
after discovering the WPM site,
realized I was a Pantheist all
these years as well, and didn't
even know it. I'm always in
awe of the stars, the summer
storms, the trees, the ocean,
the air - I feel such a part of
it all, down to my innermost
soul; it's a great and calming
feeling. I'm glad I found so
many others who feel it too.
Thanks.
Christopher Nolin
T
he world reveals itself to
my senses as a source of
wonder and even at times, ec-
stasy. Because of the scientific
picture of an ancient cosmos
unfolding wonder after wonder
through time, including stars,
microbes, living planet, blue
15
Pan Magazine Winter2008/9
skies, animals, rainforests,
oceans, and humans. Be-
cause of the great power and
beauty of nature. Because of
its rational breadth and depth,
comprehending the place of
traditional religions while giv-
ing a wider scope to religious
feeling that does not divide
into the humanistic and scien-
tific. Because it gives a place
to our imagining as well as our
knowing and doing – and sees
our imagining and acting as
part of the creativity of the liv-
ing universe itself.
Amy Hannon
I believe in the unity and
the individualistic nature of
all things, organic and non-
organic on the earth in the
atmosphere and in the whole
universe, and that we and all
things move within and are of
Special
events Calendar & Almanac
December
1 World AIDS Day
2 International Day for the
Abolition of Slavery
3 International Day of
Disabled Persons
10 Human Rights Day
25 Birth of Isaac Newton [1642]
29 International Day for
Biological Diversity
January
11 International Laughter Day
16 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Focus on non-discrimination
22 Surrender of Native lands by
Chief Seattle
16
the same rhythm - and that
rhythm is affirmative.
William Fell-Holden
I believe that everything on
earth, and in the universe,
is connected. Everything is
made of the same elements,
I find this difficult if not im-
possible to answer, much
as if you asked me why I am
constantly recycled in different
combinations. If we value our-
selves, we must value every-
right handed. As Popeye so thing else as having the same
often stated "I Yam what I components as ourselves.
Yam!" M. P. K.
Randy Holmes
I
have a reverence for all
I
struggle with the concept of of Nature. I have always
God as an individual, with thought the same spirit of life
human characteristics. I be- runs through all things of na-
lieve the energy that is within ture. You, me, the mountain,
us and all of creation is God. the tree, the very earth her-
The universe and all within it self.
is breathtaking and awesome
and fills me with love and
wonder - this energy makes
Yvette Tillema
me strive for compassion and
respect towards all beings.
E. F.
Equinoxes
& Solstices
February Winter solstice
2: Imbolc December 21 12:04
12: Darwin’s birthday: Evolution
14: Valentine’s Day: Day of partners Spring Equinox
15: Birthday of Galileo: Solar system March 20 11:44
17: Giordano Bruno’s martyrdom:
Religious freedom
March Full Moons
1: Yellowstone Park established:
focus on parks December 12 16:37
8: International Women’s Day January 11 03:27
14: Einstein’s birthday: the Univers February 9 14:49
Temple of Phliae, Egypt
March 11 02:38
All times Universal time =
Greenwich Mean Time