In August 2014, inspired by the publication of an environmental statement by the Covenant of the Goddess, and spurred on by the increasingly urgent need for personal and societal reform of our relationship to the environment, John Halstead published a public call for interested parties to gather to prepare a draft Pagan Community Statement on the Environment.
Interested individual Pagans and representatives of Pagan groups gathered on Facebook during September 2014. Membership in the group was open to anyone who self-identified as Pagan or part of the Pagan community, until approximately 50 members joined, at which time the group was closed in the interest of maintaining the functionality of the working group. A special effort was made to invite individuals from a variety of different Pagan traditions, with the understanding that no such group could be completely representative of the Pagan community. Membership in the working group has fluctuated somewhat over time. Between 40 and 50 individuals contributed to the draft statement to varying degrees.
After a period of discussion, weighing the pros and cons of the different privacy settings available on Facebook, a collective decision was made to make the Facebook group “Closed”. The “Closed” setting allows anyone to find the group and see who is in it, but only members can see posts.
The working group proceeded to discuss the broad themes for the draft statement and to review similar statements published by other religious groups, including but not limited to, those published by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation.
In October 2014, the working group divided into 6 subgroups, each with a designated facilitator, to work on different parts of the draft statement. After a period of approximately 3 weeks, the subgroups rotated. Each group worked on each of the 6 parts. In March 2015, the work of the groups on the different parts was combined, final suggestions were made by the group members, and the facilitators met to prepare a the final version of the draft statement.
The draft statement was posted for a period of public comment from March 31, 2015 through April 21, 2015, during which time revisions were made in response to the comments. The statement was then published in its final form on Earth Day, April 22, 2015.
If you wish to add your voice, click here. The statement only represents you if you sign it.
Between 40 and 50 individuals contributed to the draft statement to varying degrees. The following individuals have expressed a desire to have their names listed here as contributors to the draft statement:
Adrian Harris
Bart Everson*
Belladonna Laveau
Crystal Blanton
David Dashifen Kees
David Pollard
Dawn Hancy
Elizabeth Sturino
Erin Lale
Glenys Livingstone
Imari S. Nuyen-Kariotis
Jo Carson
John Halstead
Dr. Jon Cleland Host (“Equinox”)
Lupa
M. Macha NightMare (Aline O’Brien)
Michelle Claire White
Michael York
Morandir Armson
Nimue Brown
Peg Aloi
Rua Lupa
Sam Webster
Vyviane Armstrong
Rev. Xia, Temple of the Goddess
Yvonne Aburrow
* A special thanks to Bart Everson for sharing the ecopagan.com domain for the publication of the statement.