CUUPS Newsletter

Spring 2025

It’s Time for General Assembly ’25

Welcome, New Board of Trustees

Gathering Pagan Leaders & Elders

Summit for Religious Freedom

UU Values & Climate • Volunteering

The board replaced empty board seats in January with three new members. We welcomed Victoria Yankovich and Lisa Dunaway and invited Jerrie Hildebrand to return after her two-year break.

Victoria Yanovich (she/her) is a pagan trans woman who actively explores her spirituality through earth-centered practices and rituals. She is involved with the First UU Church of Columbus (Ohio) Youth Group and previously volunteered on the Worship Team. In 2023 and 2024, she represented her congregation as a delegate at the UUA General Assembly. In one of her career leadership roles, she co-chaired the LGBTQ+ employee resource groups and now co-chairs the Education subcommittee. Her volunteer efforts in the local community include serving as a non-faculty advisor for the ham radio club at Ohio State University, working as a poll worker during elections, and helping with local plant societies.

Victoria has been volunteering with CUUPS to assess changes we may need to make to our bylaws, vision, and mission statements. Her role on the board will involve partially learning to manage membership and creating opportunities for members to engage with one another.

Lisa Dunaway is a committed Unitarian Universalist Pagan deeply committed to social justice and equity. She resurrected the Earth Rising CUUPS chapter at the UU Fellowship of the Penisula in Newport News, Virginia. Lisa contributes her time and energy to their initiatives and fosters community among fellow members. Her strong follow-through and collaborative spirit in a team setting are incredible.

Lisa has been volunteering with CUUPS, organizing needed administrative tasks, and crafting materials for newsletters the organization has been slowly creating for UU Pagan incarcerated people. On the board, Lisa will continue with newsletter development and supporting the board in organizational endeavors.

Rev. Jerrie Hildebrand has been affiliated with various national earth—and nature-centered organizations since 1986, serving on governing boards and in various official roles. She is the past president of CUUPS, a member of First Church Salem Unitarian Universalist in Massachusetts, and an ordained Circle Sanctuary minister since 2005. She has served on boards and committees within her church and is a former Ambassador of the Parliament of World Religions. She has written for many publications in the Pagan/Earth-Centered communities, such as SageWoman, Witches & Pagans, Circle Magazine, and CUUPS NUUS. She was a co-editor and co-author of the book Pagan and Earth-Centered Voices of Unitarian Universalism by Skinner House Press.

Given her strong background in communications and networking, Jerrie has been invited back to the board to manage communications and media and networking with national and international earth-centered communities. She will also work with supporting volunteers.

If you want to serve on the CUUPS board, please consider volunteering with the organization. If you are interested in volunteering, don’t hesitate to contact us! We have many small and large projects we would love to get done. Volunteer opportunities are available for those who want to support the organization and provide a welcoming place for those who practice various forms of Paganism and Earth-based spiritualities.

Blessed Be, Namaste,

Rev. Dr. Om Prakash (John Gilmore)

Co-Chair CUUPS & Right Relations Liaison

Ron Zorn

Co-Chair CUUPS & Treasurer

This year, CUUPS Board members will support the CUUPS Table in the Exhibit Hall and be on-site and online to meet and greet you.

Support the Exhibit Hall Table, Worship Program, & Virtual Bardic Circle!

If you can support the exhibit hall table, help with the ritual, or volunteer on-site in Baltimore, contact info@cuups.org. We especially want to connect with Baltimore/Maryland chapter chapters and members.

Two CUUPS Programs Accepted for GA!

We are pleased to announce two fun programs for the General Assembly. One will be fully on-site, and the other entirely online as a virtual presentation. They are:

On-Site Presentation – Grounding Our Heart’s Ties to the Earth

At this time of the year, when the days are longest, reinforce your heart’s connection and Unitarian Universalist values as stewards and caretakers of our planet. Through meditation, song, prayer, and participation, we gather to honor and anchor our spirits to the healing of our sacred Earth in the community. Presenters: CUUPS Board Members & Volunteers

Panel Presentation – Broadening Horizons: Expanding Interpretations

of Earth-Centered Traditions (Virtual for GA Participants)

It is time to explore the tapestry of earth-centered traditions beyond typical models in Unitarian Universalism. This panel discussion delves into diverse spiritual practices honoring various cultural wisdoms and connections with nature. Hear about practices, community work, and insights that connect and nurture a broader understanding of our interconnected world.

Moderator: Rev. Jerrie Hildebrand, CUUPS Board Member

Panelists:

UUA & CUUPS in Action

The Unitarian Universalist Association joined a coalition of Christian and Jewish organizations in a lawsuit against the current federal administration’s immigration policies. This federal overreach violates the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, inhibiting the ability to live our faith and keep sacred spaces safe. You can read more about this at bit.ly/uuworld-immigration.

Summit for Religious Freedom – April 5-7, 2025

The CUUPS Board voted to sponsor this conference crafted by Americans United for the Separation of Church & State (AU), The conference will run virtually and in person in Washington, DC. We joined as a sponsor with one other Pagan/Earth-centered organization, Circle Sanctuary, out of Wisconsin. For more information or to register, go to thesrf.org

Intrafaith Actions

To stay connected and informed for our members who identify as earth-centered and participate in various Pagan communities and traditions, CUUPS Co-Chairs asked Jerrie Hildebrand to join with leaders and elders nationwide to discern what actions might be needed at times like these. These talks are in their infant stages; we will share more information as we have it. We hope the discussions will create resources for the people of the earth to support our constitutional rights and religious freedom with other faith communities, as well as create resources for chapters to support the UUA and Pagan groups. During our board meeting this month, we will discuss our priorities and decide on our next steps. We are discerning the group’s processes and agendas, sharing input on standing in a place of hope on the many values we share with the world’s faith communities.

Creating Opportunities for Members to Gather

In the meantime, the board is discussing ways to create opportunities for members and friends to gather to care for one another’s hearts with connection during these unsettling times. If your chapter has opportunities like this that are already available online, please send the information to Victoria, CUUPS Engagement Coordinator so that we can create a list of opportunities.

By Dr. Susan Foster, CUUPS Chapter Coordinator

Interdependence is a shared UU value: “We honor the interdependent web of all existence.” We as UU pagans resonate deeply with the value of interdependence, as we honor the earth and all its inhabitants as sacred. Another name for the interdependent web of existence is ‘Gaia.’ Known as Mother Earth, Gaia was a primordial Greek goddess who was the personification of the earth and everything that lives on it. The Gaia hypothesis, first formulated by James Lovelock in the 1970s, holds that Gaia is a single, complex, self-regulating organism that creates the conditions for life on earth.

In this aspect, Gaia is a benevolent goddess who became the precondition for life itself. As a mother goddess, Gaia’s nurturing, life-giving nature has been emphasized. But like many other goddesses, she also has a destructive, fierce side, which has been overlooked as part of her character. She can be an agent of massive destruction, with her tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms, typhoons, cyclones, tropical storms, drought, floods, wildfires, heatwaves, heat domes, freezes and cold waves, and ice and hailstorms. As climate change has worsened, extreme weather events have increased in frequency and intensity all around the world. An enraged Gaia may be seeking retribution against humans for mistreating the earth with pollution, deforestation, fracking, burning fossil fuels, etc., as part of the capitalist exploitation of the environment which has caused global heating. It may be that the disasters Gaia causes are her way of maintaining equilibrium in her self-regulating system so that earth can survive despite the harm humans inflict on her. Lovelock speculates that the Covid epidemic may have been Gaia’s way of trying to protect herself. He warns that if we don’t take the climate crisis seriously, Gaia will try harder next time with something even more disastrous. She works, in her own way, to bring about climate justice.

As I think about earth’s future, I am reminded of a scene from the movie “On the Beach” about the end of the world: a ghost city stands empty, with a banner hanging that reads,

“There is still time, brother.” If we do not respect or venerate the earth as sacred, rather than a resource to be plundered, pillaged, and exploited, we may find ourselves in the same situation. As UU pagans, let us protect and preserve the health of the earth through climate justice policies while we still can. Let us take action, while there is still time, brothers and sisters. Let us support the value of interdependence so that we can enjoy a sustainable future in which we can all live harmoniously with Mother Earth. An earth-based chant says it all: “The earth is our Mother; we must take care of her.”

Invitation to Volunteer!

Nominating Committee

• All of the exact requirements as board members
• An awareness of UU Pagans and Earth-Centered Spirituality to discuss participating on the board.
• Good Networker

Contact info@cuups.org with information about yourself for us! Please let us know if you’re interested.