Me too. It was very difficult when we got married, trying to find someone who had a sense of Spiritual Authority, rather than just some bloke. I get that any priest is Just Some Bloke, a person whom we invest with special characteristics because he's wearing a magical hat. Still, there are times in ones life where that kind of thing is necessary, and marriage was one of them.
I would guess that the lack of kid-friendly is - among other reasons - lingering fear about pagans "corrupting children". The satanic panic goes deep: covens accepting children are opening themselves to more trouble, if trouble comes knocking. Additionally, the pagan value of not indoctrinating people into religion. Finally, a lot of pagan leaders simply not wanting to - because children need additional planning, or because they simply don't like children or know much about them.
But I agree: religion is, for most people, a family thing, and it plays a role in the whole life of people and communities. It's a bit bizzare for the Pagan standard to be "no children", with kid-friendly being the exception. And it's absolutely a barrier for people with children, who then can't participate due to practical concerns.
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I'm trying to think about my Future Self Who Leads Local Rituals, and how I feel about the presence of children. I actually redesigned my wedding around kids, because it was important for them to be there and happy: we were married outside, provided lots of lawn games, had no dress code, and explicitly told parents and kids that if they wanted to wander off that was fine. No sitting in uncomfortable clothes at my wedding!
So, I would be very on board for things like children attending walks and meals. But I think I would feel a bit weird about doing the invocation to Pan with children there. I don't know why. I suppose that fear of Doing Religion To Children in a way they cannot fully consent to. It's one thing to invite children to a springtime walk and craft afternoon; quite another to start talking to them about god. Perhaps that's a discomfort I should get over? No other faith seems to have this problem...
no subject
I would guess that the lack of kid-friendly is - among other reasons - lingering fear about pagans "corrupting children". The satanic panic goes deep: covens accepting children are opening themselves to more trouble, if trouble comes knocking. Additionally, the pagan value of not indoctrinating people into religion. Finally, a lot of pagan leaders simply not wanting to - because children need additional planning, or because they simply don't like children or know much about them.
But I agree: religion is, for most people, a family thing, and it plays a role in the whole life of people and communities. It's a bit bizzare for the Pagan standard to be "no children", with kid-friendly being the exception. And it's absolutely a barrier for people with children, who then can't participate due to practical concerns.
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I'm trying to think about my Future Self Who Leads Local Rituals, and how I feel about the presence of children. I actually redesigned my wedding around kids, because it was important for them to be there and happy: we were married outside, provided lots of lawn games, had no dress code, and explicitly told parents and kids that if they wanted to wander off that was fine. No sitting in uncomfortable clothes at my wedding!
So, I would be very on board for things like children attending walks and meals. But I think I would feel a bit weird about doing the invocation to Pan with children there. I don't know why. I suppose that fear of Doing Religion To Children in a way they cannot fully consent to. It's one thing to invite children to a springtime walk and craft afternoon; quite another to start talking to them about god. Perhaps that's a discomfort I should get over? No other faith seems to have this problem...