Cherry Hill Seminary
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Cherry Hill Seminary, located in South Carolina, is an educational institution for Pagan teachers, ministers and clergy. Cherry Hill has more than twenty full-time or part-time faculty. Some, such as M. Macha Nightmare, are well-known in the pagan community; most are published authors/scholars in their field; nearly all are practitioners in the areas they teach. Cherry Hill does not offer introductory-level classes; instead it is designed to assist pagans already knowledgeable in their chosen path who feel called to take on a leadership/service role in the pagan community.
Founded in 1997 by Kirk White in Bethel, Vermont, the school relocated its headquarters to Columbia, South Carolina in 2008.
Programs
Instruction is done online, although a minimum of two on-campus residencies are required prior to graduation. Weekend intensives are also periodically offered at other locations[1]. Classes are considered to be graduate level in terms of the intellectual effort involved, and a bachelor's degree is required for admission. Courses cover the full range of responsibilities expected of a minister or pastor of any faith, including rites of passage, chaplaincy in prisons or military institutions, crafting a wedding, building a pagan community, comparative religion, history of religion, congregation administration, grant writing and fund raising, and other skills and knowledge useful to spiritual group leaders and counselors.
The Cherry Hill Seminary is a non-profit seminary providing professional ministerial education at a graduate level for Pagan clergy.
Overview
Cherry Hill Seminary provides higher education and practical training in Pagan ministry. Its Web site states that it is the first and only graduate-level education for Pagan ministry in the world. Cherry Hill Seminary offers online distance-learning classes, regional workshops and intensive retreats.
Cherry Hill's business office is located in Columbia, S.C. The seminary's classes take place online and it accepts English-speaking students from around the world.
History
Cherry Hill Seminary was founded in 1996 by Kirk White. As a result of his involvement with the Wiccan Church of Vermont (now Church of the Sacred Earth), White felt that a seminary that met the needs of Pagan clergy was called for. Originally, White served as President, Academic Dean, Administrative Dean, and almost any other role that was required. Soon after, Cat Chapin-Bishop joined to create the Pagan Pastoral Counseling Department. Judy Harrow, M. Macha NightMare and Laura Wildman-Hanlon were among the first teachers.
Cherry Hill is now organized as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization under the laws of the United States, and donations are tax-deductible for U.S. citizens.
Academic Standing
Cherry Hill Seminary has been granted an official exemption from South Carolina requirements for educational institutions[citation needed], meaning it can legally grant Master of Divinity degrees. Faculty and administrators are actively developing programs to offer M.Div. degrees in Pagan Ministry, Pagan Pastoral Care and Counseling, and Pagan Studies.
In addition, the seminary offers courses under the Pagan Community Education for Lifelong Learning (PCELL) program, which is geared toward those Pagans who do not need or want a formal master's degree.
The seminary is also seeking accreditation from the Distance Education Training Council (DETC), a process which will take several years.
Programs
Text, Tradition, & Interpretation studies the literature, language(s), traditions, arts, philosophy, theoiology, history, ethics and development and contemporary expressions of Pagan groups, tribes, and communities throughout the world.
Nature, Deity & Inspiration studies the history and development of human interaction with the natural world and its ecosystems, spiritual formation, direct personal and community mystical experience, divination and augury, practice, devotion, meditation, and prayer.
Pastoral Care & Counseling trains students to become Pagan Pastoral Counselors and enhances ministry skills in Pastoral Care, explores how they as Pagans serve others, and studies the counseling and/or caregiving encounter. Includes clinical chaplaincies – those that focus on providing service to persons in immediate, acute, crisis, such as hospital and military chaplaincy.
Public Ministry & Expression equips students to serve the intra-religious Pagan community, and includes ritual, religious leadership, education, the arts, and chaplaincy which provides services primarily for Pagans in long-term, ongoing or chronic settings such as prisons, educational institutions or organizational situations.
Pagan Advocacy prepares students to serve the pan-Pagan community in interfaith, inter-religious and secular venues, and to promote religious and other rights and responsibilities, through interfaith chaplaincy and dialogue, media relations, activism and public advocacy.
Web Links
References
- ^ "Announcing the Cherry Hill Seminary Winter Intensive 2008 - "Growing a Pagan Nonprofit Organization"". Pantheacon.com. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
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