Donating to My Future

I recently donated to the Sacred Paths Center although I am not in Minnesota and I am doubtful I will ever make it up to Paganistan.  Why, then, did I donate?  I did it because I believe in putting my money where my mouth is, and because they didn’t plead with me for it.

The site for Sacred Paths says it all, “There are thousands of us here in the Twin Cities metro, and among us all, we can’t give $3000 a month to keep that banner standing open. What does that say—really say—about “Pagan Community”?”  The SPC have made a stand and are challenging the Pagan community to stop talking and start doing.

I could say they should have started smaller, with a lower overhead and less things going on.  $3000 a month does sound like outrageous rent to me, but I’m not from that area.  I could say I don’t have enough to donate.  After all, I am a single mom struggling to get out of debt. I could say that I will never go visit. 

Instead, I donated $10.

The center is a community center, a place that is wholly Pagan and sacred.  It isn’t a meeting room at the UU or a shelter at a park.  It is a visible, tangible place where Pagans can be Pagans and leave the sacred altar flame alight.  It is a place where other religions can see we are dedicated to our faith and here to stay.

I long for such a temple here in Central Iowa.  If I cannot support Pagan community elsewhere, how am I to support it at home?  Who else is going to want to put forth the effort to make a physical place for Pagans when Paganistan cannot keep one going?  What hope is there my Iowan temple if they can’t do it?  Therefore, I put my money in a cause I believe in. 

If ten people like me donate $10 each, that’s a $100.  But more importantly, that’s ten people willing to give of themselves to see our community grow and thrive.  That’s ten people invested in the future of our faith.