The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum (Archive Board)
October 03, 2023, 05:45:47 am *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: This is our Read Only Archive Board (closed to posting July 2011). Join our new vBulletin board!
 
  Portal   Forum   Help Rules Search Chat (Mux) Articles Login Register   *

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
October 03, 2023, 05:45:47 am

Login with username, password and session length
Donate!
The Cauldron's server is expensive and requires monthly payments. Please become a Bronze, Silver or Gold Donor if you can. Donations are needed every month. Without member support, we can't afford the server.
TC Staff
Important Information about this Archive Board
This message board is The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's SMF Archive Board. It is closed to new memberships and to posting, but there are over 250,000 messages here that you can still search and read -- many full of interesting and useful information. (This board was open from February 2007 through June 2011).

Our new vBulletin discussion board is located at http://www.ecauldron.com/forum/ -- if you would like to participate in discussions like those you see here, please visit our new vBulletin message board, register an account and join in our discussions. We hope you will find the information in this message archive useful and will consider joining us on our new board.
Pages: 1 [2]   Go Down
  Add bookmark  |  Print  
Author Topic: Your Definition of Clergy  (Read 7721 times)
RandallS
Co-Host
Administrator
Grand Adept Member
*****
Last Login:October 30, 2020, 08:18:05 am
United States United States

Religion: Hellenic Pagan
TCN ID: ADMIN
Posts: 17181


Blog entries (0)


« Reply #15: February 13, 2010, 05:13:54 pm »

(Bolding mine.)  I think you mean "temple"? Wink

Yes, I did mean "temple".  Thanks for catching this -- I've fixed it.
Logged

Randall
RetroRoleplaying [Blog - Forum] -- Out Of Print & Out Of Style Tabletop Roleplaying Games
Software Gadgets Blog -- Interesting Software, Mostly Free
Cheap Web Hosting -- Find an Affordable Web Host

Welcome, Guest!
You will need to register and/or login to participate in our discussions.

Read our Rules and Policies and the Quoting Guidelines.

Help Fund Our Server? Donate to Lyricfox's Cancer Fund?

Rowanfox
Master Member
****
Last Login:December 02, 2010, 12:55:53 pm
Canada Canada

Religion: Gardnerian
Posts: 472


Blog entries (0)



Ignore
« Reply #16: February 16, 2010, 11:12:18 am »

Ellen--I wish you well in your goals.  I hope that the religious life is everything you want it to be. Smiley

To those that responded about priest/esses being in charge of serving their Gods, how would simply serving their Gods differ than say serving a laity?

I'm loving these answers! Keep 'em coming. Smiley

Among Gardnerians, there is no laity......all members of the coven are priests and priestesses.

I can't speak for all members of my particular faith, but for myself, I tend to have a lot of separation between the spiritual and the secular. We are the hidden children of the gods, so very little outreach or PR is going on, and any counseling needed by coven members is usually sought from secular professionals.
Logged

Aster Breo
SIG Coordinator
Staff
Grand Adept Member
***
Last Login:January 29, 2013, 09:32:22 pm
United States United States

Religion: Feral Brighideach
TCN ID: Aster Breo
Posts: 5260


Avatar byJuni & Dania

Blog entries (0)


« Reply #17: February 16, 2010, 05:52:00 pm »

To those that responded about priest/esses being in charge of serving their Gods, how would simply serving their Gods differ than say serving a laity?

For me, serving Brighid means doing the work She tells me to (whatever it is), keeping Her flame, and living the values She has set for me.  It *might* involve "serving" other people in some way, but the *reason* is because it's Her work. 

In contrast, pastors are responsible for ministering to their congregations, which can include everything from administrative and supervisory duties in the church to marriage counseling to preaching.  My brother and SIL are both Methodist ministers, and I know they consider the service they provide to their congregations to be the work that God has set for them -- so, in that respect, they view their work for God in much the same way that I view my work for Brighid.  But the nature of the work is different.

The work has been a variety of things over the course of my life, and I expect that variety to continue.  F'ex, my training as a lawyer and work as a child and health advocate was Her work (although I didn't realize it when I started working on my masters or even my law degree).  My work as a lighting designer is also for Her.  My copious reading and studying about Celtic mythology, history, art, etc., was Her work.  (That's in the past tense because my ability to read has diminsihed greatly as my health issues have gotten worse.)  Being a foster mother for a while was also Her work.  And, right now, focusing on my health and trying to heal is the work She has given me to do (a recent epiphany!).

Keeping Her flame is about several things: the offering of fire, itself; the work to help establish and maintain the Cill; the dedication of time during which I'm specifically mindful of Her and setting aside time for activities related to Her work.  I consider the flame-keeping part of my responsibility to extend to all areas of my life.  Although I have the 19th shift in the Cauldron Cill (and other shifts in a couple of other Cills), I am *always* a flame-keeper and I try to stay mindful of that at all times.  One of my tattoos and a ring that I wear all the time are intended to help me with that.

The values are harder to define.  Part of that is also about staying mindful of Brighid and always trying to understand what She wants me to do -- easier said than done!  Tongue  Some of the values come from learning about Brighid, the role She plays/played in Celtic society, and Her areas of influence.  Some come from learning about the values of Celtic society.  And some come from my own UPG.

All that said, I should clarify that I'm not really comfortable with thinking of myself as a "priestess".  However, if I'd lived in Bronze or Iron Age Ireland, I might have been a priestess of Brighid, if that opportunity was open to me.  Since that isn't a possibility in my time and place, I think of myself as a "dedicant" of Brighid -- or something like that.  However, regardless of what I call myself, in general, I see my responsibility as being first to Brighid and second to myself.  That translates into some kinds of service to others.  But I see clergy as being responsible first to their god and second to their congregation.

YMMV, of course.   Smiley
Logged

"The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place."  ~ George Bernard Shaw

Donor Ad: Become a Silver or Gold Donor to get your ad here.

Tags:
Pages: 1 [2]   Go Up
  Add bookmark  |  Print  
 
Jump to:  
  Portal   Forum   Help Rules Search Chat (Mux) Articles Login Register   *

* Share this topic...
In a forum
(BBCode)
In a site/blog
(HTML)


Related Topics
Subject Started by Replies Views Last post
What is Clergy? « 1 2 3 »
Pagan Religions
HeartShadow - Cutethulhu 40 17067 Last post March 10, 2010, 12:31:32 pm
by Grins
Definition of a God « 1 2 3 »
Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology
HeartShadow - Cutethulhu 30 11517 Last post June 06, 2008, 02:38:14 am
by Waldfrau
Your Definition of Magic? « 1 2 »
Miscellaneous Magical Discussions
RandallS 17 5916 Last post November 12, 2009, 09:16:16 pm
by Shadowolf
Your definition of Faith « 1 2 »
Faith in Everyday Life
Lovesdalionking 21 12182 Last post July 05, 2010, 08:58:09 pm
by Fyreflyes
Christian Clergy Member Apologizes for Attitude Toward Pagans
Religious News
Asch 3 2795 Last post May 26, 2011, 06:00:38 pm
by skyth
EU Cookie Notice: This site uses cookies. By using this site you consent to their use.


Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2006-2008, Simple Machines
TinyPortal v0.9.8 © Bloc
Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
Page created in 0.101 seconds with 39 queries.