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Sacred Well Congregation International

Congregational Chaplain

Rev. Wes Isley

chaplain@sacredwell.org

After a job lay-off and a series of family deaths, Rev. Wes Isley felt a nudge to pursue full-time spiritual service after a career in magazine publishing. He received his MDiv from Cherry Hill Seminary and was ordained by Sacred Well in 2019.

Wes has worked as a hospital chaplain and as a volunteer chaplain with the American Red Cross and a local sheriff’s department. He has presented workshops on grieving
from a Pagan perspective, participated in LGBTQ Pride interfaith events and has an interest in the
spiritual dimensions of racial justice. He is currently a faculty mentor in the Community Ministry Program at Cherry Hill.

Wes first discovered his Pagan roots while wandering the woods as a child in North Carolina. As an adult, Wes was drawn back to Pagan practice by the spirits of another patch of woods. Newly retired, Wes currently lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with his husband and black lab Harley.

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Greetings from the officers of Sacred Well Congregation! We would like to wish all of you a happy and blessed Beltane, Bealtaine, May Day, or related festival celebrated at this time of year in the northern hemisphere. As the seasons change, nature grows green again and flowers bloom as the sun warms us out of the cold of winter.

In many Pagan traditions, this is a time to celebrate the fertility of the land and all its creatures (including humans). This may involve erecting a May Pole, which is decorated with ribbons as dancers weave around it. It is also a liminal time of year, the balance point of Samhain, and just as potent. It is a good time for cleansing and protection, as well as attending to matters of abundance.

In Irish tradition, Bealtaine marks the beginning of summer and the light half of the year. (It is also the name for the entire month of May in the Irish language.) Washing your face with morning dew on Bealtaine is believed to grant beauty and good fortune for the rest of the year, and gathering yellow flowers will bless your home.

Folklorist Alexander Carmichael collected poems and prayers from Scotland in his collection, Carmina Gadelica, including a poem called “Am Beannachadh Bealltain,” or “The Beltane Blessing.” This poem was originally written in a Christian context, but the version below has been shortened and adapted to be more appropriate for the Wiccan sabbat instead:

“Bless, O threefold true and bountiful,
Myself, my spouse, my children.
Bless everything within my dwelling and in my possession,
Bless the kine and crops, the flocks and corn,
From Samhain Eve to Beltane Eve,
With goodly progress and gentle blessing,
From sea to sea, and every river mouth,
From wave to wave, and base of waterfall.

Be the Maiden, Mother, and Crone,
Taking possession of all to me belonging.
Be the Horned God, the Wild Spirit of the Forest,
Protecting me in truth and honor.
Satisfy my soul and shield my loved ones,
Blessing every thing and every one,
All my land and my surroundings.
Great gods who create and bring life to all, I ask for your blessings on this day of fire.”

There are many ways to celebrate this holiday in your own practice. Below are a few ideas for crafts and recipes you may incorporate into your celebrations.

Make Flower Crowns
Take an afternoon to go out in nature and gather wildflowers. Once gathered, weave them into a flower crown. See this link to guide the crafting of your flower crown: https://www.moodymoons.com/2017/01/23/make-a-winter-hair-wreath/

Make Mini Maypoles
Assemble a mini maypole for use with space restraints and family fun. Gather ribbons of your and your participant’s favorite colors. See this link to guide the crafting of your mini maypole: https://www.moodymoons.com/2019/04/21/beltane-craft-mini-maypoles-in-3-steps/

Sweet Cinnamon Milk
Ingredients:
• 4 cups whole milk
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 Tbsp sugar or vanilla sugar

Directions:
• Put all ingredients together in a pan and heat to right before boiling. Turn off the heat and let the mix steep for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the caviar and add it back into the milk. Discard the cinnamon sticks and enjoy.
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Hail and good morning @followers,

This is Rev. Shane Nelson, the Executive Director of Sacred Well Congregation. I am completing my doctoral research and dissertation on Religious Trauma and Spiritual Abuse in the Pagan Community under the supervision of Dr. Munjed Murad (mmurad@unitedseminary.edu). In completing this research, I would appreciate your assistance. Please take a moment as you are willing and able to complete the questionnaire link at the bottom of this email.

This research project will be exploring the pervasiveness and impact of religious trauma and spiritual abuse experienced by members of the Pagan community in the United States. Through the consenting participation of these members of the Pagan community, a trauma informed spiritual care module will be developed and presented as a tool to provide care in an inclusive and validating way for spiritual care providers. Participants will only be expected to participate as long as is required to complete the questionnaire. For those individuals who choose to participate in the interview after the questionnaire, approximately 1 hour of time will be scheduled to participate in the interview process. As is true with any mental health related conversation, the answering of questions about religious trauma and spiritual abuse is very personal. The personal nature of these questions may result in increased feelings of discomfort. For this reason, the interviewee has the right to withdraw from the process, including the interview, at any time.

All information gathered in this study, and any personal information, will be coded to protect the participant and maintain anonymity. No names or other identifying information will be used when discussing or presenting the collected data. All qualitative and quantitative data collected will be aggregated in storage and reporting. The researcher will keep all files and data that are collected in a securely locked location in the researcher’s office. Once the data has been fully analyzed, it will be destroyed which will occur within two years of the individual’s interview date.

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Religious Trauma & Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire
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Neophyte Course Application

Please complete the form below. You will be redirected to PayPal to submit your tuition payment. If you do not complete your payment, your Neophyte Course application will not be processed.

  1. I understand that I will have eighteen (18) calendar months to complete the Roedi Training Course. If I have not completed the course at the end of this period, I will be dropped from the course with no refund of fees paid.
  2. I understand that I must be in communication with my mentor at least twice per month as a condition of continued enrollment.
  3. I understand that I may terminate my participation in this course by written communication to my mentor.

PRIVACY NOTICE AND CONFIDENTIALITY: All personal information will be held in strictest confidence and will not be released outside of the Sacred Well Congregation without your expressed written consent. Demographic information will be used for administrative and statistical purposes only and will not be released outside the Congregation in any form that would identify you as an individual. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are Manditory.

    Neophyte Application

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    Roedi Course Application

    Please complete the form below. You will be redirected to PayPal to submit your tuition payment. If you do not complete your payment, your Roedi Course application will not be processed.

    1. I understand that I will have eighteen (18) calendar months to complete the Roedi Training Course. If I have not completed the course at the end of this period, I will be dropped from the course with no refund of fees paid.
    2. I understand that I must be in communication with my mentor at least twice per month as a condition of continued enrollment.
    3. I understand that I may terminate my participation in this course by written communication to my mentor.

    PRIVACY NOTICE AND CONFIDENTIALITY: All personal information will be held in strictest confidence and will not be released outside of the Sacred Well Congregation without your expressed written consent. Demographic information will be used for administrative and statistical purposes only and will not be released outside the Congregation in any form that would identify you as an individual. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are Manditory.

      Roedi Application

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      Deaconry Training Program Application

      Please complete the form below. You will be redirected to PayPal to submit your donation. If you do not complete your payment, your Deaconry Training Program application will not be processed.

      PRIVACY NOTICE AND CONFIDENTIALITY: All personal information will be held in strictest confidence and will not be released outside of the Sacred Well Congregation without your expressed written consent. Demographic information will be used for administrative and statistical purposes only and will not be released outside the Congregation in any form that would identify you as an individual. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are Manditory.

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                Roedi Course Syllabus

                Introduction and Practical Application of GreencraftTM Wicca.

                Part I

                Lesson 1 – Traditional Craft Wicca

                Lesson 2 – Introduction to the Course

                Lesson 3 – The Goddess

                Lesson 4 – The God and The Wheel of the Year

                Lesson 5 – The Pentagram and the Four Elements

                Lesson 6 – The Ritual Circle

                Part II: Introduction to Greencraft

                Lesson 7– The Elements & Their Correspondences on the Wiccan Circle

                Lesson 8 – The Greencraft Quarter Calls

                Lesson 9 – The Sabbats in Greencraft

                Lesson 10 – Ritual and Ceremonial Magic

                Lesson 11 – Magical and Psychological Correspondences

                Lesson 12 – The Zodiac and the Planets

                Lesson 13 – Planetary Rulers

                Lesson 14 – The Astral in Wicca

                Lesson 15 – The Tree of Life

                Lesson 16 – Chants

                Assigned Reading Texts

                Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland

                Wheel of the Year : Living the Magical Life by Pauline and Dan Campanelli

                Wicca : The Old Religion in the Millennium by Vivianne Crowley

                Principles of Wicca by Vivianne Crowley

                Book of Shadows : A Modern Woman’s Journey into the Wisdom of Witchcraft and the Magic of the Goddess by Phyllis Curott

                The Witches Qabala: The Pagan Path and the Tree of Life by Ellen Cannon Reed

                There will be an additional five elective texts required to complete this course.

                After successful completion of this Course, the Student may request a Greencraft Neophyte Initiation.

                DTP Course Syllabus
                1. History, Development and Philosophy of Traditional Craft Wicca (TCW)
                2. Practice of Traditional Craft Wicca
                  1. Ethics: Rede, Rule of Three, Tenets
                  2. Greencraft Wicca: The Roedi Training
                  3. The Wiccan Circle
                3. The Sacred Well Congregation Principles and Philosophy
                  1. Organization
                  2. Covenants
                  3. Establishing and Leading a Group

                After successful completion of this Course, the Student may request a Greencraft Neophyte Initiation and/or Deaconry Ordination.