I came across the NeoPagan network when I first went to the Unitarian College in Manchester to begin my training for ministry. They were a secret society who wrote to each other using pen names! In those days the Unitarian Movement seemed very much a branch of Christianity. The only difference being that Unitarians did not accept the doctrine of the Trinity. Instead they saw God, Jesus and Spirit as separate entities rather than a combined one. 

For many ‘pagan’ was going too far. Paganism had an image, thanks to its modern reviver Gerald Gardiner, of naked maidens dancing their way through the ash grove in the moonlight. We were a bit low on maidens and none of us fancied going naked – or ‘sky-clad’ as some pagans call it. Just as there are as many different groups within churches, as there is amongst Unitarians, so there is among the Pagan community. Some worship nature gods, some like rituals and dressing up. The Unitarian Neo-Pagans were interested in the spirituality of the earth and the cycle of the seasons. To emphasise that we were not sky-clad dancers we changed our name to the Unitarian Earth Spirit Network.

On our website we say the Network is for those who finds spirituality in nature. There is a spiritual energy alive in the natural world. It can be felt in those moments when we engage with the beauty of our surroundings. Tune into it and there is a sense of peacefulness and wonder. The world turns through the seasons and we celebrate every one of them by noting the significant turning points. 

Connecting with the seasons also connects us with the continuity of life, that our generation are torch bearers for the traditions and lives of our ancestors who lived close to the land. The word ‘pagan’ came from the Romans. It was their word for ‘country dwellers’. There was a religious significance for the changing seasons.

They were recognised with festivals based on the perceived movements of the sun. There were the sun festivals: the winter and summer solstices and the equinox between them. All were celebrated. Between each was another. When Christianity arrived the festivals were embedded in the culture. They were not going to be given up, so the church simply ‘Christianised’ them. ‘All Souls replaced Samhain which is a celebration of ancestors. Candlemas replaced Imbolc, which comes on February the second.

Imbolc is my favourite. It is still cold but the sun is waking the world up. Seeds in the soil will germinate, sheep in the field begin to lactate in preparation for the birth of lambs, birds are looking for mates and start to build nests. The rigidity of resting tress start to loosen. Cold it may still be, but life is waking up from sleep. Then there is May Day and then Harvest. I love this travel through the year. I love looking out for the clues of change. I feel a connection to it and to my ancestors. I feel the spirit of life as a divine presence.

The Unitarian Earth Spirit Network is one of the Societies of the UK Unitarians. The Network is for anyone who finds spirituality in nature. We have a website and a Facebook page. Membership costs £15 a year, which supports our Unitarian activities. We have a slot at the Annual Meetings and produce a magazine called ‘The File’. This year we are planning worship material for congregations based on the festivals of the ‘Wheel of the Year’.

To know more about the Network, please contact me either through the website or by email to tony.mcneile@gmail.com. 

Rev. Tony McNeile