Avalon Cares: Officers of Avalon Mobilized to Assist Katrina Victims

[BeachWitch]

4 September 2005

Dear Friends:

The response to the Avalon Cares appeal has been tremendous. I'm writing this to give you an update on how much has been collected so far and where it is going. As of early yesterday afternoon Avalon Cares had collected $6,322.47 and donations are still coming in. That's in just two days. Thank you very much to all of you that donated. This is a wonderful start, but just a start. This disaster relief effort will take many months to complete.

Many people that have just heard of us are writing to see who we are, as unfortunately there are some predators out there setting up fake charities to bilk unsuspecting donors of their money. Many people have written to express concerns about large NGOs that have
large overhead costs that eat up much of the money sent in. Some have written to tell me that in the past, when they've tried to forward funds and goods from their organization's fund raising efforts to Christian aid organizations, these things have been turned away as the recipients refused to accept anything from P a g ans. This is especially frustrating in light of several churches and government officials recently claiming that P a g ans don't do
anything for their communities.

Officers of Avalon is an organization made up of P ag an emergency services personnel that is incorporated in Nevada and has 501 (c) status. Avalon Cares is a relief fund created and run by our Chancellor General as part of our commitment to serve the community. Officer of Avalon's operating costs are modest and entirely covered by the dues of our members. None of the Grand Preceptory (our board of directors) receive remuneration of any sort for the work that we do for Officers of Avalon. We're all volunteers. 100% of the money collected by our Avalon Cares project is going to the relief effort. We are endeavoring to give the funds collected directly to those who need them.

As our members are P a ga n professionals in the emergency services, we've had a lot of people on the ground in the affected areas from the start. Some of our members are involved in providing security for the Houston Astrodome where many of the displaced have been temporarily housed. These members, in turn, are in contact with other emergency services professionals in the affected areas. We're using this network to gather information on where support is most needed. We don't want to duplicate efforts made by other agencies.

Yesterday I was contacted by a Wiccan priestess who is the sister of the president of a major police support organization. She told me how "the New Orleans police have been trying to bath in pool water, they are exhausted, hungry, dehydrated and besieged. Many have run out of ammunition to defend themselves. FEMA turned back aid from police officers from Virginia yesterday." The husband of Wiccan priestess Vel Reith of the ATC is a police captain in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. He's been trying to house and feed his police officers at this own house. They've run out of food and water, they have been wearing the same clothes since the hurricane, they're sleeping in body armor as they're being shot at while trying to do their duties.

These people are the ones trying to provide security for the rescuers. These people are doing a lot of the rescue work themselves. If we don't support them, they can't support the people they're sworn to serve. Our Treasurer General called me in my police car from his last night and we finalized a plan to get a truck load of supplies down to these people so that they can carry on. This will be the first place that some of our money will go.
Let me emphasize once again that all of the money is going to those who need it. I understand that the truck is being loaned to us free of charge, the security for this convoy is being provided by P a g an cops volunteering for this mission. Joie, our Chancellor General and the person behind Avalon Cares is collecting toiletries from businesses in Florida. Our goal is: No overhead costs. So far we appear to be succeeding.

This is not the only place that money will go. Other needs will be addressed as we become aware of them. I encourage you all to give us your suggestions on this subject. Another plan being discussed is to set up a support camp for survivors and volunteers in the disaster area. ATC people can supply the base camp tents and basic equipment. This is a more complicated proposition, involving volunteer time and transportation. We'll keep you posted on how this develops.

Many people from the P a g an, Afro-Diasporan and Gay communities have been displaced by this disaster. Some of you have written in offering accommodation in your homes. This is greatly appreciated. We're working with the ATC and the Correllians to coordinate this
and match up housing to those in need. If you know any one who needs housing, please write to us and we'll connect them up to these resources.

One person wrote to suggest that we contact major employers to arrange for them to match the funds donated by employees. This is an excellent idea but one which will take some time to accomplish. If you have an employer who matches funds in this manner let us know and we'll look into it as soon as we can.

Once again, this is a fabulous start and one to be proud of. We're showing the world what P a g ans can do. Yet we must stick with it. As I said earlier, this is a massive relief operation and will be going on for some time. We need you all to continue to donate what
you can. If you can't donate money, donate your time to volunteer efforts. Do your own fund raising events to help us in this disaster relief effort. Open your doors to the displaced. Give blood. If you're a P a ga n in the emergency services or related fields, join us at Officers of Avalon and help us help Pagans.

Kerr Cuhulain
Preceptor General
Officers of Avalon

[Danustouch]

Great letter, only thing that bothered me was the last line. "Help us help pagans". How about just "Help us pagans, help all of those effected by this tragedy". I admire the sentiment, and am so happy to hear that there is an organization like this out there. I'm just worried that (if the last line was a correct statement), it's not going to acheive what it hopes to acheive. For years, pagans (myself included) have criticized various christian charities for offering charitable help (food, clothing, etc) while simultaneously building churches in the communities it has helped, and prosthelytizing. It has seemed to many of us that the "fee" for the charity, was religious conversion. Likewise, Christian organizations have criticized the pagan community for NOT being as organized in our charitable endeavors as they are. If this organization is set up primarily to help PAGANS effected by tragedies such as Katrina, I don't think it's going to change the mind of some of the larger, more well established mainstream religions and their organizations.

In short, I think it will say MUCH more to those who are critics of Paganism, if our energies and charitable donations are given without ANY sort of religious preference as to who they are distributed to....

[MorningDove030202]

http://avaloncares.org/invision/index.php?showtopic=10 (http://avaloncares.org/invision/index.php?showtopic=10)

Q- Is the money raised only going to Pagans?

A- No. Need is need.

Q- Is the money only going cops or EMS people?

A- No. Need is need.

[Danustouch]

I'm happy to hear that. I just saw the letter, where it said "Help us help pagans...". I'm glad that they clarify that in their FAQ's.

[BeachWitch]

Officers of Avalon:
http://www.officersofavalon.com/ (http://www.officersofavalon.com/)

To those of you who have emailed me directly about donations and taking in families, please go to the website and submit your information:
http://www.officersofavalon.com/contact.php (http://www.officersofavalon.com/contact.php)

I am not affiliated with the group, I am just passing on the information.

*****************************************************
DT - I happen to prefer Pagan-only organizations. You may feel it's perfectly alright, but the last thing I would want to see in the middle of a disaster or tragedy is a pallet of crates filled with bibles when there is a shortage of food and water. Seems just a tad bit short sighted if you ask me. You think maybe the Officers of Avalon are handing out Gardner's books or maybe a few tomes by Zimmer-Bradley while they tend to the suffering?

I know, I am bucking the system by promoting *gasp* a Pagan organization on a Pagan forum - how absolutely inappropriate of me.

[Danustouch]

Beachwitch, You must have misread my original post. What I had said, was in the past, we (pagans) have criticized them (christians) for doing just what you are stating..sending crates of bibles, building churches, etc, where people are merely struggling for basic survival necessities (such as missionary organizations which use poverty and famine as a way to 'convert' people). So I agree with what you are saying. What I had objected to, was the thought that the help of a pagan organization, would ONLY go to pagan individuals..which would mean that we would not be any better than those christian organizations that do the same..(witholding help to those in need, regardless of religious creed or ones affilliation. Giving from the heart, without stipulations).

I'm not at ALL shocked that people would prefer to donate THROUGH a Pagan Organization, even prefer donating to it, above Salvation Army. I've had my own issues with the Salvation Army for quite some time, as well as with Christian Childrens Fund, and some other organizations. So I'm happy there IS a pagan organization out there who is willing to roll up their sleeves and help, without trying to be missionaries for their religion, while doing so. :achillpil

[BeachWitch]

I must have misunderstood your post.

I am thinking of all the Voodoun Priests and Priestesses, who probably are folded into the population of the Superdome and Civic Center, forced to deal with all the preaching by the Evangelists. Their faith is being (probably being) trampled upon in the name of "disaster relief).

[Danustouch]

Well, yes..that is a concern. However, I think they've had plenty of that in their past, and probably know quite well how to deal with it ;) I'm sure they'll give the evangelists a much harder time than the evangelists are giving them....;) _witchball

[BeachWitch]

This is an update and to let anyone who wants to donate have a chance at meeting up with the truck:

Hello, Everyone,

Mike Smith of the Pagan Travel Network has a truck coming to Healing Earth Resources this weekend, it will be taking the following much-needed suppplies to New Orleans:.

• Water,

• Baby Formula

• Diapers

• Mosquito Netting

• Mosquito Repellent

• Simple Non-Perishable Food Items

• Large Tarps,

and Wal-Mart Cards, in Small Amounts, to cover the cost of Gas, for the Truck!

When you come to the FOI convention, please bring any or all of the above as a donation, if you can.

Healing Earth will have donation boxes set up.

the truck will pick up the donations at closing time.

The truck will be back in Chicago, for the Fundraiser at the Excalibur Club, Wednesday September the 21st, from 8pm till 11pm.


Use the contact form to get info on the exact address of the truck this weekend:
http://www.officersofavalon.com/contact.php (http://www.officersofavalon.com/contact.php)

[jcldragon]

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/174/story_17489_1.html (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/174/story_17489_1.html)

A Pagan Response to Katrina
By Starhawk



As Pagans, as worshippers of nature, how do we respond to an event like Hurricane Katrina, one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of the United States? What does it mean to ‘worship’ something that, with one breath, can wipe out a major city? Do we see this as punishment, retribution for some Pagan sin? As an object lesson in the reality of climate change and global warming? As an overheated Goddess batting away some of the oil rigs contributing to her fever?

Of course, no one can speak for all Pagans. There is no overall Council of Pagan Thealogy to hand down an official dogma. But here is my own answer, as a priestess, teacher, writer, activist and thealogian.

Pagan religions are not punishment systems. We don’t worship Gods of retribution, but a Goddess—or Gods and Goddesses-- of mystery, in many aspects. The Goddess has immense power, both creative and destructive: the power that pushes a root out from a tiny seed and sends its shoot reaching for the sky, the power of the earthquake and the volcano, the rain that feeds the crops and the hurricane. We respond to that power with awe, wonder , amazement and gratitude, not fear.

The great powers of nature have an intelligence, a consciousness, albeit different in magnitude and kind from our own. Everything in nature is alive and speaking: the deep, crystalline intelligence of the rock heart of the planet, the fungal threads that link the roots of trees into the nerve-net of the forests, the chattering birds and the biochemistry of plants and mushrooms are all communicating. Our spiritual practice, the practice of magic, is about opening our eyes, ears and hearts to be able to hear, understand, and communicate back. And those powers want us to communicate with them. The Goddess is not omnipotent—she is co-creative with human beings. She needs human help to create fertility and regeneration. The elements, the ancestors, the spirit beings that surround us want to work with us to protect and heal the earth, but they need our invitation.

Nature is also human nature. Our human intelligence, our particular, sharp-pointed ability to analyze, think, draw conclusions and act, our esthetic/emotional capacity to thrill at a beautiful sunset, our deep bonds with those we love and our empathy and compassion for others, are all aspects of the Goddess Herself. Indeed, she evolved us complicated, contradictory big-brained creatures precisely to experience some of those aspects. Or to put it simply, she gave us brains and she expects us to use them.

As a Witch, as a priestess of the Goddess, I make daily time to meditate and listen, ideally in some place where I have direct contact with nature. I rarely use an indoor altar any more—instead I sit in the woods, or at least, in my garden, quiet my thoughts, open my eyes, look and listen. And what I’ve been hearing lately, in company with every other person I know who is in tune with the deep powers of the earth, is anguish, distress, deep rage, and dire warnings. The processes of environmental destruction, in particular, the overheating of the earth’s climate, are already underway. A few weeks ago, when we were preparing for the Free Activist Witch Camp that Reclaiming, our network of Witches, offered in Southern Oregon, I asked, “Is there any way to avert massive death and destruction.” The answer I got was an unequivocal ‘no’.

“The process has gone too far,” was the answer. The image that came to me was river rafting and shooting the rapids.. There was a point where we as a species could have chosen a different river, or a different boat, or a different channel. But now we’re in the chute. We can’t turn back. We can’t stop.

There’s a command in river rafting, used in extreme situations: “Paddle or die.” If you paddle, you have some power—not enough to change the flow of the river, but enough to steer a course and avoid crashing on the rocks. If you give up, the river will most likely flip your boat, and you will drown.

When we emerged from the woods, a little-reported item in the news media, hidden away on the back pages, informed us that vast stretches of the tundra were melting in Siberia. If we were collectively using even a minimum of our human intelligence, this news should have been trumpeted on the front page with all the alarm of a terrorist attack, for it is far more dangerous.

Global warming increases the intensity of storms. Turn up the fire under a pot of water, and the bubbles will be bigger, faster and stronger. Hurricanes draw their energy from the heat in seawater. The Gulf of Mexico is abnormally warm—and hurricanes have doubled in average intensity in the last decade and a half. Hurricane Katrina was a natural phenomenon, but Katrina’s progression from a Category Two up to a Category Five as she crossed the gulf was a human-caused phenomenon, a function of our choices and decisions, our failure to steer a different course.

The forms and names we put on Goddesses, Gods, and Powers help translate those forces into terms our human minds can grasp. And so the Yoruba based traditions that originate in West Africa have given the name ‘Oya’ to the whirlwind, the hurricane, to those great powers of sudden change and destruction. Santeria, candomble, lucumi, voudoun, all include Oya in some form as a major orisha, a Great Power. Offerings are made to her, ceremonies done in her behalf, priestesses dance themselves into trance possession so that she can communicate with directly with the human community.

No city in the U.S. has more practitioners of these traditions than New Orleans. On the night the hurricane was due to hit, I made a ritual with a small group of friends to support the spiritual efforts that I knew were being made by priestesses of Oya all over the country. We were in Crawford, Texas, at Camp Casey, where Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Itaq, camped near Bush’s ranch to confront Bush with the painful reality of the deaths his policies have caused. Many of the supporters there were from New Orleans, worried about their homes, their friends and families. The overall culture of the camp was very Christian—we found no natural opening for public Pagan ritual, although a number of people did indicate to me quietly that they were ‘one of us.’ But our little group gathered by the roadside, cast a circle, chanted and prayed.

We prayed, speaking personally in the way humans do: “ Please, Mama, we know what a mess we’ve made, but if there is any way to mitigate the death and the destruction, to lessen it slightly, please do.” That same night Christians were praying and Orisha priestesses were ‘working’ Oya, and the hurricane did shift its course, slightly, and lessened its force, down to a Category Four.

And New Orleans survived. Not without loss, and death, but without the massive flooding and destruction that was feared., We all breathed a sigh of relief.

And a day later, the levees failed, and the floods came. They failed not from an Act of Goddess, but from a lack of resources. The Bush Administration had systematically cut funding for flood control and for repairing and increasing the strength of the levees. The money went to Iraq. Much of the Louisiana National Guard was also in Iraq. FEMA, the Federal Agency responsible for responding to natural disasters, had been gutted, defunded, refocused on terrorism, and its directorship given to a Bush political crony with no experience in disaster response.

Now, weeks later, New Orleans remains under martial law. Official efforts at relief have ranged from inept to brutal, and the lack of planning and concern for human life, the punitive quality of the official response, seem deeply linked to prejudice and racism which devalues the lives of the poor, especially if they’re black.

But ordinary people of all faiths have responded to this disaster with caring and compassion, with massive donations and relief efforts, and with shock and rage at a government which so completely fails to embody the values of human decency and respect for life that it claims to represent.

The Goddess does not punish us, but she also doesn’t shield us from the logical consequences of our actions. Katrina’s destructive power was a consequence of a human course that is contemptuous of nature. A Native American proverb says, “If we don’t change our direction, we’re going to wind up where we’re headed.” Katrina shows us a glimpse of that awful destination.

And she also shows us hope. We can change, and if we truly awaken to the need, maybe we will, before it is too late. The outpouring of concern and efforts to help, the hope, determination and vision of some of the citizens of New Orleans who remain, the grief we feel for the dead and the losses and the compassion that a huge tragedy evokes are the tools we need to set a different course, one that honors nature and human life, that uses our human intelligence to restore and regenerate the natural world, awakens our compassion, and kindles our passion for justice. When we set a new course, all the powers of life and growth and regeneration will be flowing with us. And when we ally with those powers, miracles can happen.

Some Pagan Resources:

The Pagan Cluster—the group of Pagan activists I work with, will be sending a team to the area in October. For information and donations, see:
www.pagancluster.org (www.pagancluster.org)

The Blanket Project is an ongoing spell of compassion with the goal of providing handmade blankets to survivors, symbolizing the intention to blanket the country with compassion and caring. For information, see:
http://www.theblanketproject.com (http://www.theblanketproject.com) or email info@theblanketproject.com.


E-Witch Pagan Auction:
www.e-witch.info/ (www.e-witch.info/)
Look for items marked NOLA PaganRelief
I will be donating an original manuscript and a limited edition, signed, numbered leather-bound 10th Anniversary Spiral Dance

Housing board for Pagan hurrican survivors and those who can offer housing:
www.ironoak.org (www.ironoak.org)

http://www.officersofavalon.com/ (http://www.officersofavalon.com/)
An organization of Pagan police officers and emergency service providers, they have already made one supply run to Missippi, reports are on their webpage as well as information on how to donate.

Temple of Diana is accepting financial donations to be sent to the best
organizations involved with hurricane relief efforts. Send your
donations in any amount, and payable to Temple of Diana, with "hurricane
relief" in the memo, and send to:
Temple of Diana
p.o. Box 6425
Monona, WI 53716

Some general places to send aid:

www.rebuildgreen.org (www.rebuildgreen.org)
Hurricane survivors who have remained in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans are determined to remain, rebuild their city with environmental awareness and a social conscience. They have set up the first functioning medical clinic for ordinary people, and have other projects in hand. They desperately need funds.

Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children are doing intense work among the shelters and prisons with displaced youth, mostly African American. Believe me, the Red Cross and the Christian charities won’t be pouring out relief to this group! They can also use some volunteers (especially African American) and many gifts in kind.
Send a check to the “FFLIC Hurricane Relief Fund” to 920 Platt
Street, Sulphur, Louisiana, 70663.
awakenprogress@yahoo.com
kd.higgs@yahoo.com


The Veterans for Peace bus that was at Camp Casey in Crawford, TX has now gone down to Covington, Louisiana to do relief work. They also need donations of money and computer equipment.

Make a donation to Veterans For Peace Chapter 116 http://www.vfproadtrips.org (http://www.vfproadtrips.org)

Tax deductible cash donations can be send to:
Contact:

Veterans For Peace Chapter 116
28500 Sherwood Rd
Willits CA 95490
pjtate@sonic.net
Cell PH 707-536-3001

Food Not Bombs will be providing food for refugees. They can use volunteers to prepare and serve food, and, of course, donations.
www.foodnotbombs.net (www.foodnotbombs.net) . You can make a financial donation on line or mail checks to Food Not Bombs, P.O. Box 744, Tucson, AZ 85702. Please call (1-800-884-1136) or email (katrina@foodnotbombs.net ) us if you can join them on the bus or help with gas money.


Starhawk
www.starhawk.org (www.starhawk.org)

Feel free to post, forward, and reprint this article for non-commercial purposes. All other rights reserved.

Starhawk is an activist, organizer, and author of The Earth Path, Webs of Power: Notes from the Global Uprising, The Fifth SacredThing and other books on feminism, politics and earth-based spirituality, including the co-authoried Pagan Book of Living and Dying. (All are available at www.starhawk.org (www.starhawk.org) ). She works with Reclaiming, a network that offers training in earth-based spirituality and ritual, www.reclaiming.org (www.reclaiming.org) . She teaches Earth Activist Trainings that combine permaculture design and activist skills, www.earthactivisttraining.org (www.earthactivisttraining.org) and works with the RANT trainer’s collective, www.rantcollective.net (www.rantcollective.net) that offers training and support for mobilizations around global justice and peace issues.

Donations to help support Starhawk’s trainings and work can be sent to:
ACT
1405 Hillmount St.
Austin, Texas
78704
U.S.A.

To get her periodic posts of her writings, email Starhawk-subscribe@lists.riseup.net and put ‘subscribe’ in the subject heading. If you’re on that list and don’t want any more of these writings, email Starhawk-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net and put ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject heading.