Siouxland Wiccans Collect Donate to Girls, Inc. at Beltane Celebration

Twenty Wiccans last Saturday gathered in Sioux City, celebrating one of the highest Wiccan holidays and collecting donations for Girls, Inc.

WICCANS COLLECT DONATIONS FOR GIRLS, INC.
For Immediate Release
May 5, 2003

SIOUX CITY, IA --- Plastic sacs filled with donated clothes lay at the base of a twenty foot tall Maypole, as members and friends of Siouxland First Wiccan Congregation last Saturday danced around the age old fertility symbol, weaving ribbons of many colors together.

About twenty people gathered at a farmstead on the outskirts of Sioux City for a day filled with activities, fellowship and worship. At 2 pm, women and children made chaplets out of lilac and other flowers while the assembled men erected the Maypole and dug a fire pit. Other activities included tie-dying banners and shirts as well as the fashioning of jingle-wreaths.

Wicca, Rev. Jeva Singh-Anand explained, is a reconstruction of what was once believed to be a European fertility religion that predated Christianity. Beltane, traditionally observed on May 1, marks the sacred wedding of the Mother Goddess and her Consort. Prevailing themes include the abundance of life, the beginning of the light half of the year, and fertility.
At the conclusion of the crafts projects, the gathered Wiccans and friends enjoyed a barbecue and potluck dinner.

After that, the worship ceremony began. The central aspects included a ritual drama in which the Goddess's Consort pursued his bride, then "died of his love," and was at last resurrected with the rekindling of the Bel-Fire. This was followed by a Maypole dance.

The clothes, gathered by the Wiccans are new and gently used. They will be donated to the Sioux City chapter of Girls, inc. later this week. Girls, inc. is a nationwide organization whose goal it is to help at-risk girls.

"Helping our community continues to be at the forefront of our agenda," Rev. Singh-Anand said. "Siouxland has been very welcoming of us, and our community actions are one way in which we show our gratitude."

Every high holiday, or Sabbat, Siouxland First Wiccan Congregation chooses a local community organization or charity for donations of items. In the past, SFWC, itself an Iowa nonprofit corporation, has donated to the United Way, Tri-State Food Bank, the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the Crittenton Center, the Humane Society, and others.

The church meets at Sioux City's Unitarian Universalist Church on Jackson Street for Sunday night classes and full moon worship services. High holidays are usually held at an outdoors location. A schedule of activities is posted on SFWC's website at http://www.siouxlandwicca.org .
               
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