Druids to present at the Parliament of the World's Religions

We just received confirmation that our (Neil Pitchford and Larisa A. White’s) session proposal for the “2021 Parliament of the World’s Religions” ( 2021 VIRTUAL | Parliament of the World's Religions ) has been accepted. We will post the exact date and time of our presentation, as soon as we know it ourselves. Our session will provide an overview of the key findings from the World Druidry survey project, as presented in the book, “World Druidry: A Globalizing Path of Nature Spirituality.”

Our proposal was to present the key findings of the first rigorous, global study of modern Druidry, in order to help debunk the popular myths and widely-circulated misinformation about modern Druids’ actual religious beliefs and spiritual practices. In doing so, we will be demonstrating the unique ways in which modern Druidry addresses the stated missions of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, “to create a culture of non-violence and respect for life, tolerance and truthfulness, and sustainability and care for the Earth.”

If anyone here plans to attend the Parliament, our official session title will be: “Cultivating Honorable Relationships with the World: Lessons from the ‘Scriptures’ of Druidry” (of course, as Druids, ‘Scriptures’ = Nature ; a point our presentation will make clear).

Our official Session Description: Modern Druidry, a contemporary, nature-based, new religious movement born in Britain, has been rapidly spreading around the world since the early 1990s. Druids now reside in 34 countries, across six continents, and inhabit 17 unique biomes, in addition to the mistletoe and oak filled temperate forests depicted in history and fantasy. As a nature-reverent tradition with high holidays based upon a cycle of seasonal celebrations, this begs the question: How can Druidry maintain a spiritual common core across so many, diverse ecological contexts? In this presentation, we will provide a brief overview of Druidry as a modern religious tradition, and then, using the example of how Druids celebrate seasonal festivals in a globalizing tradition, demonstrate how the Druid devotional practices of nature connection, sacred listening, and reciprocity allow Druids to cultivate honorable relationships with all other beings, be they human or of other-than-human kind.

Early-bird registration ends August 31st, so if you are interested in attending, this is a good time to explore the Parliament’s offerings. Let us know if you plan to attend!

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Congratulations, Larisa! I’m very glad that you and Neil will have a platform at the Parliament.

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Congratulations! That is so wonderful!

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That’s great Larisa! I am attending the Parliament so I will see you :smiley:.

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It will be great to have other Druids in attendance! I have just been informed that this will be the first time in history that a Druid has addressed the Parliament. Apparently, many years ago, Issac Bonewits attended briefly, but even he did not present. So, this is our first chance to make a good impression.

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This is so exciting! Thank you Larisa, for all of your effort in bringing Druidry to the world stage.

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Congratulations! What a wonderful way to showcase your extensive rsearch on Druidry and its many facets, as well as an opportunity to dispel misunderstandings about Druidry!

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UPDATE: our session at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, “Cultivating Honorable Relationships with the World: Lessons from the ‘Scriptures’ of Druidry,” is scheduled for 7pm-7:45pm (California time) on Sunday, 17 October 2021 – that is, unfortunately at 3am on Monday, British Summer Time. That said, we plan to pre-record the presentation, so we should be able to share it with you later, after the PotWR has concluded.

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This is fantastic news! Please let us know how it goes :). We can share the recorded session with our members in the Winter Solstice newsletter.

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Was this recorded? Is it available someplace?

It is not until October, and I imagine the prerecording won’t be available until closer to the actual time…but I could be wrong

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Haha! I didn’t notice that.

So … no psychic pre-recordings available yet? :grinning:

Ved

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Heh, the first 1 minute and 18 seconds of the presentation are currently on my desk, in the film-editing software – being hacked at with my giant editorial axe. Grrrr. The footage WILL learn to obey me by no later than October 15th. First public viewing will be at the Parliament on October 17th, after which time, I will get it up elsewhere, so that you all may see it as well. I will post info in this thread, on where/how to watch it, once it is ready for prime time.

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I love giant editorial axes!! How fun🤘🏻

I look forward to it. Axes too.

Polishing the rough cut of our film-presentation for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, premiering on October 17th: “Cultivating Honorable Relationships with the World: Lessons from the ‘Scriptures’ of Druidry.” It is looking really good – especially the shots from among Neil Pitchford’s beloved mossy trees in Scotland. Runtime looks to be coming in at about 42 minutes, which of course is the answer to life, the universe, and everything, so how can it go wrong? Can’t wait to share!

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Larisa, this is so amazing! I can’t wait to see it :).

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Congratulations @Larisa !! Wish I could be there! You will do amazing. Enjoy the learning;)

Our film about contemporary World Druidry, entitled, “Cultivating Honorable Relationships with the World: Lessons from the ‘Scriptures’ of Druidry,” which is to be presented at the 2021 Parliament of the World’s Religions on October 17th, is now finished. Neil and I have decided that it would be fun to gather other Druids together for an official YouTube Premier of the film, so that we could all watch it together, and share comments in the live chat, at that time. So, consider yourself officially invited.

YouTube link: Cultivating Honorable Relationships with the World: Lessons from the 'Scriptures' of Druidry - YouTube
Date: Saturday 30 October 2021
Time: 8pm British time/12 noon Pacific Time. (~42 minute run time)

Sign on to the YouTube waiting-list now. Bring along your own beverage, when the count-down begins.

We hope you all will join us!

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Thank you, Larisa! I’ll look forward to the premier!

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