Intensive: Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes

Posted on December 23, 2012June 18, 2025

Students wishing to earn credit for attending the Spring Symposium: Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes: Cosmography of the Pagan Soul should register for this one credit online course. We will read and write on the symposium topic in preparation for informed participation at the event.

In today’s post-modern, urbanized world, where everything is a commodity, how and where do Pagans find their sacred places? How should we protect and maintain these sites? In colonized worlds, how do we avoid the appropriation of these lands? If Goddess is immanent in nature, what makes some places more sacred than others? How is our spirituality shaped by the land and our relationship with the land shaped by our spirituality?

Keynote speaker will be Ronald Hutton, English historian specializing in early modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and contemporary Paganism, and author of fourteen books, including Triumph of the Moon, 1999.

More information about presenters, schedule, hotel, and our host, University of South Carolina.

No text to purchase; readings will be posted online. No online meeting; attendance in person at symposium April 12-12 is required. 1 credit.

REGISTER NOW Note that to participate in and receive credit for an intensive, you must pay for both fees listed on the payment page.

To submit a proposal to present a paper at the symposium

Cherry Hill Seminary Saddened by Loss of Pagan Scholar Patricia Monaghan

Posted on November 13, 2012June 18, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Cherry Hill Seminary is saddened to learn of the passing of noted scholar, author and women’s spirituality movement leader Patricia Monaghan.

Academic Dean Wendy Griffin said, “We mourn the loss of poet, visionary, and rigorous scholar Patricia Monaghan, PhD, whose contributions to those who venerate the Goddess cannot be overstated, from her early work in helping to develop Women’s Spirituality, through to her founding of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology. With an Irish heart and a Pagan soul, Dr. Monaghan found the mythic in the mundane and took joy in the exploration. We are deeply grateful for the books and poems she shared with us. ‘So many stories…each worthy of telling.’ (Seasons of the Witch, Monaghan, 2007)”

Dean of Students Candace Kant reflected on her recent work with Monaghan: “It was from Patricia Monaghan’s many books that I discovered the breadth and depth of Goddess. I was very honored to be able to meet her and spend a few days with her and her devoted husband Michael in Black Earth, Wisconsin, which they so loved. Working with Patricia and Michael on the Brigid Anthology this past year was a pleasure, and I know it was a labor of love for them. I am deeply saddened by her loss, but am thankful for the legacy of scholarship and love for Goddess that she left with us.”

“She believed in my writing and what I had to say,” said Aline O’Brien, a Cherry Hill Seminary director and longtime instructor. “Patricia opened doors for me, giving me unique opportunities to contribute to the Pagan literature and dialog. She was supportive of Cherry Hill Seminary from our early days, allowing us to feature her as a guest lecturer in our 2006 Second Sunday online lecture series. Both of us being Irish-American, we shared a love of Irish culture.”

In honor of Monaghan’s immeasurable contributions to scholarship Cherry Hill Seminary will name a scholarship in her memory, the Patricia Monaghan Scholarship.

Monaghan’s husband, Dr. Michael McDermott, has served on the Board of Directors of Cherry Hill Seminary since 2007. We extend our sincere condolences on the loss of his beloved Patricia whose joy in living will be missed by all.

Cherry Hill Seminary is the leading provider of education and practical training in leadership, ministry, and personal growth in Pagan and Nature-Based spiritualities.

For further information contact Cherry Hill Seminary at 888-503-4131 or CHS@cherryhilllseminary.org

Ronald Hutton Featured in Spring CHS-USC Symposium!

Posted on October 12, 2012June 18, 2025

In today’s post-modern, urbanized world, where everything is a commodity, how and where do Pagans find their sacred places? How should we protect and maintain these sites? In colonized worlds, how do we avoid the appropriation of these lands? If Goddess is immanent in nature, what makes some places more sacred than others? How is our spirituality shaped by the land and our relationship with the land shaped by our spirituality? The Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes Symposium brings together three noted scholars for a day and a half of presentations, paper panels and discussion.Don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet Dr. Ronald Hutton here in the U.S. and to personally engage scholars Hutton, Leader and Griffin during the symposium as well as at social events like drumming, a tour of the historic old USC campus, and dinners with colleagues. To be announced are receptions with religious studies and anthropology colleagues at neighboring university departments.		Registration $75 Includes symposium, Friday reception and box lunch on Saturday. Attendees are responsible for own breakfast and dinner. All are invited to gather for dinner in a private room at a nearby restaurant.Register Now Call For Papers
	Friday4:00 Welcome and introductions 4:30 Opening remarks 5:30 Reception TBA 7:00 Dinner on own (CHS reservation at Miyo’s on Main Street)	Who should attend? Fans of Hutton’s work. Scholars and students in religious studies, anthropology, sociology of religion, and the humanities, Pagan and earth-based religious practitionersSacred Lands is presented by Cherry Hill Seminary and the University of South Carolina. Cherry Hill Seminary is the leading provider of education and practical training in leadership, ministry, and personal growth in Pagan and Nature-Based spiritualities. The University of South Carolina is home to more than 200 years of history and tradition.
	Saturday10:00 Begin program 12:00 Break for lunch 1:00 Return to symposium “Britain’s Pagan Heritage” by Dr. Ronald Hutton 4:30 Closing remarks 5:00 Tour of old campus by Dr. Jonathan Leader 6:00 Drum circle on Horseshoe 7:00 Dinner at local restaurant
Featured Presenters Ronald Hutton, Ph.D., University of Bristol Ronald Hutton Professor of History in the University of Bristol, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and formerly a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Hutton is a historian on the commission which runs English Heritage, and has published fourteen books on aspects of political, social, cultural and religious history, including a monograph on the English Civil War, a narrative history of the Stuart Restoration, a biography of Charles II, a survey of what is thought about the pagan religions of the ancient British Isles, two large-scale studies of the history of the ritual year in Britain, an analysis of Siberian shamanism, the first history of modern paganism in Britain, and a survey of the treatment of Druids in British culture over the centuries. Hutton is perhaps best-known in wider Pagan studies circles as the author of the much-acclaimed Triumph of the Moon. Wendy Griffin, Ph.D., Cherry Hill Seminary Wendy Griffin Academic Dean of Cherry Hill Seminary and Professor Emerita from California State University, Long Beach, where she taught for 26 years and served the last five as Chair of the Department of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies. Griffin is one of the very first American academics to publish field work in Pagan Studies, was the founding co-chair of the Pagan Studies Group for the American Academy of Religion, and the co-editor of the first academic series in Pagan studies, published by AltaMira Press. She has published numerous articles and book chapters and is the editor of the anthology “Daughters of the Goddess: Studies of Healing, Identity and Empowerment.” Griffin received her Ph.D. in the interdisciplinary social sciences from the University of California at Irvine. Griffin is a member of the Editorial Board of Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies. When not limning the halls of academia, Griffin is a songwriter, musician, and published novelist. Jonathan Leader, Ph.D., University of South Carolina Jonathan Leader Jonathan Leader received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida Gainesville, and currently heads the S.C. Office of the State Archaeologist. His research interests and background include the ancient Near East, Micronesia, Eastern United States pre- and proto-history, submerged resources, cultural resource management, remote sensing and GIS, archaeometry, archaeometallurgy, and conservation. He teaches and lectures on a regular basis in four departments at the University of South Carolina. Current research projects include: the H.L. Hunley (Confederate submarine) project; the S.C. Cannons Project; Bahamas project; the Florence stockade; and the SCIAA Digitized Publications project.		Sacred Lands will be held on the historic campus of USC, just in time to enjoy the spring display of azaleas, dogwoods and warm weather in this 225-year-old state capital.More information and media requests: CHS@cherryhillseminary.org Local accommodations Clarion Hotel Downtown 1615 Gervais Street Columbia SC 29201 803.771.8711 Hotel is adjacent to the USC campus, three and a half blocks from the symposium location (Gambrell Hall), will be the location of our dinners, and will provide shuttle service from the airport and on Saturday morning to Gambrell Hall. For conference rates, CALL HOTEL and indicate you are with Cherry Hill Seminary group. A large hotel restaurant and bar serves all day; breakfast buffet is $8.95. One king or two queen beds $85 for courtyard; one king or two queen beds $99 for tower rooms. Code for conference is “Cherry Hill Seminary.” Note, after March 12 rate is subject to availability. www.clarionhotelcolumbia.com

Cherry Hill Seminary Awards First-Ever Pagan Master of Divinity Degree

Posted on August 16, 2012June 18, 2025

For Immediate Release, August 16, 2012

Contact: Holli Emore, 888.503.4131, CHS@cherryhillseminary.org

COLUMBIA, SC — Cherry Hill Seminary today announced the graduation of Sandra Lee Harris, awarding her the Master of Divinity in Pagan Pastoral Counseling. Harris is the first student to complete her master’s degree since Cherry Hill Seminary first opened its graduate program in 2009.

Sandra L. Harris, M.Div., Pagan Pastoral Counseling

“When I started in 2002, Cherry Hill Seminary was the first and best opportunity I found for inexpensive and trustworthy Pagan education beyond the training I received in the Fellowship of the Sacred Grove,” said Harris in an interview. “By the time the masters program was introduced in 2009, I had committed myself to becoming a board-certified chaplain. I embraced the Cherry Hill Seminary program as a way to add the necessary qualification of an M.Div. or equivalent.”

Harris served her internship at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., and prior to that was for several years a volunteer pastoral caregiver and on-call interfaith chaplain at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia. She has been accepted into the Fairfax County Community Chaplain Corps, beginning service following November Corps training.

Executive Director Holli Emore notes that the needs of students like Harris have helped shape the seminary program, and the needs of local and regional communities have shaped the educational choices of Cherry Hill Seminary students. Academic Dean, Wendy Griffin, Ph.D., comments on the unique assets of Cherry Hill Seminary: “Our Masters classes are multi-disciplinary and taught by leading scholars in their fields. A major advantage of an online seminary is that our instructors come from all over the United States, as well as Canada, Britain, France and Australia, and are scholars with whom students would never come into contact except through their writings. Ms. Harris has taken full advantage of the opportunities that Cherry Hill Seminary can offer and we know she will make us proud as she takes up her calling.”

Harris’ department chair and advisor has been Dr. David Oringderff, also founder of Sacred Well Congregation. Oringderff says, “On behalf of the Pagan Pastoral Counseling Department, I would like to extend our congratulations to Sandra L. Harris, M.Div., for an outstanding job well done. Having worked with Sandra as a professor and academic advisor for much of her academic career, I can attest to her diligence, dedication and academic excellence. I am both proud and gratified that she wishes, as an alumnus, to continue her close association with and contributions to Cherry Hill Seminary. Conferral of the Master of Divinity, Pagan Pastoral Counseling, was both a personal milestone for Sandra, and an institutional milestone for the Seminary. As our first Master of Divinity in Pastoral Counseling, she helped set the high standards of excellence for all of our students who follow. We wish her all the best, and pledge our continued support in her endeavors to become a Board-Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains.”

Cherry Hill Seminary is the leader in providing education and practical training for Pagan and Nature-Based spiritualities, leadership, ministry, and personal growth.. Incorporated in the state of South Carolina, all studies are through online distance education, with occasional retreats and conferences. For more information, visit www.cherryhillseminary.org or write CHS@cherryhillseminary.org.