Wise Words

Holli Emore Executive Director

Courage for this Time

By now nearly all of us will know, or know of, someone who has lost their job because of policies and directives coming out of Washington, DC. To paraphrase the old meme, if you are not disturbed, you are not paying attention. Our patron ancestor, Hypatia of Alexandria, lived in similarly chaotic times, through political…Continue reading

A Threshold of Change

Now, more than ever before, Paganism and the many forms of earth-centered spirituality have become the threshold over which increasing numbers step, seeking what is both within and without, both healing and celebration, profane and divine. Some see the growth of Paganism as hope for the earth, itself.  Many look to the eclectic and diverse…Continue reading

Parting Words: Candace Kant, Ph.D.

From Our Outgoing Academic Dean: Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and Board Leadership, I have genuinely enjoyed serving as Academic Dean for the past three years and have been honored to be able to work with the dedicated, committed, talented, and enthusiastic students, faculty, and administration of Cherry Hill Seminary. In my three years as Academic…Continue reading

The Burden of Liberty

Fireworks, footlongs, baseball and the beach are the usual order of the day on the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Our philharmonic here in S.C. will accompany lakeside festivities with the usual 1812 Overture, complete with cannon fire. And many will contemplate the years they served in uniform, or supported someone who did. Being in the…Continue reading

Deep In My Heart I Do Believe

This week I watched a fantastic documentary film called Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance. The inspiration of Shared Legacies was in jarring contrast to the Washington riot we’ve been seeing replayed over and over on television. It’s hard to place the lives lost in the DC melee beside civil rights martyrs. Still,…Continue reading

Pagans in Pandemic Spring 2020

We asked you to share what’s happening in your world as we go through the pandemic together. Thanks to everyone who responded! Read here Aidan Solar in Canada; Lucia Morena Vela in Spain; Laurel Holmstrom-Keyes in California; Julie Olson, CMC, in Arizona; Katherine Bayne in Virginia; David Oringderff in Missouri; Strobus White in Massachusetts; Maggie Beaumont…Continue reading

A Calling to Pagans

Tomorrow many Christians will celebrate a feast of fire which they call Pentecost. Some of you may remember the story, and it feels as if fire is raining down on all our heads today, around our country, just as it did on the early apostles of the Pentecost story. I asked my friend, a Lutheran…Continue reading

Remembering September 11

Ten years ago… Cherry Hill Seminary was a fledgling online presence, no less pained by the violence of September 11, 2011, than our sisters and brothers in the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, non-religious, and other religious communities across the country, around the world. Ten years later, our faculty and students reflect on the meaning they draw…Continue reading

CHS Announcements

Nominations for Professor of the Year

Nominations Open for 2025 Professor of the Year: Let them know they matter

Which professor has inspired you this year with their teaching style, topical knowledge or spiritual insights? Honor them with a nomination for the Wendy Griffin Professor of the Year Award. Sponsored by Votaries Alumni Circle, this prestigious award is presented annually to one deserving faculty member who has demonstrated teaching excellence in  the classroom and a commitment…Continue reading

CHS Graduate Bryce Woyak Certified by SCA

Columbia, S.C. — Cherry Hill Seminary graduate Bryce Woyak has earned his Board Certified Chaplain certification from the Spiritual Care Association. Woyak is the first Seminary graduate to earn this coveted professional distinction. Woyak graduated from Cherry Hill Seminary in 2024, having earned his Master of Divinity degree, specializing in Pastoral Counseling & Chaplaincy. The…Continue reading

2023 Professor of the Year

Columbia, S.C. — During a special virtual ceremony on Saturday, February 25 the Votaries Alumni Circle of Cherry Hill Seminary announced the winner of this year’s Wendy Griffin Professor of the Year Award. The recipient is Robert Patrick, PhD, MDiv, Dept. of Ministry, Advocacy & Leadership. Patrick (pictured at left) holds a BA in Biblical…Continue reading

CHS News

Nominations for Professor of the Year

Nominations Open for 2025 Professor of the Year: Let them know they matter

Which professor has inspired you this year with their teaching style, topical knowledge or spiritual insights? Honor them with a nomination for the Wendy Griffin Professor of the Year Award. Sponsored by Votaries Alumni Circle, this prestigious award is presented annually to one deserving faculty member who has demonstrated teaching excellence in  the classroom and a commitment…Continue reading

Cherry Hill Seminary and United Theological Seminary in Historic Collaboration

Columbia, S.C. — Cherry Hill Seminary announces that in an historic step toward interfaith education and mutual understanding, two theological institutions from different spiritual traditions—United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and Cherry Hill Seminary—are partnering to offer selected joint courses beginning this fall.  This collaboration bridges theological divides by inviting students to explore spiritual practices…Continue reading

CHS Graduate Bryce Woyak Certified by SCA

Columbia, S.C. — Cherry Hill Seminary graduate Bryce Woyak has earned his Board Certified Chaplain certification from the Spiritual Care Association. Woyak is the first Seminary graduate to earn this coveted professional distinction. Woyak graduated from Cherry Hill Seminary in 2024, having earned his Master of Divinity degree, specializing in Pastoral Counseling & Chaplaincy. The…Continue reading

2023 Professor of the Year

Columbia, S.C. — During a special virtual ceremony on Saturday, February 25 the Votaries Alumni Circle of Cherry Hill Seminary announced the winner of this year’s Wendy Griffin Professor of the Year Award. The recipient is Robert Patrick, PhD, MDiv, Dept. of Ministry, Advocacy & Leadership. Patrick (pictured at left) holds a BA in Biblical…Continue reading

CHS Pagans at 2023 Parliament

from Aline (Macha) O’Brien – Pagans, both groups and individuals, were a strong and visible presence at the most recent Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. I attended as a National Interfaith Representative of the Covenant of the Goddess (cog.org), without whose support I wouldn’t have been there, but also less formally for Cherry Hill…Continue reading

CHS Events

Coming to the Center Hosts Liz Williams

Liz Williams is a science fiction and fantasy writer living in Glastonbury, England, where she is co-director of a witchcraft supply business. She has been published by Bantam Spectra (US) and Tor Macmillan (UK), also Night Shade Press and appears regularly in Asimov’s and other magazines. She has been involved with the Milford SF Writers’…Continue reading