A Threshold of Change

Holli S. Emore, MDiv, Executive Director

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 nature of Paganism as a positive model for the burgeoning globalization of society.

Whatever we seek as spiritual sojourners, we are all still human — we need solace during life’s painful transitions, community support when we answer the call to effect social change, assistance with crisis, companionship as we pursue the path of transformation.  And we are the most curious of creatures on the planet, ever and always wanting to know more, understand better, see further.

March 2025 marks the 18th anniversary of Cherry Hill Seminary as a public nonprofit educational institution (and nearly twenty years since our founding as a private teaching effort).   It has been my honor to serve as director since January 2008.  Like a garden, we have flourished in the fertile soil found among those who hunger for knowledge. Like most gardens, it is all that we can do to keep up with the rich and abundant harvest, as well as the weeds.

If we thought that recent years have been tough, 2025 seems to be getting tougher. But we have a community and resources here at CHS that you can trust to support each other, to keep improving each year, and to validate your sacred journey. Whatever jobs, freedoms, services or benefits may look shaky this year, your education can never be taken away from you. Learning at CHS is an investment that pays dividends the rest of your life.

Hypatia of Alexandria set an example for us of how to hold education as a linchpin to a healthy society. We honor her each year on International Hypatia Day, March 15, remembering how this remarkable person stood tall in front of all the authorities, insisting that education be tempered with wisdom and compassion.

You are invited to be part of this dynamic learning community, as a student, as a volunteer, as a member of Votaries Alumni Circle, or in a way we’ve not yet thought of.  In your own way, be part of Cherry Hill Seminary as we step across our own threshold of change.

Yours in changing times,
Holli S. Emore, M.Div.
Executive Director

Wishes for the Winter Solstice

Social media recently surprised me with old photos of me in front of kindergartners at a local school, telling them about the winter solstice.

If you love to tell stories, as I do, you gotta love how transfixed five year olds are when you move into a bit of a singsong chant about how it gets dark when we go to sleep, and the sun goes to sleep too, every night, and then in the morning we wake up (happy hands shoot up here), just like the sun does every morning. In the winter, the sun needs more rest, so it rests in the dark for longer and longer nights.

And then comes the solstice!

Hooray, the sun is waking up and lighting the sky with longer days. Then we remember lots of stories that people have told for hundreds and hundreds of years, like the Oak King and the Holly King, and St. Nicholas’ visit, and other such. Turns out that this school has some kind of educational relationship with NASA (the U.S. National Aeronautic and Space Administration), so these children were all excited to talk to me about planets, the sun, the moon and their movement through the sky. One child raised his hand to ask in a mysterious voice, “But who made the sun?” Another little boy quickly replied, “No one!” Returning to the first child’s question, I replied, also in a mysterious voice, “Who can know these things? It is a Mystery.”

The Winter Solstice is a special time in our house for non-religious reasons, as well as the obvious Pagan traditions.

Both my husband and myself have birthdays the same week, and just the other day we celebrated our wedding anniversary. A bit of Christmas gathering with loved ones makes the season bright for us, even though there is more darkness outside. Like the seasons, however, it took many years for us to find our balance amidst the holiday expectations of others, especially when combined with our own less than happy family holiday pasts.

Looking back, I realize that we needed to rest ourselves in the long cycles of the cosmos, allowing the dark to absorb pain and nurture new roots. If you struggle with the season, as so many do and I have done, watch the skies as a model of patience, endurance and hope.

And if this is for you the “most wonderful time of the year,” I wish you many happy returns of this mysterious turn of the wheel.

Holli S. Emore, M.Div
Executive Director

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 Dean we have reviewed our curriculum and our degrees and have continued to prepare for eventual accreditation. We have provided both graduate and Insights courses that are needed by our community. I am very proud of what has been accomplished, the growth we have had and are having, and the progress we have made.

I have been Academic Dean since July 2018. Before becoming Academic Dean, I served as Dean of Students for Cherry Hill Seminary from 2012 to 2018, giving me a total of nine years serving the school.

As I progress through my “golden years,” I feel that at this time in my life I should step aside in favor of leadership that is more attuned to the changing nature of our community, the educational environment, and our world.

I remain committed to the mission and goals of Cherry Hill Seminary. I will be available to assist with a smooth transition and to be of any help that I can to whomever assumes the position of Academic Dean in the future

I anticipate remaining affiliated with Cherry Hill Seminary other ways, depending upon the needs of the school.

Sincerely,
Candace C. Kant, Ph.D.

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 Bible Belt, no doubt some will pray for our country and sing patriotic hymns. The predominant emotions, though, will be enjoyment of a long weekend and cookouts with friends.

Cherry Hill Seminary serves students and includes faculty from a number of countries, but we acknowledge our American residency, roots and culture by reflecting on what spiritual messages we might glean from July 4th. The U.S. certainly has much to be proud of. There is also more than enough shame to go around. Americans (and many Pagans, I might add) have often been brash, self-absorbed, and obsessed with the idea of independence—whether national or personal—as rivaling the common good for supremacy.

Being so recently transplanted from other shores, most of our ancestors might have cautioned us that liberty is a rare flower which only thrives in the right conditions, with a time of bloom that can be shorter than we anticipated. Our indigenous – First Nations friends can certainly attest to that truth. I happen to love flowers and go to some trouble to keep my yard blooming most times of the year. I know all too well that neglect or just hoping for a good outcome are not enough to ensure a colorful display in my garden.

Gardening wears me out and leaves me aching; so does the work of being a citizen in my country. It is not enough for me to only read the news I want to see, hope the local zoning and water commissions will issue permits that are good for the land as well as the community, or substitute clicktivism on social media for actually trying to understand issues and make an impact myself. At the time that I write, it is looking as if negligence may have caused the deaths of at least 150 people at a collapsed condo in Florida. The final crash of concrete happened quickly, but the signs were there several years ago. Likewise, our neglect of healthy community can begin to crack the foundations of democracy.

This weekend may we enjoy some long overdue fun, including the hotdogs. But let’s also pause to contemplate the work—the burden, if you will—of enjoying a way of life that few in history have known. Ask your gods, consult your preferred divination, and discuss with your intimates, how to make our world a kinder, stronger, safer place. Commit to the ongoing burden of liberty, and look forward to more beautiful seasons of its flowering.

Holli S. Emore, M.Div
Executive Director