Central NJ Pagan Pride Day to be held August 22, 2009 Franklin, NJ

Aug. 6, 2009 - PRLog -- Celebrate the Season’s Harvest and help your community at Central Jersey’s Pagan Pride Day festival on Sat. Aug. 22nd 2009, from 10:00am – 8:00pm. Located at Colonial Park, Lot F, Franklin Township, NJ 08873, Somerset County. All ages are welcome at this free event, which will feature a Pagan religious ceremony honoring the harvest, and information on Pagan spiritual practices. Attendees are asked to share the harvest by bringing a donation of a non-perishable item to benefit Ronald McDonald House, A monitory donation to the Central NJ Epileptic fund, or monitory donation for the Kaela Beth Dejesus Fund.

   Central New Jersey’s local event is affiliated with the Pagan Pride Project, a global organization whose mission is to reduce discrimination against Pagan religions, and promote tolerance by providing accurate information, and by showing communities that their own neighbors and co-workers practice these life-affirming, love centered religions.
Last year 17,494 people attended the 76 Pagan Pride Day events held in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil. Together, they collected $15,090.21 and donated 15,175 pounds of food and goods to charity. More than 115 events are scheduled for this year.

   Saturday’s celebration will center on a religious service observing the Autumn Equinox, a time of thanksgiving in many Pagan traditions. The charity drive is a way to give thanks for the abundance of the year, and share it with our community. The ceremony will celebrate the diversity of the Pagan community and bless the results of the charity drive before it is given away. Participants are encouraged to bring percussion instruments for drumming.

   Modern Paganism, or Neo-Paganism, is a rapidly growing religious movement based on combinations of ancient polytheism, modern eco-spirituality, and reverence for the Divine as both masculine and feminine. Some common traditions found under this umbrella include Wicca or Witchcraft, Asatrú, Hinduism, and Druidry.  Pagans are found in all walks of life from professionals to homemakers, and hold ethical standards that emphasize respect for nature, humanity, and oneself.

For more information about the event or about Pagan religions, contact the
Central New Jersey Pagan Pride Project, Inc Local Coordinators:
Jonathan Marcus, Rev. Matthew Bartky, and Stephen Sprague
board@cnjpaganpride.org or visit http://www.cnjpaganpride.org.

Pagan Pride Project National
Brian Ewing, Executive Director Pagan Pride Project, Inc,
PO Box 441422, Indianapolis, IN 46244 bewing13@sbcglobal.net

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The Pagan Pride Project is a non-profit organization. The primary purposes of this corporation shall be the advancement of religion and elimination of prejudice and discrimination based on religious beliefs.