PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2023

unless there’s a major holiday ritual,” said Gunnell, who uses the CUUPS and Pagans of Peoria presence to offer central Illinois pagans a feeling of safety and inclusivity within a larger group. ‘WHAT YOU ARE THINKING YOU MAY

been a pretty natural path for UUs to say well, yes, pagans are welcome here just as Christians are welcome here, and Muslims are welcome here.“ Huerta notes that pagans may have personal reasons for mistrusting church es, but that the UU church holds similar values to many pagan paths. Gunnell adds that the Unitarian Universalist church offers a recognizable name for pagans who may be concerned about safety when connecting with strangers. “This is a place that [pagans] could come in and be surrounded by people of more than their own faith,” said Huerta. “I hope that that’s what more people in the pagan community kind of understand about this place. At this particular place, there is nothing that they have to hide about who they are. I will be here in Sunday services every week, and I’ve got a pentagram hanging out of my shirt and it’s accepted.” The Peoria CUUPS chapter holds sab baths throughout the year. The cele brations range from religious worship with a diverse congregation interested in learning a new form of spirituality to smaller potluck socials for a primari ly pagan audience. CUUPS events are posted in the Pagans of Peoria Face book Group. “Just to kind of reiterate, if there is anybody that’s in the pagan community that is reading this article, don’t let the word ‘church’ bar you from coming to see what we’re doing here, what we’re about, what CUUPS is about and what the UU is about, as well,” said Huerta. “Because what you are thinking you may encounter is in fact not what you’re going to see here. You’re going to see something thats going to make you feel like home.” To learn more about Pagans of Peoria, visit www.facebook.com/ groups/648614921834845. To learn more about CUUPS, visit www.cuups.org. Laurie Pillman is an au thor and freelance writer/ editor, based in Peoria

Tony Huerta, Great Grove chapter of the Covenant Unitarian Universalist Pagans

ENCOUNTER IS IN FACT NOT WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO SEE’

— Tony Huerta “I don’t exclude any aspects of the divine that you may work with. I invite people to come and be a part of [wor ship]. We do that through chanting. We do that through singing. We do that through movement. We do that sometimes through sharing with food and stuff like that. I want my rituals to be participatory.” Rather than compete for members, Peoria’s Great Grove chapter and Bloomington’s ManyPaths chapter of CUUPS have worked together on rit uals, workshops and potlucks. Huerta and Gunnell both express a belief that sharing of information and meaning ful experiences make the community stronger overall. That’s part of why CUUPS was es tablished as an independent affiliate of the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1987. The church wanted to honor goddess-based, earth-centered, tribal and pagan spiritual paths by offering networking, outreach and education al opportunities to pagan-identifiying Unitarians. ‘PAGANS ARE WELCOME “The Covenant of Unitarian Uni versalist Pagans has been around for a while,” said Jesi Laughlin, director of Lifespan Religious Education at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Peoria. “We keep [pagan] as a very broad term, a big umbrella encompassing everything from native cultures to goddess worship to Wicca to earth-based religions. It’s HERE … JUST AS CHRISTIANS ARE’

BUILDING A PROTECTIVE COMMUNITY Huerta is a moderator on the Pagans of Peoria Facebook group, an active place where local pagans can network and celebrate their spirituality. The group holds four sabbats, or religious celebrations per year. Huerta personally has been practicing Wicca for 31 years, is part of the Cor rellian Nativist tradition, and worships in connection with the Unitarian Uni versalist Church in Peoria. He stresses that the Facebook group is for local pagans from all paths and affiliations. Group members are encouraged to ask questions. Group posts can be about sharing resources, offering support, or inviting others to community events. A recent post invited members to a workshop being given by Bloomington CUUPS member Sean-Thomas Gunnell on non-binary deities from ancient and modern religions. Gunnell has been pagan since the age of 15 and has been involved in pagan communities from Memphis to Peoria. The now 50-some thing Gunnel appreciates the commu nity the Pagans of Peoria group offers. “I will tell you that most pagans overall are solitary practitioners. Most will not go to be part of a group or anything

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