Teachers for 2010
Ecumenicon 2010
March 25-28, 2010 (Thursday evening - Sunday afternoon).
If you wish to be considered for teaching in future years email trustees@ecumenicon.org
This list is alphabetic by Teaching Name.
| PICTURE | NAME | BIOGRAPHY | |||||||||
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Duane T. Bowers, LPC | DUANE T. BOWERS, LPC is a Traumatic Loss Therapist and Educator in private practice, and author of “Guiding Your Family Through Loss and Grief,” and “A Child is Missing: Providing Support for Families of Missing Children.” As an educator, Duane teaches seminars nationally, internationally and regionally on dying, death and grief, as well as trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and traumatic loss. He has served as an Adjunct Professor of Counseling at Trinity College in Washington DC, and has been an invited guest lecturer for graduate and undergraduate classes at the University of Maryland, Howard University, University of the District of Columbia, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University and Gallaudet University. He has been teaching and working with Ecumenicon for many years and offers his Grief and Trauma Counseling workshop as part of our clergy CEU program several times a year. (Grief Counseling). | |||||||||
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Rev. Charles Butler Neto | REV. CHARLES BUTLER NETO (Baba Charles or Tio Neto) is the coordinator and co-founder of Ecumenicon Conference and serves as one of its Trustees. He was reared as a Pentecostal Minister and is trained in Christianity, Ifa, Wicca, and conversant in Judaism. He was trained in Christianity by Pentecostal house churches, Metropolitan Community Church, and study at Wesley Seminary (American University). He was trained in Wicca by Lady Ingrid Dennisson and Lord Thoth of Ravenwood, and in the Fellowship of Isis by Lady Rhiannon Maat Maximilian. His Ifan lineage is through Baba George Rawlings of the Temple of St Michael. He received his B.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Michigan in 1975 with a minor in Brazilian Studies. He brings greetings from Terreiro De Seite Cruzados do Pai Tupiranga) (Terreiro of the 7 Crossroads of Pai Tupiranga), an Umbanda Terreiro dedicated to Oshun and Oggun in Canoas, Brasil. Email: chazzer3332000 @ yahoo.com. Mailing address: Charles Butler, 3205 Kimberly Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782-3722. (Ground Center Shield, Parable, Nature Walk, Easter Egg Hunt, Tambor for the Ancestors). | |||||||||
Seanara Coyote
| SEANARA COYOTE was initiated into Promethean Wicca and Welsh Traditionalist Wicca in early 1978, receiving her third degree in both traditions by 1980. She later studied Peruvian-based core shamanic techniques with Irene R. Siegel, also learning directly from Ms. Siegel’s teacher, Alberto Villoldo. Through her Wiccan training and practice and her personal growth, Seanara evolved Western Transformational Wicca, an initiatory Path which centers around the journey from “wounded healer to healed healer” and whose main tenet is: “The primary purpose of magic is personal transformation.” She is the High Priestess of Westran Alpha Coven, all of whose members are intimately familiar with disability issues through professional training, advocacy work and/or personal experience. Under her mundane/legal name, she holds a Masters’ degree in Social Work from Stonybrook University and an LCSW-R from the state of New York. (Way of the North: The Wisdom Keepers)
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 Anna-Sara Fire
| REV. ANNA SARA FIRE (Ecu 2008, Ecu 2009) is a Master of Divinity candidate with Stockholm University, focused on Sami Studies, and a ministerial intern with Ecumenicon Fellowship. For the past 3 years she has been a student of Shamanism under Rev. Dr. Crow Swimsaway and Bekki Shiningheart of the Church of Earth Healing. She is currently pursuing a chaplaincy course at a local hospital. She presented the “Story of Ruth” as her graduate project and was ordained as an Interfaith Minister at Ecumenicon 2009. (Body Intimacy, Interfaith Chaplaincy, Yoga)
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2010 |
 Rik Fire
| REV. RIK FIRE is an Ordained Interfaith Minister with Ecumenicon Fellowship. His primary spiritual pathways are Shamanism, Ifa, Gnosticism & Unitarian-Universalism. He is employed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for a managed behavioral healthcare company. His eclectic private practice specializes in working with clients in areas related to spirituality, gender & sexuality & energy healing, as he is also a Reiki Master & shamanistic practitioner. Rik lives in Bucks County , Pennsylvania with his wife, Anna-Sara, child, Markus & their dog, Cherokee. Rik has been traveling & teaching at various venues for the past 10 years. Email: rfire @ magellanhealth.com. (Clergy & Counseling)
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2010 |
 Raven Kaldera
| RAVEN KALDERA is a Northern Tradition Pagan shaman, astrologer, homesteader, Ordeal Master, FTM intersex activist, and founding member of the First Kingdom Church of Asphodel. He is the author of too many books to mention here. ‘Tis an ill wind that blows no minds. (Ordeal, Surrender, and Sacrifice; Hermaphrodieties; Eightfold Path of Altered States; Divine Possession)
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| Sean Mahafy | Sean Mahavy is a student of Stav and has been working with Miki Tracey for many years. This is his opportunity to teach solo. Stav Postures, Stav Movements, Younger Futhark) | Whittney Matlock | WHITTNEY is trained in fire ritual, drumming, and ritual ordeal. Fire Circle ) | ||||||||
| Laurel Mendes | LAUREL MENDES (Ordeal, Surrender, and Sacrifice; Not for the Faint Hearted-The Descent of Odin; Keening; Tambor for the Ancestors) | |||||||||
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Diana Paxson |
DIANA L. PAXSON is the author of 28 novels, including the best-selling Avalon series, and several works of spiritually-focused non-fiction. She is also well-known as a spiritual leader and teacher who has served as leader of the Covenant of the Goddess and the Troth, and lectured and conducted workshops in North America and Europe, including appearances at Pantheacon, Pagan Spirit Gathering, Wic-Can fest, and Starwood. Her work is based on over twenty-five years of practice as a priestess. She is an Elder and former First Officer of the Covenant of the Goddess, and an Elder, former Steerswoman, and current editor of the journal (Idunna) for the Troth, both international Pagan religious organizations. She is also the founder, an Elder, and former president of the Fellowship of the Spiral Path. (Oracular Seidh; MapQuest of the Inner Worlds; Ancestor Ritual; Visions and Voices) |
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REV. SHARON HENDERSON | Rev. Sharon Henderson. Rev. Sharon Henderson, OSM, is working in community with the Order of St. Michael. In community the Order seeks connection with the Divine through guided meditation, Taize services, walking the Labyrinth, building the Inner Temple, and other rituals both ancient and modern. Individual meditation is greatly encouraged in daily life. (Midnight Mass of the Resurrection). |
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Rev. Patricia Taylor (Lady Luna Rose) | LADY LUNA ROSE is a Sacristan (Minister of Sacred Environment) being tht her interests lie in practical magic, taking ordinary things and making them sacred. She holds two Certificates of Interfaith Studies from Ecumenicon and is the first to have achieved that distinction). Lady Luna Rose is High Priestess of Crossroads Teaching Circle, a congregation of Ecumenicon Fellowship. She has been with the conference since 2000. Email: childsight @ yahoo.com. (Rituals on a Budget, Portable Altars, Femadalatry, Tambor of the Ancestors) | ||||||
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Ray Taylor, Jr. | RAY TAYLOR (Ecu 2006, Ecu 2007, Ecu 2008) holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology and has been a Construction Inspector for 18 yrs in the D.C. Metro area. Born May 20, 1974 at Fort Belvoir, VA, he has a BS in Geology. He has been a Construction Inspector for 18 yrs in the D.C. Metro area. He has always been a maker. He has 2 yrs experience in drafting of electronic equipment and mechanical things; 2 yrs of experience of computer tech on main frame systems; 1 yr of Basic R+D of Radon in DC Metro area; 5 yrs of Jewelry Making; 7 yrs of being a painter; 26 yrs of drawing; 29 yrs of computer programming/game designing; 37 yrs of candle making; 38 yrs of model making (wood, plastic, paper, metal and clay); 26 years of working magic (dream walking); 16 years of shield making and power grid; 3 yrs formal training with Nomadic Chantry ( Journeyman level by Rosemary and Kathleen); 12 yrs of making magical candles and other things; 10 yrs of leading part time magical circles (personal at home, gaming circles at Game Parlor in VA, and CrossRoads). Email: yarbitwo @ hotmail.com. (Beyond the Fifth Element, ) | 
| PanOrpheus | PANORPHEUS (Ecu 2006, Ecu 2007, Ecu 2008, Ecu2009, Ecu2010) s the High Priest of the Stone Circle Coven (www.stonecirclecoven.com) He has been active in the Pagan Community centered in the Greater Philadelphia area where he has been teaching and leading rituals and workshops. He has co-written and led a three ritual series called the Orpheus Rituals. The Ritual of the Rose is the second descent of Orpheus and acts as the Welcoming Ritual for those arriving early to Ecumenicon in 2010. Panorpheus has presented The Pentacle and the Rose several times at a Pagan retreat, and in the Reading Pa. area. He prefers to present Pagan philosophy through a “Mythos” mode, using music, myth, poetry, pathworking and other means. Panorpheus sees himself in the role of Muse, rather than Mentor. |  |
Rev. Jane T. Sibley, Ph.D. | Rev. Jane T. Sibley, Ph.D. is a Norse scholar and ordained spakone (wise woman) with both Ecumenicon Fellowship and Woodhenge. Her specialties include runes, Northern European folklore, mythology, and early religion. Her Ph.D. was accredited in the History of Comparative Religion from LaSalle University with her thesis an exposition of the Divine Thunderbolt. She has taught at all but two of every Ecumenicon Interfaith Conference since its founding, as well as at Twilight Covening, Rites of Spring, Feast of Lights, Sacred Space, Etheracon, Convocation, Free Spirit Gathering, Darkover, and a raft of other gatherings. Her books, Norse Mythology … According to Uncle Einar, Hammer of the Gods, and Hammer of the Smith are available at the teacher table. (Were Folk in Norway; Norse Working) | 
| Tchipakkan | TCHIPAKKAN is an artist, writer, healer, and eclectic pagan-heathen-rustic. She has a small farm in NH aimed at self sufficiency and sustainability, which she shares with 3 of her children, and a varying assortment of animals (sheep, goats, rabbits, chicken, ducks, geese, peafowl, and cats of course). Her family has been been openly pagan in our community for over 30 years. Author of Divine Cookies- a cookbook with tales about gods and magical cookie recipes, and the Rune article series in the Blessed Bee Pagan Family Magazine. She is currently interviewing Subtle Pagans a book on the “underwater part of the pagan iceberg”. She practices and teach RuneValdr and Reiki, huna healing, herbalism, healing seidhr, soothsaying with runes, palmistry, tarot, numerology, and other systems. Her special area of interests are early Anglo-Saxons life and pagan life. (Changing Nature of Tarot, Palmistry Character Reading, Rune Magic for Kids, RuneValdr ) |
HONORED TEACHERS IN MEMORIAM
| PICTURE | BIOGRAPHY | |
| Balu | Thomas Eddie Hufford, known to the Pagan community as Balu, was the High Priest of WesTran Alpha Coven. He conducted the Cleansing Sacred Space portion of the opening ritual for Ecumenicon in several previous years, and was Ecumenicon’s webmaster for more than 5 years.
Balu was raised in the Mormon church. Around 1983, he was introduced to Wicca, receiving his 1st degree from an Alexandrian high priestess in 1986. In 1994, he met his high priestess and life partner, Seanara Coyote, who introduced him to Western Transformational Wicca and elevated him to his 2nd and 3rd degrees in that Path. Together, they were the high priest and high priestess of WesTran Alpha Coven for over 10 years. They were married just after midnight on Saturday, November 28, 2009, at the Darkover Grand Council science fiction convention, surrounded by friends. Balu crossed to the Summerland from complications of colon cancer on Sunday evening, November 29, 2009. Staff Sergeant U.S. Army (Retired) Thomas Eddie Hufford was a veteran of 20 years of service including two tours of duty in Vietnam. He received a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems from Kansas State University, and was an Auditor (Civilian) for the U.S. Army Audit Agency for 16 years. His memorial service, with military honors, took place at Arlington National Cemetery at 2 p.m. on Monday, December 21, 2009, which would have been his 62nd birthday. |
| Alexei | Alexei Kondratiev was a Celtic scholar, teacher, priest, and an amazing friend. There was no area of Celtic scholarship in which he was not a master, ranging from images of the various Goddess traditions from both Eastern and Western Europe, to the many ways in which Celtic Spirituality endured through the transitions into Christianity as well as Wicca and other Celtic forms. He was co-founder, with Judy Harrow, of a tradition of craft in New York City. He is survived by his companion of many years Len Rosenberg (Black Lotus), a Hindu teacher and scholar. | |
| Midian | Midian (aka Kevin Drewery) was the founder of our Sacristan (Sacred Environment) Ministry. The five-year program was the basis for the ordination of Patty Taylor as a Sacristan. When Midian first came to Ecumenicon in 2000, he took to it like a duck to water, taking 3 Intensives (Astrology, Candle Making, and Alchemy) all at the same conference. After three years with Ecumenicon Fellowship, while simultaneously working with the youth at Silver Spring Unitarian Universalist Congregation, he followed his heart and began studying for ministry with the Unitarian-Universalist Church. He moved to Las Vegas, NV, to take care of his father, and entered into the seminary in Berkeley, acting as a circuit rider between several congregations as a Youth Outreach Coordinator in various capacities. He used the myth of Harry Potter to encourage children to explore their own spiritual abilities. He was a long-term survivor of HIV, living for more than 19 years until succumbing to its ravages. He will be missed by Ecumenicon Fellowship and at least four different UU congregations. |
| Tami Cox | Tami Cox died at the age of 47 on Thursday Jan. 28, 2010 after suffering a stroke. Tami was a Two Spirited (Lesbian) American Indian warrior woman. For 4 years, she was the on site EMT staff for our conference. She was always proud of our Native American tradition and would talk for hours on the subject. She also studied other traditions like Wicca. |
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