Our Articles of Incorporation

This is a new website, still under construction.  Please be patient with us as we move everything over and add our new features.

We are currently legally incorporated in the state of North Carolina as a church and federally recognized as such.   We are awaiting our 501c3 recognition but as we more than meet all requirements we anticipate no problems whatsoever. 

In the meantime, all of our Articles of Incorporation will be posted here asap as our webmaster is available to do that for us.   Please be patient with us and stay tuned, and you will notice things going up. 

We strive to be a very intentionally open, transparent, law abiding and ethical organization.

Thank you!

SYLVAN HEARTH MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is a Journey symbolized within the pentagram, the five pointed star, along the path of which we shall:

Honor the lessons of Water by joining hearts by sharing our joys and challenges, feeling and growing together and co-creating a group bond, shared love and shared trust as well as providing diverse support, pastoral counseling & charitable outreach;

Honor the lessons of Fire by joining voices and speaking up, listening and being heard as individuals and as a Temple, using our passion to vocalize our vision;

Honor the lessons of Earth by joining hands in building a safe, positive and supportive physical Temple space together and caring for those in need, including our environment;

Honor the lessons of Air by joining minds to co-create a shared vision and practice a shared intention while discovering our own individual paths as well as providing competent clergy and religious education for our members;

Honor the lessons of Spirit by supporting each other to worship freely as each conscience is guided, without fear in our hearts or reservation in our minds, and with respect and compassion for others so that they may do the same while we each remain true to our own cultures and traditions.

SYLVAN HEARTH VISION STATEMENT

The Sylvan Hearth Pagan Temple envisions a day when bigotry, intolerance, discrimination, hate crimes, violence – especially religiously motivated violence - are a thing of the past.

We envision a perpetually safe and self-sustaining sacred Temple space that all positive Pagans can use free of charge for worship, education, fellowship, networking and  support of each other as a diverse community with a common bond:  A love and respect for the Pagan spiritual traditions of the world and for those of all people of the world.    

We envision doing this by respectfully working together using consensus towards common goals and leading by positive examples. 

North Carolina Incorporation

Our Statement of Inclusion

We will not discriminate against any person based on their:

• Religion or lack thereof  (Our “Rules of Conduct” apply at all times)
• Race
• Ethnicity
• Physical appearance
• National origin
• Immigration status
• Sex
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• Age
• Size
• Level of physical ability or mental acuity
• Political affiliation

Our Core Values

SYLVAN HEARTH PAGAN TEMPLE CORE VALUES

PREAMBLE

The following list of core values has been compiled and agreed upon by all Temple members.

These are values which we all, as individual Pagans of diverse traditions, strive to embody in our

daily lives and most certainly while holding sacred space together at our Temple.

It is meant to state basic tenets of shared belief and to guide our behavior.

• We honor all life as sacred, each perfect in its own form.
• We respect all persons, regardless of our differences, as true equals.  We will be respectful towards others.  We will honor our Oaths of confidentiality!  We will not libel or slander others.
• We do not condone or participate in cultural appropriation of indigenous traditions that are not our own
  
• We honor our Elders and our ancestors and hold their wisdom in high esteem.
• We acknowledge that both reverence and mirth are part of our rituals and that there is a proper time for each.
• We will seek balance, moderation and harmony in all things.
• We will not abuse or misuse our minds, bodies or spiritual gifts, or those of others, in any way.
• We acknowledge the children of the world as precious and will always protect their minds, bodies and spirits from all harm to the very best of our ability.  Knowingly allowing harm of any kind to befall any child is grounds for expulsion from our Temple.
• We honor our bodies and our sexuality as both natural and as gifts from Deity.  As adults, we will enjoy both and abuse neither and will always behave appropriately.
• We esteem Nature as a gift from Deity and we view ourselves as caretakers.  Therefore we will strive to be good tenants in the world we share and we will show respect for Mother Earth and all Her creatures.
• We will be personally accountable for our words and actions and we will behave with potential consequences in mind. 
• We will be good neighbors to all and we will practice compassion, gratitude, hospitality, generosity, tolerance, patience and forgiveness to the very utmost of our ability.
• We will abide by the laws of the land at all times.
• We will cooperate with each other, seek consensus in all things whenever possible, and empower each other rather than try to exert power and control over one another.
• We will strive to diminish our egos and to increase our humility.
• We will respect the individual spiritual paths and beliefs, or lack thereof, of every person and we will not proselytize.  To each their own “truth”.