These were the headlines on the front page of a free Scottish secular tabloid, 14th – 27th March, ‘ROW OVER PUPILS AT PAGAN SHRINE.’
Front page of SouthSide & Govan Press.
And on page three, the heading reads, ‘SOUTHSIDE PARK IS PAGAN HAVEN.’
The opening sentence on the front cover states :
‘Council chiefs have had to apologise to children, parents and staff at a Catholic school after pupils were involved in ‘decorating’ a tree circle used for pagan ceremonies …’
30,000 copies of each edition of The SouthSide Press and Govan Press are published twice a month, for the South of Glasgow and its suburbs. Please see The South Side Press website.
To read the articles, about Rouken Glen Park, in Giffnock, the south side of Glasgow, please see below images.
The second last paragraph concludes with, ‘Not even rain and storms can keep Druids away from Rouken Glen Park, which has now been described as ‘the pagan capital of Scotland.’ (Page three).
Rouken Glen Country Park, Giffnock.
I’m not sharing this post to bash Catholics or Druids, all people groups are dearly beloved of God and need our prayers.
What comes to my mind is this. Surely, some of the Catholic parents or teachers had already questioned this activity before it took place? Or could it be that they were not aware of the potential spiritual implications of joining in with this event? Maybe the Catholic individuals didn’t realise the activity of supernatural forces/spirits that are present at Druid ceremonies.
Yes, you may argue they were only ‘decorating a tree circle’, but it does remind me of the syncretism that can occur within Catholicism, not just in Scotland, but around the world, where precious Catholic people, mix their Catholicism along with elements of other religions, New Age or even Occultic activity.
For example, in Brazil, ” … where Roman Catholicism has blended with numerous Afro-Brazilian cults. Syncretism occurred partly because of religious persecution and partly because of the compatibility of the different belief systems … Catholics blend practise ” … with Kardecian Spiritualism (see Glossary), Umbanda or forms of black magic.
If you do an online search, you will find other forms of syncretism within Catholicism, which is very concerning. We need to pray, even more in these last days, as more deception spreads within our nations.
Our Spiritual Quest 
Hi Laura,
What an interesting situation and article. What I first noticed (and maybe this is because I’m American so I’m missing something) but the term used for the activity the children participated in was “decorating” a circle of trees. Now, as a former Wiccan (and former traditional witch), I’m well aware of the sacred circle which this grove of trees represents.
If I understand the situation correctly, however, this is a public park. The children were planting saplings to support the trees and habitat of the local wildlife. Now, if the children were perhaps literally “decorating” the circle of trees for the Spring Equinox with garlands or something in preparation of a rituatl, then I can understand the outrage. And if the council had “knowingly” asked a group of Catholic students to assist a pagan group in this kind of “decorating” of their sacred space then I can understand the outrage then as well. But this is a public park. The article states “This area is not designated as a pagan site, It is a tree circle used by many people and local groups of all faiths”.
The site could just as easily be used by a Christian church to celebrate Resurrection Sunday on April 20 with a sunrise service. For instance, there is a park in the city where I live which is the place which is used annually for a Pagan Pride festival. There is a ritual held there every year. But this is not “their space”. Anyone could use it and as a Christian I would have no qualms about going there for a Christian gathering or worship service because as you and I both know…all the world belongs to God anyway. People can “claim” a space all they want but it doesn’t make it “theirs”.
Sorry, this is getting long. I honestly think this whole thing with the outrage and upset is caused by one person who had the (yes, I will say it) audacity to “lay claim” to that circle of trees. Those children did nothing more than plant trees and there is nothing wrong with doing that as we are called to care for what God has given us. (Genesis 1:26). Sorry this is so long. Love ya, sister. 😀
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Hi Laura, Thanks for your response. I was raised in a Christian home and was a born again Christian without any doubt for about 16 years of my adult life. So I also have experienced both sides. I have been pagan for many years now. I live in dancing joy every day. I love the life change that took place in me when I realized the divine is in everything. It has made me such an aware person. I am also fancinated by quantum mechanics which has given me many answers. I found the paranormal effects of DNA research and the new DGV technology research on plants to be so very interesting. Please feel free to contact me by my personal email if you like. This is the only way I knew to contact you. It sounds like we have had similar lives even if our paths took a different turn. Blessed Be
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Hi Zhenna, many thanx for your reply. I will get back to you as soon as I can, but am going to be out for a few days. Take care. 🙂
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Hi Zhenna, I hope you are well. Thanks for taking time to read the article and for kindly commenting. I agree many Christians probably don’t really understand pagan beliefs & that it’s not the stuff of Hollywood,or rebellious teens acting out. Some of us do understand though, as we used to be involved in either pagan, new age or occult lifestyles for many years, so it perhaps gives us a little more insight into these things. Lovely to hear from you. I love the photos of the land on your website! God bless you Zhenna 🙂
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Beautiful. I wish everyone would work together more. I am a pagan and love the Christmas decorations at Christmas even on public grounds. I doubt most Christians really understand the pagan beliefs. Not the stuff of hollywood, most likely not what your church told you, and not rebellious teens acting out. Blessed Be.
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