For those of you not familiar with Louisiana, what other states would call a “county,” we call a “parish.”

Recently, a Livingston Parish lawmaker proposed an ordinance to ban fortune telling in that parish. He is doing this in spite of the fact that there are no fortune tellers he knows of there.

I have not read the proposed ordinance, and don’t know how it might avoid the separation of Church and State problems a similar ban ran into here in Houma. I suspect, and fear, that the proposed Livingston ban might actually be specifically aimed at neo-pagans, but I don’t know yet. What triggers the suspicion in my mind is that the very group that was run out of Houma after the court challenges in 2000 is now located in Livingston Parish.

I put out feelers last week about how the relationships were between the UU Churches here and the local pagan community. In Baton Rouge, there was a rough patch about 15 years ago, but most of the people involved had moved on. The Pagans are now accepted and welcomed, and it does not seem there are any real tensions. It seemed to have the character of a “changing of the guard.” The opposers were old, the pagans were young. Those opposed, over the last 15 years, died or moved off to be closer to family while the younger pagans have gained influence, some becoming staff members.

I haven’t heard anything from Shreveport or New Orleans which also have UU churches.

One important fact to keep in mind about UU churches is that individual churches have a great deal of autonomy. Individual churches can be very different from each other and their willingness to harbor local Pagans may vary widely. Each locality is going to have its own way of dealing with things.

A recent article on NationalGeographic.com points out that the devastation wrought upon New Orleans by Katrina was, in fact an un-natural disaster. In short, the levees and canals we’ve built have caused unnatural errosion and allowed salt water in to the swamps, destroying thousands of acres of cypress, a natural barrier to the ravages of storms. “Had those cypress swamps been in place, the levees probably wouldn’t have failed.”

Ah, my beloved cypress trees. If only we had understood how sacred you really are.

The Covenant of the Pentacle Wiccan Church is an affiliate of the international Aquarian Tabernacle Church, and located in New Orleans. Though there seems to have been some tough times after Katrina, they were back on track quickly, having resumed their college level Initiate classes in January.

The Church sponsors a number of community support activities.

We are involved in many inter-faith actions and founded the Pagan/Wiccan prison ministries in La., and across the Nation. We are area chaplains (hospitals, university) and work in various social causes. We have a local food and sundry bank, as well as a bi-annual toy and clothing drive. We are trusted and respected by area media, and are frequently in the public eye. We assist law enforcement on all levels, when a crime appears to have “occult” overtones.

Frankly, I am jealous of their ability to be so public. I am convinced that such high visibility would not be prudent in this more conservative South Louisiana town. I live only about 60 miles from them, but it seems worlds away.

The Aquarian Tabernacle Church is one of the largest, if not the largest Wiccan church in the country. It claims to be “the first Wiccan church with full legal status and recognition by the governments of three nations” and has affiliated groups all over the world. They are also the creators of the SpiralScouts, a chapter of which the local pagan community formed here recently.

Katrina was supposed to be our big wake-up call. “We weren’t going to make the same mistakes again,” we told ourselves. “Next time, we’ll be ready.” June first is the beginning of the new hurricane season, and for all we know, it will be another doozy. So, how are we doing on those preparations?

Of coastal residents recently surveyed:

• 56 percent don’t feel vulnerable to a hurricane or related tornado or flooding.
• 60 percent have no family disaster plan.
• 68 percent have no hurricane-survival kit.
• 83 percent have taken no steps to make their homes stronger.
• 13 percent said they might not or would not evacuate even if ordered to leave — leaving tens of thousands of residents at grave risk.

There are few signs to indicate we are much better off than we were before. Even worse, we might be more vulnerable. In a recent CNN.com article, “The Army Corps of Engineers recently admitted that construction on floodgates and levees will not be finished when hurricane season starts June 1.” Federal, State, and local governments are still in the process of making their plans and changes, when the season is practically on top of us.

So, what can you do to prepare? Here is an overview of preparedness steps by the Red Cross. This seems like it should be old hat to us South Louisiana folks, but apparently it isn’t. Let’s try to wake up before the next “wake-up call” hits us.