About Circle Sanctuary
P.O. Box 9, Barneveld WI 53507 USA
phone: (608) 924-2216
Circle, also known as Circle Sanctuary, is a non-profit international Nature Spirituality resource center and legally recognized Nature Spirituality church. Founded in 1974, Circle helps people from many spiritual orientations connect with each other as well as with the spiritual dimensions of Nature.
Our Mission:
Circle Sanctuary is a church rooted in Sacred Land, serving people of Pagan and other Nature-centered spiritual paths. We honor the Divine through Nature preservation and fostering Community through celebrations, ceremonies, education, outreach and other ministries.
Our Vision:
As a result of our sacred work, our vision is of a sustainable organization with strong connections to our local, national and international community, living in a world where our religious traditions and spiritual diversity are respected and honored, and walking in harmony with each other and the greater Circle of Nature of which we all are part.
Networking
Circle facilitates information exchange, contact connections, and other networking through publications, social media, podcasts, webpages, festivals, classes, and other events.
Education & Public Information
Circle sponsors a variety of workshops, training programs, and other educational events at Circle Sanctuary and at other locations. Workshops are held in connection with festivals and at other times. Special programs include ministry training. In addition, Circle Ministers travel near and far to do presentations for conferences, festivals, and other events sponsored by colleges and universities, religious and spiritual communities, healing centers, and other institutions.
Circle's networking and education work also has a public education dimension. Circle provides information via news sources, social media, and digital and in print publishing in order to dispel misconceptions and improve understanding of Nature Spirituality and its practitioners. Over the years, interviews with Circle staff, ministers, and other members have appeared in public media, including press, radio, television, and films. In addition, Circle Sanctuary is active in international, multicultural, interfaith, and multilingual cooperation endeavors.
Nature Preservation
Circle is headquartered on a 200-acre sacred Nature preserve which it purchased in 1983. Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve is located in the rolling hills of southwestern Wisconsin, about an hour's drive west of Madison. It includes forests, meadows, a remnant prairie, streams, springs, ancient sandstone rock outcroppings, Nature trails, and an abundance of wild birds and other wildlife. The preserve also features a variety of ritual sites and meditation places, including a Stone Circle, outdoor shrines, and one of America's first Green cemeteries.
Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve is engaged in environmental education, prairie habitat restoration, woodlands and wetlands conservation, and other Nature preservation endeavors.
Several environmental scientists are among the volunteers helping with research and conservation projects at the preserve.
The preserve and Circle Cemetery are open to Circle Sanctuary members and the public at a variety of festivals, classes, and other events held throughout the year. Most events and visits at other times require advance registration.
Festivals
Circle sponsors a variety of festivals, retreats, and other events throughout the year. The largest festival is the international Pagan Spirit Gathering which is a weeklong celebration of Summer Solstice. This festival, held in June, brings together hundreds of Circle Network members from throughout the USA and elsewhere. It features numerous activities, including rituals, workshops, youth program, bonfires, discussion groups, spiritual leadership training, concerts, bazaar, and more.
Other festivals include Samhain (late October), Yule (mid-December), Imbolc (early February), Welcome Spring (mid-March), Earth Day (late April), Beltane (early May), Green Spirit Festival (late July), and Fall Equinox (mid-September).
Circle Sanctuary Community
The Circle Sanctuary Community is the spiritual community of women, men, and children who share ritual, ideas, support, and celebration with each other at Circle festivals and other events throughout the year. Most members are from Wisconsin and neighboring states but others are from more distant places. Within the Community is the Volunteers Circle which helps with various aspects of Circle's work.
Circle Statement of Purpose
We encourage the growth and well-being of Nature Spirituality through promoting dialogue, cooperation, and mutually beneficial networking among individuals, groups, and organizations of different paths through Circle Network. We provide contacts through social networking, publications, correspondence, and telephone. We maintain Circle Sanctuary land, a spiritual Nature preserve. We promote the creation and sharing of rituals, meditations, music, images, and other spiritual artforms. We provide ministerial services including counseling, healing, and conducting weddings, child blessings, funerals, burials, home blessings, and other rites of passages. We sponsor the Pagan Spirit Gathering and other festivals throughout the year as well as educational activities, including workshops, talks, leadership training, and youth programs. We publish and distribute spiritual books, tapes, and other resources for spiritual development and practice. We engage in religious freedom activist work through the Lady Liberty League. We promote understanding and acceptance in mainstream society through public education, interfaith networking, and public relations media work, and we engage in academically sound and publishable research, and in multicultural exchange and cooperation for planetary wellness.