Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis - Main Building

Colleen Kelly and Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans of Indianapolis

It was an overcast and rainy day when I drove to Starbucks to meet with Colleen Kelly, a friendly woman in her mid-50's who has medium-long brown hair with a little bit of gray.  She has been Pagan since she was 3 years old, when she started having visions.  Colleen is an ordained Pagan minister who follows a Druid-Shamanic path.  Living on the west-side, in the town of Speedway, Indiana, she is out-of-the-closet about her religion.  Even though Colleen has had people who either just disagree with her religious choice or have told her that she's going to hell for it, she remains active in the Pagan community and even has a Facebook as well as a MySpace account.

A Website Developer by trade, Colleen's been in the IT field for 25 years.  In her free time, she's an artist and a writer; her books are titled, A Logical Woman and Through the Past Darkly.  Founder of Pagan Pride Day for Kalamazoo, Michigan, Colleen was the local coordinator for three years and now is the vendor chair for the Indianapolis, Indiana Pagan Pride Day that takes place every September.

While talking about her accomplishments, she told me that she was also the founder of a teaching group by the name of Gathering Spirit; even though that group is no longer together, they all keep in touch.  Colleen also works with Gaia Works, Inc., as well as the Indiana Pagan Prison Ministry where she presents education and rituals for Pagan inmates.  She emphasized that the IPPM is looking for more people to go into local and state prisons to help with their work.

During our conversation, Colleen talked extensively about the Indianapolis branch of CUUPS - Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, a group of people who meet on the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 7-9 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church located at 615 W. 43rd Street, Indianapolis, Indiana.  Open to the public, they celebrate all eight Sabbats of the year and do teachings on all the other meeting days.  Samhain, which is an Adult celebration of the Ancestors, however, might not be understood by those under 13, therefore, it is discouraged to bring someone in that age range.  Their next big ritual is Beltane, which will take place at the church on May 14th, 2009 from 7-9 p.m.  All are welcome to participate and encouraged to bring a snack to share.  There will be a Maypole and a bale fire as well as the ritual itself.  

Colleen, a Worship Associate for the Unitarian Universalist Church, said that while there is no average age for the members of CUUPS, their oldest member is in his late 70's.  CUUPS is not known to be primarily for women or men either.  It varies though; sometimes they have more of one than the other, but for the most part, they are pretty evenly balanced. 

To become a member of CUUPS, you will need to pay $5 a year and attend at least 50% of the meetings.