Our Mission
Cherry Hill Seminary is the leading provider of education and practical training in leadership, ministry, and personal growth in Pagan and Nature-Based spiritualities.
Our Vision
Cherry Hill Seminary supports Pagans and their communities by:
- Providing an extensive education in diverse aspects of Pagan philosophy, practice, and skilled ministry;
- Supplementing existing ritual and magical skills with training for professional ministry and pastoral counseling;
- Serving as an ongoing resource for individual continuing education; and
- Providing a forum for scholarship and community
Our Values
Cherry Hill Seminary:
- Honors the sacredness of the Earth
- Values scholarship
- Respects diversity
- Encourages individual and spiritual autonomy
- Values community
- Promotes service
Our History
The seed that became Cherry Hill Seminary was planted in the early 1990s by Kirk White, Cat Chapin-Bishop and Laura Wildman-Hanlon of Vermont’s Church of the Sacred Earth. Classes were conducted first by mail, and then brought online in 2000. The seminary was granted 501(c)3 tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service in March of 2007. White recruited nonprofit consultant and Cherry Hill Seminary student Holli Emore to serve as the chair of the first working board of directors, which began meeting in January 2007. At the end of that year, the board asked Ms. Emore to resign from the board and become the seminary’s first executive director, a position in which she continues to serve. The current master’s program was announced in July 2009. In fall of 2010, 38 students are matriculated into either a master’s or a certificate program, and many more take courses outside of the formal programs.
