Page of Pentacles

Congregationalist Wiccan Association of BC 5196 Moscrop Street Burnaby, British Columbia V5G 2G4 www.cwabc.org

C.C.C.C.C.W.W.W.W.W.A.A.A.A.A.B. C.B. C.B. C.B. C.B. C.

#17- September 2006 c.e. Annual General Meeting Report

By Samuel Wagar(Secretary of the Board of Directors)

Ordinations and A New Temple

On the 12th of August, in the lovely Pipers’ lagoonPark in Nanaimo, a group of forty members andfriends of the Nanaimo congregation of the CWA joined together to celebrate the Ordinations of SallyKimber, Angela Flegel, and Daniel van Koughnett asClergy in CWA. The beautiful setting and the warmthand joyous support of the people gathered, the eveningbreeze and the light of the sun low in the skycombined to make this a wonderful and movingoccasion.With these Ordinations the Temple of the GreenCauldron is launched - the Nanaimo branch of CWA.And Daniel van Koughnett has been chosen by itsmembers to hold our marrying credential as of the13th of August.May the Goddess and God bless the Temple andthe service of these three clergy!On August 13th, in Nanaimo, the 3rd AnnualGeneral Meeting of CWA happened.Of our thirty-two voting members, 17 were presentin person and ten represented by proxy, an excellentturnout considering how widely scattered ourmembership is. Vancouver-Burnaby Temple has 5voting members, North Okanagan 6, South Okanagan9, Nanaimo 11, and at-large 1.We decided to stagger the election of our Board toensure that there would be continuity of leadership.So, Debra Eilers and Samuel Wagar’s terms in officewere extended by one year to 2007 and three otherDirectors were elected to two year terms. The fivenominees to the positions were: Daniel van KoughnettWhen I first became involved in Wicca four and ahalf years ago, there was no place for laity, at leastnot in the tradition I was interested in, Pagans forPeace. Nothing like CWA or Wiccancongregationalism existed at that time in BC. It wasstill expected that newcomers would pursue aninitiatory path within coven or simply remain solitary.I participated enthusiastically in a variety of circlesincluding Gardnarian, Brit Trad, Pagans for Peace,and large celebratory community rituals but I found Iwas not yet ready to commit to the priestesshood of any particular tradition. So, I drifted along, continuingmy lifelong search for spiritual fulfillment yet resistingthe pull of the Gods.I had been raised a Catholic but made a break with Catholicism in my early twenties, mainlybecause of its oppressive attitudes and policiestowards women and sexuality. Even then, I wasaware of my own divinity and interconnectednesswith the universe. No organized religion that I wasaware of recognized my ability to find my ownpurpose and to follow my own ethical code.Over the next few decades, I studied theBhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, the Dhammapada,and for many years I incorporated the meditation andmindfulness teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh into mylife. But Eastern religions failed to celebrate the joysand pleasures of my physical being and so I could notembrace any of them fully. For a brief time I was sofrustrated with the dogma and rigidity of organizedreligion that I even considered rejecting all of it forsimple atheism. But that was not a comfortable fiteither – on the few occasions that I spoke the wordatheist out loud, the Goddess within me went ballistic– but it was as though I had needed to hit rock bottom before I could recognize Her.When I reread The Spiral Dance in Halifax in thespring of 2005, I felt like I had found what I’d beenworking toward all my life. I opened myself fully tothe Mysteries and the initiatory path. Ironically, bythen there was a place for Wiccan laity within theyoung organization we all know as the CWA but my

Wicca as a Way of Life

AGM Report Cont...

(24 votes), Diane Morrison (22), Sally Kimber(15), Anne Doré (11), Kam Abbot (7).The Board met after the AGM and divided theOffices for the coming year as follows: Debra Eilers -Chair, Sally Kimber - Vice-Chair, Samuel Wagar -Secretary and Treasurer, Diane Morrison -Membership and Clergy and Assistant Treasurer, andDaniel van Koughnett- Public Information. The AGMdecided to not elected a Members’ Advocate to theBoard and to review the need for that position.An amendment to the bylaws was passed whichchanged the definition of membership to no longerinclude membership in our federal parent body.A number of resolutions were passed 1/ definingthe word “adult” in our bylaws to mean 18 years of age or older; 2/ expressing our support for PaganPride Day and the Canadian National PaganConference and encouraging our members to getinvolved in both; 3/ expressing our agreement inprinciple with fostering resource sharing among ourTemples, with the details to be worked out by Templeand provincial Pursewardens and brought back to themembership; 4/ to establish Avalon College to overseeour religious education programs, in particular thereligious education of our clergy, and to appoint SamWagar as the Dean on an indefinite term (notice of motion was given by Angela Gallant and DianeMorrison of an amendment to the bylaws for the nextAGM to make it permanent).Two resolutions prompted considerable thoughtfuland far-ranging discussion, which was highlyproductive.A resolution regarding whether to continue orterminate our special policy regarding theestablishment of new congregations and the trainingof their clergy was the first. It was decided toterminate this policy for established Temples andrequire them to comply with the bylaws but tocontinue it for the next year for new congregations bya vote of 19 to 6 with two abstentions.The bylaws require candidates for clergy toaccess to it was limited because I was committed tobeing in Halifax for several more months. So, I beganintense solitary work and long-distance mentoring bymy Priest, teacher, and partner. I read everything hesuggested and we had lively online discussions. WhenI returned to BC, my involvement in Wicca and theCWA grew in leaps and bounds, adding public ritual,coven, counselling, writing, advanced reading, andpublic relations to my ongoing instruction and solitarypractice.Like many Wiccan converts, I had spent much of my adult life embracing Pagan beliefs without beingable to put a name to them. I have long been awareof my immanent divinity and my interconnectednessto the divinity of both nature and community of allkinds, including people, animals, and plant life. Iengaged in trance, astral projection, and out-of-bodyexperiences without knowing what to call them orwho to credit for them. (Contrary to the Catholicleanings of my family, my father read playing cardslike Tarot and my sister had an uncanny gift forseeing into the future and across distances.) I tried tolive my life by the Rede and the Threefold Law evenbefore I knew they existed; they’ve been part of apersonal struggle to work my true will, search for myhighest purpose, and live in sync with the world andthe divine. Because of this, Wiccan theology andethics have become focal points in my study of Wicca. Both need to be developed much more fully inour religious community.I recently came across an interesting analysis of the Rede in a new introductory book by Thea Sabincalled Wicca for Beginners. (This book looks like itcould be a good addition to Wicca 101 and to ourcongregation libraries. Although it oversimplifiesWiccan history, it is a very readable primer on theCraft, soundly based in ethics and philosophy.) AsSabin points out, the important word in the Rede is notthe word “harm.” It is the word “will.” The emphasison will challenges us to act according to our highestpurpose and to infuse our spirituality into oureveryday lives and actions. The Rede is not a licenseto do as we want; it is reminder to do what we mustto achieve personal harmony with the Gods and theuniverse.Sabin’s interpretation is not dissimilar to AleisterCrowley’s Law of Thelema: “Do what thou wilt shallbe the whole of the Law. Love is the Law; Loveunder Will.” Again, the important word here is “Will”and the first half of the statement of the Law is notcomplete without the second half. Both Crowley, in1904, and Sabin, in 2006, affirm that we have notchosen an easy path. Although it is a colourful,Magical path marked by fun, pleasure, andcelebration, it’s essentially about the hard work of knowing yourself, acting responsibly, and beingaccountable.My spiritual journey and life experiences havetaught me that what is important is not just how longwe can claim to have been Pagan or Wiccan ormembers of CWA but rather, how devoted we are toincorporating Wiccan ethics and spirituality into ourlives and into the ways we act in the world.Anne DoréWillow, 1

Lay Clergy, CWA

3qualify for voting membership before beginningtraining (a minimum of one year), do not allow theformation of congregations by non-members, andrequire committees of Initiates to oversee clergytraining. The special policy adopted by the Board inFebruary 2005 and confirmed at the 2005 AGMallows joint supervision of congregations of non-members by an Ordained Clergy Member and theBoard of Directors, training by that Clergy Memberof lay clergy and their confirmation by Ordinationafter a minimum of a year of training.Issues raised in this debate included how rapidlywe wished to grow, if at all, the need to consolidateour recent rapid growth, and consistency of training.There was recognition of the enormous amount of work involved, particularly for the supervising clergyperson.A resolution regarding the establishment of congregations and Temples that adhered to only oneTradition of our religion was brought forward,prompted by the discussions that the Secretary hadbeen having with some people who wished to do that.Among the issues raised in this discussion wereconcerns about serving the entire community of Wiccans, particularly in smaller communities wherewe might be the only public Wiccan voice, andcompetition between our Temples. We all embracedthe idea of including a variety of Traditions butdiffered on whether they should be included asspecial interests under the umbrella of a generalTemple or also as Temples with particular foci. Therewas general disagreement with the idea of offeringsafeguards to any Temple or congregation for thecontinuation of its tradition-centred position beyondthose guarantees in the bylaws. It was felt that theprinciple of congregationalism prohibited interferencein the internal workings of any Temple or

A New God

A few weeks ago, a new god entered my life:Lugh. Not very familiar with the Celtic Gods, I hadnever met him before. Or … wait … is that true?Many years ago, on my first morning in London,walking through the busy streets in a dream-like state(it felt like a dream then and still feels like a dreamtoday but I know it happened), I heard someone saythat name. In a flash, I decided that would be thename of my first child. Then I forgot about it, and ayear later my son, Louis, was born …Now Lugh (pronounced “Lou”) has made a veryconscious and clear appearance in my life. Intimatelyassociated with a similar Roman god, Mercury, andby extension, his Greek counterpart, Hermes, Lugh isa god of commerce and trade, of travelling betweenhere and there, a god of thresholds. He is the god of poets and of tradespeople (especially shoemakers).He is associated with agriculture. A god of manythings. That, indeed, is his speciality. It’s what got himinto the kingdom of Tara, the mythic capital of theTuatha Dé Danann, pre-Celtic people of Ireland.They already had enough specialists but none likeLugh, who combined all of these qualities in oneperson/hero/god.What happens when I encounter a new god in mylife? Let me look at a few strands of this experience– perhaps it resonates with some of you.Having started a new business last year, I felt Ineeded support. No, it felt that I needed more than just a bit of support – no, more than that still: Irealized that I was not a very good boss in mybusiness. So I handed the job over to my matrongoddess who told me to find someone else to help herwith that, since running a business is not somethingthat she is particularly skilled or interested in.By Isabella Moricongregation so long as they conformed with thebylaws. Some members wanted to define ourparticular style of Wicca as an Outer Court BritishTraditional form, but most members felt that wealready encompassed enough variation that thisdefinition was not applicable and that our bylawsdefined our points of commonality.The meeting adjourned with a sense of accomplishment and genuine camaraderie and goodwill.