W.
Page of Pentacles
C. A.
Suite 1 -1428 East King Edward Avenue,
B. C.
Vancouver, BC
V5N 2V4
Canadian National Pagan Survey
The Canadian National Pagan Survey is being
conducted by Dr.Sian Reid of Carleton University’s
Department of Sociology and Anthropology and it’s a
follow-up to her 1995-6 survey of Canadian neo-
Pagans which formed the basis for her PhD
dissertation.
Because neo-Paganism has been growing explosively,
from 2295 in 1981 to 5530 in 1991 to 21085 in 2001
in the respective census counts, it will be very useful
to Canadian pagans as well as academics and the
general public, to get a good idea of who we are and
where we’re from.
Ms. Reid’s survey will conclude as of April 30th,
2006. Copies of the survey form can be obtained from
www.canadianpagansurvey.ca or from her at
slreid@ccs.carleton.ca or at the Department of
Sociology and Anthropology, Carelton University,
1125 Colonel Bye Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6.
CWA-BC Annual General Meeting
The next Annual General Meeting of the CWA-BC
will happen on August 14th in Port Coquitlam. It is
open to all members and friends of the church but
only Voting Members may move motions, stand for
office or vote. Voting Members are those people who
have been involved with the church for a minimum of
one year, attended at least three public events, agreed
in writing with our statement of basic beliefs and
ethics and paid the annual fee (currently $25).
#3-July 2005 c.e.
Temple and Congregation News
Vancouver-Burnaby Temple
The theme for July 16th will be the Goddess. The July
30th meeting will be cancelled due to the attendance
of some members at a religious retreat. The theme for
August 13th will be building community, and August
27th will be endings and beginnings.
The Teen Pagans meet after the ritual.
Our Temple meets every second Saturday at 11 am at
Forum Chambers (beside the coffee shop, off of
Convocation Mall at Simon Fraser) although we are
actively seeking a new home in Vancouver. Contact
the Priest at samwagar@shaw.ca.
Silver Branch Temple (Fraser Valley)
The Silver Branch Temple (located on the beautiful
grounds of the Royal Jubilee Lawn Bowling
Association, 33680 South Fraser Way, in Abbotsford
(beside the old downtown library). Due to the illness
of the Priestess, the Temple will not be meeting until
further notice.
Priestess Aurora Rose
Silver Branch Temple (silver_branch@telus.net)
Abbotsford
Nanaimo Congregation
The Open Circle is set for this coming 9th of July.
The site is rented and the notices have gone out. We
have set the time for 6:00pm.
Joy Halls has asked to stand as Priestess and we agree
that she deserves the honour of this first Open Circle.
Sam Wagar will act as Priest. The other Lay Clergy
will call the quarters and participate in minor parts
such as the storytelling and some spell work.
We just had our first business meeting on June 30th,
where we elected our interim “Board of Stewards”
(think Board of Deacons). The Lay Clergy have met
several times previously and we decided that,
consistent with the congregationalist model, there
should be a separation between the theological wing
of the Congregation, and the internal “business” of
running the works. A clear separation between the
money and the prayers worked very well in the Baptist
Church I grew up in, and it seems to be a logical way
to operate in our environment. It also leaves the
Clergy to do what the Clergy should do, concentrate
on the spiritual needs of the membership. To this end
we have established a “Board of Stewards” who will
take care of running the nuts and bolts such as
finances, library, membership and visit rolls etc. The
Board of Stewards will also be responsible to conduct
business meetings as necessary. The Clergy will
attend meeting of the Board of Stewards as non-voting
members and will provide “sober second thought” to
ensure that decisions are consistent with the NWC and
the CWA’s purpose and requirements. At this time the
Board has elected a Secretary, Treasurer, Membership
Coordinator, and a Librarian. All are avowed
supporters of the project and all have expressed intent
to take out membership in the CWA as soon as they
have fulfilled the requirements.
In service to our Lord and Lady
Daniel Van Koughnett
Nanaimo Wiccan Congregation
witch@telus.net
Vernon Congregation (North Okanagan)
Well, it was a really great Summer Solstice ritual! We
were back in the Unitarian church this month, and
though we had a smaller turnout than I’d hoped for
considering the Sabbat, people were very generous
with their donations and even with the raised church
rental cost, it was the least expensive ritual for me,
personally, that we’ve done so far. Thank you so
much for that!
We were a couple of minutes late arriving, so things
got started about 20 minutes late. (unexpected traffic
issues coming from Vernon.) A photographer from
Capital News in Kelowna was there to meet us, and
he took quite a few photos for his newspaper, which
were to go with a small caption. He was also very
respectful of anyone’s desire to not be photographed,
I’m pleased to say (wouldn’t want anyone to be scared
away from our rituals because they’re afraid of being
in the paper!) I was pleased that he came out.
We therefore abbreviated the ritual a little, so that
Sam would have time to do his talk on the National
Pagan Conference. I think it ended up flowing better.
We did a webweaving as the culmination of the ritual,
which was a great deal of fun, and I think everyone
went away with a good feeling, which was the
important thing. There was chanting and good humour
and laughter and power behind our work.
Thank you all for coming, those who did; and we’re
sorry we missed you, those who couldn’t make it.
Next month, in lieu of a ritual, the plan is to do a
public Witch wedding! My beloved husband and I,
since we can now do it the Pagan way, are making
legal the vows we took seven years ago. We chose the
July 24 ritual date because it was as close to our
original ceremony as we could make it (which was on
Lughnasadh.) We invite the general Pagan public to
attend the wedding, which is to be in Polson Park in
Vernon, and for those who receive an invitation, there
will be a very informal potluck reception at our home
afterwards. Dress is as you like. However, do stay
tuned, because we are finalizing many of the details
still.
The North Okanagan Congregation’s next Open
Circles will happen on the 23rd of July and August
20th - in July at Polson Park in Vernon for a marriage
and in August at the Unitarian Church, 1310 Bertram
Street, Kelowna. For more information contact the lay
clergy person, Sable, at 250-549-4100 or
SunMoonStar@planet-save.com.
Penticton Congregation
Things here in the South Okanagan have been doing a
lot of roller coaster type stuff. We have been
advertising in the local media for the last couple of
months. Last month, we merely had a spot in the
Things To Do section in a free paper (Penticton
Western News) and we were blessed with a few people
who saw our blurb. This month, we got the attention
of the local newspaper (Penticton Herald) who asked
for an interview on the morning of our monthly ritual.
The reporter took about an hour to ask her questions,
getting several quotes from Sam, Mike and I and then
spent about a half hour setting up the “perfect” photo.
In actuality, the article was almost completely quotes
when it printed and the picture was quite well done.
We have been receiving calls from interested Pagan/
Wiccan types almost daily ever since. Those are the
ups...
The downside to this attention is the fact that I bit the
bullet and “outed” myself to the community at large
which some of the ladies’ auxiliary of the service
group I belong to took exception to. Since I am an
officer of this auxiliary, they expected me to be a good
little Christian, regardless of the fact that I never
claimed to be such. They, in their mistaken, Christian-
centric beliefs, thought I was the perfect young
addition to their group and never once thought that I
might believe a bit differently from them. I was going
to be called to the carpet in front of the entire officer
contingent of the group (both men and women),
however, I have not spent my energy in vain. Several
of the officers are very tolerant and absolutely adore
the work I put into the group. They flat refused to
have it made so public. While I will be asked to
answer some questions regarding my vows vs. my
beliefs at the next auxiliary meeting, for most, this is
merely a formality and a non-issue. The meeting is
July 13th, thus I will let you all know how it went
next month.
In the last month, I have passed my 2nd semester of
my LPN program (now on practicum), actually made
huge leaps at becoming organized (I even have a
database on who has attended our rituals), moved my
household (3 adults, 2 kids and a rottie) into a huge
house (with personal ritual space) and attempted to
take our burgeoning temple into the public eye. I think
I have officially gone insane!
Grá is beannachtaí,
Angela Wheeler
Lay Priestess
The congregation has a workshop at 12:30, followed
by a ritual at 3:00 pm on July 24th and then on
August 21st Both workshops and rituals will happen
at Leir House, 220 Manor Park Avenue, Penticton.
For more information contact Mike Zult at 770-8644
or Angela at prrrline@img.net.
Surrey Congregation
The Surrey congregation will be hosting Open Circles
on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month beginning at
1 pm. The meetings will be in the common room of
7297 138th Street in Surrey (a block from the Newton
bus loop). This congregation is centred in the Star
Sapphire Tradition of Wicca.
The lay clergy in the congregation are Sherryl Verge
and Jamie Field. Contact them at
vergefield@hotmail.com for more information.
Financial Report
The following is an unaudited and general financial
report covering the period from March 2004 to July
1st 2005.
Congregational breakdown:
North Okanagan : expenses $510.33 ($200
transportation, $178 rental, $132.33 printing, supplies
etc); income $297.43
South Okanagan: expenses $346.29 ($200 transport,
$105 rental, $41.29 other); income 100.20
Vancouver-Burnaby : expenses: $19.75 (printing and
supplies); income $118.82
No report from Silver Branch, Surrey or Nanaimo,
but their expenses and income have both been minimal
so far.
General Church: expenses: $271.53 ( filing fees $185,
advertising $72.23, printing and postage $14.30);
income $250.00
Page of Pentacles: expense $187.87 (printing
$141.20, postage $30.82, misc supplies $15.85) :
income $24.00
Total accounted for: expenses $1335.77; income
$790.45, total deficit $545.32.
The shortfall was made up by donations by the Board
of Directors and clergy. There are undoubtedly some
expenses not included here. Considering that CWA-
BC is a small, new organization and the amount of
service that we have already offered to members and
friends, this is an excellent record.
Notices
Personal Advertisements:
Members or adherents (people who have signed the
attendance book at at least one Open Circle in the past
six months) are encouraged to send contact or
personals advertisements into us. They must be in
good taste, short and to the point and signed with your
legal name. Donations would be helpful but there is
no charge for them. The editor will put them in when
there is space and reserves the right to refuse to print
them.
Paid Advertising:
A page or two will be set aside for advertisements
from those members and adherents who operate
businesses. A full page advertisement will cost $50
(16x22 cm), a half-page $30, a quarter page $20, an
eighth-page $10. Smaller advertisements will get
precedence. BMP, JPG preferred (send disc) although
scanner ready copy is also fine. Payment must
accompany ads (cheques or money orders made out to
Congregationalist Wiccan Association). In general
advertisements from people not affiliated with CWA
will not be accepted and the editor reserves the right
to refuse any advertisement.
Ritual library:
Our library of rituals and training resources is
growing and we hope to index it speedily and make it
available to the membership in the next couple of
months. Members and friends can send in rituals that
they have written and wish to share. Include your
legal name, the name to attribute the work to, and
complete references for any material by other people
which you included or adapted into the ritual, plus
your written permission to distribute this for research
purposes. These will be available on a cost-recovery
basis (cost of photocopies and postage) to aid our
members in research. Rituals that are plagiarized will
not be accepted.
Marriages:
Two of our clergy, Teri Chartier and Samuel Wagar,
are licensed to perform legal marriages in BC. We
have some requirements that have to be met for us to
agree to marry you. We will not charge a fee for
performing a marriage but all expenses involved for
the clergy will be paid by the couple and donations
will be accepted. CWA enthusiastically supports equal
marriage rights for heterosexuals and homosexuals
and everyone in between.
Pagan Teen Outreach:
Several of our congregations have been graced with
teenage adherents and it appears that one service the
Goddess is calling for us to provide is support to
Pagan teens. There are a lot of them out there, trying
to learn something from the internet, whatever books
they can find in the local library, and from talking
with their friends. Gathering together materials and
developing our service to teens is going to be a
priority. Contributions of ideas, rituals, books, and
resources will all be very welcome.
Subscriptions:
Although Page of Pentacles is intended primarily for
distribution at Open Circles or other activities of our
association, subscriptions can be purchased at $12 per
year.
Unless otherwise stated, everything in this magazine was
written by Samuel Wagar, Secretary of CWA. His writing
here is anti-copyright and may be freely reprinted, so long as
the source is credited. If you want to read other people’s
writing, say your own, send in news from your communities.
Blessed Be