Page of Pentacles $12/yr, included

with membership.
W. Congregationalist Wiccan Association of BC
C. A. 5196 Moscrop Street
Burnaby, British Columbia
B. C.
V5G 2G4
www.cwabc.org #23- March 2007 c.e.

Notice of Special General Meeting of the Things To Be Proud Of

Members

April 28th 2007 The Nanaimo Temple of the Green Cauldron

5196 Moscrop Street, Burnaby has been distributing warm clothing and blankets
1 pm donated by members of the Temple and the general
public to homeless people in Nanaimo. They
Our Association has been negotiating with the started organizing this in November and have made
Charities Directorate of Canada Revenue Agency several runs through the dark back streets of the
for the past two and a half years. They said in a city. They may have saved the lives of some of the
December 2006 letter that we need to clear up people there, and they have certainly improved
some vague wording in our bylaws in order to many lives.
achieve registered charity status. After rereading our
Purposes statement and bylaws, the Board has The local press has begun to give them publicity
agreed that the current wording of our Constitution and now some volunteers from outside of the
misrepresents our intention and purpose, as well as Temple are starting to come forward to help out.
being vague on details. As with all of the other projects that we are doing
and that this very active Temple is doing, they are
When the founding members of CWA-BC short of money and of volunteers. But the need is
decided to start the Association our purpose was to there and the hunger for service, so we pray for the
get together a group of Wiccans to provide religious Gods to bring us money enough and time enough to
services to the general public in British Columbia. do some more good.
We will need to revise some of the wording in our
Constitution and bylaws to reflect our purpose more The North Okanagan Temple’s Yule Basket
accurately. The proposed changes will not affect initiative, helped out with donations and publicity by
what we are doing or how we are doing it, but will the South Okanagan Temple, brought together gift
just clarify our intentions. baskets of food and gifts for children for several
families in the area this year. The two Temples want
There is no guarantee that we will become a to keep it going as a year-round project to help out
charity if we make these changes - there may be poor people in their communities.
other details that need to be settled. It is certain that
we will not become a charity if we do not. Help our sisters and brothers in pain or distress.
Kindness and compassion are virtues that will
Accordingly the Board has called a Special make us whole, and coming together in love and
General Meeting of the members to consider the trust to reach out of our church to the rest of the
following two sets of amendments to make those world expands compassion, builds trust.To
changes to our Constitution and bylaws which would contribute to these initiatives, contact the Temples.
clarify our purposes and intentions. To bring your own concern forward and build a
united effort to make things better, please talk with
Only these matters can be dealt with at the us.
Special General Meeting. This is not an Annual
General Meeting, but a special meeting called to Blessings of the Great Mother and the All-
Father.
1
deal with this one issue only.
All voting members are welcome to attend and to
speak to and vote on the amendments. Proxies are
not permitted for votes on changes to the
constitution or bylaws under bylaw 3.2. Quorum is
10% of the members (4 members).
The first amendment reads:
“Moved to strike out Section 2 from our
Constitution and replace it with the following:
2. PURPOSES OF OUR SOCIETY
2.1 This Society is established to provide Wiccan
religious services to the general public of this
province - to be a Temple association.
2.2 The specific purposes of our Society are:
a/ to form a church, including provision of legitimate
credentials for ministers, legal assistance in
discrimination cases, chaplaincy in jails and
hospitals, recognition of our rites of passage and
public rituals,
b/ to provide religious education for the general
public and for our members,
c/ to produce religious retreats and provide meeting
halls for worship,
d/ to provide spiritual support around raising our
children, pastoral counselling, bereavement, alcohol
and drug dependencies, overcoming sexism and
other forms of oppression,
e/ to build Temples and to worship the Goddesses
and Gods with joy and enthusiasm,
f/ to assist new congregations to form and to form
links with others in their area.
2.3 The general purposes of our Society are:
a/ to facilitate depth of communion between
humanity and the Goddesses and Gods through
nurturance of Temples,
b/ to counter public misconceptions about Witches
and Nature religions,
c/ to unite those who agree with our Statement of
Beliefs and Ethics for service of the Goddesses and
Gods of our religion.”
Charities Directorate also expressed concern
about ambiguities in the relationship between our
Association and our federal parent body, the
Congregationalist Witchcraft Association.
2
At its Annual General Meeting in March of 2006,
the federal body, in recognition that it was intended
to be a confederation of provincial bodies and that
the only active and effective provincial body was the
CWA-BC, redefined its membership as being; “The
members of the Board of Directors of each
constituent provincial affiliate, such Boards to
exercise votes in proportion to their provincial
body’s membership.” At the Association’s AGM in
August of 2006 we revised our bylaws to remove
the requirement that members of CWA-BC also
become members of the federal body.
Accordingly the Board has added the following
amendment to the agenda of the Special General
Meeting:
“In order to accurately reflect the relationship
between the federal Congregationalist Witchcraft
Association and the Congregationalist Wiccan
Association of British Columbia the following
amendments to our bylaws are moved:
In bylaw 2.1 section d subsection one to strike out
the words “national Congregationalist Witchcraft
Association” and replace them with “provincial
Association.”
In bylaw 2.1 section d subsection six to strike out
the words “the Congregationalist Witchcraft
Association as a whole and administered by the.”
To strike out sections 5.2 and 5.4.
In Bylaws 5.6 to strike out everything after the
words “every year.”
In bylaw 5.8 to strike out the phrases “owned by
the Congregationalist Witchcraft Association” and
“administering the property.”
In bylaw 5.9 to strike out the phrase “(this
section is unalterable)”
In 8.1 to strike out the phrase “individual
Witches” and replace it with “those.”
The numbering of the bylaws shall be adjusted to
reflect these changes.”
If you have any questions about any of these
amendments, or about the Special General Meeting,
or you need a copy of the Constitution and bylaws,
please contact Sam Wagar, the Secretary, at
samwagar@shaw.ca.

“The positive ideal that we propose is
Nature. That is, WILD nature, those
aspects of the functioning of the
Earth and its living things that are
independent of human management
and free of human interference and
control. And with wild nature we
include human nature, by which we
mean those aspects of the functioning
of the human individual that are not
subject to regulation by organized
society but are products of chance, or
free will, or God (depending on your
religious or philosophical opinions).
“FC”, Industrial Society and Its
Future (Berkeley, Jolly Roger Press
1995), 63.
Temple News
Vancouver-Burnaby Temple
The February coffee meet drew many familiar
faces as well as a few newcomers. Discussion topics
included books, movies, books, healing, books,
pagan traditions, housing, jobs, and, oh yes, books.
We will continue to meet on the last Friday of each
month at Sacred Space bookstore/café at 29 West
Pender. (Stadium Skytrain Station near Tinseltown.)
Sunflower seeds planted at the Imbolg ritual have
broken through the soil and are searching the cloudy
skies for renegade sunrays. Our next open circle will
celebrate Ostara, the official coming of spring. It is
planned for Thursday, March 22, pending
confirmation of the room reservation. An email
reminder will be sent out to all those on our mailing
list to confirm the date. Public open circles are held
in Burnaby at Metrotown Mall’s Community Room.
(near Old Navy)
3
Of late, administrative responsibilities and the
demands of government bureaucracy have
consumed a good deal of Sam’s spare time and
energy, and, come to think of it, Anne’s, too! While
accountability and order are rewards in themselves,
we all know there looms the strong possibility of a
wonderful bonus for CWA in the form of charitable
status. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize and hold on
while we negotiate the final hurdles!
Our temple’s official membership expanded by
one this month and a couple of other regular
participants are poised to qualify in the near future.
Inquiries about our activities and services continue to
arrive on a regular basis, especially from people new
to the lower mainland.
Blessings to all,
Anne and Sam
Priestess and Priest
Vancouver-Burnaby Temple/CWA
annedore@shaw.ca
samwagar@shaw.ca
South Okanagan Temple (Penticton)
Please mark the schedule on your calendar: 1st
Saturday is the Business Meeting, 2nd Sunday is
Women’s Night, the Friday following Women’s night
is Men’s Night, 3rd Saturday is the Open Ritual and
social from 12:30-4:30pm. If you mark this on your
calendar for every month, you will never be
surprised or miss out on an event
Blessing of Light and Laughter,
Angela Gallant, LPN
Priestess, South Okanagan Temple
Temple of the Green Cauldron (Nanaimo )
Without further ado:
The Nanaimo group has enjoyed a brief winters
rest and have started things off in our usual
fashion—with a bang!
Today we are flying high after an hour long
interview and photo session! We put out an ad to
announce the initial set-up meeting for this years
Pagan Pride and had a call from a reporter. We met
at Lobelia’s Lair and the interview turned into quite a
session about CWA, our local church, Wiccan
practices and finally about Pagan Pride. Lots of
photos and they spoke to the kids too. We were
thrilled and hope the end result is as good!
We walked in the door and there was another
message requesting an interview about the Outreach.
Meredith had been hounding the papers as to “why
haven’t these people been featured?” and now there
is to be a session with Angela—who had been trying
to get the outreach going—and Mike—who wanted
to know why we were still sitting on it. Mike is
street-wise and has guided us through the first few
outings. The Outreach has been going for about two
months now and has been well received. We are
slowly getting donations from the public and a lot of
positive feedback. The homeless people we have
contacted have been friendly and appreciative.
Apart from clothes and blankets, we have been
handing out hot coffee and occasionally have bought
a meal. We plan to continue until mid-March and
will then start up again in November. Thanks to
Angela for seeing the need and to those who go out
Tuesday nights.
Our local paper has added Daniel to their list of
Spiritual writers. He will be submitting articles on a
monthly basis for public reading. This is a step
forward from Dobson ( the normal Christian family
writer) Way to go Daniel!!
As mentioned at the start, we are gearing up for
Pagan Pride Day again. Meredith has been after
Kerr Cuhulain for a year and has him agreeing to
come over for our event. We expect this to draw a
lot of interest from the public. He has offered to give
his speech on defamation of our religion and also
sent a ritual for initiation into the Warriors, if we wish
to use it. He has basically agreed to do about
anything and we are excited about what he can offer.
We will be making a few changes this year but the
event has grown very popular both with vendors and
the public. I have to say that it couldn’t be done
though except for the very hard work of many
people other than clergy and stewards. I tend to lean
heavily on Kam for his strength, Roxi for her
handling of people, and Merry who keeps me
upright and heading forward!
4
We have started with designated craft days again
so we can raise money. We will be planning two
Silent Auctions, sales table at Pagan Pride, and
having things to sell at the Gathering. These are
usually held on a weekend afternoon and the talent
that is in our group is awesome.
The best attending program—Daniel’s Wicca
101—is up and running. The ‘students’ are a very
lively group and are quite knowledgeable and
questioning. The class is nicely mixed both gender
and agewise. Daniel has attempted to get some of us
others to teach but he does it so well!!! Kam has
been voluntold and will now turn his hand to
teaching which I believe he will do very well. Angela
may have been talked into a presentation about
herbs and spells using them and there is no-one
better. I am still trying to avoid making a
commitment. We will be presenting a 201 course at
Beltaine. Unlike the 101, it will likely run for a year
and a day and be quite intense. Those undertaking
to do it should be very proficient in the end and will
probably find it personally rewarding.
With so many activities, we have put the
Women’s Night on hold for the time being. We are
together all the time anyway and it seems that we
need to designate time to be at home! However, we
realize that all work and no play is not a good idea
and have decided to have a Fun day or time once a
month when we just unwind and play. Our first
outing will be bowling and we have a long list of
ideas to follow up with. I am sure we will play as
hard as we work.
Our children are getting older. Luckily we are
expecting a few new additions this year. It certainly
livens things up. It also adds to the Moon School
class which is a great success. The kids love it and
Coralee keeps them fully occupied with activities. At
Imbolc, the kids made butter, which they brought
into the circle and shared.
Imbolc was lovely but rather quiet with many of
our regular members away at different events. We
were visited by five people from Vancouver though
and several brand new people. Ostara will be held
at Bowen Park complex again this year. Hopefully
the weather will be nice and we will be able to enjoy
the gardens.
We are enjoying some very creative Esbats lately.
The congregation has been offered the chance to
write the rituals and it has brought some freshness to
the evening. Tanya started us off last month and
Craig has written the ritual for this month. We have a
sign up sheet present at each event and anyone is
welcome to put their ideas to work.
We are very pleased to announce that Trina and
Darryl will be having a Handfast ceremony this
spring. They have all our best wishes for the future.
There is also to be a “welcome to womanhood”
celebration for one of our members. I shan’t print
her name in case she would be embarrassed but
most of us know who she is! She is a wonderful
addition to the “club”.
Most of us are having trouble with money and
will be so relieved to get the charity status. We can
usually count on a few hundred dollars from an
auction but we are going to try a few other ideas.
We will be having a “Beer and Burger” night at one
of the pubs—no idea how successful this will be but
will be interesting. This October we will be having a
Witch’s Ball. One of the other groups in town holds
a Fool’s Ball in the spring and we are going with that
format. They assure us that we will make money on
the liquor sales. We may try a catalogue fund raising
event for home and garden products. However,
there won’t be any stopping us once that number
comes through!!!! We have the ideas waiting!
So to all, a late Imbolc wish and an early Ostara
blessing from all of us living on our island paradise.
Spring is here and the crocus, daffs, and tulips are
awakened. Buds are fattening and the air has a
touch of warmth. The kids are hauling out shorts and
skateboards. The birds and deer are searching the
yards. The garden is waiting.
Blessings, Sally Kimber
Temple of the Green Cauldron
North Okanagan Temple
(Vernon-Kelowna)
Upcoming Events:
* Feb. 24, March 10 - Women’s Mysteries
continues (if you are not already participating, sorry
ladies, you’ll have to wait for the next run)
* Saturday, Feb. 17, 4 pm - 5583 Silver Star Rd.,
5
Vernon - North Okanagan CWA Temple Council
* Saturday, March 17, 6 pm - Inner Light Yoga
Studio (2807 44 Ave.) Vernon - Ostara Ritual
Welcome to our newer members, it was nice to
meet you and see so many new faces! We’re a
friendly bunch and I’m sure before long, you’ll feel
right at home.
IMBOLC
Thanks to everyone who came to Imbolc! Our
ritual was excellent, with the assistance of Myranda,
new to our area but experienced in the Craft, who
directed chants and drummed with power and
energy. It was really a pleasure to not have to
concentrate on that aspect of things (though I do like
chants and I do like drumming, but it’s not the Sable
show and the more people participate in the working
of a ritual, the more effective I find it!) Thanks also
to Andrea for being our Maiden. Also, our flaming
cauldron effect worked this year! (Though I think I
made Bonefinder nervous.) Not only was it a good
turnout, and a lot of fun, with some energy directed
to what I believe to be a good and useful purpose,
but we actually made a PROFIT of 52 cents after
expenses! YAY! Thanks for that.
OSTARA
The Ostara ritual will be on March 17 at 6 pm at
the Inner Light Yoga Studio (2807 44 Avenue) in
Vernon. Please bring an Ostara (Easter!) snack to
share, be it candy or fruit, hot cross buns, or
whatever! Potluck worked very well last time we
were at the studio, and it seems a good opportunity
to get together again and socialize. Since the ritual is
yet to be written, details will be announced at a
future date.
WOMEN’S MYSTERIES, PART DEUX
Already an interest has been expressed in doing
another run of the Women’s Mysteries in the spring.
Also, I happened to mention that there were so
many more things we could do in the course if we
had more time, and a suggestion came up that we do
an ongoing group after the initial course. Rowean
and I are considering both options. If these projects
would interest you, let us know. The fee for the
Women’s Mysteries basic course we’re running
would be, again, $20 to cover each person’s
photocopies. In an ongoing class, it would be
something like $5 a class, due the week before.
Either one would likely start near the end of March
or at the beginning of April. This is provided, of
course, that we manage to secure another location
(such as someone’s private residence) that would be
suited to host the gathering, and that wouldn’t
charge us to rent it. If we are required to rent a
space, that expense will have to be figured into the
cost. By the conditions of my current schedule, that
would have to take place on Thursday evening,
Friday or Saturday.
Gaia Gathering
WICCA 101? The 3rd Canadian National Pagan Conference
University of Winnipeg - Winnipeg, Manitoba
It’s been a year since the last run; now I’m May 18 – 21, 2007
wondering if there is enough interest to do another
one? Wicca 101 is a course that details some of the For Registration forms and more information –
basics of Wiccan belief and practice for the serious visit www.gaiagathering.ca or email
student. My stepson has recently begun to express info@gaiagathering.ca
an interest in learning about Wicca, and this would
be a good format for that. Teens are welcome to
attend with written parental consent (just as in any eligible for membership, and I will be sending a little
other CWA event.) Please let me know. notice around to all those who are about to qualify
to inform them, and remind them what’s required if
After another run of Wicca 101, perhaps I would they’re interested.
consider a Wicca 201 course as well, with the
intention of focusing on many deeper issues of PAGANS IN NEED
theology (and thealogy!) as well as more detailed
elements of Wiccan practice and the use of magick. Don’t forget our Pagans in Need project, which
is happy to accept your non-perishable food and
Again, if you’re interested in either of these projects, clothing donations year-round at each ritual! These
let me know. will, of course, be distributed to Pagan families in
need in the Okanagan Valley, either at Yule or when
TEMPLE COUNCIL AND MEMBERSHIPS a sudden emergency in the community indicates a
need.
Temple Council usually runs on the last Saturday
of a given month before the next ritual. This next one
(Feb. 17) will be an exception, because the FOOD FOR THOUGHT
scheduling of Women’s Mysteries and the Ostara
ritual would make that difficult. The Council meets at Today’s food for thought - I thought it was worth
alternate months in Vernon and Kelowna. Up until mentioning that the Temple acquires much of its
now, the small size of the Council has enabled us to funding by my household (most of whom are
use private residences and the meeting room at the currently on the Council) gathering together empty
Bean Scene in Kelowna. The next one will be in bottles and drink containers. We save our bottles
Vernon at Sable’s home. If you’d like to come, and cash them in just after a ritual, counting their
please call for directions. deposits towards ritual expenses. We also gather
what we can from our places of work (Maax
We now have a few new voting members, and Armstrong and Vernon Taxi.) In addition, we save
thanks for joining the church and supporting our tabs from aluminium cans separately, which are
Temple! As of Ostara, many people will become
6
donated to a charity in Lumby which makes ongoing struggle with depression. Energy to fight this
wheelchairs for children from the assembled affliction would be welcome.
aluminium!
Blessed be,
RECOMMENDED READING Diane Morrison (Sable)
Priestess, CWABC North Okanagan
This time I’d like to recommend “Her Hidden
Children - the Rise of Wicca and Paganism in
America” by Chas S. Clifton. I’m about halfway New Westminster Congregation
through it myself at the moment, and it’s a valuable
resource to learn about the history of American
(read: North American, but mostly US) Wicca and The New Westminster congregation will be
Paganism. Not only is it excellent in that capacity, meeting on the dates of the Sabbats in New West.
but it also serves very nicely to illustrate and explain The lay clergy co-ordinating it are Jamie and Sherryl
the differences between some of the many streams and the supervising clergy person is Deb Eilers.
of Wicca, and also the theo- and thealogical They are still looking for a more suitable location but
differences that often divide us (it’s really all in how the Imbolc ritual will happen at Douglas College in
we view the term “Nature Religion!”). It was a gift New Westminster.
from our own Kate Slater (who is cited as a major
contributor of research material by the author,) with cwanewwest@hotmail.com for more information.
the understanding that I would put it to work in my
teaching work, so I would be willing to lend it out to
the interested. There are some flaws in it; mostly it
doesn’t explore the Canadian connection, and I
believe that the history of American and Canadian
Paganism is hopelessly intertwined. It’s still well
worth the read, however; and if that kind of thing
interests you, it’s a wonderful companion to
“Triumph of the Moon” by Ronald Hutton, the
premiere scholarly study (published by Oxford, no Provincial Board of Directors:
less) of British Wicca.
Chair: Debra Eilers - Vancouver-Burnaby
ENERGY NEEDED Vice-Chair: Sally Kimber - Green Cauldron
(Nanaimo)
Erin is hoping to get back into driving taxi, where
he was happy and where we made better money
Secretary-Treasurer: Samuel Wagar -
and had more time! We’re trying to rally the cash to Vancouver-Burnaby
purchase a car of our own and become owner- Membership, Asst Treasurer: Diane
operators. If you have the desire to send us some Morrison - North Okanagan
energy for that, I’d be grateful. This would seem a Public Relations: Daniel van Koughnett -
minor problem, but financial well-being could Green Cauldron (Nanaimo)
depend on it for us, since Erin is currently on
medical leave from work at Sutherland.

Shannon’s surgery (removing a malignant tumour)

is today - please light candles for her!

Jamie’s sister continues to struggle through her

chemo, so energy for healing and for personal
energy would probably be appreciated.

Jen Z is currently under the weather in her

7
CWA-BC Membership requirements:
CWA is not a coven or an association of covens and
so we do not require training or Initiation of people
who wish to be members. We do not expect “perfect
love and perfect trust” but a much more normal level
of trust and mutual respect of our potential members.
Potential members must be legal adults, must attend
at least three of our Open Circles over the course of
a year, sign the attendance book at each of them,
signify in writing that they agree with our statement
of beliefs and our ethic statement (below) and pay
our annual membership fee (currently $25). Only
voting members may vote or be elected to
congregational councils or the provincial council, may
vote to confirm a clergy person for ordination, or train
for our clergy.
Clergy training takes a minimum of one further year,
regardless of the amount of previous training or
experience which a person may have.
CWA Statement of Beliefs:
The members of this Society believe:
a/ that the divine is multifaceted and that it is
appropriate to Name and worship a variety of
Goddesses and Gods in a variety of different ways,
b/ that the divine is primarily immanent,
c/ that there are a variety of guardian spirits and
levels of divinity,
d/ that we generally shape our liturgy and theology
around the worship of the Goddess or the Goddess
and the Old Gods,
e/ that the divine is ever-present and ever-active in
the world,
f/ that we can through petition, action, and ritual,
cause change in the world in accord with our Wills.
Every woman and every man is an embodiment of
divinity.
All acts of love and pleasure are acts of praise of the
Goddess. This specifically includes all non-coercive
sexual orientations.
An ye harm none, do what ye will.
Statement of Ethics:
All members of this Society must bind themselves by
agreement with the following:
Although there are many Goddesses and Gods and
many Paths to their worship, our path does not
involve;
a/ animal sacrifice,
b/ any coercive activities,
c/ charging fees for teaching the Craft beyond the
recovery of costs, or for Initiation. (Members of
groups may reasonably be expected to share in the
expenses of events sponsored by the group, or agreed
to as part of its obligations as members of this
Society, and voluntary donations will be accepted).
d/ malfeasance,
e/ breaking Priestly confidentiality, subject to the
law,
f/ oath-breaking.
People who wish to become further involved in our
church need not be members to volunteer for
committees (although nonmembers cannot vote) or to
attend basic Religious Education classes (which will
be taught by members and clergy). Just contact the
Secretary of CWA as a whole or your local
congregation’s lay clergy or congregation council
Summoner.
charged with joy?
charged with joy!
if you don’t feel charged with joy right now, if
you feel sad or unmotivated, enmeshed or out
of control, maybe i can help you. my name is
isabella mori, and i’m a psychotherapist. we can
work and play together to find out what’s
difficult for you and what works for you. there
may be tears and i hope there will be laughter.
we’ll track how well we work together and try
our best to find solutions, see things from
different perspectives, and draw good healing
energy into your life.
want to see whether this would work for you?
your first ½ hour session is free.
604-618-0830 moritherapy@shaw.ca
www.moritherapy.com
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