Putting the "community" into Paganism

[Starlock]

It's about time I stick another interesting topic in here, so here we go!

I've been expanding my repitoire of podcasts and among them is one entitled "From the Edge of the Circle" and is put together by TommyElf. I have not gotten far in the series yet, but the theme of some of the earlier episodes really caught my eye. The topic was about the need for a strong Pagan community and that nobody is going to make that happen except us. If you can get the chance, go listen to the first few episodes. He drivels on a bit, but the episode about community is just plain inspirational.

There are many good reasons to build a community. One, I think that we just plain have a need to and want to do it! If this were not true, places like Sacred Sources would not exist. While some of these forums may come and go, they are there. We want a community, we want to interact with each other. Real communities, though, are built on a physical level at a given location. There are some Pagan groups organized enough to have a tangeable presence. Circle Sanctuary comes to mind. There are, though, few Pagan communities that are very rich and organized. Why is that?

I'll stop here for the moment and instead throw out some questions to the crowd. whee

arrow Do you feel the desire for a better Pagan community in your area? Why or why not?
arrow What kinds of benefits can an organized Pagan community provide to its members?
arrow How would a more organized Pagan community help our public relations with other faiths?
arrow What can *you* do to put the "community" back into Paganism?  

[Kakure Basho]

This is a very interesting question. I do see the need for Pagan communities in society. There are areas in my city that are no doubt 'religious communities'. I happen to live with my grandparents in a predominantly Catholic area. But you look at *this* community, and all these people have something in common...they have a sense of unity, and things are well organized in the community.

I think Pagans should have that same sort of chance at community. It may be harder to get a specific group of Pagans in one area, but Pagans should still have a chance at the idea of community. Part of the appeal to it is that you have something in common with your neighbors...the people around you have a similar thought process...it gives things, like you said, a greater sense of organization.

If you look online, you see forums like the one I belong to (non-Gaia related) with over 2000 people. A lot of those people already have relationships with one another, and connections. In a sense, you were right...it is a community...but not on a physical level.

It would be interesting to see if anything like that could indeed develop.  

[iolitefire]

Starlock

arrow Do you feel the desire for a better Pagan community in your area? Why or why not?
arrow What kinds of benefits can an organized Pagan community provide to its members?
arrow How would a more organized Pagan community help our public relations with other faiths?
arrow What can *you* do to put the "community" back into Paganism?

This is actually a really decent topic. I personally joined a pagan club on my college campus last year and stayed with them for awhile. I left recently for personal reasons.

I believe that having a real offline community is really nice. It's good to be able to meet with other people, talk about what you do, learn from each other, and put on cool events.

Having an online one is nice too, but there are some things that you miss because your interaction is limited to text. You also can't really do events together like you could if you were part of a community.

In my area I'm lucky that there are a few groups located nearby. What can get kind of sticky though is that sometimes a group can focus too much on one sect of Paganism and end up excluding other people. Also, some groups may not be the most organized. They may plan to do something but that may not end up happening because of disorganization or procratination.

In order for a community to be really successful, it needs to be accepting and respecting of other people and traditions. It also needs to be on the ball so to speak. Nothing's worse than flakey people who are supposed to be the ones in charge. that's just my opinion anyway.

If you manage to get a group that works, then its really awesome. I had a lot of fun in my club and still wish most of the members the best.  

[Jezehbelle]

Personally, I would love to have more pagan friends in my area.

I was part of a Yahoo group a while back and 10, maybe 15, lived in my town. o- o; I kindof didn't fit in too well though, seeing as the next youngest member (other than the leader's son, who was 21, and never posted) is nine years older than me. There was an off shoot group, for teens. At first I was turned down, because I'm 20, but they let me in and they shouldn't've let me in. I kindof didn't fit in with them either. It seemed like a lot of chainletters and "MY MOM IS SO UNFAIRRR, GRR EBIL XIANS" stuff. D:

"WHERE IS THE MIDDLE GROUND?!" I screamed to the heavens.
xp

It's been interesting to meet people who are pagan in person though. I recently went to a Halloween party that a friend of mine invited me to and at least half of the people there were either practicing or former pagans. Someone was reading tarot cards and asked how many people were familiar with them, almost everyone raised their hands, then she asked how many had (or had had) their own decks, and how many people were pagan too. o _o;

I would, personally, love to hang out with all of those people again, maybe get a monthly, or bi-monthly, meeting place to talk and exchange ideas together. I'm pretty sure some of those people even know more pagans in the area than I do.

I've organized meetups with Gaians before from different corners of the country at least 4 times, personally. Established meeting places, created hotel arrangements and pick up times for those that fly to the locations. Something like that, but with people who live in the same general area might just be a bit easier. I'm actually really good at organizing group outings and getting things out there...

If there was one thing that unified all of us, from Asatru to Wicca (I couldn't think of a pagan religion that started with X, Y or Z sweatdrop ), other than not fitting in with the other major religions, I think it'd be a little easier with a little less complications, like possibly neglecting a type. It's harder to include people when there's so many options.

Then there's that whole broom closet thing...

Maybe all of that should bond us together.
(Wait, is my idealist showing again? -oops-)

If we're just seperate persons who never make a connection with other people in our areas, it just allows others to continue to make assumptions about us as goat throat slitting, chicken killing Satanists, when some of us aren't. D:  

[Starlock]

shiawasenayousei

If you look online, you see forums like the one I belong to (non-Gaia related) with over 2000 people. A lot of those people already have relationships with one another, and connections. In a sense, you were right...it is a community...but not on a physical level.

It would be interesting to see if anything like that could indeed develop.

I think that these things do exist in some areas, but the community is much more fragmented than, say, the Jewish community or Christian community. Part of this I suspect is due to the simple fact that we're an emerging religious movement. Establishment takes time, and where it happens, there have to be those who want it to happen. There are those who want it to happen. We do, after all, have massive festivals like Starwood and many smaller ones both in the US and worldwide. There's somethin' that's drawing us together... if only it could be figured out WHAT... sweatdrop

iolitefire

In order for a community to be really successful, it needs to be accepting and respecting of other people and traditions. It also needs to be on the ball so to speak. Nothing's worse than flakey people who are supposed to be the ones in charge. that's just my opinion anyway.

This does seem to be a problem in general for forming groups of any kind, though the especially free spirit nature of most Neopagans acts as a double-whammy. Most of us have probably heard the joke about "Pagan Standard Time." Those sorts of trends need to be minimized to establish an effective community. Meeting late is okay if you're a small coven... but if you're the head of a Wiccan church who is publically known, it makes the whole organization (and perhaps to some minds, the whole religion) look bad! I think the community has the strong leadership that can make good organizatino happen though, as well as the kind of tolerance and respect that we'll need.

Jezehbelle

Maybe all of that should bond us together.
(Wait, is my idealist showing again? -oops-)

If we're just seperate persons who never make a connection with other people in our areas, it just allows others to continue to make assumptions about us as goat throat slitting, chicken killing Satanists, when some of us aren't. D:

whee Maybe it should? There is a great deal of diversity in the community and I think that sometimes contributes to Witch Wars and conflicts. Perhaps it is good to bear in mind that every religion is going to have its intolerant or elitist individuals. Let's not worry about them. Build the community for the people who want it and who are respectful, tolerant people.  

[Jezehbelle]

We want to belong. It's basic human nature, to come together in groups, tribes, villages, towns, cities, and so on. We have clubs and such to come together over one book (Book Clubs) and Barbeque Sauces (Yes, there's a BBQ Sauce of the Month Club).

Religions and beliefs are just one more reason. Early Christianity, back when it was more "no-no" by the "ebil r0manz" and more heliocentric worship than what it is today, they would come together in secret to worship and fellowship together. The whole Jesus Fish thing came up as a way to make a symbol in the dirt, so they would know it's okay to talk to that one person about Jesus or what not. If they didn't acknowledge it or whatever, they just scuffed it to make it look like they were just messing with their feet and whathaveyou.

Or something along those lines. It's been a long time since comparitive religions...

In groups, we've got a louder voice than we do as individuals, there's more protection in a group, there's more finance in a group, there's more faces to a group.

Groups just make more sense, so long as no one adopts the group mentality and stops being an individual thinker...

I had something about bonding I was going to throw in there, but then I remembered I need to get some groceries and I totally forgot it.
Here's hoping I remember later!  

[Caerwiden]

I think that a pagan community would be a good idea as it could help organise pagans like many other faiths are. However I believe that the only thing that really groups together people who call themselves pagan is the fact that they do not follow mainstream world faiths. For example a Wiccan and a follower of Shinto are both pagans but don't have much to unite them under an umbrella term besides the fact that they are non-Abrahamic and non-Dharmic. Right now pagan communities are more of a loose coalition of "religious refugees" (I just came up with that term. Is it catchy or offensive?), although I understand that there are some very well organised communities of Wiccans in the United States and the United Kingdom, and organised communities of Ásatrú in Scandinavian nations. Basically what I'm saying is that a pagan community would have to be very well structured and organised to facilitate a community containing such a vast variety of faiths and ideologies  

[Redwing~Shadow]

Do you feel the desire for a better Pagan community in your area? Why or why not?

A pagen community would be nice. It would give other a chance to get together and understand one another. People can meet and get to know each other as well. I live in a town that their arent many ppl that understand pagenism, so if there ever would be a community developed like that, it would give others a chance to be with there own kind.


What kinds of benefits can an organized Pagan community provide to its members?

I don't really know if there would be any benifits. It would be a chance for ppl to make friends and what not and meet ppl with the same religion, but there also is the fact that pagenism is a very opened religion. Ppl have different beliefs about the religion, and every one has there own way of worship and magick. Yes the community sounds nice, but i cant say i know of any benifits. It would give ppl a chance to share there beliefs i guess.

How would a more organized Pagan community help our public relations
with other faiths?

Pagenism is a very opened religion. Every one has their own belifes and ways of being pagen. Because of that I dont see how you can organize unless you got them to believe the same thing. Plus some pagen like myself like to work alone and be able to work my own ways by myself. It all depends on the person. Im not sure if other faiths would come to join us either. Im not sure it would make a difference.

What can *you* do to put the "community" back into Paganism?

I dont know what I can do, but its all a matter of choice if the personn whants to be in the community or not, just like any other community.  

[Aiste Spirit]

Starlock

arrow What can *you* do to put the "community" back into Paganism?

I could probably write a short article explaining the basics of Pagan religion in for the "Letter to the Editor" section of my local newspaper. So some people might understand it better.  

[Starlock]

Aiste Spirit

Starlock

arrow What can *you* do to put the "community" back into Paganism?

I could probably write a short article explaining the basics of Pagan religion in for the "Letter to the Editor" section of my local newspaper. So some people might understand it better.

Positive media PR definately helps. It is difficult to get good PR when you don't have some sort of organized Pagan community. If you have the organization than you can designate some knowledgable people to answer the media's questions if they attend an event and avoid stupid answers that make everyone look bad. Going a step further to write letters to the editor can help too. whee  

[Winter Black]

This subject really hit home with me. There are no Pagan communities in Barrie, and very few I've seen in Ontario. I've love to help create one.

Do you feel the desire for a better Pagan community in your area? Why or why not?
I do. Why? Because I don't know a single other real Pagan in my area. Not one. Just fluffybunnies, honestly.
Other than my brother, who follows what he calls "The Electric Religion of Sound and Color", I believe.
And its really been bothering me, because we debate everything anyways, and I'm longing for intelligent interaction with another of the ever-increasing Pagan religions.

What kinds of benefits can an organized Pagan community provide to its members?
Interaction with intelligent and friendly new faces of the Pagan's in their area. The kinship and closeness of a large Pagan "family". A place to go with problems, and questions, and to help educate those who don't understand, but wish to.

How would a more organized Pagan community help our public relations with other faiths?
If we had a group to congregate, and a place to congregate, we could hold more organized council, and come up with effective ways to show that we are not, in fact, the Devil Worshippers that some are taught to believe. Open air festivals, open rituals, and even just plain open congregation would be a great way to show that we are kind, happy, and wonderful people

What can *you* do to put the "community" back into Paganism?
Unfortunately, I can't think of a thing that I could effectively do. I have no job, I don't know anyone, and I'm so shy that it would probably kill me to try and instigate the creation of a Pagan Community in my area. Plus, I'm just a bit frightened that there are nothing but fluffybunnies in this city, because that all I've ever met.  

[Starlock]

As bad as fluffs can be, you can still learn something from them. Plus you might be able to inspire some of them to be more serious about their spirituality. Some of them might be but don't know who to turn to and don't have a good role model. Such a role can be difficult though, so I'd definately undestand if you didn't want to take that, Winter.

I can't wait until I get to be back in my hometown to interact with the community there again. whee  

[Winter Black]

Is it really so hard to believe that everyone I've met in this town who claims to be a witch also says they can't wait to learn to change things' shapes, and make fire just by pointing a wand at something flamable?
And when I try to tell them otherwise, they just flame me. Its so sad, because I want to teach them, and they don't really wish to learn.
I wouldn't mind being a rolemodel and teacher, I really wouldn't. I've done it online a few times, and I'd love to do it in real life. But I'm such a... Unique girl, that I'm afraid of rejection and am horribly shy, to boot.
Maybe I'll try anyways. If I can get a job, and get my cell phone working again (I have no time on it), then I can start trying to establish a kind of community.  

[Redwing~Shadow]

it would be hard to try an make a full pagen community since the religion is misunderstood. so sad. crying  

[Jezehbelle]

But that's why we should come together, isn't it?

There's a lot of confusion about paganism outside and inside of the community, and again, it's easier to be heard as a group than it is to be heard as an individual.