It seems to me that Pagans have been misled into believing that our current state of progress is as far as we'll ever get. We're too disorganized, we're too cheap, and we're too antagonistic to ever develop any kind of meaningful infrastructure.

I've heard this said about us from outside the community, which doesn't surprise me-- but you'd think the people inside the community would know better.

Seriously, folks, we've got to stop perpetuating stereotypes about ourselves. Oh, don't get me wrong, many of these statements have their basis in fact. There are a lot of Pagans who don't even want organization, and some of them think that since they don't want it, you shouldn't either. There are Pagans who are truly broke, but if this were true of all of us, then why do vendors at Pagan events bother? Goddess knows that there are a million flavors of antagonistic Pagans, from the Entitlists (who scream oppression if you don't give them their way) to the folks who think that running a coven gives them the expertise and authority to tell every other Pagan on Earth how to run their organizations.

I rant a lot about the people who, in my opinion, are a part of the problem, but I don't talk enough about the people who are part of the solution. In preparation for this column, I checked my archives and realized that not once had I spoken directly of Shea Thomas of the Open Hearth Foundation, who probably knows more about the reality and legality of Pagan organization than anyone else I've worked with. Similarly, I have neglected to praise Kimana LeMaster, whose skills at event planning are highly impressive. (This is seriously remiss of me, when you consider that she planned and performed my handfasting to perfection-- on no budget, with no notice, and with a bride and groom who were probably of no help at all.) I've never said a word about Eric Eldritch and his group facilitation skills-- despite his masterful impromptu lecture on conflict resolution at the Washington-Baltimore Area Pagan Leadership Conference. For that matter, I've never taken a moment to talk about Drema Baker, or... or...this could go on for weeks.

For every excuse that the pessimists provide for not getting anything done, there's a skill that will compensate and allow progress. Of course, we aren't all born with these skills. Heck, most of the people who have these skills weren't born with them. They learned them, and so can we. Until now, about the only way that you can gain these skills has been through formal education, direct experience, or by working with the people who have them.

Fortunately, there is now another option. Four organizations-- Carolina Spirit Quest, The DC Radical Faeries, The Open Hearth Foundation, Inc. and PagaNet, Inc.-- have banded together to put on a Pagan Leadership Skills Conference in Richmond, VA, with tracks focusing on group facilitation, event coordination, legal, finance, and library skills.

Of course, any event like this is a gamble, but I'm betting that it will pay off in spades, particularly since the people who put it together include the people I was raving about earlier. One leader can change the face of an entire community, and his or her experience will rub off on others. The impact from something like this could very well permanently change the development of the Pagan Community, even if it only happens once.

Even indirectly, I've learned some very interesting things from these talented Pagans. For example, did you know that a Pagan organization that raises money for a specific purpose (for example, a Pagan Community Center, a defense fund, or an animal shelter) cannot legally use that money for any other purpose? It's fairly obvious when you think about it-- I mean, if I donated money for a Community Center and it ended up being spent on a festival, I'd probably be pretty upset. But I didn't think about it until I talked to Shea and gained some benefit from his law degree.

I promised myself I wasn't going to spend two thirds of my vacation time this year working on my Pagan activism-- but I realized I couldn't miss this opportunity. To give you an idea, my wife-- normally a big booster of me spending my vacations on actual recreation-- looked at me funny when I told her I was going to have to do it. She was just astounded that I put thought into it rather than just signing up. In hindsight, so am I.

No, it's not free, and depending on your income, you might not consider it cheap, either. It's probably a harder sell if you don't know these people, as well. However, if you're interested in working on the future of the Pagan Community, I highly recommend taking advantage of this incredible opportunity (although that's probably fairly obvious by now).

For more information, or to make a reservation, visit http://www.paganleadership.org.

© 2004 by Cather "Catalyst" Steincamp