Present.Geoff, Eric, Rita, Aree, Marilyn, Ann Marie, Kitty, Don, and Liss (by permission)

Geoff opened with a recognition that there were strong feelings present at this meeting, and requested that we all take a deep breath, be patient and respectful, and remember our joint history; he affirmed that there isn't anything we can't deal with together. He requested that we start with a discussion of EPN's mission, to bring us back to a basic notion of what we are here for. Rita said we started with the Church of Sacred Earth model, with our by-laws reflecting theirs; that we formed intentionally as a religious body, composed of groups and individuals. If we are not a religious body, then we need to change the by-laws.

Geoff offered his view of our history: EPN was intended to provide a safe way for Pagans to connect, by offering contacts we could vouch for; this is still our core activity. Then we asked, what happens if a connection goes bad? Issues of liability, etc. rose, and a disclaimer statement was developed to cover that possibility. This gave rise to the standards of conduct and ideas of incorporating. Rita stepped forward and said we need by-laws, etc. The Standards were written for both groups and individuals. Geoff felt that we will probably grow into a large congregate group, but that we aren't there yet, that the by-laws are something we're still growing into. At present we have three member "congregations" and several solitary members. Our core mission is still helping make connections -- providing the safest possible entry point for seekers. In order to grow into our by-laws, Geoff felt, we need to get larger.

Rita pointed out that the newsletter is simply a wrapper around the contacts page and calendar of events, the primary way by which EPN offers the safe contacts. Kitty felt that we were now receiving competition in the endeavor through MEP and through various Pagan bookstores. Several of us did not see this as competition; Rita pointed out that often times all people want are the drop copies, which include the calendar and contact information. Ann Marie felt that the newsletter represented EPN's greatest exposure, but that she could get all she needed online, and in fact felt no need of receiving a paper newsletter. The Net didn't exist in its present form when EPN started, but with the EPN Web page, she didn't need the newsletter. Don said that MEP isn't doing all the connection-building, and pointed out that there is no "quality oversight" (regarding contacts) on MEP as there is in EPN. Ann Marie did agree that the drop copies were invaluable for spreading news of Pagans in Central Maine. Aree pointed out that many Pagans are not online, and Geoff felt he could absorb the information better from the paper newsletter than from online announcements. Kitty said she did not support doing away with the newsletter; she did feel that EPN is being *too* successful, in that there are many more groups and contacts out there now than there were before.

Eric reiterated Don's point by saying that MEP's only steering mechanism is, in effect, "be civil", while EPN's initial intent is safe referrals. He added that some people simply resist joining any group, while others say, "I can do it better", and proceed to do so. He didn't think that the Pagan community is fragmenting in any way, and did not feel that EPN has failed. Marilyn described meeting a large group of Maine Pagans (many for the first time) and the Reclaiming Witch Camp in VT last month, and said that this group planned to continue meeting in Maine, and might even become a formal entity; it was her hope that it would be an EPN member group if it *did* form. She also made it clear that she didn't think she would have been at Witch Camp if she hadn't first found EPN, so that the work of EPN proceeds in many ways.

Responding to a question from Aree, Geoff said he felt we weren't ready to discuss the question of ordination, and hoped that it was one of the things we would eventually grow into. He said he had no personal experience with being ordained clergy, and felt that the time to address the issue was when we had some folks headed in that direction. He speculated that we might need to pull out a separate standards document for clergy, but that when the time was right that would fall into place. He also stressed that we'd need to do it right the first time. Rita said that the law is *very* specific, and not the least bit Pagan-friendly, with regard to defining clergy in the state of Maine. The Maine Council of Churches is working on getting members who are non-specifically Christian, so there is some motion in our direction. She felt it needed to be an EPN-type group or a council of Pagans requesting the recognition. Kitty felt that if someone received clergy status in another state, it would be recognized in Maine, but Rita said that wasn't a safe assumption, even though Maine no longer required its clergy to register as clergy. The ability to make marriages is the key here, given the financial and legal implications that follow a marriage.

Geoff wanted to know if we were agreed that EPN's primary mission is fellowship, with the goal of evolving into a union of congregations and solitaries. Eric said that EPN's original mission was to promote Pagan togetherness in Maine, and felt that our activities should be as broad as we have the energy to do them. He also said that, more broadly stated, our mission is to provide what is needed. Don said that he felt it was a good thing that other groups were organizing outside of EPN, and wondered if we wanted actively to offer them anything more. Eric felt that anyone on MEP knows that EPN is here, and that it would be better to reach for those we don't know, and who don't know us. He said it would be possible to respectfull approach any new group and offer them membership, and leave it at that. Aree wondered what were the advantages and enticements involved in being a member of EPN, and Geoff pointed out that this question has been raised in the newsletter. Aree answered her own question by saying that EPN offers fellowship, networking, and a safe place through which to enter the Maine Pagan community. Geoff concurred that it's possible to meet a lot of folks on MEP, but that one can't know if the connection is a safe one or not. Rita said that we might need to make it clearer that EPN groups and members offer a safe connection, publicizing that Immanent Grove is an EPN group following its guidelines and encouraging other EPN groups and individuals to do the same. Ann Marie and Don both agreed. Kitty said she thought this was made plain on MEP, and Ann Marie said she *thinks* that PJane includes a note about EPN to each new member of MEP.

We then had a discussion about the EPN Council list. In suggesting that information from the Council meetings be more widely available, Aree wondered if we might make the Council list a read-only list for non-Council members. Don felt it should be for EPN members only, not for MEP at large, or others. Rita felt that some discussions needed to be private, and that there could be a private Council list and a public Council list. Marilyn didn't really want to have yet another list to deal with; Ann Marie said that she *thinks* such a list would be Web access only, not something sending an e-mail to everyone. We checked the records and found that currently EPN has 31 members and 71 subscribers, but that only 14 members *that we know of* have e-mail. Aree felt strongly that we must remember to include those not on e-mail (as did Marilyn), and suggested that we open up the EPN Council list to view and that we put more of the Council business into the newsletter, having a Council report after each meeting. Marilyn pointed out that this was only the second time that the Council had met officially since the annual meeting at CPR, and thus there were no minutes kept since then (those minutes having been duly published in EPN). Geoff said we might consider publishing a record of the votes taken electronically on the Council e-list in the subsequent newsletters. Ann Marie wondered if it were acceptable to have all messages from the EPN Council list sent verbatim to members of EPN groups, as is the current practice by some group representatives, and the concensus was yes, this is acceptable.

In discussing electronic vs. non-electronic Pagans, Rita said that all the responses Immanent Grove has received for the Paganism 101 class have been from the newsletter announcement, not from the MEP listing. She also expressed concerns that solitary members were not kept as closely informed as were members of groups, and wondered about the possibility of phone trees, etc. Ann Marie said that PJane would be making a report of the Council business in the next Solitary Voice article, and we decided that the Solitary Reps contact information would be put at the end of each Solitary Voice column, and in the contact information section of each newsletter.

Geoff then read a statement from Garden Path regarding EPN's current standard on offering no instruction to minors. Kitty explained that she had been in touch with Judy Harrow to ask how her group deals with the issue of minors at public rituals, and learned that New Moon NY's only policies on public rituals are no skyclad, no drinking, and anyone who may can enter. (Garden Path's statement is attached to the permanent record of these minutes; it has also been sent as an attached document to the Council list.) These policies were arrived at by Harrow's group after one of its member had refused to instruct a 17-year-old, who went to someone else for instruction and died. Harrow felt that EPN's standard could lead to a similar event; Garden Path members expressed their unwillingness to take that risk by refusing instruction to a minor who came to them. A lengthy, convoluted discussion ensued, the basic points coming down to issues of personal karma, legality, and how our Pagan religions are perceived by outsiders. Garden Path recognized that the Standards could only be changed by a vote of the membership, which could not occur until the next annual meeting, and that in the meantime they would abide by the standards despite their objections. The key concern by those who support the standards was the issue of parental consent; if a minor asks for instruction and a parent specifically objects to such instruction and conveys that objection to the potential instructor, what then? As in all issues where conflicting good ethics are at play, there were no easy answers, and often strong feelings. We concluded that an article should be written expressing all sides of these issues and it should be published in an issue of EPN's newsletter well in advance of the next annual meeting to give all members as much time as possible to consider the issues. Aree offered to craft one part of the article.

Geoff then offered a second statement from Garden Path concerning fairs and vending. In the course of the discussion, he withdrew the statement and its attached motion, saying that his goal was to begin the discussion, and having achieved that, he didn't need to hold to the motion. One concern was the possible profitting of EPN Council members from EPN activities; this has not happened to date, and will not be likely to occur in the future. Given the lateness of the hour, we decided to end the discussion without having reached any definite conclusions, other than the need to have another face-to-face meeting between now and the next annual meeting at CPR (though when that will occur is open to question at present).

The meeting concluded with hugs all around, and individual affirmations of good will and intention to continue to work together.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilyn
Recording Secretary, EPN