Breaking: Pagan Community Center in One Year?

Yesterday I was invited to attend the Open Hearth Foundation’s Pagan Leadership Summit which met to discuss and finalize plans for the upcoming Pagan Community Center, an 11 year goal for the organization and the DC Pagan community in general. This day-long summit of leaders from around the metropolitan area shared views on details such as the centers location, size, programming, funding and when it actually plans to open the doors.

It’s a rare occasion when this many Pagan leaders from our area can gather. Rarer still is the fact that the leaders met to give input on this area’s most important Pagan land space project ever, a Pagan Community Center. Becoming, Reflections Mystery School, Ecumenicon, Firefly, Spiral Grove, covens and more spent 5 hours in a thrilling high-energy debate.  

The most detailed and debated subject was the location which everyone had very strong opinions on.

Pagan community is by its nature, about people living with people who aren’t exactly like them, and that’s fine. The challenge is coming to an understanding of where Pagans cluster, or can cluster, and start building there.
-Katrina Messenger, Reflections Mystery School

Location, location, location. We need to look at transportation. The majority of people along the beltway will need a central access line. Access to metro is vital.
-Charles Butler, Ecumenicon

Amazingly to me, many agreements were made on not only location but several other important subjects as well. The final consensus seemed to be that people don’t care where it is, as long as they can get to it in some reasonable way by not only public transportation, but car as well.

Discussions on the center building itself were also interestingly congruent. Everyone wanted larger ritual space, meeting rooms for classes and group activities, and some type of area where folks can just drop in and hang out.

The excitement climaxed when the subject of when to set an “open date” goal came. Cries of “one year!” popped up and the majority of leaders agreed. Though the OHF board will have the final say on that, the words have been spoken and “Imbolc 2012” is now set in the minds of the public.

We will keep you posted as other decisions about this historic land space project are made throughout the year.
Rahm Emanuel Jack LaLanne layer cake packers pagan witch wicca obama oprah