Open Hearth Foundation Holds Open Board Meeting

Wednesday night, the Open Hearth Foundation held its annual open board meeting at Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library. Among other things, the focus of the board meeting was based on event sponsorship, initial plans of how to reserve space, and the recent crisis of the Sacred Paths Center in Minneapolis.

Mid-Atlantic residents will be pleased to see that the OHF is planning to table at several of the big Pagan Pride Day festivals. They're currently planning to be at DC, Northern Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, Baltimore, and even New York City. Though CapitalWitch most certainly won't be at all of those, we will be receiving photos from the OHF and will post them here with their progress. Tabling at DC-area PPD's is a long-standing tradition of the OHF (having organized past PPD events on their own) so they are not strangers to this type of outreach. It will be interesting to see how the organization is received in areas across the mid-Atlantic. It is clear to see that the desire to build a membership base in broader areas and bill the center as a national symbol is the prime reasoning here.

Another topic of discussion was the heated issue of Sacred Paths Center, the Pagan community center in Minneapolis, closing. There aren't many Pagan community centers in the country, so seeing one become in danger of shutting down has been difficult for everyone to see, especially for an organization working to build one here.

For those in DC who were made nervous by the closing in MN, it seems you can allay your fears for now. In response to this topic, the OHF posted a detailed statement in regards to the news about SPC and just how different their plans are for the center here.

"While the Imbolc date was set at the summit, it is a milestone set by the community for the community to come up with the money. In the psychology of fundraising, having a set date creates more of a motivation to donate. However, if the community hasn't come through by that time, our plan is to reevaluate the situation and readjust our goals and plans accordingly. Additionally, several major donors and long time financial supporters have made it clear that if the center is not open early next year, they will highly reconsider making their generous donations next year. Rest assured, we will not open the center if it is not sustainable, but we do feel appropriate pressure to do everything we can to make it happen as quickly as possible."

Click here to read the entire statement on the OHF blog, Words from the Hearth.

Other discussions at the meeting on things like reserving space at the center, zoning and utilities are exciting topics. The organization seems to have moved beyond big picture ideas and is really getting deep into the details of opening a center. It's clear to me that the organization is moving forward and excitement for the DC Pagan Community Center is increasing by the day.