Current Newsletter - Covenant of the Goddess

Transcription

Covenant of the Goddess
Newsletter
Mother Nature by Josephine Wall http://www.josephinewall.co.uk/index.html
L AMMAS 2016
Volume 41
Number 6
Lammas 2016
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Membership Renewals due at Lammas ...................... 2
Membership Renewals due at Mabon ......................... 2
Reports of Officers .................................................. 3
FIRST OFFICER ....................................................... 3
SECOND OFFICER .................................................... 4
PURSEWARDEN ....................................................... 4
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER .................................... 5
MEMBERSHIP OFFICER .............................................. 6
PUBLICATIONS OFFICER ............................................. 7
CORRESPONDENCE OFFICER ........................................ 7
NATIONAL RECORDER ............................................... 7
............................................................................ 7
Welcome to CoG..................................................... 7
National Board Minutes ........................................... 7
Membership Applications ......................................... 9
Transitioning From Coven to Solitary ...................... 11
Local Councils ...................................................... 11
CALAFIA ............................................................. 11
CHAMISA ............................................................ 11
DOGWOOD .......................................................... 11
EVERGLADES MOON ............................................... 11
HILLS AND RIVERS ................................................. 13
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ........................................... 14
NORTHERN DAWN .................................................. 14
ORANGE COUNTY .................................................. 15
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ........................................... 19
TEXAS ............................................................... 21
TOUCHSTONE ....................................................... 26
Candidancy Statements ......................................... 26
Recorder: Morgana RavenTree ............................. 26
National Correspondence Officer: Oberon .............. 26
National First Officer: Jack Prewett ....................... 27
Cactus and twisted tree by Greg Harder
As is consistent with the values and beliefs of
our religion, the Covenant affirms our belief in
the spiritual and social wisdom of peace in the
world. We aspire to stand in fellowship with
the people of all religions, cultures, and
ethnicities in our shared desire for peace. We
do this for the sake of our shared love of the
Earth and all living things that dwell upon it.
Proposals: Policies and Bylaws ............................... 27
1EMPLOYMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT...... 27
2.INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS ON WICCA AND WITCHCRAFT 29
3.CREATING A NATIONAL ADVOCACY NETWORK.... 29
4.NATIONAL OFFICER TRAINING CURRICULUM CONTENT . 30
5.CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP ............................ 31
6.PROPOSAL FOR TWO YEAR TERMS .................... 32
7.Policy Proposal:Issuing Public Statements .......... 32
8.RESOLUTION ON PUBLIC STATEMENTS AND VISIBILITY OF COG.. 33
9.RESOLUTION ON PUBLIC EDUCATION AND VISIBILITY .. 33
10.POLICY MANUAL: EMAIL LISTS ........................ 34
11.RESOLUTION CONCERNING NEWSLETTER ACCESS .... 34
12.ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION IN GRAND COUNCIL........ 34
Page 1
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS DUE AT LAMMAS
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS DUE AT MABON
Lammas Renewals are due on August 01,
2016. The Drop-dead date is August 10, 2016
after which your membership will lapse and you
will need to reapply. Renewal forms are emailed to
the email address on file from your last renewal. If
you have NOT received this form, please contact
the National Membership Officer asap.
([email protected]).
Lammas Renewals are due on September
21, 2016. The Drop-dead date is October 01,
2016 after which your membership will lapse and
you will need to reapply.
CALAFIA LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Circle of the Wind and Wave
CHAMISA LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Crowymin Coven
 Lady Athena
DOGWOOD LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Lady Miraselena
EVERGLADES MOON LOCAL COUNCIL:
 none
HILLS AND RIVERS LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Lady Aradia
 Lady Emrys
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LOCAL COUNCIL:
none
NORTHERN DAWN LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Bonita Blumenauer
ORANGE COUNTY LOCAL COUNCIL:

 Celtic Circlce of Wisdom
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Alani’s Eyes
TEXAS LOCAL COUNCIL:
 none
TOUCHSTONE LOCAL COUNCIL:
none
NATIONAL COVENS:
 Gryphonsong Clan
NATIONAL SOLITARIES:
 Lady Cliodhna Nic Tavish
 Lady Phoenix Duir
 Link
 Lorelei Boadicea Tomyris
 Robin Almaas
NATIONAL ASSOCIATES:
 none

Page 2
CALAFIA LOCAL COUNCIL: NONE
CHAMISA LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Moonfoot
DOGWOOD LOCAL COUNCIL:
 House of Oak Spring
EVERGLADES MOON LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Alpandia
 Minos Ceos
 Draconus
 Sacred Forest Coven
 Deborah A Jones
HILLS AND RIVERS LOCAL COUNCIL: NONE
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LOCAL COUNCIL:
Cary the Faerie
Darkmoon Circle
Elsa DieLowin
M Macha Nightmare
Lady Bhride
Brigid Lutrasong
William Baldwin
Marilee Bigelow
Deborah Bender
Coven Trismegiston
Stardust Coven
Silver Salamanders
Owl Moon
Edye Cheeseman
Terri Gans
Daduchos
ORANGE COUNTY LOCAL COUNCIL: NONE
















SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOCAL COUNCIL: NONE
TEXAS LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Talyn
TOUCHSTONE LOCAL COUNCIL:
 Circle of the Emerald Forest
NATIONAL COVENS:
 Dragonstar Rising
 Greenheart Grove
 Silver Serpent Coven
 Our Lady of the Sea
 Bendith y Cyrn
 Circle of the Ancient Grove
 Moonfire
NATIONAL SOLITARIES:
 Gypsi
 Katana
 Arnold Kameda
NATIONAL ASSOCIATES: NONE
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
REPORTS OF OFFICERS
FIRST OFFICER
Greetings CoGkin,
Submitted by Yvonne
I’ve had a very busy 6 weeks and I’m continually
amazed when I look at my calendar to see every
week booked through November.
Early in June I had been requested to return to a
local south OC high school to talk about Wicca to
their Honors Humanities class. I don’t think they
even offered such classes when I was in high
school.
The students were all very curious and many came
up afterward to thank me for presenting. I did
bring plenty of the CoG trifolds of “Wicca: The Old
Religion – A General Introduction presented by the
Covenant of the Goddess” and while I was not
allowed to hand them out, many of the students
grabbed one on their own.
I continued to keep up with direct messages on our
Facebook page. Often people are looking for a
teacher or coven to join. If they’re nowhere near
our outreach members I will usually send them to
find local groups, classes, and events on The
Witches Voice. But I would also like to invite
members, either as representatives of your coven
or as individuals, to consider adding your name to
our outreach member section for our main website.
I’ve also been running a regular posting campaign
that is pulled directly from the info on our website.
This campaign has two different messages: “Who
We Are” and “How to Join”; both posts are
scheduled to occur on different days and times,
each once a week. I began this campaign based on
the emails I was receiving regularly that showed
me many people did not understand our Facebook
page represents a real organization and not an
individual or a single coven. This campaign has
helped inform our over 267K followers.
We do occasionally suffer from spam bot accounts
peppering threads on our posts, but often I’ve
managed to delete and ban them as soon as I see
them.
One of the frustrating things I’ve noticed over the
12 years I’ve volunteered in one capacity or
another for the national board is that though we
have email addresses for people to mail us, such
as info@- or first@- we do not have a way to
respond to emails from the same address they
were delivered to. We spoke with Ken, the
wonderful man who has been kindly hosting our
Page 3
sites on his servers free of charge for many years,
I learned we do not have actual email inbox
accounts for these addresses to deliver to. So over
the years people have been creating email using
Gmail or Hotmail to respond instead of using their
own personal email addresses. The main problem
I’ve learned about this is that any correspondences
prior to the new board member taking on the
position might be lost. Things fall through the
cracks with the annual change as the new member
starts a whole new email of their choosing.
This month we initiated Zoho email so that going
forward all correspondences will be kept in one
place and the access to the account changes hands
rather than all new accounts being created each
year. This also allows the board to access an email
account if something happens to that board
member and someone needs to continue on in
their absence.
On June 11th MySpace (remember that website?)
was hacked and user account info was leaked. In
2005, as the NPIO, I created our first foray into
social media. It was used as another means to
drive traffic to our main website. The page was
deleted and there should be no further concerns
regarding that account.
On June 9th I was interviewed by a writer for the
website Broadly.com. Their main interests were
about my OC Witches Meetup group and me. There
was a fascination that there were witches in ultra
conservative Orange County, CA. If and when that
article is released I will let you all know.
In April some friends decided to begin a women-intech group that focuses on WordPress, primarily
developers and designers. Many of the ladies in
our group are movers and shakers in that part of
the tech world. At one of our meetings we were
graced with a terrific presentation by a gentleman
who handles the WP for his church. He shared with
us a great collection of resources for freebies and
discounts for non-profit organizations using
WordPress, which CoG does. I’ve passed the list of
info on to our board, but I also have a Facebook
video link for the whole presentation if any are
interested. If you’d like that link or the list please
contact me directly.
I am very much looking forward to seeing
everyone in August for MerryMeet and Grand
Council. For me the annual event is much like a
family reunion and I cherish the time we spend
together.
Jack has been busy ensuring the thorough
collection of both Grand Council agenda items and
national reports from all local councils.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
Blessings,
Yvonne Conway-Williams & Jack Prewett
National co-First Officers
SECOND OFFICER
MerryMeet 2016
Thursday August 11 Leadership Institute
MerryMeet Friday August 12-14, 2016
Fairfield Inn & Suites, San Jose Airport in CA.
Registration for MerryMeet EXTENDED to
Mon, Aug. 1, after that pay ON SITE
You can do an Online Registration with PayPal and
mail in your detailed information on the
registration form to MerryMeet 2016, 4075
Telegraph Ave, Oakland CA – extended to Mon,
Aug 1.
Pay on site after Aug 1. – Day rate $40 or $80 for
whole MerryMeet.
Questions? email [email protected]
a. Cutoff Date to reserve hotel rooms
was Monday, July 22, 2016. No hotel rooms are
available; as they all reverted back to the hotel
inventory.
b. Room reservations for our block will be directly
handled by Stanley at the number 408-453-3133
(ask for Stanley), week days between 9-5 pm PDT.
Adjustments on site will be made manually to
reflect our contracted rates.
NCLC and Deborah Bender have reserved a
Hospitality suite. This suite is for late night people
and open serving of alcohol. (The hotel has a ban
on obvious alcohol use, but spiked punch is okay;
we can label it if we do that for a reception.)
A complimentary full breakfast comes with a room
along with a frig and microwave in each room.
We have use of the Breakfast room from noon to
10 pm and we will use it to eat take out lunches
and dinners together along with socializing and
some reception snacks. Vendors can be found
here as well along with rituals and evening events.
(The following is a rough draft of the final
program.)
e. Rough Draft for program
Thursday - Leadership Institute (4 of NCLC are
organizing this)
10 am - History of CoG, - a discussion about the
reasons for the formation of CoG and the original
Mission Statement or Statement of Purpose and
some things that worked and some that didn’t
work.
Page 4
1 pm - What CoG local councils and other witch
groups are doing currently for outreach, training
and events - may include local Wiccans from
Reclaiming (Witch Camps) and another local
group. Please bring info on your local council
activities.
3 pm Wither Wicca? Brainstorming and visioning.
7 pm Opening Ritual and Reception.
Friday
9 am - Grand Council
7:30 pm or so, a Main ritual with NCLC
You are invited to honor a goddess or god who is
dear to you as part of the Main Ritual on Friday
Night. You might read a short poem, sing, dance
as the deity, or give a blessing or message. If you
wish, robe in the guise of the deity or wear
priest/ess robes. Two people may honor a god or
goddess together. Please be brief in your offerings
for three minutes or less.
For more information, contact Deborah
Bender [email protected] (415) 460-5061.
Saturday
9 am – Grand Council
3 pm - a Social Justice panel discussion after the
officers have been elected in GC, (Crystal Blanton's
input will be invaluable and seems very likely to
come)
7:30 pm – Divination Salon
Join Thalassa for a lively peek under the veil of the
mysteries. After a whirlwind tour of divination,
ancient and modern, with an emphasis on Tarot
and cartomancy, we will throw open the gates and
engage in wild and wacky divining. Bring your
favorite divination tools and toys and be prepared
to get social while getting your oracular on!
Sunday morning
9 am – Grand Council if needed.
10 am – Closing Ritual – install officers for 2017
We may be able to arrange a group outing to the
Rosicrucian Museum on Sunday afternoon?
Someone is looking into this.
Volunteers needed. We have a coordinator for
this and volunteers from NCLC
PURSEWARDEN
Pursewarden Report for National Board Meeting
07-15-2016
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
COG’s financial activity
COG CHECKING
(From 06-01-2016 to 07-15-2016)
Opening Balance: $73,155.97
Credits/Deposits: $4,025.00
Debits/Withdrawals: $3,650.00
Ending Balance: $73,530.97
PAYPAL ACCOUNT AS OF 07-15-2016
BALANCE: $762.43
INTERFAITH SAVINGS (From 06-01-2016 to 0715-2016)
Opening Balance: $5,225.08
Credits/Deposits: $0.00
Debits/Withdrawals: $0.00
Ending Balance: $5,225.08
CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT
$30,000.00
I am still receiving applications for Grand Council
2016 Attendance Funds Request Forms.
In Her Service,
Viana Bastacky/Lady Mehurt
National Pursewarden
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
Eight years ago Don Frew - a former five time
NPIO, Anna, Rachael and I invited Jason PitzlWaters - author of the successful Wild Hunt Pagan
blog to CoG's Indianapolis Grand Council. At that
time we had a significant budget deficit and we
were losing membership. He suggested that for
CoG to be relevant to people from younger
generations we would need a much more engaging
website and should have a greater presence in
blogging and social media. Traditional media was
becoming less important in how young people got
a lot of their news and information.
Taking Jason's suggestions to heart, I ran for, was
elected NPIO, and joined The Pagan Newswire
Collective. I started the CoG NPIO Reports Blog
and set up our the Interfaith Reports Blog. I then
helped make sure that they were linked to our web
page. Daryl Fuller reworked the web page and
made it more engaging as well. Jason then applied
to join CoG as our membership and money crisis
eased a bit. During the next three years CoG was
featured in The Wild Hunt positively on a number
of occasions.
After I was reelected NPIO I began to notice that
even though I posted frequently on the NPIO
Reports Blog our audience seemed to remain in the
Page 5
double digits. We needed a new approach and a
better outlet for the information and content we
were generating, so with approval of 2010's Grand
Council I began the CoG Facebook and Twitter
pages. Our Facebook page started on August 27,
2010 with three “Likes.” Using my experience from
the Newswire Collective and my familiarity with
numerous high quality Pagan and Wiccan blogs, I
began to post many times a day filling the
Facebook page with relevant news, information
and culture for a Pagan and Wiccan audience. I
also included artwork, photography, music and
other media with a Pagan theme. The emphasis
here was on quality, variety, and reliability of
information. This approach paid off quickly with a
rapid growth rate for the number of page “Likes”.
By Grand Council of 2011 the page had over 2000
“Likes.” By 2012 it was over 10,000. By 2013 over
30,000, and by 2014 it had reached 110,000. At
that time we were regularly seeing between
200,000 and 500,000 “Views” a week.
The idea was to develop a quality social media
information hub with a large following that CoG
was directly associated with. If done correctly this
project would boost CoG's recognition and standing
in the community. However, the added advantage
would be that when CoG itself started worth while
projects, or our members made news, we could
instantly send this to a ready made and already
interested audience of thousands. For the most
part I think that this strategy worked quite well for
these last six years.
The following statistics represent our Facebook
page today.
Total Page “Likes” as of today: 267,804
Followers
USA – 169,642
Outside of USA – 98,162
United Kingdom - 15,945
Canada - 10,639
Australia - 9,572
Brazil - 8,817
Mexico - 4,458
India - 3,824
Philippines - 3,162
Followers by City
New York, NY - 2,258
London, England - 1,755
Melbourne, Australia -1,369
São Paulo, Brazil 1,356
Mexico City - 1,331
Los Angeles, CA - 1,234
Las Vegas, NV - 1,025
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
Followers
Women 73% Men 26%
Largest Audience – Ages 35 to 44 =26%
35% of our followers are under the age of 35, and
a total of 61% of them are under the age of 44.
Post reach - 489,889 views for this week – we
average around 500,000 views per week. Today
we had 171,831 views.
For Twitter we have 1450 followers and 12.9K total
posts. This is up 242 followers from when I
reported in March.
A number of insights can be gained from these
statistics. First we have a truly international
following for the Facebook page with almost a third
of all of our “Likes” coming from outside the United
States. Four cities out of seven with the greatest
number of followers are from outside the USA.
With the exception of possibly Canada and one
transplant who moved to Australia we have no
members in any of these countries. CoG is not an
international organization. Perhaps we could
consider ways of becoming one.
The followers of our page are significantly younger
than our membership. Even though we now have
an audience of over one quarter million and around
one half a million views a week there is not much
improvement in our membership numbers. Of the
Wiccans in that younger than age 44 group I would
be willing to bet that most are solitaries. We
publish directions on how to join CoG on the site at
least twice a week so the information is reaching
more people than ever. I believe that these low
numbers represent a negative view of our coven
centered structure and lengthy membership
process. Becoming a member is seen as too
difficult and taking too long to interest even this
large and relatively supportive audience. If we
wish to grow in membership we need to take these
statistics seriously, and come up with a better and
more inclusive process for membership.
One other insight is that our growth rate on the
Facebook page has slowed dramatically over the
last few months. In January and February we were
adding as many as 10,000 new likes a week with a
post reach of a million or more per week as well.
Now we are down to less than 1000 new likes and
a post reach of only one half a million views.
Something is clearly happening in the Facebook
world, and I will have more insights on this new
situation for my full report at the upcoming Grand
Council.
Blessed Be
Greg Harder
National Public Information Officer
Page 6
MEMBERSHIP OFFICER
Paperwork is flowing in in floods and I'm wading
through it trying to find the plunger.
We have one new solitary membership application
for Amina Cunning-Jones to be published this
month while Coven Hephaestus has cancelled their
membership. Therefore we currently have 86
covens, 76 solitaries, and 4 associates for a total of
166 members and associates. I find it interesting
that the rate of growth is far stronger in Associates
and Solitary members than in covens; a continuing
trend.
As proxies come in we currently have a total of 65
Covens and solitaries who have completed the
process. Of those there are 42 covens of which 9
are physical attendees, 19 are proxies and 13 have
ceded to Grand Council. There are 23 Solitary
proxies, 4 of whom have ceded to Grand Council,
18 of which are covered by proxy (through caucus
mainly) and one is a physical attendee. For those
of you who like to crunch numbers you will quickly
see that we have only roughly 40% of proxy
registration in with only 15% of those attending,
attending physically, 56% carrying proxies and
26% ceding to Grand Council. Should this trend
continue we will be in serious difficulties, though I
do appreciate everyone making an effort not to
cede to GC.
Please allow me to encourage those of you giving
your proxy to someone else because you cannot
attend in person, to join us virtually thereby
increasing our physical numbers and your ability to
participate including voting for our officers for this
next year. I promise you that you will not only be
supporting our annual meeting, but be
participating in a totally new step for the Covenant
and be an active participant in our meeting.
The following is a summary of where membership
stands.
Overdue at Litha
Overdue and soon to be
cancelled
Renewal
Roster Name
Status
OVERDUE
Christine Brockway
Due
OVERDUE
Georgia Reavis
Due
OVERDUE
Lord Fraey
Due
OVERDUE
Dawnhawk Jorddottir
Due
OVERDUE
Keryn Richards
Due
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
OVERDUE
Circle of the Winter Moon
Due
OVERDUE
Dragonwhisper Coven
Due
OVERDUE
Grove of the Sacred Spring
Due
OVERDUE
Elphame Coven
Due
OVERDUE
Circle of Diana
Due
OVERDUE
Aveline
Due
permission is often the longest process), and
preparing the next newsletter edition.
As always, the Newsletter is our primary report.
With Cheer and gratitude,
Zenah Smith
Stachia Ravensdottir
Co-Publication Officers
CORRESPONDENCE OFFICER
Pending and Welcomed
Welcomed
Roster Name
Status
Mabon
Circle of the Emerald Forrest
Pending
Mabon
Inanna Arthen
Pending
Mabon
Jose Esparza
Pending
Mabon
Terri Gans
Pending
Due at Lughnasadh
Due at Lughnasadh
Roster Name
Renewal
Status
Lughnasadh
Alani's Eyes
Due
Lughnasadh
Bonita Blumenauer
Due
Lughnasadh
Celtic Circle of Wisdom
Due
Lughnasadh
Circle of Wind and Wave
Due
Lughnasadh
Gryphonsong Clan
Due
Lughnasadh
Lady Aradia
Due
Lughnasadh
Lady Athena
Due
Lughnasadh
Lady Cliodhna Nic Tavish
Due
Lughnasadh
Lady Emrys
Due
Lughnasadh
Lady Phoenix Duir
Due
Lughnasadh
Link
Due
Lughnasadh
Lorelei Boadicea Tomyris
Due
Lughnasadh
Miraselena
Due
Lughnasadh
Robin Almaas
Due
Respectfully submitted in Her service,
R Watcher, NMO...more or less
PUBLICATIONS OFFICER
Publication Officers – Lughnasadh report
Since our last report, the Publications Officers have
been making minor yet important updates to the
Covenant’s website. We continue to search out
images to include in the newsletter (getting
Page 7
The time since Litha has been a slower “mail day”
than the previous time period. Still I helped people
and also more folks from CoG itself wrote to the
[email protected] seeking help too. This help was
mostly related to Grand Council. Seems some
confusion for folks (that we usually get I think)
about proxy, registration and password questions
were the subjects of questions.
I also handled requests for information,
fellowship, support, from folks in Florida and
elsewhere, often by referring to our ABOUT section
at the main page. We had another question about
the Hart and Crescent award. It is good to know
people are still using these programs we can offer.
There was a smaller amount of snail mail
from prisons which is being worked on. Most other
things are in good order as of this writing.
In Her Service, Oberon Osiris
NATIONAL RECORDER
As usual, the minutes of the Board meetings and
upcoming Grand Council constitute my report. I
am glad that we have a truly qualified person who
is stepping up to the plate for the upcoming year.
WELCOME TO COG
We will have several members to welcome at
Mabon.
NATIONAL BOARD MINUTES
~ July 17, 2016 – Litha Meeting
Roll Call 4:00 pm PDT
Quorum: Quorum confirmed by NFO
( = present)
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
Board Members Present:
 Jack – First Officer
 Yvonne – First Officer
 Mehurt –
Pursewarden
 Greg – NPIO
 Stachia – Publications
 Zenah - Publications
 Glenn – Second Officer
 Oberon Correspondence
Rachael - Membership
 Sylvia – Recorder
Officer Reports
1. National First Officers: Jack & Yvonne
See written report on page 3.
NFO Addendum: Jack reports that they are both
very busy preparing for Grand Council.
2. National Second Officer: Glenn
NSO Addendum: Glenn reported approximately 30
registrations to date, but is certain that the
minimum of 45 will be met. Jack stated that he
expected that Grand Council would require the full
two days of Friday and Saturday but hoped to be
done by 5:00 PM or so on Saturday. The room is
available for Sunday for no additional charge if we
need it. Glenn also asked if it was all right to have
walk in registrations for Leadership Institute/MM
and it was clarified that this was fine, but that she
would have to ensure a method of accepting
payment on site. Glenn reported that there are 4
vendors. A question regarding the raffle / auction
was raised; Glenn was unaware this was part of
MM. We likely have some kind of Raffle and
auction. Zenah indicated how important it had
been at previous MM's to help the event break
even. She volunteered to discuss more details of
how to structure with Glenn off list.
3. National Membership Officer: Rachael
NMO Addendum: NMO was not present. Written
report sent to Board list to include in the minutes
and newsletter. Questions of quorum were
unknown at this time. Proxy deadline is 4 days
after this meeting.
4. National Pursewarden: Viana
NPW Addendum: Viana inquired about sending
flowers to Anna Korn and the board agreed. Viana
will take care of it. Approx 14 to 15 requests have
come in for attendance funds and we are currently
below total Attendance Funds budget.
Page 8
5. National PIO: Greg
NPIO Addendum: Facebook likes are slowing down,
not just for us but for many other sites. Greg
thinks this is related to FB slowing down traffic on
non-paying sites. He reports that his input to
Facebook, twitter and blog was affected while he
was in Guadalajara due to the poor internet
coverage there.
Jack inquired about statements put out by Texas
and whether EMLC and/or Dogwood might
appreciate assistance with anything in the wake of
the most recent difficulties in Baton Rouge. Greg
stated he would check in with them.
6. National Publication Officers: Stachia &
Zenah
Addendum: No addendums.
7. National Correspondence Officer: Oberon
NCO Addendum: Someone contacted Oberon
seeking out Prison Ministry Individuals in the San
Jose area.
8. National Recorder: Sylvia
Addendum: Sylvia reported that as contact person
for Chamisa she had concerns about the future of
the Covenant as Chamisa - one of the strongest
and most active of the Local Councils was losing
membership (on the COG level) and there was
much concern over the perceived lack of
responsiveness, respect from some COG elders
and future direction or lack thereof in COG.
Committee Reports:
Path to Membership - No Report
Board Training –Report sent to AIR for Grand
Council
Administrative Support – Report sent to AIR for
Grand Council
Vision Committee - No Report
Social Justice Committee - Report sent to AIR for
Grand Council
Abuse Advisory Committee - No Report
Old Business
A. Update of National Archives project Zenah reports that she has been making good
progress on the scanning of the Archives and that
all the newsletters thru volume 9 are up on the
website and Volume 10 should be up shortly. She
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
is getting the early newsletter ready to send to the
library once they are scanned.
proposed postponing the renewal of the CD until
after Grand Council. Consensus was reached.
B. Final Status of Internal Audit. - There were a
few issues pointed out in the internal audit which
required corrections. All issues have been properly
responded to with corrections completed before
QuickBooks went to the accountant for completing
our tax filing. Viana thanked the internal auditors
for their work and assistance. She is posting the
detailed report of the internal audit with
corrections/responses to the Board list. Overall, it
was reported that it was an excellent. Everything
went like clockwork this time and we can close the
books on 2014/15 with everything completed in a
timely fashion with the feedback from the internal
audit helping to insure that information for our
taxes were accurate and timely.
B. Twitter account information for access – NPIO
Greg will send information to NFO Yvonne.
C. Merry Meet updates - See NSO Glenn's report No information on quorum yet.
C. Alternative money exchange system: Give - It
was explained to us that our website could use a
free (no fees charged) money exchange system
called "Gift" if our website was developed on
WordPress. It is a way for nonprofits to receive
donations with high cost/fees. It was decided to
explore this further.
The Meeting was adjourned at 6:55 PM PST
Submitted Respectfully
July 18, 2016
Sylvia T. Webb
National Recorder
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
D. Leadership Institute - See NSO Glenn's report
E. Board Attendance to MerryMeet 2016 - All board
members are attending and have registered. One
member paid for herself on top of being paid for by
the National Pursewarden and will need to be
reimbursed. NSO was informed and she and NPW
will work it out.
F. Travel Funds for everyone – NPW Viana reports
that she has had 14 requests for Travel Funds for
Grand Council.
G. Emails for Board Offices - Yvonne went with the
free option on ZoHo which can be upgraded for a
cost if we need to. She needs accurate list of
emails needed for officers, assistants, local
councils, etc. Stachia pointed her to the newsletter
which lists all the emails of officers and assistants.
Discussion for emails for Local Councils was a
good idea to set up with the current LC First
Officers setting access passwords and forwarding
email to be passed on to future First Officers of
LC's.
H. LinkedIn account - Yvonne reported that we
have no CoG LinkedIn account and that the email
the board received last month was spam. Whether
we should have a professional CoG LinkedIn
account was discussed but no decision was
reached. Yvonne felt it would be good for our
professional image as an organization. We all
agreed to think about it for further discussion.
New Business
A. CD Renewal We currently have a CD with approx. $30,000 that
will come up for renewal in early August. Zenah
Page 9
Mata Moerae
Orange County, AoS
Orange, CA
Statement of Practice
March 10, 2016
Dear Cog
She of 10,000 names, Goddess, Source of all is
core to my spiritual beliefs.
I have served the community for 7 years as a
naiad Initiate Priestess at the Goddess Temple of
Orange County.
I teach, perform and create rituals and am well
known in the community and many of the
members of CoG.
Mata Moerae
Letter of Recommendation #1
To whom it may concern:
It is my pleasure to recommend Mata for
membership as a solitary in the Orange County
Local Council of CoG. I met Mata three years ago
for an event hosted by her tradition, the Goddess
Temple of Orange County. At the event, Mata had
an active role a greeter and as a facilitator of the
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
circle. I was impressed with her ability to make
people comfortable as she guided everyone into
circle and led them through the part of the ritual
that was her responsibility. I attended several
subsequent events at the Goddess Temple
including rituals, specific presentations / teachings,
and sacred craft workshops. At each of these, Mata
held a leadership role, actively participating to
facilitate the event. She demonstrated competent
magical workings in both theory and practice. She
assisted those needing extra guidance and did so
with patience, respect and an obvious desire to
serve. More recently, I attended a public Sabbat
ritual in which Mata also participated. Mata
demonstrated the same competence of practice
that she did in her home area. In my conversations
with Mata, I continue to be impressed with her
calm manner, kind attitude, knowledge of various
Craft subjects and willingness to do the work! I
recommend Mata to become an active member of
OCLC. She will add positive energy, new ideas, and
presence to support CoG through OCLC.
As most of you have probably experienced,
I too did experience witchy things before I knew
what they were. As a child, I saw “things.” Bubbles
would fill my room every night when I went to bed.
I would see things before they would happen. I
was the “imaginative” child.
Respectfully,
Tara
HP Lance & Grail / National
I have been a part of the Goddess Temple
ever since, having gone through extensive
priestess training, yet continuing to retain my
identity as a witch, for that is who I am. I
celebrate all of the esbats and sabbats, and howl
at the moon on other occasions… and have
continued to be a solitary, unless you count all of
the invisible friends, as well as the trees, animals,
rocks, soil… then I am definitely not working as a
solitary…. I have a lot of help,
I am writing to recommend Mata Moerae, whom I
have known for five years, as a candidate for
solitary membership in Covenant of the Goddess,
Orange County Local Council. During the time that
I have known Mata she has been a Naiad Priestess
at the Temple of Orange County. They do have a
code of ethics that follow the Wiccan Rede, “Harm
None”. Mata organizes rituals, presides over and
trains priestess for the temple.
Mata has a keen mind, a kind heart and is highly
organized. She is a true devotee of the Goddess in
her many aspects. I have no doubt she would
make a valuable assets to our local council as a
solitary member and I give her my highest
recommendation.
Sincerely,
Camille Lockyer
Second Officer, OCLC
Amina Cunning-Jones
Orange County, AoS
Orange, CA
Statement of Practice
Hello,
Page 10
After having a traditional religious
upbringing, we went to a spiritualist church, and
one of the mediums began having séances at our
house. That brought a lot of invisible friends to
visit, often shaking the bed, which I loved. I was a
teenager at the time.
I dabbled with Tarot, Ouija boards,
meditation, giving readings, etc., but did not
become a “formal” witch until 1996, when I
became part of a coven, Druidic Craft of the Wise.
I was part of this coven for four years, until it
disbanded, and I then joined another coven of a
faery tradition. It was part of the Temple of Isis,
called Lyceum of the Wayfarer. I was part of this
group for another five years. Then I began
attending the Goddess Temple in 2005.
Amina
I gladly write this letter of recommendation for
Amina Cunning-Jones. Whom, I met over 7 years
ago in her work with the Goddess Temple of
Orange County.
Amina is a Naiad Priestess and teacher at the
Goddess Temple and I have circled with her many
times and have seen her facilitate many rituals.
She is a Witch, Elder and High Priestess. And she
follows the same sabbats, esbats and full moons
we celebrate. She has been a previous member of
several Wiccan Covens in the local area as well.
Amina is seeking to join as a Solitary Practitioner
and member of Orange County Local Council.
Amina has a wise and kind soul and will make a
wonderful addition to our local council, bringing her
wisdom, years of experience in helping to run a
larger organization.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
Blessed Be!
Camille Lockyer
Second Officer of OCLC
Elder & High Priestess of Greenwood Glen
EVERGLADES MOON
~ July 2016
This letter is a recommendation for Amina
Cunning-Jones, whom I have known for over seven
years, as a candidate for solitary membership in
Covenant of the Goddess, Orange County Local
Council. During this time, she has been a Sister
Naiad Priestess at the Goddess Temple of Orange
County which has a code of ethics that follows the
Wiccan Rede, “Harm None.” Amina creates and
presides over Rituals as well as Sunday Services
for the Temple.
Amina is a dedicated teacher by profession and a
true devotee of the Goddess in her many aspects.
She would be a valuiable asset to our local council
as a solitary member and I give her my highest
recommendation.
ATTENDANCE (Magickal Name, Position, Coven)
In Person:
Lady Bridget, EMLC First Officer, Witch & Famous
Coven
Aequitas, EMLC Second Officer, Beachfyre Coven
Raven, EMLC Membership Officer, AoS
Shaylee, EMLC Recording Officer, Beachfyre Coven
Chloe, Beachfyre Coven
Lady Mari, Sacred Forest Coven
Kasha, Circle of the Moonlit Sea, AOS
Minos Ceos, Sons of the Minotaur Grove, AOS
Guests
Geraki, Sons of the Minotaur
Sincerely,
Naiad Priestess Mata
TRANSITIONING FROM COVEN TO SOLITARY
Joseph Dobransky transitioned from coven in EMLC
to a national Solitary.
LOCAL COUNCILS
CALAFIA
~ No Report
Last published minutes in the Litha 2016 edition.
CHAMISA
~ No Report
DOGWOOD
~ No Report
Last published minutes in the Imbolc 2016 edition.
Page 11
Location: Lady Mari’s Home
Having quorum, the meeting started at: 1:27 PM
EST.
The meeting began circled up hand in hand.
Conference line:
Lady Circe, EMLC Pursewarden, AoS
OFFICER REPORTS
First Officer Report
Lady Bridget: As we roll into Summer here in
Florida, many of us are still processing the
shootings in Orlando, and stunned by the sniper
shootings of the Police Officers in Dallas. We send
out messages of love and peace in response to all
this violence, hoping to "Turn the Tides" of hatred
in this country to feelings of acceptance and
tolerance. We live in a society that embodies
diversity but is slow to accept change. Our religion
is one that embraces diversity - and our
organization needs to reflect that. Our actions
need to reflect that, as do our prayers.
Please take some moments in your busy day to
send out the Doves of Hope from your heart, hope
that those who are in pain will find peace, and
hope that those who have closed hearts will have
those hearts opened. Hope that the Love of the
Goddess will help humanity learn to reflect that
Love to each other.
Additionally, Lady Bridget encourages us to
integrate peace working into our regular practice.
Second Officer Report
Aequitas: I've gathered the details for reserving a
Pavilion at Wickham Park for EMLC Annual Meeting
on Saturday, October 1, 2016. Our reservation is
"penciled in" so we need to twinkle to secure our
site and payment.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
Annual Meeting Details
We set a date of Saturday, October 1, for EMLC
Annual Meeting. Remember this is a mandatory
meeting for all member covens and solitaries to
attend. Mark your calendars now! To reserve the
site, the park ranger suggested Pavilion #3, which
is close to park entrance as you turn to the right.
It is secluded by itself and has a grove of trees
around it. Includes 4 picnic benches, a small grill,
electricity, and a water spigot. Restrooms are a
two-minute walk away. We are allowed to set up
popup canopies to extend the space around the
shelter. It costs $34 for daily rental, and a $75
refundable damage deposit. This is the non-profit
rate. We will need to have Lady Circe go in person
to sign the paperwork, show 501(c)(3) certificate,
and write them the two checks. Like last year, we
could consider that EMLC can reimburse us for
lunch and drinks costs as well as site rental.
*** Aequitas proposes reserving spot for EMLC.
Proposal was twinkled by all.
*** Action: Lady Circe will reserve the site.
*** Aequitas proposes that that one main dish be
paid for by EMLC and then the rest be provided by
potluck. Proposal was twinkled by all.
Overnight camping at Annual Meeting opportunity:
There is also the option of overnight camping / RVing at the site. Each RV site is $24 night, they
prefer you to make a two-night rental, which would
total $48. Includes electric and water hookup, and
has shower and restrooms facilities onsite. If we
got two sites together, we would have plenty of
room for a group of EMLC’ers. Total for two sites
together would be $96. This early, choice sites
right next to the lake is available. You can now
make reservations online through the following
website:
http://www.brevardcounty.us/ParksRecreation/Ca
mpgrounds/Wickham/Reservations
***After discussing how many people would be
willing to camp, how many sites we should
reserve, and if EMLC should pay for the camping
sites Lady Circe proposes that EMLC pay for the
campsite and that 5 camping sites be reserved.
Proposal was twinkled by all.
*** Action: Lady Circe and Aequitas will get
together and reserve the campsites.
Membership Officer Report
Raven: There are not any CoG Annual Renewals
due at Lammas.
There were 3 Renewals due at Litha. I do not have
confirmation that these were renewed. I am going
to request copies of renewal forms from these
members.
They are:
Page 12
*Lord Fraey - UPDATE - Lord Fraey is letting his
AOS membership lapse and keeping his
membership through Witch & Famous Coven
* Dragon Whisper Coven - Lady Indendia
* Spiraling Heart Coven - Diana Kampert
The collection of Proxies for Grand Council/Merry
Meet is coming along. I will have a list of those
that I need Proxies for at the meeting tomorrow,
as well as blank forms.
At this time Sons of the Minotaur Grove, Minoan
Brotherhood tradition is looking into joining EMLC.
Cheers were given and further information will be
provided to the Sons of the Minotaur after the
meeting.
Pursewarden Report
Lady Circe: Our main account has 8369.25,
secondary account 100.00 and PayPal 57.78. Our
grand total is $8527.03
Publications Officer Report
Alpandia: No Report at this time
Public Informations Officer Report
Amber/Qabal: No Report at this time
Recording Officer Report
Shaylee: I sent the last meeting minutes to
National newsletter on time. Lady Bridget praised
Shaylee’s timeliness.
What EMLC-ers are doing:
In response to the tragic shooting and loss of life
that occurred on June 12th, 2016 at Pulse
Nightclub in Orlando, FL, EMLC issued a statement
of solidarity and on June 20th, 2016 under the Full
Moon held space for the victims, family of the
victims, and the LGBT community.
http://emlc.net/everglades-moon-statement-onorlando-pulse-nightclub-shooting/
https://www.facebook.com/evergladesmoon/
EMLC members in South Florida came together to
assist a EMLC friend and pagan moving down from
Atlanta, GA. Cat Perron, Lady Bridget, Canu and
others stepped up to offer their assistance and
welcome.
Spiraling Heart Coven in Tallahassee reached the
wonderful milestone of its 25th Anniversary this
past Litha.
Ceos is now the Clinical Director at a private
substance abuse treatment program in Broward
County.
Kasha served as a Guardian on the Space Coast
Honor Flight to Washington DC on June 25th, 2016.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
OLD BUSINESS
Merry Meet 2016 – Grand Council - At this
moment EMLC has two representatives going
Raven and Kasha. Proxies are being split and the
Assembly of Solitary caucuses are being set. Lady
Bridget is also working to the Annual Report.
Clarification for virtual attendance was provided.
REMEMBER There is still time to register.
Florida Pagan Pride Days –
Ft. Lauderdale Pagan Pride Day – September 24
Aequitas is point person and Chloe is volunteering
to assist. If anyone has anything they would like to
donate please get it to Aequitas. Please donate!!!
Treasure Coast Pagan Pride Day – October 15 Lady
Bridget is point person.
New Business
Merry Meet 2017 – the question has been
proposed as to if EMLC would like to host Merry
Meet 2017. At the meeting there has been
consensus that it would be something we would
consider doing, so the proposal to host will be send
to the EMLC email list for further conversation.
***Lady Bridget proposes that if we do decide to
send a proposal to host Merry Meet 2017 that in
the proposal we include a provision for EMLC to
keep all funds received through the raffle, unless
the Merry Meet Fund was losing money. Proposal
was twinkled by all.
Turning The Tides Business
December 9-11, 2016
Lady Bridget suggests that we do need registration
forms be ready for the pagan pride days. Aequitas
would also like the online registration to be ready
also.
Shaylee is suggesting a flyer be given to pagan
friendly stores and that the flyer also be available
for the Pagan Pride Day Season. Lady Circe says
we need to make sure the Save the Date emails
and letters to previous TTT attendees goes out
before the flyers are provided and available.
Registrations should open September 1st, 2016
allowing previous attendees to have two weeks to
begin registering before the first of Florida Pagan
Pride Days. The flyers should go out to the stores
to coincide with the Jacksonville Pagan Pride Day
on September 18th, 2016.
Volunteers still needed:
Kasha is volunteer Raffle and First Aid
Shaylee is volunteering to head the Decorations
committee
*** Lady Bridget suggests that if everyone that is
working on TTT rituals and/or committees is on
Page 13
Facebook, then we should have Facebook
Messenger Chat set up. Proposal was twinkled by
all *** Action: Shaylee volunteered to set it
messenger chat.
Community Announcements
Jacksonville Pagan Pride Day
http://www.jaxpagan.org/
Sunday, September 18th, 2016
Fort Lauderdale's Pagan Pride Day
http://www.moonpathcuups.org/ppride/
Saturday, September 24th, 2016
EMLC Annual Meeting
http://emlc.net/
SAVE THE DATE - Saturday, October 1st, 2016 –
Remember this Meeting is Mandatory
Volusia County Pagan Pride Day
https://www.facebook.com/VolusiaCountyPaganPri
de/?fref=nf
Saturday October 8th, 2016
Treasure Coast Pagan Pride Day
http://www.tcppd.org
https://www.facebook.com/Treasure-Coast-PaganPride-Day-624638464256608/
Saturday, October 15th, 2016
Wanderlust 108 – A Mindful Triathlon
http://wanderlust.com/108s/
https://www.facebook.com/events/631592796990
590/
Miami Event, October 22nd, 2016
Turning the Tides 10: Yule in the Twilight; Ten
Tides Together
http://emlc.net/
https://www.facebook.com/events/176895347333
7994/
December 9-11, 2016
Circle of the Moonlit Sea Yule
SAVE THE DATE - December 17th, 2014
Meeting adjourned with circle of hands and hearts.
Next Meeting: Date and Location to go out to the
EMLC email list for further discussion.
Reminders and directions will be sent prior.
HILLS AND RIVERS
~ February 9, 2016
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
~ November 15, 2015
NORTHERN DAWN
~ April 17, 2016
Northern Dawn Special Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 3:18 p.m.
Attendance:
Spiral (First Officer) – Dusk and Roses;
Gordon (Pursewarden) – Dusk and Roses;
Magenta – Prodea;
Kay – Prodea;
Bonita – AoS;
Gary (DragonflyMoon) – National At-Large.
Quorum was declared by Spiral.
The focus of this Special Meeting is to
determine the future of Northern Dawn Local
Council of Covenant of the Goddess. This
decision will determine how we promote the
Beltane Fairy Ball on May 7th.
Continue or Dissolve Northern Dawn?
Kay asked us to all discuss reasons why we
should remain an active local council and
reasons why we should dissolve the local
council.
Positive Aspects
Meet & Greet opportunity for solitaries
Legal protection
Clergy credentials
Tax-exempt status
Concerns
Feeling of jumping through hoops or finding
loopholes
Annual Tithe is expensive
No apparent local investment in the local
council
The same small group has been rotating
through board positions for several years
Page 14
The new people who have stepped up have
found some difficulty navigating their roles,
even with help from the local council alumni
Spiral asked for a sense of the room, and the
consensus was reached to dissolve Northern
Dawn.
Beltane Fairy Ball
By default, the Beltane Fairy Ball will become
a farewell party for Northern Dawn, and a
fundraiser for an as yet undetermined nonprofit local LGBT Youth Support Organization.
National will be informed after the event.
The reservation at Walker Church is already
complete, so we have our venue. We will
advertise mainly through Facebook by
creating an event. All are encouraged to
“like” and “share” the event to help promote
it. We will also have Jo send out an e-mail to
all the contacts on our mailing list.
In addition to a Silent Auction, we will accept
food shelf donations and free will monetary
donations to defray our costs. All the money
left in the checking account after expenses
will be donated, and we will endeavor to have
everything wrapped up as quickly as possible,
hopefully by the end of May. This will allow
Gordon to file the final third quarter
pursewarden report to national by mid-June.
The meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gordon Stone
Volunteer Recorder
~ June 21, 2016
Covenant of the Goddess Board and Members,
It is with great sadness that I write to inform you
that Northern Dawn Council has formally
disbanded. Minutes of our formal membership
meeting are attached.
For the last several years we have found it
increasingly difficult to sustain ourselves as a local
council, both in regard to membership and local
support. The national policies and bylaws have
made it beyond difficult to adapt to the needs of
our local community.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
When Northern Dawn was founded we were an
umbrella organization, a starting point for people
to find Pagans in the Twin Cities. We have
continued over the years to view ourselves
primarily as a Pagan organization rather than a
BTW center.
Our community is diversifying and each group is
finding it’s new identity. Much of the work
Northern Dawn has done over the years has been
taken up by other local groups. There are still
places that we could step in, as we see ourselves,
supporting inter and intra faith work.
However, we find that those who want to do this
work are not willing to compromise their beliefs by
formalizing their membership with COG National.
We have lost a great many potential members and
supporters to the strong Wiccan/BTW bias in this
organization at a national level. We have become
unsustainable.
Several of our member covens have expressed an
interest in remaining members of COG at a
national level, without a local council. We are all
wondering if disbanding Northern Dawn
automatically makes member covens National
members at large or if there is additional paper
work that covens/individuals need to fill out. The
covens that wish to continue their memberships
will be in contact separately.
We will have our finances finalized in time for the
Third Quarter Report deadline. Our local
Pursewarden will be in contact with the National
Pursewarden.
Thank you for over 30 years of working together
and for the work you still continue to do on behalf
of the Wiccan community.
Sincerely,
Lisa Spiral Besnett
former 1st officer
Northern Dawn Local Council (defunct)
Covenant of the Goddess
ORANGE COUNTY
~ May 12, 2016
Beginnings:
Called to Order at 7:22 pm
Time Keeper – Camille
Page 15
Invocation/Blessing – Mary
Introductions/Sign-in complete
Warden (Vibes Watcher) – n/a
Quorum achieved – Carolyn
Attendance:
Coven – Greenwood Glen; Pam, Camille,
Carolyn, Brooke
Coven – Bran Faol Rennag;, Janine
Coven – CCoW; Mary
Guest – Mata
Officer Reports:
First Officer – Pam:
Post office Box has been renewed.
Second Officer – Camille:
Invited two people from the internet who
applied to read for the Psychic Fair fund raiser
have not replied.
Crystal Cave put up flyers to help promote
our Psychic Fair. Pam restocked those; Mary
took flyers to Visions and Dreams. Janine as
PIO asked that the social media information
be placed on the flyers and that was
completed.
Mary has made sign-up sheets for each
reader with time slots.
We have tickets for readings and a different
color ticket for raffle items. Those members
with raffle items already brought them to our
board meeting.
Menu Sheet listing all types of readings
available 4 copies – need bios for Janine,
Carl, Linda, Mary. Mary will follow up and
provide printed copies.
Staffing and readings have changed as
follows:
LeNormande Cards – Ron
Scrying – Sylvia
Camille – Crystal Healing & Psychic Car Wash
Carl – Tarot
Linda – Tarot and Oracle cards
Janine – Spirit Animal Oracle
Mary – Pendulum Readings / Workshop
Readers should provide a “bio” write up by
next board meeting - need bios for Janine,
Carl, Linda, Mary
Raffle items – ideas: Tarot Cards, Bubble
Wands, Stuffed Animals, Magickal Tools,
Anything Pagan (books), soaps, oils, - no
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
candles – Orion has donated a Personal
Reading for our raffle; Personal readings by
Mata; Reading by Mary;
Support Suzan’s homeless purse & backpack
outreach. The list of items for the Homeless
Outreach will be attached to today’s minutes
when distributed.
Janine has published information on
Wordpress about the Psychic Fair
Open Rituals in Gutosky Park –
Mabon – September 11th; Carolyn to reserve
Gutosky Park; noon to 4pm
Long Beach WomenSpirit Fair – June 11,
2016; Mary has sent in application with the
fee.
Set up – Mary & Camille (Mary will bring popup, table, etc.)
Mary to bring Pam’s bracelet rack
Volunteers – Pam & Carolyn 2pm to ending;
Mata?, Carolyn &Janine @ 9am to noon; we
will look for volunteers from our ranks
Pagan Pride date is Sunday, October 2, 2016
at Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach. Mary will
include different prices so we can make a
decision next meeting.
Pursewarden – Mary:
Our Current balance is $989 minus an
outstanding check in the amount of $65 for
WSF Summer Booth Fee. (989.10 – 65.00 =
924.10)
PIO – Janine
Facebook: For the month of April we had a
total of 927 likes. As of today, we have 937.
We are on our way to reaching 1000 likes.
Our reach among FB users is increasing.
[Total Reach - The number of people who
were served any activity from your Page
including your posts, posts to your Page by
other people, Page like ads, mentions and
checkins.] In April we had a spike during
mid-month reaching 346 viewers. We also
had a spike in reactions and shares. Meaning
more people are liking posts and sharing
them. Our visibility is increasing. The post
with the greatest reach of 872 was a link
shared regarding the Oklahoma family and
their religious beliefs.
City / Your Fans
Anaheim, CA - 22
Page 16
Los Angeles, CA - 19
Long Beach, CA - 18
Huntington Beach, CA - 12
Orange, CA - 11
Fullerton, CA -10
Garden Grove, CA - 10
Costa Mesa, CA - 9
Irvine, CA – 9
Our current break down among age groups
hasn’t changed.
Twitter: In April, there were 14 tweets, 836
impressions, 106 profile visits, 5 mentions, 18
new followers and 18 tweets linking to
us. Our top media tweet was the WP post
of Beltane, and May Day, A time of myth,
traditions and flowers. Twitter has added new
analytics which I want to review in depth for
next month. It may give us more options for
connecting with local traffic.
WordPress: In April we had 2002 views, from
1,664 visitors, 17 likes and 10 comments.
Our most popular post was Beltane, and May
Day, A time of myth, traditions and
flowers. For that week 4/25 to 5/1 we had
2,080 views, 1,727 visitors, 16 likes and 7
comments. There is an increase of “referrer”
traffic (where our viewers come from). We
had 1,614 FB refers in April vs 37 in March.
We had 79 refers from search engines vs. 162
in March. If we can continue to improve
search engine traffic we can improve our
visibility. A focus on Orange County activities
can help.
Membership Officer – Carolyn
Mata’s application has been published for the
first time.
Grace is still planning to return to the west
coast in August.
Mary has received her credentials
Acting Recorder – Mary:
March & April minutes have been uploaded for
inclusion to the COG Newsletter. No minutes
remain pending for approval at this time.
Old Business:
Nathan Ross Film Project– A student
approached Mary about doing a 9-min film on
CoG for his Religious Studies class. Mary
coordinated the event with all parties and
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
arranged a central location. Yvonne, Janine
and Mary were the members participating in
the interviews. A link to the YouTube film
was delivered to Mary who will share it with
the Board as soon as the judging is
completed.
Blanket / throws
Reusable bags
Goddess temple has open slots for other
ritualists to come in to lead the holy days.
Mata says the remaining open days are –
Winter Solstice
Beginnings:
Called to Order at 7:20 pm
Time Keeper – Camille
Invocation/Blessing – Mata
Introductions/Sign-in complete
Warden (Vibes Watcher) – n/a
Quorum achieved – Pam
New Business:
Need a new location – Matoska will not be
available Thursdays. Polly’s Pies in Tustin, or
the Water Fall in Garden Grove; MiMi’s in
Garden Grove; Pam & Carolyn to check them
out and decide. Also Keno’s in Buena Park or
Anaheim Hills;
On-line renewal with National web site has
been restricted to USPS or email and
payment can be made with check, money
order, or through CoG’s PayPal account
(button can be found on line)
Closing:
Next meeting will be held on June 9, 2016 at
TBD;
Next Recorder will be Mary
Next Invocation / Blessing Mata?
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm with a final
blessing from First Officer for good meeting
and safe travels.
Items for Suzan’s purse & backpack homeless
outreach
(Sample or travel size)
Hygiene products
Hand sanitizer
Sanitizing wipes
Shampoo
Soap
Tampons
Gloves
Socks
Bottled Water
Snacks –
granola,
energy bars,
fruit snacks etc
Cigarettes – they can barter 2 or 3 cigarettes
for a meal
Sweater / sweatshirt / thermal underwear
Page 17
~ June 09, 2016
Council Minutes of June 09, 2016
Attendance:
Coven – Greenwood Glen; Pam, Camille
Coven – Bran Faol Rennag;, Janine
Coven – CCoW; Mary
Guest – Mata; Gwenn
Officer Reports:
First Officer – Pam:
Psychic Fair was a big success; raised $623.
We collected names and phone numbers from
from raffle tickets. We had 26 raffle items
that raised $148 from ticket sales; we raised
$475 from readings.
Second Officer – Camille:
Psychic Fair staffing and readings happened
as follows:
LeNormande Cards – Ron
Scrying – Sylvia
Camille – Crystal Healing & Psychic Car Wash
Carl – Tarot
Linda – Tarot and Oracle cards
Janine – Spirit Animal Oracle
Mary – Pendulum Readings / Workshop
26 Raffle items –Orion has donated a
Personal Reading for our raffle;
Support Suzan’s homeless purse & backpack
outreach.
Pam will send a Thank You note to Karen for
letting us use her location.
Open Rituals in Gutosky Park –
Mabon – September 11th; Carolyn to reserve
Gutosky Park; noon to 4pm
Long Beach Woman Spirit Fair – June 11,
2016; Mary has sent in application with the
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
fee; we have received confirmation for our
usual space #S12.
Set up – Mary & Camille & Janine (Mary will
bring pop-up, table, etc.)
Mary to bring Pam’s bracelet rack
Volunteers –Carolyn &Janine @ 9am -noon;
Sigrid Noon to 2pm; Pam 2pm to 4pm. We
will look for volunteers from our ranks for
additional support.
Twitter: Our 28-day summary includes: 17
tweets, 96 profile visits, 15 new followers
(865 total), 2 mentions, 2,156 impressions
and 19 tweets linking to us. Our top tweets
included: Beltane Invocation, Have a magical
May Day (image), Have a blessed Mother’s
Day (image) and Happy Mother’s Day
(image). We earned 2.2K impressions during
the 31 days of May.
Pagan Pride date is Sunday, October 2, 2016
at Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach. Mary has
included different prices for which we qualify
so we can make a decision next meeting.
Organization Information Booth $25.00
Organization Vending Booth $75.00
WordPress: In May we received 577 views,
419 visitors, 20 likes and 3 comments. Our
most popular post was Beltane, and May Day,
a time of myth, traditions and flowers with
272 views in May and the Beltane Invocation
received 33 views. Promotion of our Psychic
Fair received 32 views. There was an increase
in Archive visits (130) - new visitors checking
out our previous postings. I’m testing a
theory and reposting the Summer Solstice
Fair with more images and new title. And
reposting, Bees, sacred messengers since this
is a good time of year to be aware of our
environment, gardens and nature.
Pursewarden – Mary:
After the check in the amount of $65 for WSF
Summer Booth Fee cleared and our check
fees were deducted, plus our deposit of
$623.00 from the Psychic fund raiser; our
Current Balance is $1,602.10.
PIO – Janine
Facebook: For the Month of May we achieved
956 likes. As of today there is a total of 967
likes. We continue a steady pace toward
achieving 1000 likes. That is huge for our size
organization at a local level. I also noticed
over the past week our loss of likes has
diminished. Our organic (unpaid reach) spiked
on 5/27 with 15,866 reached. The post/video
that attracted attention was: “The
Undomestic Witch: Scottish Witches, Fairies
and Old Religion.” Also, it seems that on
Facebook, Events garner more views than
articles about the events (for us). We are
slowly improving our engagement with
audience and fans. Our engagement has a
2% increase in the 18-24 segment.
City / Your Fans
Anaheim, CA - 24
Los Angeles, CA - 17
Long Beach, CA - 16
Huntington Beach, CA - 11
Fullerton, CA - 11
Orange, CA - 10
Irvine, CA - 10
Santa Ana, CA - 10
Garden Grove, CA - 10
Costa Mesa, CA – 10
Page 18
Membership Officer – Carolyn absent;
Pam reported
Mata’s application should have been published
for the second time in the Beltane Newsletter.
No new applications.
Acting Recorder – Mary:
All approved minutes have been uploaded for
inclusion to the COG Newsletter. May
minutes remain pending for approval at this
time.
Old Business:
Nathan Ross Film Project– A student
approached Mary about doing a 9-min film on
CoG for his Religious Studies class. Here is
the link to the YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt4KQQ58WnE
Goddess temple has open slots for other
ritualists to come in to lead the holy days.
Mata says the remaining open days are –
Winter Solstice
Need a new location: Polly’s Pies in Tustin
for now; possibly Learning Light meeting
space
New Business:
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
MerryMeet – Grand Council August 12-13;
Leadership Institute August 11, 2016 The
Future of Witchcraft
Registration online at www.cog.merrymeet.org
$40 per person/day or $80 for 2 or more
days; Registration deadline July 10th.
Fairfield Inn and Suites at San Jose Airport
location; rooms at $114 to $149; No meal
packages, but lots of local eating places.
Witches’ Night Out - opportunity for
OCLC to join TLC in this event – we are open
to exploring this possibility.
Janine has volunteered to be on the
Discussion Board for the Administrative
Assistant Committee for CoG
Closing:
Next meeting will be held on July 14, 2016 at
Polly’s Pies in N/E Orange;
Next Recorder will be Mary
Next Invocation / Blessing Janine
Meeting adjourned at 9:13 pm with a final
blessing from First Officer for good meeting
and safe travels.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
~ June 5, 2016
The meeting was held at the home of Maureen and
Barbara on June 5, 2016 and was called to order at
2:57 p.m.
Covens Attending in Person:
Alani’s Eyes (Maureen & Barbara)
White Buffalo Clan (Tracy & Leticia)
The Circle of The Dragon and the Phoenix (Tom &
Monica)
Ghostwheel (Morgana & Connie)
Covens Attending by Proxy:
Moon Birch Grove (via proxyholder Barbara)
Clan of the Well and the Web (via proxyholder
Leticia)
Covens Not Attending:
Ashesh Hekat
We have quorum.
OFFICERS REPORTS
First Officer: Leticia
Nothing to report.
Page 19
There has not been much activity on the
committees formed at Grand Council.
Leticia is aware of the need to prepare an annual
report for inclusion in the Grand Council minutes.
Membership/Correspondence: Tracy
All current covens are up-to-date on renewals.
It appears that no one in the Council has received
their credentials for 2016. 2015 Credentials
expired in May. Tracy will pursue inquiries as to
where our credentials are.
Purse Warden: Monica
All Purse Warden reports have been completed and
submitted in a timely manner to date. Reports are
submitted on a quarterly basis, due on February
1st, May 1st, August 1st and November 1st of each
year. Reports are no longer submitted on paper
but are done in a multi-page spreadsheet format.
Purse Warden shared the current checking account
balance with the Council.
Monica stated that bank statements and Purse
Warden’s reports are kept in digital format and
members may request to see copies of any of
those documents at any time.
Members wished to discuss the Wells Fargo
monthly fees policy. The bank statement was
reviewed for language pertaining to fees.
PIO: Barbara
Nothing specific to report. Barbara is forwarding
material to the group via the Yahoo page when she
deems it of interest and appropriate.
There was some discussion of the way the public
and the pagan community react to sensational
portrayals of witches and the occult in television
and movies, and the difference in intensity of those
reactions between say, 1980 and now.
Recorder: Monica
Minutes of the previous meeting were presented to
the Council for review prior to this meeting and
have been sent to National for inclusion in the next
newsletter.
Netco: Paul
Absent. No report.
Monica reported that our Facebook page is up well
over 600 likes but explained that not all of those
people see every post we make. There was some
discussion regarding the merits of paying Facebook
a boosting fee should we have significant events to
warrant expanding publicity. The subject was left
open for future consideration.
OLD BUSINESS
New Banner:
No discussion.
Website:
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
There was discussion about the website fees, the
current outdated state of the website, and the
likelihood of its use in the future sufficient to
warrant the annual expenditure. No one in the
Council is up to speed with current website building
software, although Maureen used to be quite good
at it. The fees have to paid every February.
Perhaps we should think about a proposal to do
away with the website altogether. The subject was
left open for further consideration.
Pagan Pride LA:
A motion was made that the SoCal Local Council
continue its recent tradition of presenting a ritual
and workshop at Pagan Pride LA on Sunday,
October 2nd. Motion was seconded and
unanimously carried. Leticia is going to contact
Linda regarding scheduling a time for us to do a
public ritual and workshop at PPLA. Linda’s
contact information is: [email protected].
Maureen and Monica have taken on the task of
spearheading the SoCal ritual and workshop and
will begin working on a theme. Tracy, Leticia and
Connie said they would participate. Ghostwheel is
going to be doing a ritual there under their own
name. Morgana is on the PPLA Board.
Blessing of the Animals Public Ritual:
Saturday, October 15th is the Hunter’s Moon and is
also a full moon. Connie formally proposed doing
a Blessing of The Animals ritual on that day, the
idea of which was floated at the last meeting. The
proposal was seconded and unanimously carried.
The venue would be the Long Beach Unitarian
Universalist Church on Atherton Street, familiar as
the site of Womanspirit for many, many years.
Rental would cost $75.00 and we would also have
to put up a refundable $75.00 security deposit.
Monica proposed that checks in those amounts be
issued for Connie to pay these fees. The motion
was seconded and unanimously carried. Monica
will cut the checks and mail them to Connie.
Ideas began flowing regarding the event. We
could collect donations of pet food and supplies for
distribution to local animal shelters. We could
collect donations of money and make a donation to
an animal facility of our choice. We could provide
doggie treats, cat treats and bird seed for
attendees. We could provide or sell hot dogs and
drinks. We could hold the event as a potluck or
modified potluck. We could canvas local vet tech
schools to see if we could get a volunteer to be
present at the event. We could contact various
rescue groups to publicize the event. We could
have vendors onsite. Final decisions have not
been made in a lot of these areas but the following
people agreed to be in charge of certain aspects of
the event:
Page 20
Connie -- would be overall in charge; would write
the ritual and act as liaison with LBUUC. Connie
will create a private Facebook page for us to use to
discuss and organize the event.
Morgana -- would be in charge of collections
Monica -- would be in charge of creating a flyer for
use on websites, Facebook pages, ads, bulletin
boards, etc.
Leticia -- would be in charge of food and drinks for
people
Tom -- would be in charge of treats and water for
pets
Barbara -- would be in charge of cleanup after
pets. Tom said he would research Doggie Butlers
to see if they would like to publicize their business
by donating their time for pet waste collection.
Connie will discuss with her husband to see if he
would be willing to use his truck for distribution of
goods collected.
Connie has a contact at a magazine called Spiritual
Events LA and she can see about getting
advertising there.
Barbara agreed to contact some rescue groups.
Tom suggested Channel 7 News as a possible
publicity source.
Merry Meet:
Merry Meet 2016 will be held at The Fairfield Inn &
Suites at San Jose Airport in San Jose, California
the second weekend of August: Leadership
Institute on Thursday, August 11th, and Merry
Meet/Grand Council on Friday and Saturday,
August 12-13. ALL REGISTRATIONS MUST BE
RECEIVED BY JULY 15, 2016. Please note that a
separate form must be completed for each
individual registering. This form is for registration
for the event only.
Registration fees are very low this year due to the
fact that there are no “package plans.” Any one
day is $40.00 per person. Any two days are $80.00
per person. Three days (Thursday, Friday and
Saturday) are also $80.00 per person. Prices are
for full access to all meetings, rituals, workshops,
and entertainment during the day.
ATTENDEES MUST ARRANGE THEIR OWN ROOM
ACCOMMODATIONS AND MEALS. If you are
interested in staying at the host hotel, call The
Fairfield Inn & Suites at San Jose Airport toll-free
central reservation number: 1-800-228-2800 and
request the Covenant of the Goddess group rate by
JULY 10th.
JULY 10th is the deadline for the group rate. Room
prices range from $114 to $149.
The Fairfield Inn has a free shuttle to and from the
airport as well as free parking. Room prices
include a complimentary full breakfast and there is
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
a fridge and a microwave in each room. All other
meals are your responsibility. You are, of course,
free to procure accommodations somewhere else if
you wish.
The Fairfield Inn is a Marriott property.
There was some discussion of stipends.
C
Talyn – 06/21
A
Becky P. – 03/21 – Currently
transitioning to Solitaire
P
Michael L. – Pursewarden – Currently
working on Application as Solitaire
NEW BUSINESS
No new business was introduced.
Invocation to Coventina
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on Sunday, August
21, 2016 at 2 p.m. at Barbara and Maureen’s
house. Due to the volume of things to discuss
regarding the two October public rituals, there will
be no Salon that day.
This meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m. on
Sunday, June 5, 2016.
End of Minutes
Roll Call and confirmation of Quorum
Quorum reached (25% of the member
covens and solitary caucuses physically present (3)
and at least 50% by proxy (5). Quorum met.
Any additions to Agenda?
TEXAS
Two items added by Faelind to be discussed under
new Business:
~ July 10, 2016
1 – Would like feedback for the Social Justice
Committee.
Texas Local Council Meeting Minutes
Time – 10:30am
Location – Dallas Eagle, 5740 Maple Ave., Dallas,
TX 75235
Call-in # (305) 848-8888 – Code: 3697385486#
Roll Call Legend
X = present, P = Proxy, C = Call-in, A = Absent
Covens – Renewal Date – Attendees
X
Circle of the Serpent – 05/01 – Gaelen
P
Circle of the Moon – 10/31
X
Tree of Knowledge Coven – 05/01 –
Faelind, Dragan, Willow
X
Circle of the Unicorn – 10/31 - J’Ann
X
Breila
Circle of the Wild Wood – 06/21 – Rhys,
X
Mysst
Coven Firemoon – 10/31 – Bastion, Ruby,
P
Coven Hephaestus – 06/21
X
Circle of the Blood Moon – 12/21 – Chaos
X
Amethyst Dragon – 10/31 – Glenda
X
Sacred Moon Circle - 12/21 – J’Ann
Solitaires – Renewal Date – Attendees
C
Anastasia L. – 02/02
Page 21
Meeting was called to order at 10:30 AM
The Committee has asked each member to go to
their local council and ask if there are specific
topics they would like to see addressed by the
committee in the coming year.
2 – Request for Outreach contacts for National CoG
Website. Texas has two Outreach contacts on the
National Site and neither are in the Texas Local
Council.
Who would like to be a Texas Local Council
Outreach contact for CoG? This would require an
email address only, and a willingness to answer
inquiries or forward on any inquiries to the
appropriate resource.
Officer Reports
First Officer: Gaelen
Gaelen spoke about the recent events in Dallas
and around the country regarding Citizen and
Police Deaths and how it affects our communities.
She recommends we reach out to each other for
support and minister to our covens and families.
She also cautions us all to be patient online and in
social media. We must open our hearts to the
suffering and grief for all involved and keep all in
our hearts in love. Council members present
commended those with clear heads who do not
provoke controversy and hold love and patience on
social media. Council members related how they
each were impacted by the horrible events of the
past weeks as we held each other in love with our
presence and open hearts.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
Gaelen spoke about the new location to hold our
Council meetings at the Eagle, and asked the
council whether this was a good location. All
agreed and consensus reached that we would hold
future council meetings at this location. Everyone
agreed that though the location was in Dallas, it
was easy to get to and still centrally located
enough to make it convenient for all. The Eagle is
allowing the Local Council to meet in the space
without charging us, Gaelen suggested we might
donate something to the LBGTQ community the
establishment supports over the next year to show
our appreciation. Council members agreed that
would be a great idea.
Gaelen suggested that we decide quickly which
meeting dates we will want next year so she can
get them on the schedule for the Eagle to ensure
availability.
Public Information Officer: Ruby
Ruby thanked folks for alerting her to requests if
they don’t see her respond, and she said we have
had many inquiries that she has been able to
respond to. She is able to tell them about our
public classes and open Sabbat rituals and invite
them out.
Pursewarden: Micheal L.
Michael noted that our current balance is
$1,240.60 –
We brought in from the last two Sabbats:
Beltane ~ 90 people attended (Glenda said they
passed out 100 charms so likely had more)
$432.00 total donations divided $216.00 to
CCDS and $216.00 to TX LC
Midsummer ~ 60 people attended (Sabbat
performed by guest tradition Spirit of the
Sycamore)
$190.00 total donations divided $95.00 to
CCDS and $95.00 to TX LC
The only expenses have included food and water
bought for the public Sabbat feast table.
Membership Officer: Glenda
Note: Renewal Forms MUST be sent to National
Membership Officer. A copy must be sent to LMO.
If you renew online, print copy of your renewal
form before you hit ‘submit’ and send that to the
LMO.
Proxy forms were provided to all Coven attendees
along with names from the National list who were
willing to be Proxy holders.
Glenda will reach out to those not present to get
them to let her know if they have sent in Proxy
forms yet. Her computer has died and she will be
getting a new laptop this week. She has been
struggling to work from her phone for MO duties.
It was reiterated that with the new rules, all
Renewals and Proxies go to National so read and
be aware of the renewal and proxy rules on the
National website and follow the directions. Only a
copy needs to be provided to the Local Membership
Officer. The Local MO no longer needs to sign
anything for renewals and/or proxies. Take care of
your coven with National first.
Glenda received copies of renewals and Proxies
that have already been sent in from attendees. The
council was reminded that every Coven and every
Solitaire MUST send in a Proxy form or they go
provisional. ALL PROXIES ARE DUE JULY 20.
Recorder: Faelind
These minutes are the Recorder report.
The minutes from the April meeting were sent to
National and appeared in the Litha Newsletter.
Faelind reiterated that everyone should read the
National Newsletters to see what is happening
across the Covenant.
Faelind reminded all that the Co-National First
Officer had just sent an email within the new
PASSWORD for the year. Gaelen provided that
password to folks present, and Faelind suggested
they find and save the email from Jack.
Committee Reports
Wicca 101 Classes (Arlington): Bastion
Bastion reports that the classes are going well and
members of the UU are attending most of them.
They have new attendees coming regularly now.
She and Ruby report that they have scheduled
classes through spring of 2017.
Bastion sent a financial report that the Arlington
Wicca 101 classes have brought in $211.00 in
donations, but with rent being a very reasonable
$60.00 per month, they have paid out $360.00 so
we are down $149.00 since the beginning of the
year. The Arlington team had hoped to make up
some of the loss with an Intensive over the
summer on Runes but did not get it on the
schedule. They plan to do another Tarot Intensive
with Gaelen again next summer. The four week
Tarot Intensive is very popular.
Wicca 101 Classes (Addison): Faelind
Page 22
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
Faelind reports that we have filled up the latest
schedule all the way out to February of 2018 at the
New Location in Addison. We have MANY new
classes on the schedule this year too. Very excited
about the Classes.
J’Ann reports that the Addison classes currently
have a $216.00 balance to continue to pay rent at
the new higher rate of $100.00 per month
compared to our old location. She reports that
Gaelen’s Tarot Intensive 4-week course over the
summer brought in $296.00 and we paid $200.00
rent for the 4 weeks, so we came out ahead and
added to our budget for ongoing rent. We had a
good turnout with 24 attendees the first week, and
12 to 14 for the remaining 3 weeks with some new
students who have expressed interest in attending
the regular Wicca 101 classes held on
Wednesdays.
J’Ann and Faelind also report that the new location
has welcomed us to stay after our ‘trial’ period
ended at the end of April.
Breila reports that the marketing she does for the
Addison classes needs to be updated for all the
class descriptions and bios as the information she
is using is several years old. This will be shared
with Bastion and Ruby who are facilitating the
Arlington classes as well. Breila will reach out to all
those teaching classes for new bio and class
description information for both the existing AND
new classes.
Webweaver: Faelind
1&1 Internet where the TX LC website is hosted
have instructed us that they will begin to charge
$5.00 per month to continue to use the OLD
website builder. They are recommending an
upgrade to the NEW website builder and have been
for the last year. Faelind commits to doing the
upgrade before August so we are not charged
money we don’t need to pay, or if she is unable to
get it completed, will donate the $5.00 per month
charge until she does complete the upgrade!
We had many new people at Summer Solstice who
couldn’t hear what the Ritual leaders were saying.
Upcoming Sabbats
July 30 – Lammas – KD & Crew – Saturday
evening event!
Sept 18 – Autumn Equinox - Sacred Moon Circle
Oct 30 – Samhain – Circle of the Moon & Coven
Firemoon w/Kids’ Carnival
Dec 18 - Winter Solstice - LFG group
Imbolc 2017 – Circle of the Blood Moon
Spring 2017 – Coven Firemoon
Beltane 2017 – Tree of Knowledge Coven
Sabbat Sub-committees: Vending (Raven),
Grounds (Mysst), Parking (Ruby & Dragan), Youth
Activities (Ruby & Chaos), Community Table &
Food (Bastion)
Sabbat sub-committees are all going well. We have
one to three vendors at each Sabbat, Mysst has
been taking care of the lawn with a riding mower,
and parking is going well with the cones and signs.
The youth activities table is active each Sabbat
with the colored pencils and coloring pages.
Bastion wants to combine the Community table
with the Sign-In table so that folks find all the
community flyers and information when they sign
in. This also allows for several people to hold shifts
at the table between Gaelen and Bastion’s groups
and any other groups willing to help out.
Marketing: Bastion
There is a new metaphysical store in Arlington
called Hearth Wisdom Store. Ruby has already
gone and checked them out and attended an
energy circle held there. They hold their own
Sabbats and did not have a place to advertise our
open Public Sabbats and may not want to as ours
are held on the same days as theirs. She will
continue to reach out to them.
Sabbats: Gaelen (coordinator)
Old Business
Gaelen was able to send $150.00 on Sunday, June
19 to Pulse from donations requested at
Midsummer on Saturday, June 18 for the horrible
events in Florida, the largest mass-shooting in this
country, targeting the LBGTQ community.
Pagan Unity Fest
Council members suggested we remind
participating covens to project/yell very loudly for
the public rituals so that all participants can hear.
Page 23
Pagan Unity Fest was held May 21 and was wellattended and thankfully, much cooler temperatures
than last year. The Texas Local Council is offered a
free spot by the organizer and we passed out flyers
and cards and candles all day. Bastion noted that
we only had minimal support from Council
members to take a shift at the CoG booth and
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
vowed to begin asking people earlier next year. (If
it is held again.)
Pagan Pride Day
Bastion has talked to Virginia, the regional rep for
the Pagan Pride Day and still has not received
commitment that TX LC CoG can host the event. It
is too late to organize one for this year, but we
have received commitment from several local
pagan groups they would support us if we are able
to secure approval from the National Pagan Pride
Day Association. She will continue to reach out.
New Business
Proxies for Grand Council – passed out to
attendees that needed them with instructions and
proxy holder names that are open and willing to
hold Proxy’s.
Oct 9 – CoG Meeting - 10:30 am – Will be held at
the Eagle.
Two items added to agenda by Faelind:
1 – Would like feedback for the Social Justice
Committee.
Members of the TX Local Council have been
frustrated by the lack of a consistent message
from National for the tragic events that occur that
deserve a response. The Local Council’s Officers
look to National for a consistent message to point
to when we open dialogue at the local level for the
tragedies. The latest mass-shooting in Orlando, the
Dallas sniper and deaths of 5 police officers, the
growing and alarming deaths of black men at the
hands of an increasingly militarized police-force.
These deserve a response from us and we are not
seeing one.
We need a consistent message from the National
level that shows where the Covenant stands on
these types of issues. Why can’t CoG post
consistent messages like other organizations do?
See pictures of recent examples:
2 – Request for Outreach contacts for National CoG
Website. Texas has two Outreach contacts on the
National Site and neither are in the Texas Local
Council.
Who would like to be a Texas Local Council
Outreach contact for CoG? This would require an
email address only, and a willingness to answer
inquiries or forward on any inquiries to the
appropriate resource.
Page 24
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
The following Names and Email addresses should
be added to the National Website as Texas
Outreach contacts.
Talyn – [email protected]
Gaelen Ananat –
[email protected]
Faelind – [email protected]
Added to minutes for Local Council and submission
to National
Grand Council Proposal Submissions
Amber K inspired me to write this resolution in this
format, since her proposals are so awesome and
hers showed me why it was important, but it was
the great question Morgana asked us to take back
to our local councils, and the wonderful feedback
that I received from the Mighty Texas Local Council
meeting held on Sunday, July 10 that is the meat
of this resolution. (The proposal deadline today
also played a part in getting this out now. I
apologize to Morgana that I did not have more for
you when we last met.)
RESOLUTION ON PUBLIC STATEMENTS AND
VISIBILITY OF COG
WHEREAS: COG’s mission is, in part, to secure for
Wicca and Witchcraft the same rights and status
enjoyed by other religions; and
WHEREAS: Public understanding and acceptance of
Wicca and Witchcraft as valid, legitimate spiritual
paths can only support such efforts; and
WHEREAS: A great deal of ignorance and
misinformation about Wicca and Witchcraft still
exists among the American public; and
WHEREAS: COG has a Public Information Officer
whose function is to address this situation; and
WHEREAS: An overly reticent or passive public
presence can make it difficult for our natural
constituency to understand CoG’s mission or role in
public discourse; to our loss and the loss of our
community;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Covenant
of the Goddess shall initiate a National Public
Information Campaign, to proactively publish a
consistent message to the general public for tragic
events that elicit a response from other public
institutions; and
Page 25
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the consistent
messages must be published in a timely fashion,
(not weeks or months after said event) and need
not go through a lengthy committee discussion;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the campaign
should publish consistent messages on the
National CoG website, in media interviews, articles,
videos, social media, and distribution of similar
media content to local councils; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That this program
shall be designed and implemented under the
leadership of the First Officer and the National
Public Information Officer, with the advice and
consent of the Board and input from the
Membership, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That such program
shall be launched immediately following Grand
Council 2016.
—Submitted July 11, 2016, by Gaelen Ananat and
Faelind, Members, Texas Local Council
The question asked and background for this
proposal are as follows:
Members of the TX Local Council have been
frustrated by the lack of a consistent message
from National for the tragic events that occur that
deserve a response. The Local Council’s Officers
look to National for a consistent message to point
to when we open dialogue at the local level for the
tragedies. The latest mass-shooting in Orlando, the
Dallas sniper and deaths of 5 police officers, the
growing and alarming deaths of black men at the
hands of an increasingly militarized police-force
deserve a response from us and we are not seeing
one.
We need a consistent message from the National
level that shows where the Covenant stands on
these types of issues. Why can’t CoG post
consistent messages like other organizations do?
See pictures of recent examples:
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
CANDIDANCY STATEMENTS
Recorder: Morgana RavenTree
I have decided to submit my name for
nomination to the National office of Recorder. I
have been a member of COG since 1998 as a
member of Greenwood Glen (Orange County Local
Council) and served as Pursewarden and Recorder
of OCLC before forming Ghostwheel, my own
coven, as a member of SoCal Local Council,
serving as First Officer of SCLC from 20122015. In civilian life, I have been a Corporate
Paralegal for over 30 years. Part of my duties
includes preparing minutes of Board and
committee meetings on a regular basis. I am also
a Board Member, Vice President and Volunteer
Coordinator for Pagan Pride Los Angeles/Orange
County. I am currently the Chair of the COG Social
Justice Committee and as part of my day job I
have participated in advocacy campaigns for the
HIV/AIDS community including “AIDS is a Civil
Rights Issue,” “Fund the Fund (for AIDS, TB and
Malaria),” and “Keep the Promise.” I look forward
to serving the Covenant as National Recorder.
Morgana RavenTree
Ghostwheel
National Correspondence Officer: Oberon
Greetings,
After some thought I would be happy to take on
this position for the next year. I previously was the
Correspondence Officer several years ago and have
filled in since mid-March for the elected Officer
from last MMGC.
So I am pretty acquainted with the job, enjoy
doing it and feel rewarded, personally for the help
or service I can offer.
Thanks to Coventina
Adjourn
Meeting Adjourned at 12:00 PM.
TOUCHSTONE
~ No Report
Last published minutes in the Litha
2016 edition.
Page 26
The position is not overly burdensome. Emails
come directly from the website ([email protected]) and
are usually less than 2 dozen a week, with about
half of that easily identified as spam or junk. From
time to time the mail Witch, Zenah will email
scanned snail mail received at the Berkeley PO,
mostly from prisoners who have no internet
access. The CoG website provides most of the info
you would need to help nearly all requests from
whoever. Above all, a light or personal touch goes
a long way to making new seekers feel welcome
and comfortable. I've even received a request from
someone I have helped with Associate member
information. Don't know if they will join but they
were grateful.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
So I offer these words to anyone who truly would
like to help and might possibly consider also
running for National Correspondence Officer. While
I enjoy the work I can also find something else I
need to do in the homestead and would
encourage anyone to run against me. As a final
caveat I do offer that I am somewhat adverse to
travel and if elected again, would mostly likely not
attend next year's GC, except in virtual, or if by
chance the location was drivable to me. This has
worked before so should again.
Oberon
We are each, cultivated Earth
National First Officer: Jack Prewett
Dear CoGkin
It has been an honor to serve as Co First Officer
for the Covenant this last year and a great learning
experience. I look forward to continuing our rebirth
and growth, both personally and as an
organization. I would welcome the opportunity to
serve another term as NFO, if it pleases the
membership.
I'm therefore announcing my candidacy for
National First Officer for 2016-17.
Blessings
Jack Prewett
PROPOSALS: POLICIES AND BYLAWS
1.
PROPOSAL FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Proposed by Admin Support Committee
Much of The Covenant’s work has been handled
through unpaid officers and volunteers; this has
resulted in lack of consistency, continuity, and
untimely service response to our membership.
There are National Officers whose roles and
responsibilities are large, and potentially a
deterrent to many volunteers. The time needed for
these board positions result in heavy time
commitment and many are unable to fulfill that
need. An Administrative Assistant could provide
support for those National Officers and accomplish
routine duties with greater consistency and
stability. The Covenant is a national organization
which requires consistency and efficiency in order
to accomplish its purposes and serve its members.
A committee was formed to review the
requirements and establish parameters for the
hiring of an individual to provide administrative
support for the Covenant of the Goddess and it’s
Page 27
National Board Officers. It is therefore proposed
that:
Administrative Support Employee
Status
The individual will be part-time, salaried staff and
becomes a permanent employee of The Covenant.
This individual shall be under the supervision of the
National First Officer and responsible to the
National Board.
Hours of work
The employee has a target of 20 hours per week.
Any hours over that amount will be eligible for
additional paid time according to the Department
of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The committee understands the number of hours
per week might be adjusted.
Because this is a salaried position only a target
number of hours are included in the proposal.
- ”Target hours per week” can be discussed at GC.
Wages
The committee recommends starting wages
between $13 and $15 per hour; there is potential
for bonus, or raise, after a significant period of
employment.
Because this is a salaried position, the committee
understands “per hour” wages are only a target
and that actual pay will be based on salaried per
week.
Benefits
As with pay, a part-time salaried worker receives a
prorated benefits package.
1. Currently legal holidays as recognized in United
States.
2. Their registration to MerryMeet and Grand
Council is waived.
Responsibilities
Administrative Support responsibilities are to
include, but not limited to:
Office administration duties such as answering
phone (a registered phone number for the
Covenant); Schedule virtual meetings and compile
agendas for Board meetings; Scanning and
distribution of The Covenant's documents such as
press releases from NPIO, Interfaith Press packets
and board minutes; and assist with updating
Covenant forms, officer manuals and other
Covenant documents.
Special Projects may include: Responding to
inquiries for Youth Awards and Military awards;
Sending eCards (congratulations, sympathies, get
well, renewals); The Covenant's merchandise
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Lammas 2016
management (inventory, tracking payments,
shipping); formatting, and distribution of The
Covenant’s newsletter; credentials renewal and
distribution along with routine membership
renewals; recording, and distribution of minutes
from Grand Councils; and Maintenance of The
Covenant's national archives.
Maintain weekly communications with NFO and
provide updates on current projects. Confirming
admin support’s work does not exceed target hours
per week.
Required Equipment
The successful candidate for the position of admin
support will have a reliable computer with updated
virus protection including internet access; access
to, and working knowledge of, the most common
current programs the Covenant uses (Access,
Quick Books, PDF's, Excel/Word, MS Office) and
color printer. They will also have a reliable
telephone that can receive forwarded Covenant
telephone calls.
The Covenant will reimburse consumable supplies
used by admin support such as: paper, ink,
stamps, envelopes, and laminating supplies.
Role of Employer
The Covenant agrees to follow federal and local
laws governing employment and employees. The
Administrative Support person will be under the
supervision of the National First Officer and
responsible to the National Board.
Hiring Procedures
Write job description and responsibilities and post
notification of request for candidate applications.
Candidate’s Application to include: standard
application, resume, references, and cover letter.
Panel of 3 Covenant members to accept
applications and conduct interviews.
Identify characteristics the Covenant is looking for
in Admin Support such as: Dependability;
Flexibility; Integrity and Honesty; Motivated and
Dedicated; Detail-Orientated; Strong Work Ethic;
Positive, Polite, and Approachable; Continuous
Improvement Orientated; Good Communication
Skills; Knowledge of the Covenant’s policy and
procedures; Strong written and verbal
communication skills; and Diplomatic, logical, and
self-motivated.
The panel will review résumés with job description
and characteristics in mind.
After perusing job applications and resumes, the
Covenant whittles their choices down to the top
candidates. Interviews to be conducted using
telephone and/or Adobe Connect. Conduct
background screening after the interviews.
Page 28
Reference checks will help determine someone’s
personality and work ethic.
Verify I-9 documents.
Gradual transition bringing new admin support up
to speed. Informal training - having admin begin
reading Covenant information on the organization’s
website, meeting with other volunteers who share
their best practices.
Termination Procedures
The Covenant should develop standard procedures
governing both voluntary termination of
employment by employee(s) and involuntary
termination of employment by the employer.
Voluntary terminations occur when employee
resigns or retires.
Involuntary termination typically takes two forms.
First, the Covenant may have to undertake a
reduction in force (RIF) and lay off employees,
often with no realistic hope of recall. Second, the
Covenant may have to terminate employees from
time to time because of poor performance or as a
disciplinary measure. The Covenant should adopt
and use objective criteria in implementing the RIF
and take steps to assure that there is no violation
of employment discrimination or other laws
carefully documenting reasons for terminating an
employee and make every effort to avoid arbitrary
and capricious terminations.
Termination Action Checklist
Standard Procedure for All Employee(s)
Distribute Discipline Policy (through Handbook or
otherwise) at the time of employment. Make rules
available online or elsewhere so all employees
have notice.
Treat employees fairly and consistently.
Disciplinary Procedure
Inform employee of infraction and maintain
records in the supervisor’s file and/or personnel
file.
Obtain signed acknowledgments from employee
that the employee has received a warning or other
admonition.
Provide employee opportunity to improve—treat
discipline as a constructive process, not just as
punishment.
Act expeditiously on allegations of harassment or
other serious misconduct.
Establish employee complaint system and
grievance program.
Perform investigation if appropriate.
Determining Penalties
Consider employee’s overall performance, value
and risk to the business.
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Lammas 2016
Executing the Termination
Complete termination report.
Draft termination letter, with National Board.
Employee Meeting
Board members and/or Hiring Panel should be
present during this meeting.
Closing Matters
Request return of company equipment, data, or
other property including: Confidential information
and Member lists. Issue final paycheck (comply
with state timing requirements) Conduct Exit
Interview.
WHEREAS: Many Witches or Wiccans in such
situations may feel the need for an advocate or
expert witness to articulate accurate information
about their faith to other individuals or agencies,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
A. The Covenant of the Goddess shall maintain a
referral list of COG Members who are willing to
serve as volunteer advocates and expert witnesses
for individual Wiccans, Witches, and covens who
encounter legal difficulties and require an expert
spokesperson before a court or governmental
agency.
Proposed by Amber K and Azrael Arynn K
B. Such Advocates shall be COG Elders in good
standing, who are willing to serve at their own
time and expense to assist Wiccans and Witches in
situations where ignorance and religious prejudice
might lead to harm against them.
The Covenant of the Goddess, under the direction
of the Public Information Officer and Member
volunteers, shall create a general information video
on Wicca and Witchcraft for public dissemination
on YouTube and through other channels.
C. A training manual shall be created under the
auspices of the National Board, and provided to
such Advocates. Each Advocate who registers for
this program shall receive a card identifying them
as a Covenant of the Goddess Volunteer Advocate.
The draft version of this video shall be made
available to the general COG Membership for
comment and suggested revisions, no later than
Litha of 2017.
D. Advocates shall not serve as legal
counsel/attorneys of record in such cases, unless
they are legally qualified and choose to do so. If
this is the case, COG assumes no responsibility for
their professional fees; the work must be pro bono
or paid for by the individual requiring help.
2.
INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS ON WICCA
AND WITCHCRAFT
The final version of the video shall be approved by
the National Board, and shall be released no later
than Mabon of 2017. Copies shall be made
available to COG Members at near cost.
—Submitted by Amber K and Azrael Arynn K,
Members, Chamisa Local Council
3.
CREATING A NATIONAL ADVOCACY
NETWORK
WHEREAS: The mission of the Covenant of the
Goddess is, in part, to secure for Wicca and
Witchcraft the same rights and status enjoyed by
other religions; and
WHEREAS: Any religion is made up of its individual
members; and
WHEREAS: The religious choice of Witches and
Wiccans is frequently made a part of legal issues
(divorce, custody, discrimination in hiring, job loss,
housing discrimination, etc.); and
Page 29
E. Most Advocates will not be attorneys, but
simply COG clergy who will serve as expert
witnesses.
F. Those who volunteer to serve as Advocates
shall, when signing up, indicate in what state or
geographical area they are willing to provide
services. The aim will be to provide one or more
Advocates in each state, although Advocates
willing to travel outside their home states will be
welcome to do so.
G. When an Advocate’s services are requested or
offered, the Advocate nearest the situation shall be
contacted. Any Advocate may decline to serve in
any particular instance, or may withdraw from a
situation if they feel it necessary for any reason.
H. If an Advocate’s services are offered, the
recipient will be required to sign a form releasing
the Covenant of the Goddess and its officers, staff,
or agents from any legal liability related to the
Advocate’s services. If an Advocate’s services have
been requested, but cannot be provided, the
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
requestor will be referred to other organizations or
individuals who may be able to provide help.
The charter and bylaws
I. The program shall be refined by the National
Board, and implemented during the year 2017,
prior to Grand Council 2017, and the detailed
program and Training Manual shall be presented at
that event.
Your legal responsibilities as an officer
4.
PROPOSED NATIONAL OFFICER
TRAINING CURRICULUM CONTENT
Proposed by Amber K
At the 2015 COG Grand Council, I submitted a
proposal for National Officer Training, to take place
after the 2016 Grand Council for officers elected to
serve in the 2016-2017 term. That proposal was
referred to a volunteer committee for further
study, in part of the possible content of such
training. Below is an outline for such training.
This is a general outline. The organization or
individuals selected to do the training would need
to develop it in more detail, including staffing,
selection of the online platform, discussion,
exercises, handouts, etc. If Ardantane does the
training, we would of course take care of all that; if
someone else is chosen, I would be happy to
advise or consult with them.
It should be noted that the proposal calls for a
minimum of twelve hours of training, presumably
online at a series of evening classes on dates
convenient to all newly elected officers, in
September and October.
This is a place to begin, not a finished curriculum. I
welcome comments and suggestions. However, I
would caution that we do not need to jointly
provide every detail; leave something for the
trainers to do.
NATIONAL OFFICER TRAINING: A SIX-WEEK
OUTLINE
Your legal responsibilities as a board member
WEEK TWO:
Resources for learning your duties






Description of your duties in the bylaws
Your immediate predecessor in the office
Earlier predecessors
The handbook or manual for your office
Written and electronic records
The national first officer
Volunteer assistants
WEEK THREE:
Personal management skills
Keeping the records of your office




Logbook
Electronic records
Updated lists
Information security
WEEK FOUR:
Cooperation and communication within the board;
mutual support, overlap
Cooperation and communication with your local
council counterparts
Cooperation and communication with the general
membership
Communication with the outside world: speaking
for COG



Legal limitations
Practical limitations
Procedure to follow when you wish to issue
a statement
WEEK FIVE:
Problem-solving and complaint resolution



Your sphere of responsibility and authority
Referring complainants/disputants to other
officers or agencies
The process, including appeals
WEEK ONE:
Welcome, introductions, and the purpose of this
training
A brief history of the Covenant of the Goddess
The legal status of the Covenant
Page 30
Crisis management



Personal situations
Local council situations
National situations
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
WEEK SIX:
Using consensus process
Meeting facilitation skills
Preparing your successor to serve
Evaluation and feedback
– Submitted by Amber K, Member, Chamisa Local
Council; June 2016
5.
CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP
Proposed by Jack Prewett
My reasoning for this is I have found that for
the last several years many who have chosen
the path of the Wise find that they do not
wish to self-identify as Witch or Wiccan yet
are practicing the same as you or I. It is my
hope by opening this door that we may allow
those that are comfortable with us may join
without feeling they must give into labeling.
Bylaws
B. Criteria for Membership
1. Criteria for Covens
In order for the Covenant to be viable as an
instrument of the joint will of its Members, a
Coven, to be eligible for membership in the
Covenant, must meet the following criteria,
which must be addressed in each applicant’s
Statement of Practice:
Replace the following statement…
a. be recognized as being in fact a Coven of
members of Our Religion by whichever
Regular Members are already familiar with it
and its members; and proclaim themselves as
Witches or Wiccans in the Statement of
Practice;
… With this statement:
a. be recognized as being in fact a Group,
Circle, Fellowship or Coven of members of
Our Religion by whichever Regular Members
are already familiar with it and its members;
and proclaim themselves at least one of the
following: followers of the old Gods, Witches
or Wiccans in the Statement of Practice;
2. Criteria for Membership in an Assembly of
Solitaries
Page 31
In order to be eligible for membership as a
member of an Assembly of Solitaries, a
solitary practitioner of Our Religion must
meet the following criteria which must be
addressed in each applicant’s Statement of
Practice.
Replace the following statement…
a. be recognized as being in fact a member of
Our Religion by whichever members in good
standing are already familiar with the
practitioner and proclaim her or himself as a
Witch or Wiccan in the Statement of Practice;
… With this statement:
a. be recognized as being in fact a member of
Our Religion by whichever members in good
standing are already familiar with the
practitioner and proclaim her or himself at
least one of the following: Followers of the
Old Gods, Witch or Wiccan in the Statement
of Practice;
Policy
Requirements
COG membership is open to all established
Goddess-worshiping Witchcraft or Wiccan
Covens and Solitaries of all traditions of our
religion whose ethics are compatible with the
Wiccan Rede. The founding members of COG
recognized there are many different
approaches to Witchcraft, and framed the
organization‘s structure in a context that
would support diversity. To define the above
terms:
· ESTABLISHED means the Coven has met at
least once a month for the purpose of worship
for at least six months;
· GODDESS-WORSHIPPING means that the
Goddess is a focus of the Coven‘s theology
and liturgy, although male gods may be
worshiped as well;
· WITCHCRAFT means formal commitment on
the part of the coveners to the Wiccan or
Witchcraft community as their primary
identification (i.e., not Druids, Egyptians, or
other Neo-Pagans who may also practice a bit
of Witchcraft on the side.) You must state to
the Covenant that you are Wiccan or a Witch.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
· FOLLOWERS OF THE OLD GODS means
those that the Goddess and/or the God are
primarily the focus of their practices. That
they may not identify themselves a wiccans
or witches but find commonality within their
worship with our religion.
· COVEN means a group of at least three
people, who have been formally accepted into
training for the Clergy, who have commitment
to each other, and have been actively working
together for at least six months. At least one
member of the group must have been actively
involved in our religion for at least three
years, and be qualified to function as a High
Priestess or High Priest (Elder) of our religion.
For such a person to be considered an Elder,
he or she must be capable and /or
authorized, depending upon the tradition in
question, to pass on the tradition to others,
and to determine which coveners are qualified
for credentials.
· COMPATIBLE WITH THE WICCAN REDE
means an ethical stance compatible with An
ye harm none, do as ye will.
COG also has specific criteria in the Bylaws
(Article 9) regarding ethical behavior
expected of members.
· SOLITARY is an individual who either works
without a coven, or chooses to apply to COG
as an individual despite regular coven
membership.
· STATEMENT OF PRACTICE describes in
general terms Who you worship, how you
celebrate, how often you meet, what Sabbats
you celebrate, how long you have been active
in the Craft, how and from whom you
received your training, what tradition, (if any)
you follow, your relationship to the Wiccan
Rede, or similar ethical standards and other
information that lets other members of the
Covenant understand your practice of our
religion. You must pledge to abide by COG‘s
Ethics, Charter, Bylaws and policies, and you
must state that you are Wiccan , or a Witch or
follower of the Old Gods.
-Proposed by Jack Prewett
6.
PROPOSAL FOR TWO YEAR TERMS
National officers, excepting the Second Officer,
shall serve two-year terms, staggered so that only
half the National Board will change each year. We
shall transition to the system by electing half the
officers to one-year terms, and half the officers to
two-year terms, at the 2016 grand Council.
7.
Policy Proposal:
Issuing Public Statements
Proposed by Don Frew
Recent discussions have prompted me to offer this
policy proposal...
Policy Proposal re: Issuing Public Statements
Increasingly, pressing current events are resulting
in calls for the Covenant of the Goddess to issue
various sorts of statements condemning or
supporting events or the actions of others. While
CoG was neither created nor designed to issue
such statements (frankly, no one thought anyone
would care what Witches thought about issues of
social concern), I do not believe that it is the place
of the National Board to issue such statements for
three reasons:
1) The National Board consists of individuals
elected to do JOBS, e.g. handle membership
processes, put out a newsletter, etc. When I am
voting for a 2nd Officer, I am looking for the ability
to put on a conference, not to issue statements on
current events.
2) For this reason, the Covenant in the past
decided that only a few individuals should be able
to speak for the Covenant, not the whole
Board. Those individuals are the First Officer, the
PIO, and (under limited circumstances) the
Interfaith Representatives. These individuals are
the only ones elected or appointed specifically with
that skill being part of their job description in the
Bylaws and Policy Manual.
3) CoG has always prided itself on being a
grassroots, bottom-up organization. Expecting a
National Board to issue statements on behalf of all
of us is the exact opposite of that model.
The Covenant makes decisions by consensus
process. The Covenant as a whole can really only
Page 32
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Lammas 2016
do so at our annual Grand Council. This means
that, like every consensus organization, we pay a
price for consensus process -- that price being
speed.
Responses to current events usually need to be, in
fact, “current”. Waiting for Grand Council –
possibly for months – usually means that any such
statement is issued too late to do any good, and in
fact can come so late as to do harm to our
organization’s reputation.
I believe that it should be the policy of the
Covenant of the Goddess that:
Whenever a matter arises in which a statement
from CoG is expected or requested, the National
Board should explain that we are a grassroots,
bottom-up, consensus-based organization and so
refers the matter to our Local Councils. Local
Councils can much more easily and more rapidly
engage in the kind of personal conversations and
consensus process that can result in a meaningful
statement, if one is desired. Any Councils so
moved can then issues statements on their own
behalf. Of course, Grand Council can always issue
or approve whatever it wants.
We saw both the problems of expecting a National
response and the success of Local Council-issued
statements in the recent “Black Lives Matter”
discussion.
I hope that this policy will make difficult situations
easier in the future.
Thanks & Blessed Be,
Don Frew
Covent Trismegiston, NCLC
WHEREAS: An overly reticent or passive public
presence can make it difficult for our natural
constituency to understand CoG’s mission or role in
public discourse; to our loss and the loss of our
community;
Information Campaign, to proactively publish a
consistent message to the general public for tragic
events that elicit a response from other public
institutions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the consistent
messages must be published in a timely fashion,
(not weeks or months after said event) and need
not go through a lengthy committee discussion;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the campaign
should publish consistent messages on the
National CoG website, in media interviews, articles,
videos, social media, and distribution of similar
media content to local councils; and
Membership, and
shall be launched immediately following Grand
Council 2016.
—Submitted July 11, 2016, by Gaelen Ananat and
Faelind, Members, Texas Local Council
9.
8.
RESOLUTION ON PUBLIC STATEMENTS
AND VISIBILITY OF COG
Proposed by Gaelen Ananat and Faelind
RESOLUTION ON PUBLIC EDUCATION
AND VISIBILITY
Page 33
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
WHEREAS: Our traditional dislike of proselytizing
and aggressive recruiting, as demonstrated by
certain other religious organizations, may have led
to a certain degree of passivity within COG when it
comes to publicizing our existence and virtues as a
spiritual path; and
WHEREAS: An overly reticent, reactive, or passive
public presence can make it difficult for our natural
constituency to discover the Wiccan/Witch
community and become involved; to their loss and
the loss of our community;
Information and Education Campaign, to
proactively inform the general public about the
existence and nature of Wicca and Witchcraft,
including resources for connecting with the
Wiccan/Witch community; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the campaign
may include media interviews, articles, videos,
social media, paid advertisements, photo essays,
informational pieces associated with open events,
sponsored outreach opportunities, open houses,
meet-and-greet events, and support of similar
media outreach programs in local councils; and
Membership, and
Ad hominem attacks and flame wars are not
permitted. There is no requirement for the
members of the Board to monitor CoG email lists.
the DD list. Other channels for communication
exist for communication with the Board.
- Submitted by Link, National Solitary
11.
RESOLUTION CONCERNING
NEWSLETTER ACCESS AND
DISTRIBUTION
WHEREAS: Communications within the Covenant of
the Goddess are import for the cohesion and
efficiency of the organization, and the COG
Newsletter is an important resource for such
communications; and
WHEREAS: Each extra step required to access the
newsletter reduces the likelihood of its being read
by members, and current practice requires that
members go to the COG website (and the
Members’ Section, using a password, if they want
to read the full version);
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That to streamline
access, each electronic issue of the COG
Newsletter shall be e-mailed directly to:
a) designated representatives of each COG
member coven;
b) any member of a COG coven who requests
it and is vouched for by the designated
representative of that COG member coven,
and
c) each solitary member of COG.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That no less than 25%
of the 2016-17 national budget be allocated for the
support of the Public Education and Visibility
Campaign; and
shall be launched no later than Beltane of 2017.
12.
10.
POLICY MANUAL: EMAIL LISTS
Proposed by Link
The following proposes to revise page 25 of the
Policy Manual to replace "DD" with "CoG email
lists."
Thank you Link
ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION IN GRAND
COUNCIL
Last year this proposal passed, but went to
committee for exact language for the bylaws.
Below are the proposed changes to the
bylaws in red.
Blessed Be,
Reason:
CoG Email Lists Debate & Discussion List
Page 34
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
At Grand Council 2015, the proposal for
electronic participation during Grand
Council passed for a trial period of two years. It
went to committee to adjust the exact bylaw
language. Below are the proposed changes to
the bylaws in red:
Article 1, Section A - Definitions
35. VIRTUAL ATTENDEES: Members
attending Grand Council through authorized
electronic means will be considered physically
present for the purpose of quorum, discussion
of proposals, voting on the budget, and election
of officers.
Article 4. Section D, E, H and J - Meetings
D. Quorum
No meeting of the Council may be held unless a
quorum is present. A quorum will be determined
in the following manner:
1. First, at least twenty-five percent (25%) of
the Member Covens and registered Solitary
Caucuses from the Continental United States
must be physically OR VIRTUALLY
represented at the meeting; and
1. At least fifty percent (50%) of all Member
Covens and registered Solitary Caucuses must
either be physically / VIRTUALLY represented,
or represented by proxy at the Meeting.
2. If a Member Coven notifies the National
Board that they do not intend to renew their
membership, and such notification is received
in advance of Grand Council, said Member
Coven shall not count toward quorum, even if
their membership expires after Grand Council.
If said Member Coven(s) is/are represented in
person or by proxy at Grand Council, they
retain their membership rights for the purposes
of Grand Council.
3. Once quorum for the Council has been
established, quorum will be deemed to
continue. If delegates or representatives absent
themselves and do not declare otherwise, they
are presumed to have given their proxy to the
Council as a whole, unless:
a. Fewer than 25% of the
delegates/representatives are
physically/VIRTUALLY present, or
b. A vote is called and quorum is questioned
from the floor.
E. Requirement to Attend Meetings and
Appoint Proxies
1. Each registered Coven, Solitary and
Solitary Caucus shall send a representative or a
proxy to the annual Grand Council. Any Coven
or Solitary failing to do so shall become a
Provisional Member. Any Coven or Solitary
failing to send a representative or a proxy two
years in a row shall lose its, her or his
membership and can only be reinstated by a
new application for membership.
2. Solitary Members may choose to appoint
Grand Council as a whole to carry a proxy, or
may form a Solitary Caucus with at least two
other Solitary Members
3. A Coven or Solitary Caucus may appoint
as its proxy any Member of the Covenant who
is both eligible to vote at a Meeting of the
Council and physically represented at such a
Meeting. Alternatively, a Coven may appoint the
Council as a whole as proxy.
a.
b. A proxy for a Regular, Trial, or Provisional
Member Coven must be signed by that Coven’s
Contact. A proxy for a Solitary Caucus must be
signed by all members of the Solitary Caucus.
At least one member of the Solitary Caucus
must be eligible for Elder Priest/ess credentials.
c. An individual may physically represent
more than one coven, provided she or he is a
member of that coven. No individual may act as
proxy for more than five Covens, Solitary
Caucuses, or any combination thereof. No
individual may cast more than six votes.
d. When individuals hold dual memberships in
an Assembly of Solitaries and in a Member
Coven, their voting rights as a Solitary are
suspended for as long as they retain their
membership in the member Coven.
e.
Page 35
A proxy may be general or specific.
Virtual attendees cannot carry proxies.
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016
f.
When a member is attending both
physically and by electronic means, their
physical presence takes precedence over
virtual participation.
H.
Voting Rights and Voting Members
Each Regular Member, Trial Member,
Provisional Member, and Solitary Caucus shall
have one vote at the Annual Meeting. Only
Regular Members and Solitary Caucuses may
cast a veto.
1. For the Annual Meeting, the term Voting
Members is hereby defined as representatives
of Regular Members, Trial Members,
Provisional Members, or Solitary Caucuses of
the Covenant who are physically/virtually
present at a Council meeting.
2. For meetings of a Local Council, the term
Voting Members is hereby defined as
representatives of Regular Members, Trial
Members, Provisional Members, or Assembly of
Solitaries of the Covenant who are
physically/virtually present at a Local Council
meeting.
3. When a quorum (as defined in Article 4,
Section D., Quorum, of these bylaws) of the
Council is present, Members of the Covenant
who are represented by proxy shall also be
Voting Members.
J.
Types of Votes
When a vote of the Council is necessary, there
shall be four types of votes possible:
affirmative, abstention, negative, and veto.
1. A veto which is cast shall immediately
defeat the proposal under consideration. A veto
may be cast only in the case of such extreme
dissent regarding the proposal coming under
question that, were there no veto, the
dissenting Member would leave the Covenant.
A veto may not be cast under any other
circumstances. A veto may not be cast by proxy
or by a virtual attendee. A veto may be cast at
a meeting of the Council only by a Voting
Member (i.e., Regular Coven Member or
Solitary Caucus Member) who is physically
present and entitled to cast one.
Page 36
Volume 41, Issue 6
Lammas 2016

Current Newsletter - Covenant of the Goddess

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