PPO Administration

Organization of Pagan Pastoral Outreach association

A – Mandate

To provide pastoral services on behalf of the Pagan community, namely –

a) spiritual support to Pagans (of various traditions) in institutional settings (prison, hospitals, etc.)

b) practical support for those Pagans led to do pastoral work on behalf of their faith community (gaining experience, advice on training programs, etc.)

c) cooperation with institutional chaplaincies and other organization (such as Inter-Faith committees) to ensure appropriate access to religious practice and spiritual support for Pagans.

B – Background

The Pagan Pastoral Outreach association (PPO) grew out of the Pagan Federation/ Fédération païenne Canada.

The Federation was formed in 1994 largely to give organizational backing for chaplaincy visitors in Kingston prisons (at the request of Correction Services Canada), but has since broadened its scope. Members of its Prison Committee (who were also founding members of the Federation and as of 2003 are on its board) felt the need to focus on Pagan pastoral outreach and related issues, mainly in prisons, but also hospitals and elsewhere, and so have formed this new body with the blessing and endorsement of the Federation.

C - Organization

Composition - PPO is made up of committees addressing specific areas of Pagan pastoral outreach together with members at large.New committees will be set up as needed and ratified at an Annual or Special General Meeting.

Membership - Open to people with a specific interest in and commitment to Pagan pastoral outreach, upon payment of an annual fee to cover administrative costs.Voting members of the Association must be active members of committees (or sub-committees), and have served for a minimum of a year and a day.Members at large consist of those who are not yet members of a committee or who have become inactive.(see Membership)

Meetings - An Annual General Meeting (no more than 14 months from the previous AGM) and Special General Meetings will be called as needed, and recorded in a minute book.The business will be addressed according to the Procedures Policy (copy available).Quorum is at least one ‘Elder’ from each pastoral committee (see below), together with a simple majority of voting members.Members-at-large may participate in AGMs and SGMs, but have no vote.The executive administrators will be elected at AGMs, from the voting membership, and replaced if needed at a SGM.Decisions will normally be taken on a consensus basis, but if a formal vote on any matter is required, a majority of voting members will carry.No proxy votes will be accepted.

Trustees - are responsible for protecting the integrity of the Association and can suspend any of its activities upon contravention of established policy.Trustees must be members of the Association and have served as committee Elders, but need not currently be active and voting members.Trustees appoint their successors.They may be over-ruled or removed by a 90% majority of the full voting membership of the Association.The position will be vacant at the time of PPO formation: the initial trustees will be the founding Elders, Gina Ellis and Pashta MaryMoon, once either or both of them are no longer directors of the Association.

D – Administration

- By executive committee (co-directors together with appointed secretary-treasurer).The co-directors will appoint the secretary-treasurer (and other offices as required).The executive committee ensures that the business of the Association is carried out, but does not make policy.Initially, Gina Ellis (Ottawa) and Pashta MaryMoon (Victoria), founding members, will jointly undertake administration of PPO and maintain liaison with the Federation.

- The administrators will keep in touch by e-mail and phone and inform/consult with other members on a regular basis and keep written records of issues and decisions as well as reports of activities.

- Bank account at BNS in Ottawa (Bank St. S.), mailbox at Box 8312, Stn. T., Ottawa, K1G 3H8.A business number has been applied for.

- Any contracts to provide pastoral services to be negotiated with the pastoral committee concerned (ratified at an AGM or SGM) and administered by it, but to be in the name of PPO.

E – Pastoral Committees

- Address specific areas, initially and mainly prisons, but also hospitals - consideration of military chaplaincy issues has been undertaken and contacts are being established with university Pagan chaplains.(see Policies)Sub-committees will be set up as needed to address the specifics of local pastoral ministry.

1. Prison Committee

- Prison pastoral workers will be categorized as Elders, Associates, Visitors (accompanied by Elders or Associates) and Casual - depending on experience and level of commitment, and will follow the Prison Committee policy (copy available).Elders of the Prison Committee are responsible for supervising the pastoral work of Associates, Visitors and Casuals, and maintaining an active relationship with the Regional and Staff chaplains in the areas served, including dealing with various issues that arise over practice within the prisons or individual religious concerns.Elders also maintain a relationship with CSC Chaplaincy HQ (and/or provincial prisons) in order to deal with the broader issues of Pagan practice within prisons (such as the 2003 CSC Chaplaincy Handbook, the Report on Minority Religion, and the federal CSC Restorative Justice project), and are available for consultation with any related Inter-Faith groups.

- Contacts will be maintained with other regions where Prison Ministry may be needed, and with other groups doing similar ministry

- Will visit as many federal prisons in the area, and as often, as possible (given number of volunteers) preferably every second week (plus the provincial Detention Centre in Ottawa upon request.The team will provide religious practice, spiritual counsel, study materials, consultation with chaplains and other officials, and address any other issue of concern that are specific to the region and not a matter of Prison Committee policy. (see Ontario Region in the Pagan Prison Programs section)

Elder – Gina Ellis

Visitation, as is possible, to mainland federal prisons, and as needed when inmates are transferred to local (Island) prisons

Elder – Pashta MaryMoon

(c) Lessons by Correspondence program

- The on-going correspondence study program, serving Pagan prison inmates in Canada and the U.S., is run by Pashta MaryMoon.She maintains relations with other similar projects in the U.S.The Prison Committee will contact Regional chaplains across Canada to inform them that the program is available for isolated Pagan inmates. (see Lessons by Correspondence in the Pagan Prison Programs section)

- Other materials (further study materials, official letters of support for Pagan inmates, etc.) will be provided by the Prison Committee as needed.

2. Hospital Committee

- The hospital committee works along lines similar to the Prison Committee (and its policy), to develop visitation where needed and maintain an active relationship with hospital chaplaincies and related Inter-faith committees. (see Hospital/Hospice Pastoral Visitation in the Pagan Hospital Chaplaincy section)

Elder – Pashta MaryMoon.

F – Founding Members

Pashta MaryMoon began prison work at Kingston Pen. in 1991 when she was an associate of the Wiccan Church of Canada.Gina Ellis began ca. 1992 as an unaffiliated assistant to Pashta.

After the WCC was no longer associated with K.P., Gina and a colleague (who has since left) continued in order to keep the Pagan chapel group going.It was at this point that the need for organizational backing came up, and Gina, the colleague mentioned above and Pashta joined with three other long-time leaders of the Ottawa community to form the Pagan Federation (which by 2003 had West Coast, Ontario, Quebec and Maritimes directors).

After Pashta moved to B.C., she developed public ministry policies for the Temple of the Lady and did hospital and prison visitation and trained an apprentice.She was also part of the Victoria Royal Jubilee Hospital’s pastoral team (first non-Christian).Due to health, financial and other problems, she has not been able to do extensive regular visitation since 1999 (outside of seeing a prisoner in the provincial system), but has recently re-applied to several federal prisons where inmates whom she formerly visited and continues to work with them through correspondence study.Since 1995 she has maintained an on-going correspondence study program for prisoners, which has been under the auspices of the Pagan Federation, and maintains contact with other pagan groups doing similar work in the U.S.Studying Conflict Resolution and has a particular interest in Restorative Justice programs.Is also a member (30 years) of the Society of Friends (Quakers), has served on local Meeting committees, and has a 20-year background in activism, non-violence, group dynamics and conflict-resolution training.Is presently (2003) the Vice President of the Pagan Federation.

Gina has maintained the Kingston area visitation since 1994 and recruited visitors, developed a program and a prison trad (Green Man), and provided books and original materials.Has established good relations with institutional chaplaincy.Maintains contacts with American Pagan prison ministry groups.Background includes starting what is now Canada’s largest Pagan gathering and currently hosting another, holding monthly rituals for the Ottawa community and teaching classes on Wicca in Ottawa.Has strong links to the Montreal Pagan community.Is (as of 2003) President of the Pagan Federation (since 1996) and largely responsible for its newsletter, website and various projects (e.g., efforts to repeal or clarify the witchcraft provision in the Criminal Code).Maintains contact with Kerr Cuhulain (author of Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca and other books – police officer in Vancouver and the founder of Officers of Avalon [Pagan assoc. of police and other emergency workers] who is an honorary member of the Pagan Federation.)

The founding members collaborated with the CSC Minority Religions co-ordinator of the Federal Chaplaincy on the Pagan and Wiccan sections of the chaplains’ handbook and solicited Druid and Asatru material from practitioners.

Date – March, 2003

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