Present: Eric, Arwen, Marilyn, Melissa, Aree

The meeting was opened by Eric at 2:25 pm. The minutes of the previous quarterly meeting, previously distributed on the EPN e-list and printed in the Lammas issues of the EPN Newsletter, were accepted as written.

Maine Arts Festival. Aree reported that the EPN booth at the Maine Arts Festival (in August) was very successful. We took in $876.95 in books, $19 in donations, and $34.68 in tax rebate, for a total of $930.63 in income. Expenses included $120 for booth fees, $47.25 for printing materials and $728.27 for the books, with a total of $895.52, which left $35.11 net income, an excellent result considering it was our first time at the Festival. We gave out more literature to folks unfamiliar with Paganism than we have in a long time: roughly 350 EPN leaflets were distributed. There were many teens present, and both they and their parents loved the new teen pamphlet; at one point, the volunteers couldn't fold them fast enough to give them out! In the end, 117 teen pamphlets were distributed, with much acclaim for their stunning colors and excellent content; thanks go to Ann Marie for heading up this very successful project. We also made some contacts with members of the deaf community, who were excited to see a listing for contacts in the newsletter. While there were only 2 people present for our discussion, the Festival schedule had listed the time incorrectly, so it was great that anyone attended at all! Marilyn was thanked for initiating the idea, and she is grateful to all who helped to bring it about so successfully.

Interfaith Alliance. Marilyn presented information about this political organization of religious groups whose purpose is to counter the messages of the radical religious communities in a public way. The Alliance is formed of some 50 different groups, and Wiccans are one of those groups. It works on a grass-roots basis, supporting local efforts to hold events to educate and raise awareness of issues from a religious perspective which supports tolerance and rejects hatred and violence. Arwen had also learned of this organization and contacted Brady Russell, the National Field Director who helps local groups to form. She described EPN's activities, and said he felt that we would be a good starting point to form an active group in Maine. Aree wondered how EPN would operate in such a group, and whether we would be welcome as a part of such an organization by other groups who were looking to participate. It was MOVED by Marilyn and SECONDED by Eric that Arwen, as EPN's interfaith officer, be authorized by the EPN Board to explore the possibility of EPN serving as a catalyst to form a Local Alliance chapter of the Interfaith Alliance. The motion PASSED unanimously.

Information for Schools on Paganism. Jane and several others on the EPN list had made the suggestion that since our teen pamphlet was so successful, we develop another pamphlet for school administrators covering the basics of Paganism, distinguishing it from cult activities, and offering suggestions for further resources. Arwen suggested that we ask Sylvia, an EPN member who is also a teacher, to assist. Sylvia is the leader of her school's Civil Rights Team, and so it active with these issues. There have also been some good suggestions for links on the Web that contain similar materials. We decided to have Marilyn ask Sylvia if she would be willing to help Jane with such a project. Once we have a pamphlet, we can send it to all the Civil Rights teams, principals, and superintendents in all the school districts in the state. We would also be careful to assure Sylvia's anonymity in this process. Eric pointed out that school Diversity Days are an excellent vehicle for educating school communities about Paganism, and that the pamphlet might also be a means to inform administrators that there are Pagans in Maine who are willing to speak in the schools.

Advertisements in the EPN Newsletter. On behalf of the editors of the Newsletter, Eric MOVED that the Editorial Board of the EPN Newsletter has the right to refuse to print any commercial or personal ad for any reason. Marilyn SECONDED the motion. Arwen offered a friendly amendment that the editors could refuse any ad or copy that would be contrary to our ethical standards, but withdrew the amendment when the words "for any reason" were taken from the motion. The motion then read: "The Editorial Board of the EPN Newsletter has the right to refuse to print any commercial or personal advertisement." At this point, Eric requested that we TABLE the discussion so that we could move it to the EPN list for a wider discussion and vote; he felt that without the Newsletter Board members present, it was not productive to proceed. The move to TABLE PASSED, and so this motion lies TABLED until it is taken up by Eric on the EPN discussion list.

Common Ground Fair. We made up a list of volunteers for the CGF, and found that we could distribute the number of passes we received between them all. Fred, Marilyn, and Melissa will lead the discussion on Saturday. Arwen will bring Voter Registration forms to encourage any unregistered voters who stop by to sign up to vote. Aree will make more copies of the Teen pamphlet and get those and the other EPN materials and the t-shirts to Eric and Arwen in time for set-up. Since the current grey shirts aren't moving as fast as we'd expected, we discussed the possibility of adding an image to the backs to increase their attractiveness.

Next Meeting. The next meeting will be our Annual Meeting. We decided to have it on an afternoon in January (Saturday or Sunday), with a potluck and talent show to follow. Marilyn will look into a possible venue in Waterville.

The meeting was ADJOURNED at 4:35 pm.

Blessed be!

Respectfully submitted,

Marilyn
Recording Secretary, EPN