Present were: Marilyn, Melissa, Nikki, Mark, Arwen, Gwydion, Johanna, Bill, Flo, Fred, Leigh, Aree, and Harper.

Minutes from the Summer meeting were posted in the Lughnasad issue of the EPN Newsletter (EPNN). There were no minutes kept for the meeting of 9/8/01.

The new President, Fred, and Treasurer, Flo, were duly sworn in. As the new President, Fred asked for a listing of our current officers. PJane is currently Vice President, and would welcome someone else to take the post; Marilyn pointed out that this person needs to be able to take a public role as a Pagan, working with the media, etc. Arwen is our Recording and Corresponding Secretary (the two posts were combined when Marilyn resigned as Recording Secretary after the officers and directors insurance was canceled). Flo is the new Treasurer, Nikki is the editor of EPNN, Melissa is the Membership Coordinator, and Thea is our Interfaith Officer.

Treasurer's Report. As of 2/6/02, our checkbook balance was $1958.92, with a deposit of $190.50 due to be entered in a few days. On 2/4/01 our balance was $1564.80, so we are reasonably on target in our finances.

Membership discussion. Aree reported after the annual meeting on membership counts: 26 current Full Members (signed standards), which includes 5 couples, each member counted individually (i.e., 10 people). In addition there are subscribers who have not signed the Standards. Fred commented that there are lots of Pagans in Maine who aren't members of EPN and don't want to be, and wondered if we wanted to try and change that. Flo pointed out that we do booths at the Common Ground Fair and at Maine Arts each year to inform new people, and wondered how else we might reach those who choose to be solitary. Marilyn asked us to consider what we have to offer potential new members.

Harper said that we used to do retreats, which was a big draw, until the Hersey Retreat Center was sold, thus depriving us of a location. He said the Standards controversy had damaged us somewhat, but that we needed to continue doing events, though the core group of active members does get tired after a while. The Newsletter is also a plus. He felt we got a bad reputation over the Standards controversy and wondered if we might consider cutting our losses and using the Standards as a general statement of values and not requiring members to sign them, given the extent to which signing things seems to run contrary to Maine Pagan values of self-governance. It would mean a By-Laws change, though.

Arwen pointed out that we made changes in our structure and governance (going from a group of congregations and solitaries in the COG model to a one-person one-vote structure) in response to people who claimed "I'd be in EPN if....", but those claimants still are not members. She maintained that we keep cutting off things in an attempt to be more acceptable and inclusive, but still those who seem to support such changes don't join on. Harper said that a By-Laws change would require the vote of 80% of those present at a meeting, but that it would be better to publicize such a possible change prior to the meeting which would include such a vote to allow members to consider it and feel included in the decision.

Nikki commented that there was a great deal of energy and excitement in the Maine Pagan Clergy Association, which identifies itself as a distinct group which is willing to have items in the EPNN as appropriate. MPCA is working towards doing ordinations with a version of standards in which the potential ordinand may pick and choose which portions s/he will sign, thus giving a clear indication of the intentions of each candidate without forcing a particular set of standards onto anyone.

Harper wondered how MPCA could avoid intruding on EPN's territory, so to speak, given that EPN had always held the possibility of offering ordination to solitary clergy, but had never been in a position to do it. In particular, EPN has been waiting for the Standards controversy to blow over. Harper went on to say that as long as *someone* in Maine was offering ordination to solitary clergy, he was satisfied.

Fred said he had always understood the mission of EPN to be networking and education. Harper agreed, saying that we had also written into the By-Laws the possibility of ordination as well. He said that many in MPCA are not active in EPN, and that some of them were not because they refused to sign the Standards.

Arwen said that in an MPCA meeting Thea had suggested having each group or person in MCPA present their own standards, thus encouraging individuals and groups to undertake some ethical self-reflection. MCPA would then collect the results and the Ordination Committee would evaluate them for any egregious or unacceptable material which could lead to trouble. Arwen pointed out that each year at CGF we hear stories which indicate that there are still those out there who are not operating in an ethical fashion.

Aree wanted to know if MCPA would offer ordination in different traditions. Nikki replied that in general the answer was yes, but that she couldn't be more specific without violating the confidentiality of the MCPA meetings, which are held in circle under vow. Arwen added that MCPA would probably publish minutes without any inappropriate exposure at some future date. Bill said that after the Standards controversy some EN members stayed and others left. Eric said that by and large, Pagans are not joiners anyway; folks just don't want to take the time to do this kind of work. Beltane on the Beach is probably our single most successful activity now.

Flo said that Heidi Monroe's camp in Gillford (near NH) is available for occasional use. It's on a secluded road, with fields and woods; five could sleep in real beds, 2 on couches, and many more on the floor, with tenting outside, provided no one lit any fires.

Marilyn restated her question of what we wanted EPN to be and to do, and how we saw ourselves as distinct from MPCA. Arwen said that MPCA brings clergy together to do ordinations (eventually), continuing education, and counseling training for Pagan clergy, as well as support. EPN doesn't do these things because it's not a organization of clergy. It might be possible to do joint MPCA/EPN retreats, *not* to integrate but to get to know each other. Members of the Iseum Musicum of Bangor (Fellowship of Isis) would also be welcome to participate in such a gathering. She went on to say that EPN should do media outreach work, and that Ann Marie was developing a press kit for the media when she had to move from Maine. EPN also does the newsletter and the calendar of events.

Marilyn commented that it could seem that EPN had taken on the function of an "outer court" for seekers, with MCPA being the "inner court" for clergy, even though many, if not all, EPN members feel that they are, in fact, clergy. Aree wondered what the role of the Standards was to be in such a case. Fred MOVED that the next meeting would include on the agenda a discussion exploring the ways of increasing service to the Pagan community, including changing the EPN Standards from signature only to a statement of principles, and that we would also discuss joint retreats and their possible location. Aree SECONDED the motion, which PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Newsletter: Nikki said she had received the Board's request to explore methods of cutting the newsletter costs by reducing the use of paper. She said that Debby (who was going to attend this meeting, but didn't) will design a Web site with a calendar, receiving listings of events from Nikki. Mark was also willing to use his experience with selling ads in papers to help us increase our list of advertisers. Nikki felt we could supplement the paper copies in this way. She said she had a very small response to her poll on paper vs. electronic subscriptions: of roughly 60 subscribers, 6 wanted an electronic newsletter and 3 wanted paper; the rest didn't respond. This led her to recommend that we NOT go to a Web model with articles but rather just do a Web calendar. The ads could appear in both the paper and the Web offerings to make us more desirable to potential advertisers. At this point in time, people in general are not willing to pay for an e-newsletter. Mark felt that we could pick up members through links and advertisements. He said that there are still many people out there looking for Pagan information, contacts, and meetings, and that he feels that Pagan money belongs in Pagan businesses.

Johanna pointed out that there are still many Pagans who are not on computers, or particularly interested in them. Nikki reiterated that the newsletter in its current form is an important draw. Mark felt that both versions could feed each other. Nikki then MOVED that we continue the paper newsletter and develop our curent Web site to be a center for a calendar and networking information, and for increasing our membership. Aree SECONDED the motion, which PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Arwen pointed out that the newsletter is really a money issue, and that we had to stop providing drop copies (which are still requested at some locations) for that reason. Nikki wondered if that had helped financially, and Harper pointed out that since our bank balance is up from a year ago, even though we have lost the slight addition of money we used to get from successful retreats, the answer is probably "yes". We also still print special CGF versions of the Mabon newsletter to offer as free copies to inquirers. Arwen added that our budget almost bottoms out in August each year because most of our subscription renewals come in at Mabon from the CGF.

Some discussion followed on the subject of community-building possibilities between Earthtides and mainstream religious communities. Suggestions included having a presence at the Bangor Theological Seminary's annual convocation, participating in the nascent "green" coalition within the Maine Clergy Association, and participating in diversity forums held by high school civil rights teams. Arwen continues to pursue the Maine Clergy Association possibilities, and Harper, who has spoken at several high schools, encouraged others to look into doing the same.

Submitted by Marilyn (Vounteer Recorder) and Harper (Assistant Volunteer Recorder).