How a group does things is a product of the individuals involved, their previous experiences and their interactions with each other. Every new person entering the group changes it. Every old member leaving changes it. Everyone’s experience over time changes their expectations. Everything we see and hear changes how we see and hear things in the future. How those interactions and results are perceived varies from individual to individual.
To explain how I see this community doing things I will talk about how I have seen things done. Although I am very sure of my own experiences I am very aware that other people have experienced the same events differently. I can only say what I see and feel.
Just before Yule my friend Rauncie emailed me:
"I think it would be a good idea in the future if as soon as one ritual is finished that a announcement goes out about the next ritual coming up and see who wants to either 1. lead it with anyone who wants to help getting involved by calling a community meeting or 2. A specific coven leading the ritual like yours or mine or any other group that gets going around here. "
That way no one has to scramble to put something together like her group did for Yule (They did a great job especially considering it was just after doing a very elaborate Samhain). After the Yule ritual those of us who hung around talked about Rauncie’s suggestion. (This why it is important for people who want to be involved to show up at events as well as meetings. You never know when and important conversation is going to take place.) (Buddha wanted to take Beltain, I pointed out that that was a bit far in advance for us and we had two rituals before then. He agreed to do Eostar instead but still claimed first dibs on Beltain, unless something happens. Fern said she would do Imbolc since on one else was claiming it.)
Rauncie’s proposal had two options
1) Any individual calls a meeting and works with whoever shows up.
2) An existing group takes full responsibility.
Michele seconded the first option. She liked the idea of an ad hoc committee. My problem with that option is that it doesn’t really work. At least not the way it sounds like it does.
First of all in my experience the same few people show up at all the meetings. The only way to get new people involved is to hunt them down and ask them individually. Last year Kris ended up doing at least two rituals by herself because she was counting on people to show up for planning meetings. When I asked for volunteers for Pagan Pride planning meetings Fern was the only person (outside of my personal support group) who showed up. Even for this Eostar Ritual Buddha is planning we wanted to give parts to people who had not done things before but only one new person volunteered.
Secondly I personally feel that it is disingenuous to say that *anyone* can just walk in and volenteer to lead a ritual. It has never happened. And all my experience in community and training in sociology tells me that if it did happen people would want to know who this person was, where they came from, what experience they had, what they were planning to do (in great detail). Any individual of good intent who wants to lead a community ritual should start by attending other rituals and planning meeting and supporting other people's efforts. Then when they suggest that they want to lead a ritual themselves there will be people who know them and are willing to vouch for them and support them. That is my experience of how groups work. I have not seen this community behave any differently.
Which brings us to option 2- individual covens or groups taking full responsibility. I think it a good idea that any individual who wants to lead a Community ritual have a support group that agrees to back them up, just in case (see above). That usually means a Coven but it doesn’t have to. My problem with option 2 is not what it contains but what it lacks.
Rauncie fondly remembers Yule in 1999 when my group asked her group to do the purification and call the quarters. On the other hand, this past Yule I was slightly hurt that she would not even let us call a quarter at her Ritual. But that has less to do with her and more to do with my expectations of what "should" happen at a Community Sabbat.
To me Sabbats are times when the community comes together as a whole. It is our best opportunity to build relationships. A Sabbat where you do not invite people to share the work is a wasted opportunity for community building. People can not learn how to offer a Community Sabbat if they have never taken part in offering one. If those of us offering the Rituals do not open up to them it becomes a Catch 22. I think one group offering the Community ritual without any contribution from other community members outside their group is a bad idea. I wish other people valued farming out the quarters as much as I do.
This also brings up and issue that hasn’t come up here but we have been discussing on the Pagan Pride list. There has been some discussion of whether to have community Sabbats on or off the actual Sabbat. (Setting aside the disagreements about what the "actual" Sabbat date is.) When the Community Ritual is on the "actual" date some people choose to celebrate the Sabbats with their coven over celebrating with community. That can be solved most of the time by having the Community rituals on the nearest Saturday so the covens can have their private events on the "actual" day. Having the Community event on a Saturday also gives the organizers more time to run around preparing, and participants more time for long drives from out of town. But sometimes the nearest Saturday is the "actual" day, and sometimes Covens have their rituals on Saturdays instead of the "actual" day.
My position on this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. While I consider a community Esbat to be a service offered to people who have no Coven of their own, I firmly believe that the true celebration of a Sabbats is in community.
This is especially true for those who claim that we are practicing the pre-Christian religion of Europe. We know that the seasonal celebrations were community celebrations. These where the times of year when communities gathered to feast and celebrate as communities, not as small isolated magical groups. I am arguing that it is more authentically pagan to celebrate with the larger community than with the small group.
But Wicca is not a recreationist religion it is a religion of personal validity. While we are influenced by the practices of our ancestors we don’t let ourselves be bound by what was done in the past. So the only other argument I have is fairly arbitrary. I have always considered the Esbats more feminine, introspective, personal, immanent, and intimate. While I have always considered the Sabbats more masculine, outgoing, social, transcendent and festive. That means that, to me, the Esbats are more suitable for small intimate groups doing deep work and the Sabbats are more suitable large groups doing grand and festive gestures. It is difficult to do intensive work with a large group and it is a bit disappointing to do an elaborate passion play for an audience of two.
Certainly I understand that not everyone shares my views and a community is made of many visions. This is my vision. This is what I bring to the group.
© Sheherazahde this page created 4/3/01 last updated 4/3/01