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The Montreal Pagan Community Conference (MPCC)
BY Raven
The Montreal Pagan Community Conference (MPCC) was conceived in the Spring of 2003 following the success of the Ottawa Pagan Conference and the Southern Ontario Regional Conference (SORCery). Its goal was to provide the opportunity for the different leaders and facilitators in the Montreal pagan community (coven leaders, group and event organizers etc) to come together and network. At the time there were many activities in Montreal organized by a myriad of individuals, but little communication between the various groups and organizers.
Many good things have come out of the two conferences already held in Montreal, including a Pagan Artists' Database, the registration of both the West island Pagan Assocaition (WIPA) and WynterGreene as non-profit organizations, and improved awareness of the various groups and resources within Montreal. The next conference is planned for the spring of 2005 and promises to build on these successes.
The first conference took place in June 2003 at the Loyola campus of Concordia University in NDG. Thirty-eight people attended, representing groups and individuals from many areas of Montreal. Two members from the Ottawa community also attended. The conference was a full-day affair with a guest speaker from the Canadian arm of the Pagan Federation International (PFI): David Springer spoke about community building and networking. Following the talk, the participants broke off into small groups and discussed what they would like see happen in the Montreal community.
The organizers of the MPCC anticipated that the conference would be an annual event, however after the first conference many participants felt that a lot of good ideas were beginning to bud and felt that the second conference was needed to determine what ideas could be put into practice. It was agreed that meeting again in six months would be most beneficial.
The next conference was held on November 30th, 2003 at the Montreal Pagan Resource Centre (MPRC) in downtown Montreal. Since the speaker for the first conference was English, the decision was made to have a French speaker at the second one. Orion from L'église Wiccanne du Quebec spoke about how a group can get registered as a non-profit organization in Quebec, and made suggestions for group structure and organization.
Following the talk, participants once again broke off into small groups. Some of the major issues that were discussed were how to better reach newcomers, how to deal with media, what resources are already available in our community, database creation for Guest Speakers for events and groups, and community involvement and networking in general.
The plan was to follow up the 2003 conference was another in 2004. For various reasons, this goal was not met. However, an organizing team has been formed and is currently planning the third conference for the spring of 2005. Right now the dates being looked at are Saturday April 23rd or Sunday April 24th since these should not conflict with Beltaine activities, University exams, or the National Pagan Conference being held in Edmonton in May.
Various locations are being looked at, as well as the format and length of the conference. At this time the organizers anticipate that the conference will be an all-day event, possibly with a communal lunch provided on-site. Several fundraising events are also in the works in an effort to keep the conference free and accessible to all.
Organizers are still looking for folks to help out with the conference. If you would like to see something specific at the conference, they would love to hear from you. Likewise if you would like to offer up your services in any capacity, including workshop facilitation, you can contact the organizers at: montrealpaganconference@yahoo.ca .
Raven was a participant at the first two MPCCs, and has been involved with the Montreal Pagan scene for about four years.
© 2005. This article appeared in the Imbolc 2005 issue of WynterGreene. Permission to reprint, with full credit, must be granted by the author. If you would like to reprint this article, please email Wyntergreene.
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