Pagans in Newfoundland and Labrador

Group Location
No physical location as the group is Facebook based.

Contact Info
Scotia (Kelly-Anne Meadus)
Pagans in Newfoundland & Labrador

History

Origins of the group: Pagans in Newfoundland and Labrador was created by Scotia in the Spring of 2008 as a networking group on Facebook, with hopes that the group would grow beyond this and eventually organize their own events.

Highlights of group's history: In the first year the group attempted to host two events. The first event was a fireside meeting, with only three people in attendance, and the second was "Pagans in the Park," with only eight. So far their biggest achievement is numbers, with 44 members, almost all of whom live in the province.

Present Goals of the group: Because the group is very new, organizing events is still a struggle. It is difficult to find volunteers to organize the events and members are not putting in the commitment to show up to events. It is also difficult to find experienced Pagans to help support the group
because many of the local Pagans are solitary practitioners and/or are still reluctant to become open enough about their beliefs to support an overall community of Pagans in the area. The long-term goal of the group is to become a group independent of Facebook, with its own structure and executive. In the next 5 years, Scotia would like to see this group become independent and host at least one major event a year that is well attended. Despite the low turnout for the first two events, Scotia feels that they are learning from the mistakes they have made and will be better prepared to organize future events.

Life in St. John's/in NL: Scotia describes the reception of Paganism in St. John's as a "good response … and no overt discrimination." Typically, she says she finds a general curiosity and acceptance, though she adds that her experience is limited to the metropolitan St. John's area.

Structure

Membership: Membership is up to 44 members and includes a variety of backgrounds.
In age, they range from high school to retirement; there are members with diverse abilities and situations, students, professionals, and so on.

Leaders and contacts: At this stage, there is still no formal structure for the group. Scotia acts as administrator for the Facebook group and she can be contacted by email at
ScotiaPagan@live.ca or via the Facebook group Pagans in Newfoundland & Labrador While Scotia tries to act as a facilitator only, she does get approached by those new to the area or to Paganism for guidance and direction and she is willing to provide assistance whenever possible.

Facilities: Since this is still limited to an online group, there are no physical facilities.

Activities

Information: Information about the group is posted on the Facebook group.
This is currently the only source for information. While the group does not formally organize many events, members are encouraged to share information about other open Pagan events in the area.

Schedule of Events: No fixed schedule. Events are infrequent and not yet regulated.