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Kim Robertson is a founder (with Rhys Owen) of the
Pagan Communities Project, which was established in 2004 and held its
first Community Forum in Brisbane in February 2005. Brooke Alexander
interviewed Kim in June 2005.
Kim, tell us about yourself and what drew you to play an activist role
within the pagan community?
I’m 39 years old, married with two children, and live in Brisbane. My
background is Anglican and largely conventional. That being said, there
is a strong streak of psychic ability in my family. My mother used to
play a game that involved us “guessing” the playing card that she was
holding up. I don’t know where this game came from but I remember
playing it with my grandmother too.
I’ve always had an interest in magic. In my late teens, through a
flatmate, I found myself taking part in a ritual that went badly wrong.
We experienced some very strange and threatening phenomena, but a
channel of powerful energy welled up within me, allowing me to clear the
room. I don’t know if there is a connection or not, but my flatmate
died of an acute asthma attack about six months later, although he was
carrying his medication. After this experience, I left the occult scene
behind for ten years.
During that time I went through a hellish, and occasionally
life-threatening, period in my personal life, which forced me to look
very closely at the nature of life and death. I became more psychically
active, which helped me to survive a very dark time. I knew that I was
no longer a Christian, which caused me a lot of guilt. But it wasn’t
until I discovered paganism that I found some explanations for the hell
I’d been through, and answers to questions I’d asked when I was younger.
Ironically, I encountered my first Wiccans at a meeting of the
Spiritualist Church. I don’t follow a defined “path”. I am open to
learning new things. I would describe myself as eclectic, which means
that I pick a path through life that is right for me.
My first involvement with community activism wasn’t connected to
paganism at all, but with the Society for Creative Anachronism. I
gained a lot of administrative experience, particularly with “growing”
and supporting groups and communities.
The skills transferred easily into my pagan life. I was involved in
organising and running a pagan study group (established in 2000), and
served as the Pagan Alliance State co-ordinator for Queensland for 2
years. However, it wasn’t until I met Rhys Owen, and we discovered how
alike our thinking was on the whole issue of “pagan community”, that the
idea of something like the Pagan Communities Project began to
take shape.
For me, “pagan community” is the group of like-minded folk who share the
pagan paths. I want to help the many very special people, who are pagans
and witches, to come together to learn and celebrate their lives: to get
the support, acceptance, and a sense of family.
I am an idealist; I believe that a few people can make a difference. I
am a visionary; I see that change can really occur. I am open-minded; I
know that my way is not the only or the best way, and I am not here to
make myself into some sort of celebrity or power merchant!
Describe the genesis of the Pagan Communities Project
The basic idea arose from conversations between Rhys and me over a
fairly short space of time following Pagan Pride Day in 2004, but the
roots of the idea stretch back a long way for the both of us.
Rhys is well known nationally, and has a lineage that goes back to
Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and, through her, to Dion Fortune’s Society of
the Inner light. That kind of profile can make you a bit wary of
enthusiastic ‘crusaders’ like me, so our collaboration began in a
circuitous way.
I had been trying to generate interest in the notion of a pagan “church”
that promoted paganism as a respectable religious alternative.
Unfortunately, this idea wasn’t widely supported. There was discomfort
with the “religious” element, although it wouldn’t have been the first
such church in Australia. Pagans are generally wary of this sort of
thing.
At Pagan Pride Day 2004, I was running a workshop on community, which
began with 6 participants, but quickly grew to over 40. This generated
enough buzz to convince Rhys to come and have a chat, during which we
discovered that we not only shared some fundamental aspirations for the
community, but had been working in the same direction for some time. In
time this led to the first ever Community Forum, held in Brisbane.
What are the aims and objectives of the Pagan Communities Project
and what does it offer pagan communities?
The primary aim of the Project is to build community. It also wants to
act as an organisation that all levels of government recognise. That’s
more long term and will require close collaboration with the other pagan
organisations. The Pagan Community Project is keen to work with
existing pagan organisations and groups, both nationally and at a more
local level. It is also seeking to bring existing groups together in new
ways. [In August 2005, the PCP and the Pagan Awareness Network (PAN)
Inc. agreed to affiliate – ed.]
Ultimately, we see the Project providing services for a wide range of
community events. At present, the Project is devoted to building up the
Community Forums. Early in our discussions, Rhys and I decided that the
Forums would not be hierarchical in structure. The role of the convenors
(Rhys and me) would be to bring community members together and to
facilitate the Forum process (by initiating discussion, taking
minutes, recording decisions, etc). We would not choose the topics for
discussion at Forums or attempt to control the direction that
discussions took. The responsibility for the outcomes of the Forum would
rest with the community concerned, not us. Also the Forums would not
replace existing community structures, such as the Pagan Alliance and
PAN.
The beauty of the Community Forum model is that the people who attend
determine the kinds of projects they want to work on, and the amount of
effort they are willing to put in. It isn’t a case of someone coming
from outside and saying “you must do this to achieve X or Y result!” It
helps to keep projects within the bounds of what can be achieved, but it
also helps people to see that positive change is within their
grasp.
We have been accused of focussing on particular forms of paganism at the
expense of others, but all I can say to people is “come along”. If your
path or tradition seems unfairly represented to you, the only way to
change this is by participating.
Another long term goal the Project has is to assist pagans to meet
larger community requirements. For example, at present a non-profit
organisation cannot legally be the beneficiary of a bequest of land or
other property, but recognised religious bodies are exempt from this
law. This may not seem very important to some, but this sort of thing is
how communities build a foundation for the future. Bequests, whether of
money, land or other resources, contribute to our shared heritage.
How many Forums have you facilitated so far?
We’ve held 9 Forums since February this year. Overall, the reception
has been welcoming and enthusiastic. Our biggest success so far has
been the Gold Coast Forum, which has actually started up a Forum of its
own. We’re taking the Project on the road at the end of September. The
first stop will be Melbourne on 24th September, and then
we’re heading up to Canberra on the 25th September.
How do you see the future of the pagan community in Australia?
The underlying issue facing the pagan community is its diffusion. As a
result, Pagans, as a group, are denied rights that other religions take
for granted. I’ve already mentioned the issue of bequests. Pagans who
are incarcerated don’t have access to chaplains of their own faith.
Access to pagan clergy is virtually non-existent in hospitals and
nursing homes.
So, I see the future as a process of gradual awakening in Australian
pagans of a stronger sense of shared identity and purpose, and a desire
to claim their rights and freedoms as a legitimate faith. Perhaps it
would be better to say “a family of faiths”.
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