Monthly Archives: August 2010

August 29th 2010, 10 am sharp
Resto Burgers & Benedicts
2313 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest (AMC)
(514) 228-5210
Breakfast: <$15
Facebook Event

Come join us for breakfast and meet other pagans in your community! No level of pagan experience is necessary, but as long as you can wield a knife and fork like a guru master, you’ll be respected and admired by your peers.

This is a kid-friendly event, so feel free to bring your offspring.

If you have any questions, send me a message on FB or email me at jdhobbes @ gmail.com. If you don’t know anybody, don’t fret. Ask the resto guys for Hobbes or look for the pentacle.
–
Hobbes

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DIRECTIONS

Resto Burgers & Benedicts is in the Pepsi Forum that houses the AMC Movie theatre and is across Atwater from Alexis Nihon.

BUS/METRO/WALK:
Get to Atwater metro (Green line), cross Atwater from Alexis Nihon, and enter the Pepsi Forum. Its the first resto inside.

Don’t forget that the Gaia Gathering Open Meeting is tomorrow night (Tuesday, August 24th)! Come join us to find out more about this epic event and how you can get involved!

Gaia Gathering Montreal – Open Meeting
Location: L’Amere a Boire 2049 Rue Saint Denis
Time: 7:00PM Tuesday, August 24th

We are very pleased to announce that we had a little over 20 people at the Isaac Bonewits memorial ritual that was held in Angrignon park tonight and led by Linda Demissy.

Our thanks go to Linda for putting this memorial ritual together so quickly, to Mark and Farrell for helping out with it, and to everyone else who turned up to witness it. There were many touching moments, but also loads of laughter, which was a sure sign that Isaac had turned up to join us (including a boombox that would not shut off and only got louder the more we fiddled with it).

We also raised over $374 dollars which will be donated to Phaedra Bonewits to help with covering her medical bills. Much love and thanks to Mariesol who auctioned off a unique, hand-written collection of pagan chants, songs, and stories, which sold for $120!

We hope Isaac enjoyed our offerings and that they speed him off to the Summerlands in style. Gods bless.

If you wish to donate to the Bonewits family, you can get more information at: http://www.adf.org/about/leaders/isaac-bonewits/donate.html

It’s been fixed! We realize that the theme was a bit different at first, but we now have the site is back up and running. Thanks be to Raven for whatever tinkering she did that helped us get back on our feet.

We’re trying to fix it. Please be patient.

In honor of our revered Neo-Pagan Elder Isaac Bonewits (http://www.adf.org/about/leaders/isaac-bonewits/), who passed away on Thorsday, Augustus 12th 2010, we are holding an ADF Druid style memorial rite on Wodensday Augustus 18th in Angrignon Park at 7pm (6:30pm arrival). The ritual will be led by Linda Demissy, former Senior Druid of Silver Fox Grove, ADF.

Everyone is invited to join and make a short bardic offering, sacrifice of a crafted item or food, or retell their encounter with Isaac (even if it’s just by reading one of his books).

ADF rites are basically a “party” where Gods, Ancestors and Nature Spirits are invited and made offering to, through the gates of the triple centre, Fire of the Gods, Well of the Ancestors, and Tree of Life. An omen is then cast to determine how the offerings were received, and if well received, the ritual drink is blessed and shared.

In this case, we will ask for the blessings to go to Isaac. Bridget will be called at the start of the ritual for bardic inspiration, the Dagda at the centre of the rite, and the Morrigan to help carry him with blessings to the Otherworld. These three deities were those he loved best.

We will be passing the hat to help his family pay for his large medical bills, and you may want to bring some coins to drop into the cauldron during the Ancestors offerings. Bring instruments, drums, your voices and food to share.

Isaac Bonewits Public Memorial
Wednesday, August 18th, 7pm
Angrignon Park, Lasalle
Meet at Angrignon metro at 6:30pm
Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117993618252415

If you wish to donate to the Bonewits family, you can get more information at:
http://www.adf.org/about/leaders/isaac-bonewits/donate.html

It is with great sadness that our community mourns the loss of a beloved author and pioneer in the Neo-Pagan movement. On the morning, of August 12, 2010 at approximately 8 AM ET, Isaac Bonewits passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his wife, his brothers and sisters, his family and friends.

Isaac Bonewits was a published author, teacher, and the the founder of Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), currently one of the largest Neopagan Druid groups in North America. He was a witty, passionate visionary who encouraged critical thought and magical personal responsibility, giggling all the while.

In 2009, he appeared in Ottawa during a conference called Fire in the Hearth (organized by the Red Maple Grove) and gave one of his last lectures and panel discussions. You can listen to one of those lectures at the Standing Stone & Garden Gate podcast.

Later in 2009, he was diagnosed with cancer, and although initial treatments showed promise, as 2010 progressed, his health deteriorated, although not his spirit! On his Facebook page, he invoked a line that all geeks would recognize: “I’m not dead yet!”

He will be sorely missed by friends and fans all over the world. We wish him safe journey to the Summerlands and know that he will be received warmly by those who have gone before. We also wish to share our deepest sympathies to his wife Phaedra Bonewits and to his son Arthur.

You can read more about his life and accomplishments at the ADF website.

Stay tuned to the MPRC website because a few Montreal groups are preparing a public memorial for Isaac Bonewits to take place (tentatively) on Wednesday August 18th. Check back here for confirmation on that!

** Version français suivra**

Hi everyone

The time has come to coax you all out of the woodwork, vine-work, and gyp-rock! Gaia Gathering is seeking volunteers to help with local fundraising events and the Conference as a whole. This is a great way to both get involved with the community and plant something special onto a CV.

If you want to help out, and you’re in the Montreal area, come out to our first Open Meeting on Tuesday August 24th at 7pm at L’Amère à Boire (2049 Rue Saint Denis, Montreal, QC, 514 282-7448).

If you can’t make the meeting (or if you’re outside of Montreal), please email Scarlet, our volunteer coordinator, at scarletcougar@gmail.com and include what you can offer, you email and phone contact information.

On the immediate list of help needed is the following:
- Postering people (across Canada)
- Bardic fundraiser help: ticket-taker at the event, concession stand manager, sponsorship/raffle coordinator, set-up & clean-up crew
- Some administrative support

We will also need volunteers for other tasks as the planning progresses.

We look forward to seeing you on the 24th!
Amanda, Hobbes, Robyn and Scarlet

=======================
Bonjour à tous,

Le temps est venu de vous inciter à sortir des bois, des murs, etc.. La conférence Rassemblement Gaia a besoin de bénévoles pour aider à l’organisation de divers événements en plus de la conférence elle-même. Voici une excellente occasion de vous impliquer au sein de la communauté, tout en ayant l’occasion d’ajouter un petit quelque chose de spécial à votre C.V. Si vous désirez nous donner un coup de main, n’hésitez pas à nous joindre à notre première réunion ouverte, qui se tiendra le mardi 24 août, à 19 h à L’Amère à Boire (2049 rue Saint-Denis, Montréal – QC, 514-282-7448)

Si vous n’être pas capable to venir au réunion, SVP envoyer un courriel à Scarlet, notre coordinatrice es bénévoles, à scarletcougar@gmail.com. N’oubliez pas d’y inclure ce que vous pouvez nous offrir ainsi que vos coordonnées (nom, numéros de téléphone, courriel)

Dans l’immédiat, nous avons besoin de personnes pour accomplir les tâches suivantes :

— poser des affiches (à travers le Canada)
— aider à l’événement de levée de fonds des bardes (prise de tickets à l’entrée, gérant de concessions, coordonnateur des commanditaires/tirages; équipe de montage et de nettoyage).
— aide générale administrative

Nous avons également besoins de bénévoles pour d’autres tâches.

Merci! On espère de vous voir à L’Amère à Boire!
Amanda, Hobbes, Robyn, Scarlet

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130411923667133&ref=nf

Gaia Gathering Montreal – Open Meeting
Location:L’Amere a Boire 2049 Rue Saint Denis
Time:7:00PM Tuesday, August 24th

In late 2009, pagan author Isaac Bonewits was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He went through several treatments over the following months, and although the treatments were going well, things have taken a turn for the worse.

The latest note from Phaedra Bonewits (taken from Facebook):
Just wanted to address the rumors that Isaac is back in the hospital. He is at home as he had wished, but he is nearing the end. His brothers and sisters are on their way to say goodbye. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.

You can read more about this on his blog and Facebook fan page:
Blog: http://neopagan.net/blog/?tag=cancer
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/isaac.phaedra.bonewits

If you can, please share your healing energies and good wishes with the Bonewits.

Good day,

The MPRC holds public discussions on random subjects pertaining to paganism and/or alternative beliefs every first Thursday of the month (except July and August). The structure remains open and informal where every opinion is welcomed.

Our upcoming discussion:

Topic: Spirituality and Aging
Date: Sept, 2, 2010 at 6h30pm to 8h45pm
Location: (MPRC) Melange Magique; 1928 Ste-Catherine Ouest, Montreal
Cost: Free.

Let’s discuss:
- How aging impacts our paganism/spirituality/beliefs;
- How we saw our spirituality younger versus how we expect to see it in the future;

- How humanity’s beliefs changed throughout time;
- New Age Spirituality versus the Ways of the Old;
- How we expect general paganism/spirituality/religion to mutate in the future.

Cheers,

Sel