As happens every year at the Michigan Witches Ball, a Pagan of the Year is named. This year the ball was held October 12.
Moira Payne was named as this year’s Pagan o the Year.
This year’s Pagan of the Year truly understands that to be a good leader one must set aside their ego and serve the communities best interests, that to truly understand people you need to meet them where they’re at, and that in order for a group or event to be successful they have to form lasting positive connections to the community they serve.
She has been involved in our local pagan community for almost two decades and in that time has been part of many groups as both a member and a leader. She started her journey in our local community with the ADF and the Shining Lakes Grove, was a member of W.I.C.A, the 5 points ravens 4 pillars group, and is currently a student and member of the Temple of Witchcraft.
It is well known that she will go out of her way for a good ritual. In fact, her children love to tell stories of being dragged to different classes, workshops, rituals and drum circles. When she goes all in on something and believes in it, she takes her family along for the ride.
Throughout her personal journey she has given back to the community both publicly and privately. Privately she has made connections between people to introduce them to others who can help their ideas grow, helped fund passion projects, and given her time and energy to different causes that provide badly needed resources to individuals. These private connections have had just as much or more of an impact on the community as her public work. Her willingness to have the conversations, to personally reach out and follow up, and to live her ideals are an example we should all follow.
Publicly she has done so many things that it is hard to list them all here. She volunteered for Michigan Pagan Fest in 2010 and eventually ended up running their programming department. She attended the Witches Night Out starting in 2008 and eventually started running them in 2016.
In 2022, after attending ConVocation for years, attending board meetings, and seeing how much help was needed, this person applied for and was voted onto the MEC board. Her choice to step up then, a long with a few others, helped save an organization that will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this coming year. She is now one of the most well known faces and voices of MEC and ConVocation, as well as the current board president.
When collecting facts, dates and stories for this moment a few things were said repeatedly. “She puts community before ego”, ” She just gets people”, ” She always follows through with what she says”, and “She backs up her words with actions”. Her true dedication to transparency, honesty, fostering connections and community, as well as always putting the good of the community ahead of herself is what makes her a true leader within our local and statewide community. – Speech written by Lindsay Moss
Congratulations, Moira!
About The Author
