In 2003, Gaia Community experimented with a "Pagan Traditions of the World" format to our rituals, with several cycles of rituals from different traditions: British Traditional Wicca, Hellenic Paganism, Druidry, and Kemetic (Egyptian) Paganism, among others. The Egyptian Chapter introduced us to an ancient/modern concept of a "God Auction", whereby temples of a city would collect donations of food and goods to discern who would be the patron of the city. That temple (and its deity) was then given a place of prominence for the coming year, as well as having additional responsibilities to distribute that wealth and food to the needy.

After the first auction (which was a vigorous success as a fundraiser for the community), we made some changes to the format, to better reflect the eclectic tastes of our community:

• Since 2004, all four contenders come from different pantheons, owing to the diverse nature of our members' beliefs;
• Final-four contenders from the previous year (and for now, all previous winners) may not make an appearance in the next auction, to give other candidates a fair chance;
• Several rounds of questions will take place, with an opportunity to make donations after each question (tiebreaker rounds are possible if time permits and the outcome is close);
• Each contender generally provides a gift of some sort to their highest individual bidder; in addition, there is a "Gods' Gifts" basket of goods for the highest overall monetary donor;
• Since 2006, a "penny auction" has been held in the spring to narrow a field of candidates down to the final four contenders; only coins are accepted for this "pre-selection", but any denomination is acceptable.

This year's "penny auction" ran for seven weeks and raised almost $600 for the community; that's almost as much as the original God Auction! The final four candidates vied long and hard through five rounds of questions and raised more than $2800 for the community (and a minor mountain of food), but in the end, Thor was chosen by general acclaim as the community's next patron, starting later this summer. The full final tallies for the 2008 penny auction are also available for the curious.