GATHERING

Orientation

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Like all ADO gathering places, we consider this sacred space and ask that as a condition of continued access we all observe the additional guidelines shown in "The Art of Gathering", below. Please remember that ADO is not responsible or liable for damages that may result from your use of its website and/or related cyber services. Web service providers, including Forum and chat clients, retain sole responsibility and liability for their own services, links, and ads. Please contact them directly with any questions you might have. With the single exception of authorized government and law enforcement agencies, ADO does not share member information or mailing lists with other organizations or services; however, we are not responsible for malware or for loss or misuse of information via second and third party services. Your personal information and a record of all correspondence may be retained in a database by ADO. ADO is required by law to retain a record of correspondence.

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The Art of the Gathering

Amongst Avalon's Tribes, a Council is a circle of people gathered as equals to share wisdoms, with certain members designated as facilitators. "Taking counsel" allowed our ancestors to recognize and honour the balance between the collective and the individual; but as Tribal life broke down our people forgot the ways of the gathering. Modern members often cannot distinguish between a Council circle and a 'corporate board' or 'committee' meeting'; a lack of discernment that can totally undermine the proper function of a Council. To address this problem means reclaiming the original intent of "seeking counsel", using only traditional methods, and opening ourselves to a very different kind of experience.

Three Things Without Which No Council Shall Be

Desire of Community

A Willingness to Do and to Attend

Agreement to Abide By Rule and Custom

Things Held in Common for All Avalonian Councils

Circle: (Meaning both the gathering and its location) We are all share responsible to establish and maintain the circle, including regular clearing, cleaning, warding, and blessing prior to use.

Sanctifying the Space: The group altar, displaying items representing the Three Realms and the transformative power of Fire (Spirit), is set at the circle's center for members to leave flowers and other offerings. After making offerings, we place the bell branch before the altar where all may see it and be reminded of its meaning and intended use.

The Bell Branch: (The means by which we designate the present speaker) For Druids everywhere, the symbol of the speaker's authority is the Bell Branch. Whoever holds it "has the floor".

The Circle Covenant

There is a difference between sitting in a circle inside our own private 'bubbles', and sharing the same Circle. To share one Circle is to share one "culture" (i.e. the same ethics, values, laws, customs, and beliefs, etc.). We were none of us born into Avalonian culture, and we may not all share one birth culture. Thus, to share a Circle we must agree upon some basic concepts. We call this agreement the Circle Covenant, and it requires that each of us:

Leave our egos at the door.

Be courteous and respectful to all present.

Use self-restraint: Listen within before speaking.

Speak our Truth to the heart of the Gathering (the center), not to individuals.

What is said in circle, stays in circle.

Welcome diverse viewpoints, while keeping to Tradition.

Speak and listen with compassionate detachment.

Speak our for ourselves and not *for* others.

Ask for clarification and respectfully state concerns, as needed.

Assume the best of others unless there is good cause to think otherwise.

Consider and serve not only ourselves, but also others.

Strive for consensus in decision making.

Ask for guidance, silence, and/or reflection time as needed.

Ask questions about the issue itself, not another's authority.

The Annual Assembly of Tribes

Purpose

Each year on 1 November, the membership of Avalon Druid Order (ADO) gathers to hear our Elders and Officers on matters of import, and to make its voice heard on community issues. The antiquity of such assemblies is well attested in Celtic literature and, though the government may call the Samhain assembly an "Annual Members Meeting," for us it is the gathering that reunites us all at the center or "naval" of our spiritual world. It is a time of remembering our origins, reaffirming our roots, demonstrating our commitments to Avalon and to our own spirituality, and for respectfully sharing news, suggestions, concerns or objections on community affairs. To accommodate all possible members, an overflow room may occasionally be provided in the manner dictated by the chat client currently in use; therefore please examine this page in advance of each year's meeting to acquaint yourself with the current set-up. The Assembly room is a space dedicated to specific purposes, and we would ask that members keep this in mind when choosing spaces in which to meet. (A separate chatroom has been provided at our Forum for use by Aspirants and Tutors.)

It is vital when meeting that we honour long custom and tradition whilst fulfilling our legal obligations. We do this by holding our meetings in the traditional manner and "translating" the results into a standard format for the IRS. The following additional information and protocols are provided to assist us in this and similar administrative meetings.

Traditional Assembly/Council Protocol

Additional rules of Assembly are laid out above, and in our member and e-community rules. Please acquaint yourself with them prior to meeting. If you are new to the Tribes and are unaccustomed to our ways, we ask that you observe quietly for awhile before posting. Once you have a sense of the rhythm and flow of group discussion in this medium and begin to understand basic protocols and procedures, you may pose what questions you will, in your own turn.

Elders: Greeting, Blessings

Guardians: Raise Wards

Chieftain: Call to Order

Midwife: Summary of Agenda, approval of previous year's meeting minutes, attendance

Chieftain & BoG: Presentation of items in State of the Order Report, Overview of financial projections for upcoming year, Motion to Approve Pursewarden's financial report (as submitted in State of the Order Report) by BoG, Introduction of New Business by BoG and/or Officers of the Order (elections, position announcements, etc.)

Members Liaison: Member Business (questions, comments, concerns of members on ADO administrative and policy issues for review by the Council and/or BoG)

[Guests (if any); then general membership may speak]

Chieftain: Motion to Close New Business

Midwife: Summary of Action Items

Chieftain or BoG: Motion to end meeting (seconded)

Meeting Adjourned

Guardians: Release Wards

Elders: Parting Blessings

Normally at the Annual Assembly, it is the Chieftain who presides over the business portion of the Assembly and who designates the speaker by passing the Bell Branch. At meetings of the Council the Eldermother or Elder Speaker holds this position. The Bell Branch is a wand of apple wood from which are strung three, seven, or nine silver and/or gold, "apples" (bells). You may not address the Assembly or Council unless you hold the Branch. Only the Chieftain, the Elder Dreamer, and (where the two positions are held by different people) the Elder Speaker are authorized to take back the Branch prematurely. In cyber gatherings, this branch cannot be *seen* except by use of a typewritten symbol (such as "/|\"). This symbol must be inserted before your comments until you pass the Branch back to (or it is taken back by) the facilitator. The facilitator (not the person speaking) will pass the Branch to the next speaker.

Circles called for community hearings or Dreams of Calling are generally led by a Hearing Council comprised of Elders. The members of this Council may be the same as, or be appointed by, the Elder Council. Here, Annual Assembly business is replaced by individual testimony, with comments following from the general community. When all have been heard, the Circle is released and the Council deliberates in closed session. The Circle is reconvened to announce the Council's determination, which is final.

Procedures for Chat Sessions

Cyber lessons are one of the 'fringe benefits' of membership. To attend, you must be an ADO Aspirant or Lifetime Member, be current on all Home Study lesson work, regularly participate on the Members Forum, and abide by all member requirements and guidelines. Chat lessons are not lectures. They follow a simple, traditional format that stays as close to the in-person experience of traditional training as possible.

The session focus is always on the current Tribes Cycle story. Chat begins with one person offering a single question about some aspect of this story. Within an experienced group the person who initiates the first question is considered the facilitator (though less experienced groups may initially need to follow one experienced facilitator). Once a question is asked, the other members offer a sequence of statements and questions in an intuitive, yet logical sequence until the group either arrives at a possible answer or feels confident that they know how to arrive at one. Usually, members leave sessions with new possibilities to investigate and verify. Discoveries are shared at the next chat before proceeding to explore a new question. Preferably, the questions explored should also be related so that participants begin to get a sense of the context for their explorations. Once one question has been "tapped out", a new question may be asked and the whole procedure is repeated. In order for chat sessions to function, participants must be able to follow the guidance of the facilitator; stay focused on one question until the pursuit can be taken no further; be willing to follow a sequence of questions without knowing where they will lead, instead of trying to 'lead' or 'direct' where they go; and avoid getting side-tracked enroute.

Individual Touches

To the casual viewer, following such customs may seem restrictive; but just as one may play limitless themes and variations within the "restriction" of a musical structure, so there are many ways for each group to add its own local touches to an existing format. Adorning your circle in ways that reflect the passing tides of the seasons, or which honour the spirits of place and deities of your own lands, the local lore of Groves and Tribes is very important. Tokens and symbols of Tribal beasts and plants should be welcomed wherever appropriate and possible. Emblems of personal ancestors should also be honored, especially at Samhain and especially as they pertain to Avalon. The manner of these honorings is mainly up to you, provided only that your choices neither depart from Avalonian Tradition nor impede or impair the proper workings of your Circle.

This is your gathering, your central hearthfire, the place where you gather as a Tribe to gain understanding and wisdom after the manner of the far ancestors. It should be a place rich in meaning for each person who uses it. The process of endowing your chosen spot with its layers of symbolic meaning should belong not to one person only, but to the group, and should be cherished and maintained by each and by all. That concludes this brief tutorial on participating in the Annual Assembly. We trust that you will find this experience satisfying and stimulating and look forward to sharing wisdoms with you soon!

Bendithion

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