Confessions of an ex-Guild Chief

An end to an era

2012-01-06T17:57:00.002-06:00

(sings) "And so we have come to an end... it's time to say 'So Long, my friends'..." Just posted the new ballot this morning, with only 3 nominations and 5 voters, I expect it will be very soon that I'll be out of a job and this blog will be named appropriately. I've mixed feelings - sad that J felt the need to leave, but happy that I was able to convince him that recognizing people for >>doing<< was better than recognizing for >>having done<<. Obviously, that was lost on the latest crop of hopefuls and will likely be totally reversed and the Guild will have a more "normal" get-your-sash-and-sit-on-your-laurels-forever style that seems to be more to the taste of the usual member. I have some other ideas going forward. Was considering a try at an Order but ultimately that just buys into the whole conceit and validates Bad Ideas. I'm thinking I need to practice writing more - playing around with ideas about religion and patriotism and Good Citizenship. Working title: "What would Merlin do..."

Guess I should read the new bylaws

2011-01-21T08:06:00.000-06:00

Well, I have read them, but didn't realize a vote was going up until it was too late. Hehehe.

I think this means I'll need to rename the blog to ".. ex-Guild Chief" as I likely don't fit the reqs to be Active. Which is ok altho it'll be limping along as a club for 4 or 5 people. Which doesn't seem like much of a Guild to me, but if it floats some people's boats then More Power To Them.

Sadly, guild info is protected

2010-09-06T11:58:00.001-05:00

Behind a member logon. Currently the Scholars Guild does not have an offsite presence but you are free to contact me directly for more information about the ADF Scholars Guild.

in reference to:

"Scholars Guild: practicing scientific and scholarly research on the roots of Our Druidry"
- Guilds - ADF Neopagan Druidism (view on Google Sidewiki)

Just a point in time ....

2010-07-03T10:54:00.003-05:00

So two days ago - 7/1/10 - was The Great Ant'knee explosion.

SP up for a vote

2009-07-29T08:17:00.001-05:00

So the voting has started, and so far no one has voted "No" (altho one abstained !?!).

It's all rather anticlimactic. I wonder how much of the non-impact is due to J's involvement.

Excelsior!

SP now in discussion

2009-07-20T07:55:00.002-05:00

So J has released the Study Program into the wild for consideration by the Council of Lore. Very different from others, but Kirk just posted that "he approves of this message" so I just keep thinking of "Alien" and "... game over dude! Game over!..."

J did a great job and I'm very proud of him putting into words what was only a dream of mine. (And hopefully his as well.)

Into the breach...

2009-05-29T08:22:00.001-05:00

So Jeremy has posted the New Study Program and I couldn't be more pleased. He's been convinced that Simplicity Has Power and I'm even begun convincing myself that We Need Ranks. Hehehe.

We'll see how it Plays In Peoria (i.e. the Council of Lore) but I'm happy to have him on my side on this one.

2009-02-06T19:41:00.000-06:00

Crikey - they've put up a ballot and I'm running unopposed. Grrr. Guess I need to do some real work now.

Bother.

So is this Yet Another Go?

2009-01-12T11:48:00.002-06:00

J. is posting a "let's get this party started" post to the Guild List. Poor dear was worried I'd be put out but I reassured that he's in the Inner Circle (people I dearly love/respect/honor) he'd never be able to do such a thing. Esp. as he's being mature to my pouty kid routine.

So I guess this means I need to catch up on my list reading and have another go.

I also shared status comments with another Guild leader who I respect as well, and suggested we need to get likkered up and have a chat. I think it'd be a good dose of reality for me.

My biggest issue is trying to separate out my vision/wishes from what is possible plus what others have as their vision. Unfortunately, I'm not having good luck convincing people of my vision. Much simpler in my work where I can just code and go - this whole "reality" thing is way overrated in some ways. Guess I just need to work out some Middle Way somehow to at least get some good out of the revival of the Guild - doesn't look like my wish to just let it die is gonna fly.

Sad that.

Ok let's give this another go ...

2008-08-27T07:59:00.002-05:00

So again I send Selene an email (after asking her at S'land how's the best way to get in touch with her) asking about my errant officers, and I get a response back from her ISP saying that delivery is going to be held up because of DNS issues.

Sheesh - this whole enterprise seems cursed.

Raven got his consecration, so bringing up the whole "how do you like my little revolution?" talk seemed a bit ... selfish. Maybe I can grab him on the phone at some point and walk thru it.

I've also offered the Preceptor position to Brandon, but I'll need confirmation from Selene before I do that (well, I don't, not really, but it'd be best.) Turns our my WOG pal Jeremy would be happy to have it back (!) but that smacks of too much nepotism in my book.

Guess we'll just have to see.

Elections are coming up soonly, so I need to get all this in order by 9/15 or thereabouts. Jenni actually had a PP made up for last times timeline (!). That's our Jenni!

Intros and Monday Madness

2008-06-24T13:13:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I think I'll try to get at least one posting a week - maybe with a Monday Morning Meeting - a topic that's somewhat related to what we're doing but sufficiently distanced from it to keep personalities out of it. We'll see.

Today's topic: UPG's (unverified personal Gnosis) In or out?

So some responses...

2008-06-17T10:55:00.002-05:00

have come in, and that's good. People seem to like the ideas but we seem to have gotten mired in a Teachers=Scholars debate that's a little off. Personally, I think we likely have a good possibility of making a Educators Guild - but it's not where I see/want the Scholars to go. Ya, teaching is a Fine Thing for Scholars to do, and ya, it'll even count (although I would want a lesson plan made and gotten feedback from the students on how effective the teaching was) but it's very close to the "Be Not Do" issue I have. Not that there's any problem with teaching per se, I'm just more focused on making stuff. "Learning" as a product is rather nebulous and hard to quantify, and I want to see/have (mostly) tangible results from Scholar work.

Sigh - no responses ...

2008-06-06T23:57:00.002-05:00

to the "early release" version. Well, not quite true - Jack read it over my shoulder and thought it was good.

Just posted it to the ADF-Scholars list - we'll see what trouble it stirs.

Final?

2008-06-05T17:59:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been almost two weeks since a very satisfying time at Wellspring. I'm saddened that more people can't make it to festivals on a regular basis; the amount of energy and information you can glean is truly remarkable. Not to mention the sparkling conversation and intellectual stimulation you get from people you know and the people you newly meet.

Like getting Guild Chiefs off their butts and doing their job!

Ya ya ya. It's true. I've been quiet and not overly involved in the Guild (some might say I've been a petulant child sulking in my room alone and they'd not be far wrong) but due to the heroic efforts of Beth S. and Jeremy M. I've been stoked to a simmer. We talked a lot over the weekend, along with my own Grove- and our wonderfully engaging camp-mates from Sassafras Grove. We also pitched some new ideas to various "elders" on the MG and COL and everyone pretty much liked what they heard. Generally, though, the response was "put a proposal together!" so that's what's been occupying my thoughts recently. (That and an amazing start to a deepening relationship with Odin and Norse culture for me and my Grove - see my LJ at http://drubear.livejournal.com/ for more on that.)

I thought it best to begin the process of including the rest of the Guild and other interested parties to join in the conversation. (Beth and Jeremy, if there are other points I'm forgetting, please speak up and don't fear to correct me.) Some of my thoughts are still in the formative stage, but there are a couple of assumptions that I am working from.

First and foremost, I see our Guild as being a bit different from other Guilds. Whereas other Guilds represent a chosen "job" or "path" within ADF (and even one's life) I believe that pretty much everyone in ADF is a scholar of some sort. So on the one hand we have something to give to every member (and interested member) that lies at the very core of their interest in ADF. On the other hand, if we're so pervasive in the organization, why have members (or even a Guild!) at all? What makes membership in our Guild unique vs. (let's say) a member of the Warrior Guild doing research about ancient Parthian military formations (or lack thereof)? This question is at the core of our Guild and its purpose and has had different answers at different times. Our Guild was there at the beginning of the Guild system, and has (frankly) struggled since. I hope to end the challenge of "why/what/how the ADF Scholars Guild" for at least a little while by putting together the definitions of and requirements for what I believe it is to be a member of the ADF Scholars Guild: an ADF Scholar.

I follow up that notion with the belief that a member of the Guild (who I refer to as an ADF Scholar versus a scholar in ADF) is distinguished by doing versus being. That is, I feel very strongly that you cannot rest on your laurels (for long) but need to be constantly striving, growing and creating. Although it is usual in ADF to award a title after work done, it is odd to me that (generally) there is no ongoing requirement for continuing that work. Granted, this is very similar to other Pagan religions in their granting of rank, but there is another model in the mundane scholarly community affectionately called "Publish or Perish." I realize this is normally for titled positions at Universities and that you forever retain your Ph. D. or other post-grad degree, but the notion that you need to continue to work and present it is very strong in that milieu and something that I would like to encourage as a defining feature of the ADF Scholars Guild culture.

Finally, I feel that much of our scholarly effort, both formal and informal, is not being plumbed to its fullest extent. I even fear that some of our history and research has already been lost, or at the very least, laying forlorn and forgotten in various corners of the Internet and in members (and ex-members) homes. I believe very strongly that a significant portion of the mission of our Guild is to find, consolidate and make available the riches that scholars of ADF (guilded or otherwise) have already created. In addition, I feel we need to have a place where the results of study and creativity can live and interweave with older works, and be capable of being integrated into our current work and provide the basis for further and deeper study. With such a platform available to us, all members of the ADF scholarly community (from Scholars to Warriors to Artisans) can push forward to new heights of achievement.

In my musings, I call this body of work the Corpus of ADF. It would be the mission of the ADF Scholars Guild to build, enrich and maintain the Corpus, either directly interacting with it or helping others use it and the wealth of knowledge it represents. The preliminary efforts of our Guild Archivist AEthon Tobar with D.R.U.I.D. is a first step but I have a grander vision of a mini-internet of sites (modeled after Wikipedia, LibraryThing, Lexus/Nexus and others), where information is easily available for instruction, research or (vetted) modification.

Hopefully I have been able to articulate the guiding principles of my vision in an understandable way, and I am more than willing to engage with anyone on these topics. Feel free to respond here, email me privately, or even call me at home if the mood so strikes. In the coming weeks, I hope to flesh out these ideas and incorporate them into our Guild structure and direction and look forward to engaging with all of you (along with others who will be excited by these ideas) to make those dreams a reality.

I am excited by the possibilities of our people and our Guild, along with the wealth that we can share with all of ADF.

Yours in the Mother,

Chris Sherbak
Guild Chief
Scholars Guild, ADF

Version 2

2008-06-05T09:07:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been a week and a bit now since a very satisfying time at Wellspring. I'm saddened that more people can't make it to festivals on a regular basis: the amount of energy and information you can glean is truly remarkable.

Not to mention the sparkling conversation and intellectual stimulation you get from people you know and the people you newly meet.

Like getting Guild Chiefs off their butts and doing their job!

Ya ya ya. It's true. I've been quiet and not overly involved in the Guild (some might say I've been a petulant child and they'd not be far wrong) but due to the heroic efforts of Beth Savage and Jeremy M. I've been stoked to a simmer. We talked a lot over the weekend, along with my own Grove and camp-mates from Sassafrass. We also pitched some new ideas to various "elders" on the MG and COL and everyone pretty much liked what they heard. Generally, though, the response was "put a proposal together!" so that's what's been occupying my thoughts recently. (That and an amazing start to a deeping relationship with the Norse culture and Odin for me and my Grove - see my LJ at http://drubear.livejournal.com/ for more on that.)

I thought it best to start the process of including the rest of the Guild and other interested parties to join in the conversation. (Beth and Jeremy, if there are other points I'm forgetting, please correct me.) Some of my thoughts are still in the formative stage, but there are a couple of assumptions that I am working from.

First and foremost, I see our Guild as being a bit different from other Guilds. Whereas other Guilds represent a chosen "job" or "path" within ADF (and even one's life) I believe that pretty much everyone in ADF is a scholar of some sort. So what makes membership in our Guild unique vs. (let's say) a member of the Warrior Guild doing research about ancient Parthian military formations (or lack thereof)? This question is at the core of our Guild and its purpose and has had different answers at different times. Our Guild was there at the beginning of the Guild system, and has (frankly) struggled since. I hope to end the challenge of "why/what/how ADF Scholars Guild" for at least a little while by putting together the definitions of and requirements for what I believe is a member of the ADF Scholars Guild: an ADF Scholar.

I further believe that a member of the Guild (who I refer to as an ADF Scholar versus a scholar in ADF) is distinguished by doing versus being. That is, I believe you cannot rest on your laurels (for long) but need to be constantly striving, growing and creating. Although it is usual in ADF to award a title after work done, it is odd to me that there is no ongoing requirement for continuing that work. Granted, this is very similar to other Pagan religions in their granting of rank, but there is another model in the mundane scholarly community called "publish or perish." I realize this is normally for titled positions at Universities and that you forever retain your Ph.D. or other post-grad degree, but the notion that you need to continue to work and present it is very strong and something that I would like to enourage as part of our ADF Scholar culture.

Finally, I feel that much of our scholarly effort, both formal and informal, is not being plumbed to its fullest extent. I even fear that some of our history and research has already been lost, or at the very least, laying forlorn and forgotten in various corners of the internet and members (and ex-members) homes. I believe very strongly that a significant portion of the mission of our Guild is to find, consolidate and make available the riches that scholars of ADF have already created. In addition, I feel we need to have a place where the results of study and creativity can live and interweave with older works, and be capable of being integrated into our current work and provide the basis for further and deeper study. With such a platform available to us, all members of the ADF scholarly community (from Warriors to Artisans) can push forward to new heights of achievement.

In my musings, I call this body of work the Corpus of ADF. It would be the mission of the ADF Scholars Guild to build, enrich and maintain the Corpus, either directly interacting with it or helping others use it and the wealth of knowledge it represents. The current ADF Website (including the preliminary efforts of D.R.U.I.D.) is a first step but I have a vision of mini-internet of sites like Wikipedia, LibraryThing and Lexus/Nexus, where information is easily available for instruction, research or (vetted) modification.

beginnings of a post to the list

2008-06-04T09:02:00.001-05:00

If I had a brain, I'd be dangerous

2008-06-04T08:36:00.002-05:00

So I went looking for my Scribe (for the Preceptor I just need to get up the cajones and call him - he's in MO so in the same timezone) and found her posting to the COW list that she'd be stepping down after the election. Then I saw that her PG seperated from ADF (via a posting on SD) back in December '07.

Bother. Now I have to find a Scribe until the election and maybe even a Preceptor. I'd rather not stack the deck with Guildies (or even/esp. Jack) but maybe for the interim it'll work. I may need to tap some heretofore untapped resources, like SLG, Hallowed Oaks (AL) or maybe Canada (!).

Sheesh - no one said it'd be work!

And so it begins

2008-06-02T10:31:00.001-05:00

So, there are elections this year, and I've put out a note on our executive list to the Scribe and Preceptor. No response so I'll next try to phone call and see if they're still interested, active or even still members of ADF.

Ditto the Archivist, but I know he's active in ADF but he's less important to the effort.

Ok, so let's try this again...

2008-05-29T16:30:00.002-05:00

Just back from Wellspring, and Beth, Jeremy and Diana (not to mention the-love-of-my-life aka Jack) have made some pretty persuasive arguments for choosing life for the Scholar's Guild. Now I just need to put together my thoughts for the COW (main governing body) along with the Guild as a whole. With only 8 in the former and 32 in the latter it's a small audience, but I'll need to make the text the best I can.

I need to point out my pet peeves/desires with regard to circles and merit badges, along with commitment and focus. Should be a nice doc too bad I have to be the one to write it!

2008-04-01T16:14:00.000-05:00

Testing posting from Google Docs - document.

Do we read the same books?

2008-03-01T03:18:00.000-06:00

Just a friendly reminder that I invited you to Shelfari. Come see the books I love and see if we have any in common. Then pick my next book so I can keep on reading.

Join me on Shelfari!

http://www.shelfari.com/

Chris

Shelfari is a free site that lets you share book ratings and reviews with friends and meet people who have similar tastes in books. It also lets you build an online bookshelf, join book clubs, and get good book recommendations from friends. You should check it out.

You have received this email because Chris (csherbak@gmail.com) directly invited you to join his or her community on Shelfari.

It is against Shelfari's policies to invite people who you don't know directly. Follow this link to prevent future invitations to this address. If you believe you do not know this person, you may view his or her Shelfari page or report him or her in our feedback section.

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Do we like the same books?

2008-02-27T09:25:00.001-06:00

I just joined Shelfari to connect with other book lovers. Come see the books I love and see if we have any in common. Then pick my next book so I can keep on reading.

Join me on Shelfari!

http://www.shelfari.com/

Chris

2007-05-18T17:50:00.000-05:00

The Druid Liturgy
A.D.F Standard Outline
Summer 1991 C.E.

Preliminary Ritual Activity

(A) Briefing

(B) Individual Meditations & Prayers

(C) Lighting the Sacred Fire(s)

(D) Pouring the Sacred Waters

(E) Consecrating the Sacred Pole

(F) Consecrating the Altar & Tools

1st Phase: Starting the Rite & Establishing the Group Mind

Clear-cut Beginning: Consecration of Time

(1) Musical Signal

(2) Opening Prayer

Consecration of Space & of Participants

(3) The Processional/Sigil Marking

(4) Purification(s) of Participants

(5) Purification(s) of Site

(6) Honoring the Earth Mother

Centering, Grounding, Merging

(7) The Grove Meditation

(8) Unity Chant/Song

(9) Stating Ritual Purpose & Historical Precedent

(10) Naming Deity(ies) of the Occasion & Reasons for Choice

2nd Phase: Recreating the Cosmos & Preliminary Power Raising

Describing the Vertical Axis

(11) Planting the Cosmic Tree / Honoring the Sacred Pole

(12) Evoking the Gatekeeper / Defining the Ritual Center

(13) Evoking the Fire & Water Deities & Linking to Center

Gaining Assistance and Preventing Interference

(14) Invoking the Bardic Deity(ies) or Spirit(s)

(15) Acknowledgement of the Outsiders

(16) Filling Out the Cosmic Picture

Ex.: Triad Invoc. of Nature Spirits, Ancestors, Deities in Three
Worlds

Ex.: Invoc. of Helpful Beings of each World/Realm

Ex.: Invoc. of Helpful Beings by Province/Function

(17) The Settling & Focusing

3rd Phase: Major Sending of Power to Deity(ies) of the Occasion

(18) Descriptive Invocation of Deity(ies) of the Occasion

Primary Power Raising

(19) Praise Offerings, Dance, Libations, etc.

(20) The Sacrifice

(21) Seeking the Omen of Return

4th Phase: Receiving and Using the Returned Power

Preparation for the Return

(22) Meditation upon Personal and Group Needs

(23) Induction of Receptivity

(24) Consecration Agreement

Reception of Power from Deity(ies) of the Occasion

(25) Consecration and Sharing

(26) Acceptance of Individual Blessings

(27) Reinforcement of Group Bonding

(28) Spell Casting/Rite of Passage

5th Phase: Unwinding and Ending the Ceremony

Unwinding the Energy Patterns Created

(29) Thanking of Entities Invited in Reverse Order

(30) Thanking the Gatekeeper & Closing the Gates

(31) Affirmation of Past/Future Continuity & Success

(32) Unmerging, Regrounding & Recentering: Meditation

(33) Draining off Excess Power: The Restoration

Clearcut Ending: Deconsecration of Time & Space

(34) Final Benediction

(35) Announcement of End

(36) Dissolving the Sigil

(37) Musical Signal

We've only just begun...

2006-09-02T13:31:00.000-05:00

to live!

Welcome to a new blog - over on Blogger with my gmail account. Granted I already have one on LJ (http://drubear.livejournal.com) and various other places, but new beginnings need new outlets, eh?

I'm hoping this will be a place I can ramble on about things. Maybe even as an ADF Guild Chief...