Reclaiming: BIRCH meeting, part 2

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These are the raw notes from the 2006 Dandelion Gathering meeting where BIRCH was formed.

Birch Session 2 – 2006 at the Dandelion Gathering
Scribe - Copper

2:30
Facilitators: Anna and Selchie

Reaffirmed Sacred Space
Brought in elemental aspecters

Read Agenda:

Consolidate intent:
Small groups with Services and supporting structure

Notes:

Small groups read out consolidated intent:
There were a number of revisions suggested to address concerns:

The final revision read as follows:

The purpose of BIRCH:

Nourish and support individuals, groups and diverse communities,
To facilitate connection and resource sharing with the larger community;
To facilitate communication, reflection and action
Make Reclaiming visible to the rest of the world
The qualities of BIRCH are empowered, accountable, transparent, passionate, evolving, diverse, magical and generous

* Consensus

ONE STAND ASIDE

Some concerns raised were:

Do we need to be more visible? Why? Some answers were to de-stigmatize Witchcraft – the importance to being seen and to show others that other ways of living are possible and that outreach to others is important.
Should we include Reclaiming in the first sentence?

Concerns for further discussion by word smiths:

Reclaiming in first line
Re: resource sharing: pleased consider that Birch may want to own/facilitate the production of some resources (eg RQ, Reclaiming.org) that are too large for one community or where we need a pan-Reclaiming diversity of views in their creation.

FUNCTIONS OF BIRCH

SERVICES: Suggested from the morning meetings: Strengthening the wider community; Gatherings, skills sharing, Networking: Supporting Local communities including individuals, solitaries and families; Sharing resources; Communication, web, email, Print, phone; Fostering welcome and outreach to inter and intra-faith; Detoxifying liver function – strengthening our health and immune system body and organs - addressing toxins.

Additional suggestions from this meeting included; History and lore keeping and Interfaith networking; Power, Privilege and diversity;

DECISIONS: Some issues that have been raised that were decisions no one was empowered to decided included: broad versus quick decision making POU, What is a teacher, core classes and curriculum; taxes; accountability and accessibility; border crossing. Spoke/Witch Camp Council has the background material on this.
SMALL GROUP BREAK OUT TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS-

Who needs to be involved in providing these services and making these decisions
What kind of decisions need to be made?
Who will BIRCH report back to? Where and how does it exist and how does it work?

Small groups coming back:

New facilitators: Todd and Raven
Impromptu Spiral danceJ

Each group had one member report visions:

Pods, affinity groups, geographic regions and chakras and to tree of life. 7 to 9 people are the people who make decisions through out the 2 years. Dandelion would meet every 2 years 1 day of which would be Birch which could be any one there plus reps from committees and consensus is held from there.

Members -Any who are passionate and committed without regard for financial need. Traveling web spinners collecting; accountability to earth selves and gods.

Appropriate representation of communities – hire appropriate help when needed. Best practices for communities shared – distributing decisions talk and let people know what happened. Notes published on web. Small board and staff. Only a series of committees
Representation not quite trusted – solitaries? Accountability is important – not able to agree about decision making abilities; may be necessary to have some possible decisions – non punitive. How could BIRCH serve with 501-c to serve local communities.
Representative model with mandate to open to larger community. Groups from which camp or individuals. Quaker model possible
Accountability and empowerment. The large gathering gives access and equal empowerment and decision making power to all.
Membership: what does it mean? How does someone coming to reclaiming feel like it is clear how to become part of reclaiming – Consensus on a need for decisions on some common issues like the core classes and POU. Committee could assess need and then put out question to larger community and then report back to small committee.
Regional groups and interest groups all having equal access
Spokes model was suggested. Questions of accessibility – is it a union or come alone? What does it mean that we come to a large gathering and make it accessible? Pay for everyone? How big do we want for representation? Are there criteria for who is represented? Big decisions could become part of Dandelion and more narrow decisions made by special committees. It would report back to the groups each represent.
One concept was seeing each leaf with a different group poets, teachers, etc so making it special interest groups. All the committees agree on representation and bring the issues back and forth to their committees and the larger group.

Agreed: to contract for more time to 5:30pm

Many groups mentioned representative model as well as issues including regional, financial, solitaries accessibility,
model of body
Larger community access to some decisions
Have a small group empowered to make decisions.
Importance of commonality of two tiered system where some decisions move to the community wide group.
Inclusion of representation as well as people who are passionate
Responsibility of multiple structures
Iroquois long house structure everyone allowed to council as well as a small pod that would serve this assembly.
Concerns with individual involvement because of lack of accountability
Ground up model, local communities want a place to go to say this is what we need.
We have models that already are in place.

Proposal for structure:

Including a big gathering every 2 years that include really big decisions – open to all to come, could only block if you were a rep of a group. Regional groups could send reps. Working groups with particular tasks like teachers, perma-culture. Also an identity group, who is what is and choose how to address it. Then a small and working administrative cell that hold things through time, maybe even paid staff. If people are given responsibility they are given decision making powers and also need to report back on those decisions.
Concerns and responses:

Individuals not represented
Important to have groups represented
How often do the gatherings happen?
Individuals are represented by special interest groups.
Important for solitaries to be a part of the group process and having other groups to be part of BIRCH Important for them to have feedback somewhere.
Where is the liver?
Small group to work on that.
Summarize the levels?

Level 1: Large Gathering addresses large issues.
Level 2: Also at that gathering would be representatives from groups empowered to make decisions
Level 3: Small administrative group

Do smaller decisions get feedback? Yes, from local groups.
Small committees have a way to work with other groups impacted with it?
Communications group would come up with a way to do that.
Preference for decisions to be guidelines more that hard and fast rules. Serving communities not imposing on them.
Levels non-hierarchal better to use branches roots and trunk.
Broke down proposal piece by piece:

Level one: Large Gathering, like Dandelion addresses large issues. Consensus
Level 2: Also at that gathering would be representatives from regional and special interest groups empowered to make decisions. Anyone is free to form one and add people. The Liver Group and Identity group would be formed by members at Dandelion. Consensus
Concerns:

Do those groups have to be at Dandelion? Financial accessibility.
Does Dandelion become all about meetings?
How do we get topics on agenda? NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED later
Spirit reps need to be there

Concerns:

Some criteria for minimum of five or something for group?
Inclusive groups and Liver Groups need to formed here and
Communications group
Power issues; the committees that are charged with forming Dandelion etc be accountable to someone.
Identity issues brought back to large group?
Need to have some way of defining these issues in order to do the larger work.
Can put something in place that is working and then revise.
All of this could be held as provisional. Important.

Level 3: Small administrative group would be charged with looking at making interim decisions and making sure things happen not including making the Dandelion Gathering happening which would be a different group happens. Consensus

Concerns: Larger group needs to decide that?
The committee is important to have group 3 that helps things move on while regional groups from reps.
Dandelion organization group should be separate from admin group.
How many people on the committee?
5 to 8 people.
Separating groups is a concern for coordination.
Concern for separate gatherings being a problem

Deciding the three groups: Papers are posted for people who are interested in being on one of the committees with descriptions of committees; which are: Identity, Liver, and administrative. All interested stand up tomorrow morning and if people have concerns they bring them to people directly.

PROPOSAL
ONE: Large Gatherings, like Dandelion address large issues, issues of our core values and ways of organizing. An example would be revising the Principles of Unity.
At those large gatherings would be representatives from regional and special interest groups empowered to make decisions. Anyone is free to come and be part of the discussion, but only representatives of groups could block a decision.

TWO: Regional groups, working groups that take on specific tasks, and interest groups based on specific interests are encouraged to form and empowered to make the decisions they need to do their work. (Many of these groups already exist.) They are, in general, open to all those interested, but are empowered to set their own membership criteria.

This Council will form and affirm the members of two of these groups:
          An Identity Group would look at questions of what it means to identify as/call oneself Reclaiming. How do groups and individuals join? They are empowered to make decisions on these issues that will hold until the next large gathering, at which time they will be reviewed and must be established by consensus (not assumed to be the policies in place which automatically hold unless changed.)
            The Healthy Reclaiming Body group would look at issues of conflict resolution and group process, establishing a ‘liver’ to move toxins out of the body, and identifying other missing organs.
            While this body will affirm the membership, they are empowered to add others as necessary.
            Other groups to be established include Communications, Supporting Local Communities, Outreach/Fostering/Welcoming, Strengthening Wider Community, History and Lore, and others.

THREE: An Administrative Cell will be formed at this gathering, composed of five to eight people affirmed by the gathering and empowered to add others as they see need. They are charged with implementing these decisions, coordinating the work of BIRCH, finding a location and organizers for the next large gathering. They are empowerd to make the decisions they need to carry out their responsibilities.

Form one and add people. The Liver Group and Identity group would be formed by members at Dandelion.
Level 3: Small administrative group would be charged with looking at making interim decisions and making sure things happen not including making the Dandelion Gathering happening which would be a different group happens.