I volunteer for a lot of things, pretty much this is ADF’s
fault (if there was only one good thing that came from my membership). You
learn a lot of things while volunteering.
I had volunteered for the local Irish Festival break down,
and there were these red canopies that belonged to the city of Phoenix. We had
to move this canopies from the middle of the park into the fenced off portion
a.k.a. courtyard of the Irish Cultural Center. One would think this is not an
issue until you have the added news of, “you can’t break them down and they are
really heavy.” I didn’t think that would be a problem, I mean how heavy could
they be, right?
One by one I saw my fellow volunteers, the old timers who
had been volunteering for years, “find” something else to do, some even laughed
at me. I didn’t think too much of it, until three other people and me had to
heft one of these monsters. It was taxing and just generally sucked.
The important lesson I learned that day, if the other
volunteers are laughing and disappearing on you, find some other task to do.
ADF is the same as those damnable red canopies. Former
members tried to tell me, they tried to warn me about the truth of ADF and I
didn’t listen. I looked at the Vision statement and believed: https://www.adf.org/about/basics/vision.html
I use to wonder how people could drop out of the pagan community;
it’s always been the furthest thing from my mind once I entered the community.
Now I know, my heart is heavy and I feel spent.
It is with a heavy heart that I write this, especially since
the Grove took on four new members recently. All the ADF nay sayers were right.
It’s not a place to be, run by a bunch of stuffy old bearded Druidy types that want
to be the first Druid Catholic Church.
Somehow ADF has forgotten about the pagan community at
large, and have decided to embark on a journey that makes ADF everything pagans
abhor, an organized religion. Though anyone who raises a concern about this
issue are malcontents that have problem with authority. Just who the fuck do
they think makes up the pagan community that they are pulling members from?
From the Mother Grove meeting notes from April 30, 2015:
Motion to change the
bylaws:
Article 5, Section 3, Subsection 1 Archdruid
(AD), add number 8. "The Arch Druid must be an Active ADF Priest".
Article 5, Section 3, Subsection 2 Vice
Archdruid (VAD), add number 6. "The Vice Arch Druid must be an Active ADF
Priest".
* Motion by Jean, Seconded by Kelly
* It was pointed out that this is not the
best place to change the bylaws, it should be in Section 4, Subsection 5, Item
7.
*
Motion amended to be:
* Change Section 4, Subsection 4,
Item 7, qualifications of the AD and VAD
From:
Candidates for Archdruid or Vice
Archdruid must have their Dedicant's Path completed.
To:
Candidates for Archdruid or Vice Archdruid
must be ordained members of ADF Clergy in good standing, i.e. Active ADF
Priests.
* Amended motion by Jean, accepted by Kelly.
* Point raised of what would happen if we
lost all clergy due to some disaster.
* It was pointed out that if a clergy member cannot be found to lead the
church, is it really a church?
* Point raised we are limiting who can run,
and limiting choice by our members.
* Point raised that we may be better served
at times by a secular leader
* It was stated that the Administrator is
supposed to take care of the administrative.
* It was pointed out that a significant
portion of the AD's job is administrative, not just spiritual.
* It was pointed out that this is being done with no input from the
members. It is likely most don't care,
but a change this large really should have the input of the members.
* 7 yes (Kirk, Jean, Flip, Kelly, Jeffery, Barbara, Sean), 2 no (Robb, Sharon), 0 abstain, 0
no vote
* Motion Passed
(If you are a member, go check it out here: https://www.adf.org/members/blogs/mg/20150430)
A change like this should have at least been brought to the
membership for thoughtful consideration and input. OH but that last little bit
I highlighted? We the unwashed masses won’t care.
Well I care, because I know some of ADF’s priests, and I
wouldn’t follow them across the road! There are ADF members who have merely
completed their Dedicants Path, that I would gladly pipe into Hell. (Yeah, with
the extra L.)
A friend of mine made a comment regarding ADF on her FB page
and this was the response from Rev. Jeffrey Wyndham (Ian Corrigan) (former Arch Druid and current member of Stone Creed Grove in OH):
ADF is always managed
by a committee elected from the membership - really by a series of committees,
with varying powers. The central Board of Directors is tasked with preserving
and directing the vision of the org, and elected by the membership to do just
that. As in most elected
leaderships, the officers are not elected to "do the will of the
membership" (that is simply not part of the mission) but rather to protect
and develop the org, its goals and the procedures that sustain it. There
is not the slightest reason to think that a vote of the membership at large
would be better able to guide the org than the decisions of a committed and informed
Board.
I was still sitting on
the MG when the AD/VAD vote was cast, though I am no longer a voting member.
The MG seats turn over regularly - this election saw major offices change
hands. There is no 'MG party' that is influencing the org, and the MG are not
separate in any way from "the membership".
If a member doesn't
like the current regime, but supports the work of the org, I advise hanging
around - the AD chair itself will be an open-seat election next year.
You ever smash your thumb/elbow/knee and that pain
reverberates though your entire body? Yep that is exactly what happened when I
read that sentence. I cannot believe that he believes that. WTF do I vote for?
ADF has gone completely mad!
The sense many of us members feel is that ADF is moving to
only allow priests to lead Groves, and that the rest of us are just followers.
NO ADF PRIEST can talk to my gods on MY behalf better than I can, and fuck you
for thinking that ADF. As pagans we are all our own priests, wasn’t that kind
of the point when most of us departed from the main stream religions?
I’ve been a Sr. Druid, I lead my Grove for three years. I
was your FACE ADF, I was your FACE! I towed the party line, I missed family
events to do ADF high days. I have literally bled, sweated and cried for ADF
for the last seven years. I feel as if ADF is completely disregarding me because
I’m NOT a priest. Somehow seven years of hard work being the FACE of ADF was
for nothing. I am completely heartbroken that something I loved and supported
had dumped me in the trash.
I only see two options, I can become a priest of ADF (even
though I am already legally ordained) or I can quit. Frankly the thought of
becoming a priest now wearies me, there was a time when I was going to work in
that direction. Then once I became a priest, I’m sure that the rest of the "old boy's club" priests would brow beat me into complying with what they wanted anyway.
I know that ADF doesn’t care, because I’m just a piss ant out
here in the bumb fuck Southwest, but some people remember me, I’m the one with
the Mohawk and a hearse.
