Re: May Acorn, g&pd 6

[many waters cannot quench love <melys@cybernetics.net>]

sorry, deoca, didn't stop to consider the vagaries of the u.s. postal 
service.  i am reacting to a portion of master thomas letter from the 
kingdom seneschal in the may acorn...  the relevant text is as follows:

-------- begin quoted text

As a non-profit historical education organization, the Society for 
Creative Anachronism, Inc. has to carefully guard its reputation.  
Stumbling into areas perceived by the general public as religious is a 
pitfall we should avoid.  Since not everyone has the SCA's Governing and 
Policy Decision #6 (July 1988 revision) at their side, here is that text:

	   "Having no wish to recreate the religious conflicts of
	the period under study, the Society for Creative 
	Anachronism, Incorporated, shall neither establish nor
	prohibit any system of belief among its memebrs.  No one
	shall perform any religious or magical ceremony at a
	Society event (or in association with the name of the
	Society) in such a way as to imply that the ceremony is
	authorized, sponsored, or promulgated by the Society or
	to force anyone at a Society event, by direct or indirect
	pressure, to observe or join the ceremony.  However, this
	provision is in no way intended to discourage the study of
	historical belief systems and their effects on the develop-
	ment of Western culture."
	   "Except as provided herein, neither the Society nor
	any member acting in its name or that of any of its parts
	shall interfere with any person's lawful ceremonies, nor
	shall any member discriminate against another upon
	grounds related to either's system of belief."

In practice, this means that, at events, religious activites of any sort, 
(including religious weddings, sword blessings, etc.) shall not be 
conducted as a formal part of or in "public" areas of the event.  
Religious activities may be freely conducted privately in your own 
encampment or in other areas distinct from the court and central areas of 
the event.  Event announcements in either Kingdom or local newsletter may 
not contain any reference to these private religious activities.

{note:  i am not objecting to any part of the g&pd 6, nor to any of the 
measures thus described.  it's this next part, tho, that really got me 
hopping. -m}

Since demos are a significant aspect of our public outreach, we must 
meticulously avoid the appearance of religious affiliation: i.e., avoid 
long black garb and cloaks, no religious symbols of any sort, use the 
term "Middle Ages" instead of "Medieval," and use "SCA, Inc." rather than 
the more cultish term "The Society."  What shall we do about the heraldic 
devices (such as crosses) some of us display on our shields and tunics?  
It is my judgement that we should be forehanded in explaining those as 
historical rather than religious elements of our research in the period 
culture and that they are not part of our modern-day religious belief system.

----------  end quoted text

the above is, as far as i can tell, the entirety of master thomas' 
commentary.  the more i read that last paragraph, the more objections 
surface to it...  in the interest of not ranting any further today, i 
will leave it at that.

					in service, 

							melys

angharad melys, guard d'argent
sacred stone / windmaster's hill, atlantia
melys@cybernetics.net