Geal-Darach Grove Articles of Organization
Revised & Adopted by the Grove 3/25/2007
ARTICLE I – Name and Purpose
A. Name of the Organization
The name of this organization is Geal-Darach Grove, which means White-Oak Grove in Scots Gaelic.
B. Purposes of the Organization
1. The Purpose of the Grove is to provide resources and fellowship for members of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD);
2. To provide a safe and supportive environment in which to practice Druidry, and to nurture and encourage the spiritual development, learning, and creative expression of its members;
3. To deepen our connection to nature and the presence of the Divine in the natural world;
4. To support the learning of OBOD Druidry, which can only be studied through the distance-learning course, and druidic studies generally;
5. To provide initiation ceremonies conducted by the Druid grade members of the Grove.
ARTICLE II – Members
A. Eligibility
1. Any individual who has visited Grove meetings at least three times, met the other Grove members, and read the Articles of Organization of the Grove, may petition to become a member.
2. Petition forms will be made available to all members.
3. A petition for membership must be signed by a sponsor who is already a member of the Grove.
B. Ordinary Members
1. Ordinary Members of the Grove are those who also are members of OBOD. They hold the grade titles of Bard, Ovate, or Druid.
2. These grades are not membership "ranks" and should not be taken as, or represented to be, marks of status or authority.
3. Ordinary members assume the duty to attend meetings of the Grove unless prohibited by ill health or travel.
C. Extraordinary Members
1. Other persons interested in Druidry, but who are not OBOD members, may be accepted as Extraordinary Members of the Grove. They are:
2. accepted and approved in the same way as Ordinary Members;
3. granted the same privileges within the Grove as any other member, including voting rights;
4. under no obligation to join OBOD;
5. not permitted to attend meetings convened for grade-specific rituals or study unless invited to do so;
6. expected to attend all other meetings of the Grove unless prohibited by ill health or travel.
D. Honorary Members
1. Any person living too far away to regularly attend meetings and not wishing to pay dues, may be granted honorary membership.
2. Such membership does not oblige the individual to attend meetings regularly or pay dues. Nor can honorary members vote in Grove decisions.
3. In all other ways, Honorary Members shall be treated just as any other member.
E. Guests and Visitors
1. Any member may invite guests to attend any open meeting of the Grove
2. Members should inform the Pendragon of the names of their guests.
3. Visitors are those guests who return periodically without becoming members. These may include, for example, the spouses, partners, and children of members.
4. Visitors will not be permitted to attend unless they have been invited by a member.
5. Guests may be permitted to attend closed meetings with the approval of the Triad.
F. Acceptance and Approval of New Members
1. Once a visitor has decided to petition for membership to the Grove, the members will meet in a closed meeting (See Article IV - Meetings) where the written petition will be presented and discussed. A vote shall follow to accept and approve the applicant's petition. A two-thirds majority of the quorum is required to accept.
2. No petition will be denied on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, race, ethnicity ancestry, country of origin, religion, or disability.
3. No petition will be denied except in extreme circumstances. Applicants whose petitions for membership are denied shall be informed by the Chief Druid, in person, of the reasons for the decision.
4. An applicant whose petition for membership has been denied may re-apply after a period of one year.
5. When re-applying, applicants whose petitions have been previously denied must discuss with the Triad the reasons for their having been denied approval in the first instance.
G. Good Standing
1. Members shall be considered in good standing if they have paid their dues regularly (see Article VI – Dues).
2. If a Member misses a quarter in payment of dues, he or she will be placed on Inactive status and will be unable to vote until he or she resumes paying regular dues.
3. Members may also be placed on the Inactive List for poor attendance at the discretion of the Triad.
4. Members who travel during parts of the year and cannot attend meetings during those times should inform the Pendragon of the circumstances so that their dues can be temporarily waived to avoid their being placed on the Inactive List.
H. Expulsion and Resignation
1. Members may be permanently removed from the membership roster of the Grove if the majority of members in good standing is in agreement that the person's behavior constitutes a violation of the guidelines of the Grove and justifies such extreme action.
2. A member may leave or resign from the Grove at any time by informing the Pendragon of this decision and may petition to rejoin at any time.
ARTICLE III – Officers of the Grove
A. The Triad
The officers of the Grove shall include a Chief, a Pendragon, and a Herald, together known as the Triad and constituting the Executive Committee of the Grove, responsible for decision-making and planning.
B. Eligibility to Serve
1. Any Ordinary Member of the Grove may serve as an Officer.
2. To serve as Chief, the member must be of Druid grade within the Order so that she or he may preside at all grade-level meetings and rituals.
C. Duties of Officers
1. The CHIEF DRUID is responsible for the Grove's general operations and vision. Among the duties of the Chief are
a. to act as Presiding Officer at meetings of the Grove;
b. to facilitate the smooth running of business meetings and events;
c. to interview guests and prospective members;
d. to explain the workings of the Grove and of the Order;
e. to appoint a Pendragon and, with the Pendragon, to appoint a Herald and other officers of the Grove; and
f. to listen to the members and where needed act as mediator between members.
2. The PENDRAGON serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the Grove. Among the duties of the Pendragon are:
a. to serve as Presiding Officer of the Grove in the absence or incapacity of the Chief;
b. to maintain the financial records of the Grove, the money box or bank account, as needed;
c. to keep the roll of members in good standing, and the list of inactive members;
d. to consult these records in the event a vote must be taken requiring a majority of members in good standing;
e. to maintain the minutes of all business meetings of the grove;
f. to bear primary responsibility for the official communications of the Grove with the Order and with the Members; and
g. to announce all grove meetings to the members (see Article IV:A).
3. The HERALD serves as Master of Ceremonies. Among the Herald's duties are:
a. to help plan and organize meetings of the Grove;
b. to schedule facilities for meetings;
c. to make sure all necessary furnishings and ritual items are in order;
d. to take a regular speaking role in ceremonies and to assign parts to other members;
e. to ensure the smooth execution of all ceremonies;
f. to serve as Presiding Officer at meetings in the absence or incapacity of the Chief and Pendragon.
D. Election and Appointment of Officers
1. The Chief shall be elected by a simple majority of the Members in good standing and shall serve the grove for a term of three years. There is no limit on the number of terms he or she may serve if re-elected.
2. A new Chief may be chosen at any meeting which has been called for that purpose. Any two members may request that the Pendragon call such a meeting.
3. The Pendragon shall be appointed by the Chief.
4. The Herald shall be appointed by agreement between the Chief and the Pendragon.
5. The Pendragon and Herald shall each serve at the pleasure of the Chief for as long as they wish.
E. Other Officers
1. The Triad of the Grove may create other officers for specific needs; Among these may be a Scribe to take the minutes at business meetings, and to assist the Triad in printing and mailings; and Stewards to superintend the feasts.
2. Such offices may be created as permanent offices, given a term of service, or may be created as temporary for a duration specified, such as for a single meeting.
3. The creation of such offices must be approved by majority vote of the members in good standing.
4. Appointments of individuals to such offices do not need the approval of a vote of the membership, only the agreement of the Triad.
F. Office of Presider
1. The Presiding Officer may appoint another person to the temporary office of Presider to facilitate meetings where no members of the Triad can be present.
2. The Presider is a ceremonial position, acting in a temporary capacity as host of a meeting and not empowered to conduct business meetings of the Grove.
G. Committees
The Triad may ask members to serve on committees to accomplish specific tasks.
ARTICLE IV – Grove Meetings
A. Business and Ceremonial Meetings
1. Meetings of the Grove shall be held at the discretion of the Triad or of an appointed Presider.
2. Business meetings at which decisions are made should be attended by the Triad and must be attended by at least one of the Officers of the Grove acting as Presiding Officer.
3. Ceremonies, rituals, and celebrations are customarily held at the eight festivals of Samhuinn, Alban Arthan, Imbolc, Alban Eilir, Bealtaine, Alban Hefin, Lughnasadh, and Alban Elfed.
4. Meetings at other times may be convened by the Pendragon at the request of any Member.
5. The Pendragon shall announce all meetings by post, electronic mail, and/or telephone at least two weeks in advance.
6. Members are required to communicate to the Pendragon indicating whether or not they can attend each announced meeting, appropriate to their grade.
B. Cancellation of Meetings
1. Meetings may be cancelled by the Triad in the event that the Pendragon has received fewer than three communicated replies indicating attendance.
2. The Pendragon will contact members to announce the cancellation of a meeting at least 24 hours in advance.
C. Open and Closed Meetings
1. Grove meetings and rituals may be designated "open" or "closed."
2. Open meetings can be attended by guests or visitors (see Article II:E).
3. Closed meetings may be attended only by Grove members and by special honored guests who are specifically invited by the Triad.
4. The Grove reserves the right to restrict any of its meetings, rituals, gorseddau, or events to members only.
D. Committee Meetings
1. Meetings of committees, including the Executive Committee, do not need to be announced to the membership in advance.
2. Actions or recommendations of committees should be reported at the next business meeting.
ARTICLE V – Voting
A. Voting Rights
1. Members in good standing have the right to vote on changes in practice and custom presented by the Triad or other members, after due discussion.
2. Roberts Rules of Order will be followed for such discussions and voting.
B. Quorum
A Quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the Members in good standing.
C. Absence of a Quorum
In the absence of a quorum, the Triad as Executive Committee is empowered to decide any urgent matter in question until such time as it can be ratified by a quorum. Notification of such executive decisions must be sent to the members.
ARTICLE VI – Dues
A. Setting Dues
1. Dues shall be set by the Triad and approved by majority vote of the Membership.
2. Dues are intended only to pay for supplies, postage, printing, and rental of space, as necessary, so should be kept as low as possible.
B. Collection of Dues.
1. Dues shall be collected quarterly at the Fire Festival Meetings – Imbolc, Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhuinn.
2. Members may mail in their dues if they cannot attend the meeting.
C. Waiver of Dues
1. Members in need may request a waiver of dues.
2. Such a waiver may be temporary or perpetual as determined by the Triad and recorded by the Pendragon.
3. No one will be turned away from membership for lack of funds.
ARTICLE VII – Confidentiality and Grade-Specific Business
A. Discussion of the Gwersi
1. Confidentiality regarding the contents of the OBOD courses shall be maintained in accordance with the customs of the Order.
2. Members are welcome to discuss matters of OBOD philosophy and practice without explicit reference to the gwersi.
B. Grade-Level Groves
1. Members may convene grade-specific study groves to discuss course materials, to perform rituals, or to engage in group meditations within their grade.
2. At such grade-level groves an effort should be made not to prematurely reveal material in the gwersi, particularly the nature of specific rituals, assignments, or meditations, to members who have not progressed to that point in the course of their grade.
3. Grade level groves may also be convened by the Triad for specific grade-level purposes.
4. Only Ordinary Members or guests who are initiates of the particular grade (Bard, Ovate, or Druid) may attend these grade-specific meetings.
C. Initiation Ceremonies
1. Members of the Order, who wish to have an initiation ceremony conducted by the Druid grade members of the Grove, may choose whether they wish other Grove Members to be present or to have a private ceremony.
2. Initiation ceremonies may not be attended by anyone who has not been initiated into those grades themselves.
D. Confidentiality of Other Groups
Members of the Grove are welcome to discuss the Druidry or practices of other orders and organizations at Grove meetings so long as they are not violating the confidentiality of another order, coven, or organization with rules of privacy or vows of secrecy.
ARTICLE VIII - Dissolution
A. The Grove, as herein organized, may be dissolved by unanimous decision of the Triad with approval of a majority of the members.
B. Upon the dissolution of the Grove, the Triad shall pay or make provisions for the payment of all the liabilities of the Grove.
C. The remaining Grove properties and assets shall be distributed for charitable purposes, as the Triad may deem appropriate to the philosophy of the organization.
ARTICLE IX – Amendments to the Articles
A. These Articles may be amended subject to approval of a vote of two-thirds of the Ordinary Members of the Grove.
B. To amend the Articles, a special meeting must be called for that purpose and announced at least two months in advance. Such a meeting must be attended by the full Triad presiding over a quorum.
GROVE GUIDELINES
These Guidelines may be amended by simple majority vote at any meeting of the Grove at which a quorum is present.
1. All members must conduct themselves with decorum and courtesy in accord with the OBOD teachings of peace and respect for all beings. In all cases, respect for the ideas and opinions of others will be our goal. Racism, religious bigotry, and sexual harassment will, naturally, not be tolerated.
2. All participants at events are welcomed, valued, and regarded equally, regardless of membership status. Members should make an effort to introduce themselves and talk to guests. Guests should be introduced to the grove members by the person who invited them to attend.
3. The Grove will take part in at least one activity of community service each year.
4. There is no official dress code in OBOD. The wearing of ritual robes at meetings and in private practice is encouraged but not mandatory. Traditionally, in OBOD, white robes are worn with a tabard over them in the grade color – Blue for Bards, Green for Ovates, White or Gold for Druids. Alternatively, robes in these three colors (or any other color) may be worn. Customarily robes will have a hood or nemyss to cover the head.
5. Nudity is not permitted at Grove meetings.
6. Members found to be actively engaged in illegal activities may be asked to resign their membership in the Grove.
7. The grace period for payment of dues will be three months from the due date.
8. Complaints about OBOD shall be taken to the main OBOD office and the officers of the order, not to the officers of the Grove, who have little influence over the study courses, publications, operations, or customs of the Order. Since OBOD is not hierarchical, Grove officers have no hierarchical authority within the Order.
9. Complaints about grove officers or other grove members should be taken up with the person in question and the matter resolved through honest and courteous discourse. In the event that differences cannot be resolved in this way, one of the grove officers may mediate.
©2006 The Bardic Institute
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