Dear Brothers and Sisters, Guests, and other members of our community,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
As some of you have probably already heard, Black Sun Oasis has acquired a temple space. With this new space come new responsibilities. We have a lot of work ahead of us to prepare the space and to maintain it. It will be important for all of us to pull together to make the new space a place that we can all be proud of and a place we can use to help Black Sun grow and prosper. Please let me know if anyone is interested in seeing the new space, I would be happy to arrange a time to meet for you to see our new Temple.
By having a separate space, we will be able to have larger and more open meetings and events. We will not be as tied to having our meetings only on weekends and will be able to host events during the week as well. We will be able to have a more regular schedule for rituals. We will have workshops to help initiates interested in learning the Mass as well as our initiation rituals (tiled to the appropriate degree). We will be able to have our library easily accessible to our members. Meetings will no longer be required to be in our homes, which takes a large burden off of initiates to host meetings and gives us a place that we will be able to come to as Brothers and Sisters. There are likely many other benefits that we will experience, but there is work to be done before this can happen.
First, we will need to prepare the space for our use. Over the next few months, we will be cleaning and preparing the space. There is a fair amount of work that needs to be done. We will be planning to have “work parties” every weekend until the space is ready. For the first month, we will be removing a wall and finishing a few of the rooms. We will then do any other construction work that needs to be done, paint, and clean the space. Once this work is finished, we will be moving in furniture (book cases, tables, chairs, and other things) and putting together a “kitchen” area for our use. The space has a bathroom, but no other running water is available in our space. We should be able to have the space ready by the Spring Equinox.
With the financial obligations a new space will bring, a few changes will be made to our normal operations. All meetings and events will have an expected $5.00 door charge unless the individual is one of the membership types listed below. A new membership dues structure will be instituted starting January 1, 2011 e.v. It will have one tier for non-initiates and three tiers for initiates. The personal obligation of local dues is important and should not be considered optional. For Black Sun to continue to serve its local initiates, they must contribute to its stability and well being. If you have any questions about the new structure, please let me know.
Affiliate Members – Non-initiates and Minervals who would like to be an Affiliate Member of Black Sun Oasis will be asked to contribute $6.00 per month.
Associate Members – Initiates who would like to be an Associate Member of Black Sun Oasis will be required to contribute $11.00 per month. They may choose to donate 1 (one) hour of volunteer work* per month to the body in lieu of making a cash contribution.
Student Members – Initiates who are full time students may contribute $11.00 per month to be considered members, but should also donate at least 1 (one) hour of volunteer work* per month. (If a Student Member does 2 (two) or more hours of volunteer work along with their monetary donation, they will be considered a Member.)
Affiliate, Associate, and Student Members will be able to use the Black Sun Oasis library on premises and be welcome to attend all open events at the new temple. Extra initiation fees may be charged to Associate and Student Members depending on necessary expenses.
Members – Initiates who would like to be Members of Black Sun Oasis will be required to contribute $31.00 per month. They may choose to donate 3 (three) or more hours of volunteer work* per month to the body in lieu of making a cash contribution.
Members will be able to check books out of the Black Sun Oasis library for a period of 3 (three) weeks. Members will be welcome to attend all open and private events (provided they are of the appropriate degree if tiled). Only Members of First Degree or higher will be able to join Black Sun’s private email group. Officers for ceremonies, rituals, and events must be Members.
Foundational Members – Initiates who would like to assist Black Sun with maintaining their temple space will be asked to contribute an equal share of the cost of building expenses.
Foundational Member benefits include all Member benefits as well as access to the temple for personal work.
*Volunteer work will include but is not limited to setting up for meetings/events, cleaning up after meetings/events, providing lectures, leading workshops, and assisting with special projects. Volunteer work is not guaranteed and will be on a first come, first served basis.
This is a very exciting time for Black Sun. We will need to adapt to the new changes as we go. I look forward to facing them together with my Brothers and Sisters.
Love is the Law, Love under Will.
Fraternally,
Rc