What We Envision: Introducing The Path Forward

Dear Brothers,

Scout Glyph
Scout Archetype Glyph
from Andrew Ramer’s
Two Flutes Playing

We hope you are having a wonderful summer, even as we all begin to look forward to our time together in the fall! Just recently, the Council met with John Ballew to continue the work begun at the Visioning Retreat in March. Our June Council meeting in Atlanta provided the first opportunity for us to consider in depth what we heard from the men at the Visioning Retreat and the recommendations outlined in John Ballew’s Visioning summary. As a result, we’re creating a plan we’re calling The Path Forward. This plan will help us all to take the next step towards even more participatory leadership.

To give you an idea of how we envision The Path Forward unfolding, here are a few actions begun at the June meeting:

  • In response to a request for more diverse leadership drawn from the general community, we are delighted to welcome several brothers into new leadership roles: Luis Alvarez as the 2015 Spring Retreat convener to serve a two-year term; Steven Wilson as a Walks Between Elder to serve a three-year term; and Wendell Johnson as a member with special skills (fundraising) to serve a two-year term.
  • We’re making a conscious effort to include more open space in our conference program for brothers to share their interests and gifts.
  • We’re creating a new, more inclusive welcoming statement to be read at the beginning of each gathering.

We hope The Path Forward will support all of us in bringing our planning process into even greater alignment with the spirit of service, brotherhood, love, and encouragement which fills our gatherings. We’ll talk more about The Path Forward in the coming months and hope you’ll join us for further discussion at the Fall Conference, September 18-21.

As always, your voice is welcome – share your ideas, thoughts, and encouragement at [email protected].

 

Bright Blessings,

The Council of Nine