National Ritual Celebration Week

[AOII Angel]

The problem with addressing any group other than your own is that you don't know if AChiO and Tri Delta have any specifically religious undertones in their rituals. They may include the ideals of their creeds very well in their rituals. Don't speak for them.

Having a Christian basis for ritual doesn't have to be a factor to exclude people. The level of biblical involvement may vary widely. I've actually read several rituals. They are quite beautiful, and so far, I haven't come across a single one that includes a significant amount of biblical content. They may have Christian values, but there are values that many non Christian people hold in common with Christians that you find in the Christian tradition.

If there is a ritual out there that demands you recognize Jesus as your savior or requires you to take communion, etc, then I would have a problem. And if you are wondering, I would count myself as extremely non-religious.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

The problem with addressing any group other than your own is that you don't know if AChiO and Tri Delta have any specifically religious undertones in their rituals. They may include the ideals of their creeds very well in their rituals. Don't speak for them.

Having a Christian basis for ritual doesn't have to be a factor to exclude people. The level of biblical involvement may vary widely. I've actually read several rituals. They are quite beautiful, and so far, I haven't come across a single one that includes a significant amount of biblical content. They may have Christian values, but there are values that many non Christian people hold in common with Christians that you find in the Christian tradition.

If there is a ritual out there that demands you recognize Jesus as your savior or requires you to take communion, etc, then I would have a problem. And if you are wondering, I would count myself as extremely non-religious.

I don't understand how you talk about having read several rituals, and then tell me that there is no way I could know what is in someone else's ritual.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

I don't understand how you talk about having read several rituals, and then tell me that there is no way I could know what is in someone else's ritual.

Well, you never claimed to have read any so...

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

I don't understand how you talk about having read several rituals, and then tell me that there is no way I could know what is in someone else's ritual.

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Well, you never claimed to have read any so...

Exactly. I still won't speak for the groups that I have read, nor will I specifically say which rituals I have read. All I will say is that AOII's ritual has meaning now as it did when it was written, and can speak to our members who are Christian, non-Christian or even atheist. My whole point is that generalizations will get you in trouble. You have specific knowledge ONLY of the rituals you have read. I do agree with Drole, however, that celebrating ritual across orgs is a bit awkward. But, to each her own.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Well, you never claimed to have read any so...

Truedat.

And even if she had, reading other orgs' rituals doesn't mean one should speak on other orgs' rituals in such general conversation. Both DeltaBetaBaby and AOII Angel need to be careful as to not seem as though they are particularly well-informed or authorities on rituals other than their own.

Plenty of people have access to GLOs' rituals and don't read them or read them but you would never know because they don't discuss them, even vaguely. I can access rituals for other NPHC orgs but even reading them doesn't mean much beyond the words on the paper. Since there are nonChristian NPHCers, as well as Christian NPHCers who have denounced because they feel that Greekdom is the antiChrist, there is something to be said for what's embedded in "ritual" and beyond the words. I don't know about other GLOs but Delta is to be taken as a whole and not picked a part because someone has read some document (which isn't "secret" because secrets aren't put in print and distributed in paper form).

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Truedat.

And even if she had, reading other orgs' rituals doesn't mean one should speak on other orgs' rituals in such general conversation. Both DeltaBetaBaby and AOII Angel need to be careful as to not seem as though they are particularly well-informed or authorities on rituals other than their own.

Plenty of people have access to GLOs' rituals and don't read them or read them but you would never know because they don't discuss them, even vaguely. I can access rituals for other NPHC orgs but even reading them doesn't mean much beyond the words on the paper. Since there are nonChristian NPHCers, as well as Christian NPHCers who have denounced because they feel that Greekdom is the antiChrist, there is something to be said for what's embedded in "ritual" and beyond the words. I don't know about other GLOs but Delta is to be taken as a whole and not picked a part because someone has read some document (which isn't "secret" because secrets aren't put in print and distributed in paper form).

See above. I completely agree.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Truedat.

And even if she had, reading other orgs' rituals doesn't mean one should speak on other orgs' rituals in such general conversation. Both DeltaBetaBaby and AOII Angel need to be careful as to not seem as though they are particularly well-informed or authorities on rituals other than their own.

You are right, I over-stepped in my original post. That said, I consider it common knowledge that the ritual of most NPC orgs is based in Christian scripture. In fact, the ones that aren't generally go out of their way to promote that about themselves.

My main point, however, is that we should celebrate the values of our orgs (and perhaps the common values across orgs) above celebrating a specific block of text or handshake or sequinned leggings or anything else. I'm just not feeling National Ritual Week.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

You are right, I over-stepped in my original post. That said, I consider it common knowledge that the ritual of most NPC orgs is based in Christian scripture. In fact, the ones that aren't generally go out of their way to promote that about themselves.

"Common knowledge" among those who are familiar with that aspect of NPC orgs. It wasn't common knowledge to me until I read your post.

Is it safe to assume that those that aren't based on Christian principles/scripture are the ones that promote that about themselves? You all would know more than I would.

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

My main point, however, is that we should celebrate the values of our orgs (and perhaps the common values across orgs) above celebrating a specific block of text or handshake or sequinned leggings or anything else.

Then organize something with your sorority to do so. Some other organizations, mine included, are already doing that at the chapter, regional, and national levels.

Be sure to rock the sequined leggings when you contact your NHQ.

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

I'm just not feeling National Ritual Week.

Neither am I but none of our opinions really matter. LOL.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

"Common knowledge" among those who are familiar with that aspect of NPC orgs. It wasn't common knowledge to me until I read your post.

It's been discussed on GC before in the vaguest of vague terms. If you put a lot of the posts together you can see a pattern.

Is it safe to assume that those that aren't based on Christian principles/scripture are the ones that promote that about themselves? You all would know more than I would.

Probably to some extent, but not necessarily universally.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

My main point, however, is that we should celebrate the values of our orgs (and perhaps the common values across orgs) above celebrating a specific block of text or handshake or sequinned leggings or anything else. I'm just not feeling National Ritual Week.

For many of us, there are no distinctions between celebrating the values of our organizations and celebrating our rituals. Ritual is more, much more than a grip or sign, or even sequined leggings. It is the vessel that holds the values we cherish and enables us to pass them along to the next generation. Sure, secret handshakes and symbols are fun, but if we stop at the fun and fail to see what they really mean, what they remind us of and point us to, we're missing the point. And if we think of our rituals as "a specific block of text," then I fear we're not internalizing the message those words contain at all.


This seems like a good time to post this:

"The Secret Thoughts of a Ritual" -- Edward M. King (Sigma Chi). I really think this is worth reading frequently.

I am so very grateful for the ritual I share with my brothers and the bond it creates among us. I am so very grateful for those who wrote it -- for the care and devotion they put into crafting not just a meaningful and beautiful document but a deeply meaningful and beautiful experience. I am so very grateful for those in our history who have worked to help us understand and appreciate the gift we have in our ritual. I am so very grateful for the guide the ritual has been for me and continues to be for me as I strive to live by the values it champions. And I am glad to know that those in other fraternities and sororities have similiar reasons to be equally grateful for their own rituals.

It is with this gratitude that I will mark National Ritual Celebration Week.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

For many of us, there are no distinctions between celebrating the values of our organizations and celebrating our rituals. Ritual is more, much more than a grip or sign, or even sequined leggings. It is the vessel that holds the values we cherish and enables us to pass them along to the next generation. Sure, secret handshakes and symbols are fun, but if we stop at the fun and fail to see what they really mean, what they remind us of and point us to, we're missing the point. And if we think of our rituals as "a specific block of text," then I fear we're not internalizing the message those words contain at all.


This seems like a good time to post this:

"The Secret Thoughts of a Ritual" -- Edward M. King (Sigma Chi). I really think this is worth reading frequently.

I am so very grateful for the ritual I share with my brothers and the bond it creates among us. I am so very grateful for those who wrote it -- for the care and devotion they put into crafting not just a meaningful and beautiful document but a deeply meaningful and beautiful experience. I am so very grateful for those in our history who have worked to help us understand and appreciate the gift we have in our ritual. I am so very grateful for the guide the ritual has been for me and continues to be for me as I strive to live by the values it champions. And I am glad to know that those in other fraternities and sororities have similiar reasons to be equally grateful for their own rituals.

It is with this gratitude that I will mark National Ritual Celebration Week.

QFT

I was going to say something along these lines. My ritual is one that I think of everyday, because the values it exposes are ones that are worth living.