National Ritual Celebration Week

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

@ the bolded: I have seen some of those people and WOW are they um... "special."

They don't bother me as long as they denounce/depledge and disappear. Don't waste time bad mouthing their GLO and Greekdom, in general. Don't contact he-who-shall-not-be-named so you can share your story and post rituals. Just go away. I know people who depledged and just went away. There is a God. Some of them not only lost Frat and/or Sorors but also lost friends. But, oh well.

The funny thing is that apparently even organizations that some consider "founded on Christian principles" aren't Christian enough for the Archangels that God sends to colleges and universities.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

That sounds like the "founded in Christian principles" debates in the NPHC. The very existence of a debate says to me that it's all in the eye of the beholder. If the majority of the membership considers itself Christian, it would be the case that people interpret everything to be Christian-based even when there is no reference to Jesus, Bible Scriptures, etc.

I think it's more explicit based purely on the number of people who make references to the "Love is patient, love is kind" sections of Corinthians as a "oh look at this SPECIAL reading we're having at my wedding since i'm an XYZ" sort of thing. That said, it's only speculation. I haven't seen it as debate so much as danced around due to don'ttalkaboutritual. If I know someone who is non-Christian is looking at NPC sororities or my sorority specifically I'll usually say something about it to them. I'm thinking of the JessicaSideways thread in the limited number of posts where we took her seriously.

That said, of course, one doesn't know unless one's in that org.

Yeah, so is this another instance of "only speak for your own ritual?" LOL.

Yep, pretty much

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

They don't bother me as long as they denounce/depledge and disappear. Don't waste time bad mouthing their GLO and Greekdom, in general. Don't contact he-who-shall-not-be-named so you can share your story and post rituals. Just go away. I know people who depledged and just went away. There is a God. Some of them not only lost Frat and/or Sorors but also lost friends. But, oh well.

The funny thing is that apparently even organizations that some consider "founded on Christian principles" aren't Christian enough for the Archangels that God sends to colleges and universities.

I don't know why someone who objects to swearing oaths would join an organization that swears oaths (or makes promises or whatever) in the first place.

[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.

[AZTheta]

@MysticCat, you made me cry.

[DrPhil]

Thanks, MysticCat! Cue...

[AZTheta]

^^^*waves* missed you, DrPhil. Nice to see you on the board again.

[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.

[DrPhil]

At the same time, you're still celebrating beyond "a block of text or handshake...." You have been organizationally socialized such that you may not walk around everyday reciting the text; and you don't have to blatantly say "aha, that reminds me of this..." all of the time.

I gather that is what DeltaBetaBaby is talking about. That's one of the perils of speaking generally about topics that may or may not be conducive to that.

[ASTalumna06]

Just one more person's take on it... (from our friends at Phired Up..)

http://www.phiredup.com/index.php?op...=1236&Itemid=2

So this week isn’t just a week of living my ritual (every week is). This is a week when I give thanks to the founders of my organization for putting to paper a challenge that makes me a better person everyday. This is a week when I give thanks to my brothers for giving me this gift of fraternity. This is a week when I give thanks that I am one of a privileged few who have been so fortunate to have had the opportunity to go to college and join a fraternity. This is a week when I give thanks for my ritual.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

At the same time, you're still celebrating beyond "a block of text or handshake...." You have been organizationally socialized such that you may not walk around everyday reciting the text; and you don't have to blatantly say "aha, that reminds me of this..." all of the time.

I gather that is what DeltaBetaBaby is talking about. That's one of the perils of speaking generally about topics that may or may not be conducive to that.

Yes. I am saying that the organizations and their values must stand above the words themselves, and that an over-emphasis on the words makes a lot of people uncomfortable, myself included.

To take an example that I can freely talk about, we have an open creed that references god. Does that mean non-Christians are unwelcome in the organization? How about atheists and agnostics? The public statement on the matter is that we welcome women of all beliefs, but the creed remains unchanged as a historical link to our founders. Well, that's fine, but then it wouldn't make sense to have a week devoted to living the creed.

[madoug]

Wow, what a way to highjack a thread!

[BraveMaroon]

What I think is amazing about Greek Ritual in general is the relatively young age of the authors.

These were college-aged men and women who put together "the total package", while they were full-time students.

And without the modern conveniences of the interwebs, cell phones or even in a lot of cases, just plain telephones.

And, from my point of view, as a member of Sigma Kappa, I take pride in knowing that the women who founded my organization were the only women at Colby College at the time. That took guts back in 1874, and I respect that as much as any of the Double Secret Tickle Fight Ceremonies.

I've said too much...

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by madoug

Wow, what a way to highjack a thread!

What, appropriate-for-public discussions of ritual in a ritual celebration thread? I've seen much bigger highjacks.

Originally Posted by BraveMaroon

What I think is amazing about Greek Ritual in general is the relatively young age of the authors.

These were college-aged men and women who put together "the total package", while they were full-time students.

For some orgs, but not for all. Off the top of my head, I can think of a number of organizations who publicly credit adult authors of their rituals. I can think of others who publicly acknowledge changes (by national governing bodies) to their rituals over the years.

Just another reminder that we're all different.

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Yes. I am saying that the organizations and their values must stand above the words themselves, and that an over-emphasis on the words makes a lot of people uncomfortable, myself included.

To take an example that I can freely talk about, we have an open creed that references god. Does that mean non-Christians are unwelcome in the organization? How about atheists and agnostics? The public statement on the matter is that we welcome women of all beliefs, but the creed remains unchanged as a historical link to our founders. Well, that's fine, but then it wouldn't make sense to have a week devoted to living the creed.

That helps me understand better what you're saying and where you're coming from. Thanks.

My response, pertinent to my experience in my fraternity only, would be that when I talk about "celebrating the ritual," I primarily mean celebrating the values, not the words themselves, though for me words help convey the values. My other response would be that I have not encountered anyone in my organization who has expressed concerns like the ones you have. As Dr Phil (whose violins I choose to ignore ) said, this seems to be another instance of "speak for your own ritual."

[nittanygirl]

I missed a majority of discussion on this topic, but I wanted to share that we celebrated Badge Day today at PSU (we will be on Spring Break on March 7)
PHC hosted a nice presentation of all represented chapters badges with a member from each going up to speak about their chapter, it's founding, symbols and badges. And after we had discussions with members of other chapters sitting at our table about our badges, etc.
I think it was a really good program for PSU where there are so many chapters that sometimes things get lost in the shuffle and there really is a lot to learn given the variety of chapters.
Even while I try to make myself aware of all NPC sororities, it was even cool to have our associate chapters there too (Phi Sigma Rho, Sigma Alpha & Omega Phi Alpha)
Great program.
Great first day to wear my badge too