BIRCH Committee
Thank you all for participating in BIRCH 2020. BIRCH 2021 registration is now open and we invite all of you to register and continue participating in this important work. To register please use these links:
- Participants: https://forms.gle/N7NJg696i2LoTtFb6
- Representative: https://forms.gle/KWxFQDdfLU9QRHee9
Please note everyone must register as a participant, including representatives and folks who were already registered for BIRCH 2020.
As a reminder the work has begun, and now is the time to organize conversations in our communities! It is crucial that Reclaiming evolve into a strong anti-racist tradition. We are grappling with many global crises, and we need to strengthen our Reclaiming web of communities and individuals now to fortify us for a shifting future.
Please review the timeline and proposals currently on the agenda for the January meeting. These are the discussions that we need to have now within our communities. Due to the pandemic, these communications have been moved online, and that creates broad access and participation. We recommend that Reps and Shadows work as a team. Your responsibilities include organizing communications and discussions in your community, disseminating information about the proposals, reaching out to the edges of your communities, identifying concerns, and building consensus.
We acknowledge that there are many other ways that our spiritual tradition will evolve to be more inclusive. As we move forward with our growing international community, we will be discussing and taking action on systemic racism, accountability within communities, climate crisis, environmental justice, inclusion for people with disabilities and those differently-abled, and more.
Timeline:
September 2020: BIRCH Meeting Part I.
YouTube link to meeting. https://youtu.be/H7HrvNOmTAY
Zoom Recording:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/YFxeKlNFLhRie7iDf2BZRxrKE0yeeEeb0pHq_rotvNqsPWwwvQaBIinO55HJ4CFZ.436h_NBU0eJtW6Wi Passcode: w.@a4U&1
November: Community Conversations on BIRCH proposals begin. Budget finalized. Fundraising.
December 6:Final call for new agenda items.
December 31: Registration deadline for BIRCH
January 2021: Training. BIRCH Meetings Part II on Loomio.
January 16-17, 23-24, 30-31: BIRCH Meeting Part II. Three 3-hour Zoom Meetings.
Agenda:
BIRCH 2020-21 Consensus Agenda:
Proposal #1: Revise BIRCH Structure and Process
Replace the original BIRCH structure from 2004. The new structure discusses proposals in communities BEFORE the meetings to inform Community Representatives’ consensus decision-making. This allows full participation followed by a more concise and nimbler consensus process. Anyone in Reclaiming may participate in the facilitated portion (Loomio) of the BIRCH meetings. All communities (5 or more) may select 1 Representative and 1 Shadow/Alternate to attend the online BIRCH meeting (Zoom). Ideally, every other year is an in-person meeting.
Proposal #2: Change Principles of Unity to support Reclaiming’s evolution into an anti-racist tradition. Here is the final proposal for the change from DARC. http://tinyurl.com/birch-darc-proposal
Proposal #3: Draft of Principles of Accountability.
Create policies/accountability for transphobia in our communities (formerly Proposal #4)
Create policies/accountability for racism in our communities. Commitment to an anti-racist change in our tradition (formerly Proposal #7)http://tinyurl.com/birch-account-proposal
- The proposal is create a working group to create the PoA based on the two proposals above.
Proposal #4: Magically and financially support marginalized people/communities to create the structures that they need to be in and support leadership.
Reminder:The BIRCH Committee is administratively empowered to call BIRCH meetings and shape agendas. The BIRCH Committee will not actually be generating the content of proposals. Communities and Cells are empowered to bring new proposals to BIRCH. Right now, the agenda for January is quite full, but it is important to remember that going forward, our BIRCH meetings provide a place for radical transformation as we address the issues of our times.
Thank you for your service to your community and the wide web of Reclaiming
BIRCH Committee
Harper, Lore, Lilo, Morgana, Raven
Spiralheart Witchcamp 