TENETS OF THE HOLY OAK CHURCH OF ALL WORLDS
PREAMBLE A. The Church of All Worlds
1. The Church of All Worlds
(CAW) is a federally-recognized
501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization, established in
1967.
2. CAW branches are called "chapters".
3.
The Holy Oak Church of All Worlds(Gainesville, Florida) was chartered
according to CAW by-laws in 1992.
B. The Holy Oak Church of All Worlds
1. The Holy Oak Church of All Worlds is a chartered, independent
congregation
of Church of All Worlds, Inc.
2. The Holy Oak Church of
All Worlds (HOCAW) currently consists of the general church membership and
the Nest.
a. General membership describes the whole of the
HOCAW, and is made up of the Nest membership plus
all other
persons who
are in at least 1st Circle, who
have had personal contact with the
Coordinator,
who have officially joined the HOCAW, & who
maintain good standing as defined
by consensus of the General membership.
b. The Nest membership describes the founding
family members & all those who, by
consensus,
are invited by the founding family.
c. Other sub-groups within & answerable to the HOCAW may form as
needed
or desired.
3. The HOCAW embraces the CAW circle/ring structure, membership
statement, & membership handbook.
4. HOCAW decisions will be made by consensus of the
Nest membership with General
membership consultation & input. If no consensus can be reached, RC
counseling techniques will be applied until consensus is
reached. If no consensus can be reached after RC
counselling, the issue will be dropped for lack of
genuine interest.
5. HOCAW meetings will be held in accordance with CAW tradition:
once a month & in the most pleasurable location possible.
6. The "leader" of the HOCAW is the Coordinator.
a. the Coordinator has an equal voice in consensus
Nest decisions.
b. in accordance with CAW by-laws, the Coordinator
should be Scion or Clergy level.
c. the Coordinator, in accordance with CAW bylaws, is
ultimately responsible for the continuance, status,
& standing of the HOCAW.
7. Membership in & inclusion in meetings &/or services of
HOCAW will not be restricted by age, sex, sexual
orientation,
race, nationality, or additional religious
affiliations.
8. All HOCAW members should accept a majority of HOCAW Tenets.
I. ALTERNATIVE CONSCIOUSNESS
A. The ordinary, rational, thinking state of consciousness is
not the only valid or useful one.
B. Natural substances exist in Nature that allow humans to explore,
understand, utilize other states of consciousness.
C. Sacred substances should never be abused to harmful, hurtful, or
injurious ends.
D. Sacred substances should only be used safely & with cautious
respect.
E. The restricted & responsible use of psychotropics for religious
purposes is a tenet.
II. CHARGE OF THE GODDESS & GOD
III. THE CIRCLE
A. A Circle is both a noun, designating a HOCAW sacred service, & a
verb, designating the act of holding such a service.
B. A Circle represents the HOCAW religious & spiritual ethos: in a
Circle we face the center & each other.
C. A circle is infinite, with neither beginning nor end, & is
symbolic of the cycles of life & nature.
IV. DIVERSITY
A. Diversity is a virtue.
B. Diversity is necessary for biological, spiritual &
evolutionary prosperity.
C. The strongest & most stable systems are diverse.
D. Nature is diverse; humans are part of nature; therefore humans are
diverse.
E. The supression of diversity is destructive.
V. PLEASURE & FUN
A. Religion, sprituality, & enjoyment are complementary
concepts.
B. All acts of love & pleasure are the Deity's worship.
VI. RE-EVALUATION COUNSELING
A. RC is the counseling, conflict-resolution, and consensus-aiding
technique adopted & used by the current HOCAW membership.
B. There should be at least one Nest member who is trained &
knowledgable in RC counseling, & this person will be designated as
"Counselor" with authority to help, assist, aid, & intervene, if
necessary, to apply RC principles in the resolution of a conflict,
personal member issue, &/or consensus-reaching problem.
VII. THE REDE
A. The HOCAW embraces the Wiccan Rede as a central
& governing ethic.
VIII. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
A. We believe that all religions & spiritual traditions that do
no involuntary physical human injury have the unalienable
right to exist, believe, & practice as they see fit.
B. It is our right as a religion to actively but peacefully
defend our faith against any entity, law, group, or person
that would alter or abridge these Tenets without our consent,
or attempt to deny our Constitutional right of religious expression
or freedom from a state-imposed religion, including the
morals of such a religion.
IX. SABBATS & ESBATS
A. The Sabbats are sacred, religious holy days of ritual, rite,
&/or celebration. They can & may be taken off as religious
holidays from school & work.
B. The Sabbats are:
1. Yule (on or near the winter solstice)
2. Imbolc (on or near February 1)
3. Ostara (on or near the spring equinox)
4. Beltain (on or near May 1)
5. Litha (on or near the summer solstice)
6. Lughnasad (on or near August 1)
7. Mabon (on or near the autumn equinox)
8. Samhain (on or near November 1)
C. The Esbats are the full moon of each month. HOCAW can & may
gather at the Esbats for magical or ritual purposes when
needed or desired.
X. SENSUALITY
A. Touch is an important part of HOCAW life, including but not
limited to massage, snuggling, casual physical contact, & non-
penetrating genital stimulation of self or another.
B. Sensual touch (including, for example, a child's genitals) is
not sexual & should not be intended or construed as such.
C. Like all intential physical contact, touch must be
consensual.
D. Touch is a primary need in humans & should be done
generously.
XI. SEXUALITY
A. Sexuality is the penetration of one body part with another
between two or more persons for the purpose of pleasure or
reproduction.
B. All forms of mutually-desired & consensual sex are
acceptable.
C. All life-forms have the right to be sexual with any other
life-form(s) whom they choose & who also chooses them.
XII. SKYCLAD
A. HOCAW can & may hold meetings & circles skyclad, meaning
naked.
B. Being skyclad is optional, except in special sub-contexts
which are specified as skyclad only.
C. The human body is beautiful.
XIII. CAVIATS
A. All other issues, ones not addressed in these Tenets, shall be
exclusively according to the will, belief, & choice of the
individual HOCAW member.