The Pulse is a monthly newsletter with updates on recent work from Illuman's governing bodies, operations councils, and local chapters. You can also find it on the Council Leaders Corner of the Illuman website (password: councils2022).
Please submit your Council's monthly report via this form.
Dear Illuman Leaders,
Our annual Soularize gathering (soon to become the Awaken gathering, see the Program Council report below) is fast approaching - the first one back in person since 2019! As many of us have since discovered, despite the many benefits and blessings of virtual gatherings, there is still little replacement for face-to-face, in-the-flesh connection with others. There is something about being able to offer hugs, sit down over a meal, or just share meaningful experiences in the same place together that bonds one to your brothers in a deep and lasting way.
The immanence of both Soularize and the final months of the year, also means that this is an increasingly busy season for Illuman. Besides preparing for both Soularize 2022 and next year's Awaken gathering, Councils are also beginning to think about budget needs for the coming year. (Please send your Council's projected expenses to our Treasurer, Roland Fernandes, at rolandfernandes35@yahoo.com by November 20.) At the same time, several Councils are looking to expand their number to keep up with the work they need to do, most notably the Board of Directors, who are currently requesting nominations for new Board members. (Use this form if you'd like to submit a name for consideration. The deadline for Board nominations is TODAY!) Meanwhile, the new Reweaving Council is beginning to get organized and down to the serious business of imagining new possibilities for Illuman's future.
Nevertheless, even in the midst of all this busyness, I hope we'll each take the time to recognize what a privilege it is to do good work for a worthwhile cause. Each of us, through the various levels of time, talent, and treasure we give towards this Illuman community, help to make our big vision of producing new generations of healthier and more spiritually whole men, more and more of a reality. Thank you all. And keep up the good work!
With Gratitude,
Mike Clawson
Illuman Administrator
P.S. - We would love to know what is happening not just on the national level but among our local chapters as well. Chapter leaders, please feel free submit reports for the goings on in your chapters via this form.
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- Board of Directors
- Community of Conveners
- Curricula Council
- Development Council
- Program Council
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- Reweaving Council
- Technology Council
- Virtual Council Guiding Circle
- Wisdom Elders
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Charters, responsibilities, and contacts for each of Illuman's Operations Councils can be found here.
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Board of Directors - October 20, 2022
Contact: board@illuman.org
Members Present: Ned Abenroth, Jamey Bontrager-Singer, Chris de Lastic, Tom Reid, Mike Clawson
- Approved a policy for designated funds.
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Approved the pilot program for the Curricula Council's new cohort offering Journey into the Deep Masculine.
- Approved recommendation to move forward with delegating chair authority to board members and preparing Illuman to potentially hire an Executive Director.
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Community of Conveners - October 12, 2022
Contact: conveners@illuman.org
Each conveners present reported about individual chapters events within the recent past, present and soon to be. Notes on each convener's reporting can be found in this document.
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Curricula Council - October 3, 2022
Contact: curricula@illuman.org
Members Present: Dan Dohlquist, John Lew, Mark Funkhouser, Ned Abenroth, Mike Clawson
- The Curricula Council opened by discussing who was on the Council roster and updating the Illuman Administrator, Mike Clawson.
- An update was given by Dan Dohlquist on the Wild Mind Intensive (collaborative with Animus Valley and Illuman). Dan advised that the program went "fantastic" and he will work on drafting a thank you letter for Illuman leadership to send to the Animus board.
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In-depth discussion was held on a new program being proposed, Journey into the Deep Masculine. This year-long hybrid (virtual and in-person) program is under development. Dan will put together a summary, proposal, with budget to submit to the Board for consideration. Discussion centered around risk, cost, logistics, and Illuman leadership approval.
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Howling Cohorts discussion centered around making this program more of an entry level for men new to inner work, whether or not they have done an MROP. Focus centered on matching any program we do to the man's individual needs and the depth of his past inner work, while also taking into consideration whether or not they have been initiated.
- Considered an Adam Bucko book proposed for the next book discussion Passion Circle and and follow-up review was assigned to Mark Funkhouser.
- Elders at the Gate was discussed regarding a proposal from Joe Gabaeff to make this a national offering. More information was needed about what this might involve and a follow-up with Joe was reported on via email.
The meeting concluded with a reading from David Whyte read by John Lew.
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Development & Fundraising Council - October 14 & 26
Contact: developmentcouncil@illuman.org
Members Present: Tom Reid, Steve Hicken, John French, Mike Clawson
This month the DFC council focused on Soularize preparation and the new Donor Integration and Relationship Team (DIRT) initiative:
Soularize - Saturday Evening Plans
- Fr. Richard update: the report is that he is feeling better and wants to speak Saturday evening at Soularize. Whether Fr. Richard speaks or not, a 13 minute documentary will also be shown.
- Illuman 10th Anniversary: Following the interview with Rohr and/or the documentary, 25 min. have been allocated for Mike Poffenberger, Damian Faughnan, Terry Symens-Bucher, and Steve Hicken to tell the Illuman story.
- Fire Stoker Campaign: To close the evening, Illuman's financial need and opportunities will be highlighted, and a ceremony will be held for men to bring their pledge cards forward to an altar. The men will be invited to participate in drumming after returning from the altar.
DIRT - Donor Integration and Relationship Team
- The DIRT members have completed their selection of donors to contact.
- Detailed donor information has been sent to each individual DIRT member.
- Postcards and emails have been sent out informing the donors that they will be contacted shortly from a member of the DIRT team.
- An online form will be created for the DIRT team to capture conversations (questions, comments, suggestions, etc.).
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Program Council - October 5 & 18, 2022
Contact: programcouncil@illuman.org
In addition to ongoing, intensive Soularize preparations, at these two meetings the Program Council also finalized both a name and venue change for next year's "Soularize" event. After considering over a dozen option, and with advice from the Communications Council Chair Jim Burns, the Program Council unanimously agreed to change the name of the event from Soularize to Awaken in 2023. This change was necessitated by the existence of a similar Soularize event by Spencer Burke that predated and, in fact, served as Fr. Rohr's inspiration for the name of our own event.
The Council also decided to move Awaken from New Mexico to Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, Virginia and hold it the weekend of September 14-19, 2023. This move offers the following advantages:
- Makes the event more accessible and affordable by cutting the per-person cost in half, since both meals and lodging will be included in the registration price. (However, most will need to be shared rooms.)
- Makes the event more accessible to men who live in the eastern half of the country. (The possibility of rotating the location every few years to different regions of the country was also discussed.)
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Reweaving Council
Contact: reweaving@illuman.org
August 31, 2022
Members Present: Bob Bulanda, Chuck Rihm, Jared Adams, Joe Gabaeff, Mike Anderer, Tim Callan, Bill Priesmeyer, Brian Sullivan, David Tillman, Mike Whitman, Tony Villanueva, Hector Garcia, Jeff Nichols, Matt Hardin, Mark Mehlos, Richard Willis, Scotty Johnson, Terry Frisbie, Jamey Bontrager-Singer, Mike Clawson
The August 31 meeting of the Reweaving Council (RC) was the second since the formation of the Council and an internal Steering Committee. Relationships deepened, delights and hesitations were voiced freely, a sense of belonging to something collective began to emerge and the RC started the turn toward the 'task' aspect of their work. Members focused on possibilities and how they may help co-create a fresh and sustainable Illuman future.
The Reweaving Council wants to keep the ideas and input of all men of Illuman at the center. If any member of Illuman has anything for the RC to consider, please contact the Reweaving Steering Committee at rsc@illuman.org, or any member of the Reweaving Council at reweaving@illuman.org.
The Reweaving Council also met in September but a report for that meeting is not yet available.
October 25, 2022
The purpose of the October Reweaving Council meeting was to get small task groups organized. Five focus topics were selected from earlier work of the RC's Steering Committee, based on recommendations from the prior Service Team and suggestions coming directly from RC members. These five topics are:
- DIVERSITY,
- EVENTS-WISDOM,
- RELATIONSHIPS-COMMUNITY,
- MROP-RITUALS-CEREMONIES, and
- ORGANISM-LEADERSHIP-BACKBONE OPERATIONS
The men selected topics before the meeting and began organizing their approach to exploring their chosen topics for the final observations of the Reweaving Council during the meeting. Basic instructions were given for developing their groups; with the assumption that the groups would begin forming in a more organic way as they jelled.
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Technology Council - October 19, 2022
Contact: IT@illuman.org
Members Present: Andy Gray, Anthony Monticchio, Brian Mueller, Jared Adams, Mike Clawson
The Technology Council reviewed and finalized the intake forms for the new MemberLeap database and website software. Implementation will begin shortly.
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Virtual Council Guiding Circle - October 5 & 19, 2022
Contact: cc-team@illuman.org
We continued to develop material, and prompts dealing with the levity of myth in reality. Using the theme of masculinity from Robert Johnson's book HE: Understanding Masculine Psychology we developed prompts related to Parsifal, the Fisher King, and how myth can become lived experience.
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Weavers - October 29, 2022
Contact: weavers@illuman.org
Members Present: Joel Blunk, Jim Taylor, Jim Clarke, Giovanni Perez, Bob Whyte, Ned Abenroth
The Weavers met for two hours, did council, discussed a full agenda, and made 6 decisions. All the decisions will have separate times/places for further explanation.
- Initiator Program review meeting to be scheduled with all who have led the program for the first quarter of 2023. This to include international brothers (Ned)
- Stoker Program from WA accepted as part of the MROP, though not required to be used.
- Multiple changes we've made to MROP manual to be organized and manual updated in 2023 (including Jim Clarke’s notes, Gauntlet of Mirrors Updates, Stoker Program, updated initiator program materials), all of which can be taken to the Wisdom Elders.
- Joint Meeting with Weavers/Ritual elders in first half of 2023 to get everyone on the same page about changes to the MROP we've made.
- Giovanni Perez & Ned Abenroth to be commissioned as Weavers at Oracle 2023.
- Discussion of issues and a recommendation on moving forward with the appropriation conversation was formed.
We also discussed race and belonging as it pertains to Weaving and to the whole of Illuman. We discussed translation considerations at Spanish language MROPs/Umbrales, appropriation, and more.
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Wisdom Elders - October 17, 2022
Contact: wisdomelders@illuman.org
With nine Widsom Elders in attendance we continued talk about where we are evolving as a Wisdom Elder council and potential movement toward a Trustee model of leadership. Language around the names of roles was discussed. Instead of a more corporate language (e.g., "Trustee") there needs to be consideration of language that speaks more to a spiritual element.
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Didn't see an update for your Council?
To ensure your Council is included in the next edition of The Illuman Pulse, please assign a member to write a short summary following your next meeting and submit it via the form below.
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“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
― Rob Siltanen (shared at an Illuman Board Meeting)
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