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Greetings!
From the Illuman Council of Elders
Dear Brothers,
We have had a busy month with lots of exciting developments at Illuman. In this edition of Drumbeat we will introduce you to what we call 'three pillars' for our work. As an organization these pillars will ensure that our work continues and grows with the right kind of organization in place. We firmly believe that the new way of organizing will allow us to 'sustainably' serve men from across the world who participate in our work
So just what are these 'pillars'?
Pillar One: Our Wisdom Elders
Wisdom Elders are men who have served men's work for many years and who play a vital role in helping us:
- Provide guidance for Illuman theology/spirituality
- Review and approve revisions to existing programs (MROP, JOI, Firming)
- Guide and approve the development of new programs
- Develop our key leaders:
- Weavers - men who lead our programs
- Conveners - men who lead our regions
- Ritual Elders - men who lead the ritual component of our programs
On October 15th we convened the first Wisdom Elder conference call. We ask you to keep this group of men in your prayers as they provide spiritual leadership for Illuman. They are also pretty busy preparing topics for our annual leadership gathering (Soularize) in March 2013.. In next month's issue of Drumbeat we'll include profiles of these men - we are blessed to find such wise men in our midst.
Pillar Two: Our Board
At Soularize 2011 (our annual leadership gathering), we determined that we needed to create a new way of organizing to support our men's work. As with any rapidly growing organization, we undertook the healthy challenge of how to scale up and navigate more complex legal and finance issues. Illuman emerged from this discernment process and we can report that we have:
- Incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in New Mexico
- Applied to the IRS for non-profit status.
All of this work was completed by an interim board and this month we start the process of selecting a full-time board. We will be looking for men who are 'servant leaders' and expect to announce the board nomination process in the next week.
Pillar Three: Our Operating Team
We will need some volunteers to serve the day-to-day operations of Illuman. Volunteers will serve under the guidance and supervision of the Illuman Administrator. We will be specifically looking for men who have expertise in the following areas:
- Technology
- Fund Raising
- Program management
A number of men have already graciously volunteered their time. We'll provide more specific information about volunteering in a special notice later this month.
This should give you a sense of the organization that is taking shape to support our work. We look forward to giving you updates to keep you informed about who is involved and what's happening with our work.
What You'll Notice
As you keep up with our efforts, what are some things you'll notice?
- We have a 'placeholder' website - it will continue to list events but not much else (by design). We plan to launch our website in April/May of 2013. You should visit the website (www.illuman.org) to view what's happening in your area.
- We needed you to 'opt-in' to continue to receive Drumbeat - Thank You!. While a hassle, it was a legal requirement. If you know of another man who might be interested in learning more about us and receiving Drumbeat - please send them to the following website to 'opt-in': LINK
Finally, there are lots of great readings in this edition of Drumbeat - make sure you view the articles in the right hand column. If you'd like to contribute an article to Drumbeat, please email your article to administrator@illuman.org Peace and Good - The Illuman team
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