Tent City/Faith and Spirituality/Hosting Sacred Space
Sacred Space Host
Duties and responsibilities
Making sure the space always has a host is a most important challenge to organizing a sacred space. Someone needs to be here, not only for safety purposes, but to maintain a positive energy and welcoming atmosphere. Remember to constantly ask people if they would like to be a host, pass the sign-up sheet around at daily meeting, and bring it up during regular group announcement at the GA. A given host should call the next person on the list if they are late, and find someone to replace them if they do not show up. It is a good idea to have an "on call" list of people that may be able to fill in a gap if the need be. There should always be a host in the sacred space.
1. BE THERE.
All kinds of stuff can happen, so it’s very important simply for someone to be there and take
responsibility for the space. As we know, anything could change radically at our campsite any
day. They could tell us to pack up all of a sudden, so we would need someone to make sure all
the lovely books and sacred items in the tent are saved. Whoever is signed up as host during
the night should sleep in the tent. They should be aware that they may have to get up
suddenly to assist someone or alert safety crews of a disturbance.
2. Act as liaison between the Faith and Spirituality Group and other groups.
3. Remind people of sacred space guidelines: especially no food, shoes, smoking or stressful discussion
4. Be available to people at the tent
a. People who wish to pray/mediate/rest/whatever―Really, this is the primary
purpose for which the space was created. You might be surprised just how many people use
our space for meditation, prayer, and reflection. Welcome them in! If they look confused,
explain what the tent is and why it was made, and invite them to reflect, pray, or meditate as
they wish. Also, point them to the literature spread out in the tent.
b. Curious passersby―Lots of people walk in from the street or while they tour the camp site on their lunch break. Welcome them in, too! In no small way, the sacred space tent acts as an outreach center for Occupy Boston, showing people that this is a movement with a soul – one that not only shouts and marches but also sings and sits and reflects. Looking at the tent, people can see the depth to which we aspire in this movement. Represent it! Also, don’t hesitate to allow tourists of the campsite to take pictures of our sacred space, provided they are not disrupting the activities inside. It is one of the most picturesque parts of the camp and makes for great publicity for our cause.
d. Possible worship/workshop facilitators―Some visitors to the tent come because they are looking for someone to talk to about giving a workshop or leading a meditation session or worship service. Point them to the sign-up sheets at the back entrance of the tent and encourage them to write in their event in one of the empty slots. Also, it would be a good idea to take note of the person’s name, the event they want to run, and the date and time and relay this information to the contact person with the online planning collective, so they can put it on the Faith and Spirituality Group schedule.
e. People wishing to sleep in the sacred space tent―We decided as a group that no more than three people should sleep in the tent, including the host, and only between the hours of midnight and 8:30 am. We want to keep the space available for anyone that wants to use it at any hour of the day or night. If someone is in distress, of course, we shouldn't turn them away. This will be at the discretion of the host. However, if the host finds that someone is taking away space needed by people who wish to use the space for meditation or reflection, then they may kindly refer them to Logistics, who could help them find another place to sleep.
f. Reporters― If you feel up to it, this is a great chance to give a voice to this movement and to represent its spiritual core. This is, of course, up to the host.
5. Take care of the sacred space tent, meaning…
a. Clean and reorganize the space, each morning and as needed. Shake out the blankets, sweep the floor as needed, rearrange signs that may have blown around, dust and re-arrange the altars.
b. At the end of each day (i.e. when you go to sleep), turn off the electronic candles (no need to waste energy), pick up the books and other things that might blow away or that you are afraid might get wet, and put them in the red tub and green box.
c. On a windy day, make sure things (books, carpets, little trinkets, etc.) don’t blow away.
d. Ensure the structural integrity of the space. Seek assistance from logistics as needed.
6. Other things to know about stuff in the tent
a. The red tub―This is where most of the stuff goes when you pack up the tent for the night. Also, on a rainy night or a particularly rainy day, please pack up some of the carpets and put them into or on top of the tub. And put the tub in the center of the tent, in order to keep them dry. Use your discretion as to when this is necessary.
b. The green box―This is where some of the smaller stuff goes, like the electronic candles, pens, etc. The Faith and Spirituality Notebook (with contact numbers) is kept in the green box.
7. Each day at 6:30 pm, whoever is the host should contact the online liaison to synchronize calendars and share other updates. Whoever has been designated to deliver evening GA announcements will want to check this updated calendar before they do so!
Based on: Sacred Space Host at wikispaces