by Alyson Taggart – Tuesday, 17 March 2015, 5:00 PM

Hi all,

During the 2015 retreat, 5 members of the school had been asked by Thorn to give an update to some changes to the school. We did attempt to record the presentation and I am hoping that the video will be posted soon. I offered to take notes to post. I’m hoping that I got everything correct and any errors are unintentional.

Presenters: Sandra Pomeroy, Ken Irwin, Tony Rella, Jenn Herbert, Rynn Fox.

Thorn gave a bit of an introduction, which I’m paraphrasing. In the last year it has become clear that Morningstar Mystery School needs to be more than just Thorn. In order for the school to not only continue but to grow, the leadership of the school needs to be decentralized. In May 2010, during the retreat held in Wisconsin, initial steps were taken to unlink the school from Thorn. It was started with the Mentors groups and continues with this latest shift. Thorn selected a group of students (the presenters listed above) and were asked to move the idea forward.

Rynn picked up the thread here and explained that the goal was to focus on the arc of the school. There is a mission statement for this expansion, which will be posted by one of the presenters. By focusing on the goals of the school, a proto-framework was developed. Five areas and anchors were identified. Students of Mstar are invited to sign up with the anchor in the areas they are interested. It was acknowledged that there was some overlap in these 5 areas.

The five areas are:

Research
Teaching
Core Curriculum
Alumni Group
Maintenance

Research – Jenn Herbert (jennherb@gmail.com) The focus of the Research team is to specialize in the work of the God. Students are invited to create thesis projects and propose timelines. Students will work with advisers or a small group. The outcome of this group would be for publishing and creation of advanced ideas.

Teaching – Tony Rella (tony.rella@gmail.com) The Teaching team will work on creating training and curriculum. This training may be outside of the Core Curriculum [see below]. This will help to share and organize the work and the labor of organizing classes. This group will continue where the Mentors left off. A new structure is being experimented with a co-teacher and student teachers for an upcoming Elemental class.

Core Curriculum – Ealasaid Haas (eelsalad@gmail.com) Tony presented for Ealasaid as she was unable to attend the retreat this year. The Core Curriculum includes the year-long Elemental course, psychic skills, demon work. Basically all of the work that Thorn has already created. The question this group is specifically looking at is how do we recognize and measure attainment?

Alumni Group – Ken Irwin (kirwin@wittenberg.edu) The idea here is how to include people who have already left or will eventually leave Morningstar. What pathways make sense to include these people? How do we include them?

Maintenance – Sandra Pomeroy (sjp1226@gmail.com) The broad mandate here is to support the school. This includes technology, enrollment, account, conflict resolution, steer committee, temple maintenance, marketing.

General comments that I did not write down attribution for: We are looking for all levels of participation. Be clear with yourself and the anchors regarding the level of involvement you wish to have.

If you wish to join any of the groups, please email the anchors directly and not post on the forum about joining the teams. However, please feel free to discuss these changes and any ideas on the forum.

I believe this is something Thorn said, and I will close with it: Let this happen. Let is spread through your mind, heart, and hands. Let this spread through your life. Let this spread so that Morningstar Mystery School can spread throughout the world.

Reply: by Sandra Pomeroy – Tuesday, 17 March 2015, 9:55 PM

Thank you Alyson! The current mission statement for Morningstar Mystery School follows:

Morningstar’s Mission: The mission of Morningstar is the illumination of each person’s True Will, the teaching, transmission, and sharing of practices that promote and sustain its discovery and manifestation, and the continuing development of each person as they follow their True Will stepping into greater levels of power, passion, and service to other humans, their Gods, and this beloved earth. We remember. We practice. We serve.

We recorded the presentation for everyone to view:

We also prepared mini-mission statements for each group:

Pillars of Morningstar:

Core Curriculum: Identify the core teachings of Morningstar and create a structure to recognize the attainment of competency in those teachings. Anchor: Ealasaid (ealasaidh@gmail.com)

Alumni Community: The chief goals of the alumni group are, (1) giving thought to the ways in which alums may become involved with the school, and (2) creating some avenues for re-involvement, including contacting Morningstar alums once those options are figured out. Anchor: Ken Irwin (kirwin@wittenberg.edu)

Research: Research would enable those students in Morningstar who have successfully completed the core curriculum to do formal study in an area of their choice. Formal study would include creation of a thesis / project statement including a timeline of expected completion and possible outcomes. Individual study would be as varied as each person’s Work of This God – but could include art, healing, seership, activism, teaching,etc. Research students would work with advisor(s), or within a group doing similar research and check in on a monthly basis. Possible outcomes might include publishing on the process of the research, other published works, art, performance, creation of advanced specialized courses for Morningstar, etc. Completion of the project will include formal acknowledgement from the Morningstar community in some way. Anchor: Jennifer Herbert (jennherb@gmail.com)

Teaching: Creating a set of standards for teaching and teachers in Morningstar, developing training for teachers, developing curricula outside of core classes, and organizing Morningstar teachers within our community and abroad. Anchor: Tony Rella (tony.rella@gmail.com)

School Maintenance: School Maintenance encompasses the logistical, technological, psychic, administrative, and leadership support that allow that school to function. This broad mandate includes the following categories of work, which necessarily interweave with each other as well as the other pillars of the school: 1. Temple: Maintaining the non-physical structures, especially the temple, that support the school. 2. IT: Website, moodle, and video chat support, as well as seeking out new solutions as they are needed. 3. Marketing/public presence: Managing the outward face of Morningstar. 4. Administration/logistics: Administrative functions including accounting and enrollment, logistical support for retreats, conflict resolution, and the steering committee. Anchor: Sandra (sjp1226@gmail.com)

Just to reiterate, everyone in the school is invited and encouraged to participate in this creative process. In order to succeed, we need a diversity of view points and skill sets. The work of each of the pillars intentionally overlaps and supports the others. If you are interested in the work of any of the groups (you are not limited to one), please email the anchor directly. They will be coordinating the communication for the working group and facilitating the discussion. Morningstar needs you, your skills, and your unique viewpoint. Please sign up.

Copied from the Moodle: http://www.morningstarmysteryschool.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=2683
Retrieved from “https://www.morningstarmysteryschool.com/ReferenceDesk/index.php?title=School_Update_from_2015_Retreat&oldid=35”