I. Statement of Purpose LORE shall be devoted to the accomplishment of the following four goals: A. Creating an atmosphere of intellectual exchange between Wiccans and other Wiccans and interested intellectuals for discussion of Wiccan beliefs without threat of religious pressure. B. Upholding and abiding by the statement of the rights of all of Earth's creatures and educating other people and groups on why we feel such a statement of rights is required in this age of the world. C. Working within the legal system of the United States to get laws which prohibit the expression of religious freedom, such as the law prohibiting divination in West Virginia off of the books. D. Providing a network of support and contact aimed at supporting the needs of Solitary practicioners while not excluding coven or circle affiliatiates. II. Organizational Structure The core structure of LORE shall be a central council consisting of an odd number no less than three and no more than seven members who shall have the task of guiding LORE on a national level. This council shall have the authority to grant charters to local groups at their discretion and is reponsible for setting up a networking system between those local autonomous groups as needed and required. All members of a local group shall be considered members of LORE. The local groups shall have full say over their membership policies with the restriction that no person shall be denied membership based on religious. affiliation, gender, color, or other discriminatory basis. A member shall lose membership for not abiding by the statement of rights of Earth's creatures set out seperately in the statement of declaration. The central council members shall serve on the council for no less than one three year term. Members who have stepped down, or are stepping down, may be re-elected. Every three years, at least two new members must be appointed to the central council either by direct vote during an election, by invitation of the central council, or by popular vote [at any time] of at least three-fourths of the LORE membership. In the interests of preserving continuity, no two central council members may step down at the same time. There must be at least three months delay between. This may cause the term of a central council member to be extended by three months (or more). In the case of multiple people up for stepping down on the same date, the central council shall decide which of the two (or more) shall be the first to step down. The others will serve for three or more months until all have stepped down. Central council members will have a veto authority over any general vote taken. If a majority of the central council veto a general vote, it shall have no effect. The general membership can overturn a central council veto on a three-fourths majority of the current voting membership. III. Voting All members of LORE are entitled to one vote. All LORE members will be issued a voting number before each election. This number will be confidential, except to the Voting Committee (which will be elected popularly before the first vote of each year) and central council. After each vote, a listing of voting numbers/votes will be made public. The central council may veto the results of any general vote as provided for above. Any member may call for a referendum vote on any decision made by the central council. IV. Amendments to this document. This document may only be amended by a general vote on the proposed amendment. This is subject to the veto power of the central council and to the veto overturn policy set forth above. Amendments may be proposed by any member of LORE. We, the Founding Members of LORE, a group of individuals concerned with the future of the Earth and all of the creatures who co- habitate with her are forming a society in which the Tenets of Wicca will be used to create a sanctuary to all those who are Wiccan or interested in the craft. We support the individuality of all people (wiccan and non-wiccan) and do not promote any one method of worship, however the major purpose of LORE is to educate people on what Wicca represents, and to give solitary practitioners of the craft a place to meet other Solitaries, as well as Coven members in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. In support of the aforementioned statement, we believe that the following rights are universal to all creatures of the Earth: o All people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, without regard to their religion. o All members of any religion have the right to be treated as equals. Acceptance of one form of worship does not make any human less of a person. o All people have the right to worship freely in any form seen as necessary to them as long as it does not interfere with the rights of any other person or group. o Acceptance of a specified religion is only part of the whole. Personal expression fills the gap where the religion leaves the holes. o All people possess the right of conscience, and the right to participate in the decisions affecting themselves. o All people have the right to live in a peaceful world, free from the threat of death by war or environmental destruction. The only responsibility of any person is the following: o All people need to respect the Earth and the web of inter- dependance of which we are a part. This can be accomplished by individuals if they adhere to the above mentioned rights for creatures of the Earth. LORE dedicates itself to the aforementioned task. Agreed on this, 24-Feb-1992 The 3 founding members of Lore: Avery Glasser Janet Glasser Heather Logan For further information about LORE, contact: glasser@cs.wvu.wvnet.edu