We believe in the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient Nordic people of Northern Europe. The Asesir and the Vanir are real deities with individual minds, desires, and existence. The majority of them do care for mankind, for their Folk(i.e. those who worship them), and for Midgard(Earth)in general. We are organized strictly for cultural, religious, and charitable purposes, and for the rebirth and growth of Asatru as a recognized world religion. We will "NEVER" discriminate against any individual or group for his/her/their race, religion, sex, culture, or sexual preference. We truly believe in the Eddas and myths as inspired religious literature. While we acknowledge that they are not necessarily literal accounts of physical events, they are true in a religious sense, and they demand our attention and respect. We absolutely believe that there are standards of right and wrong. As a result, we must always strive to live an honorable life in the ways of our deities. We accept as our guide the Nine Noble Virtues; Courage, Truth, Honor, Loyalty, Hospitality, Industriousness, Perseverance, Self-Discipline, and Self-Reliance.
We believe in Asatru as a legitimate religion. We believe in the evolution of Asatru but bear in mind that the ancient traditions of Asatru should be followed and learned from, and never discarded without much thought, debate, and prayer on the matter. To these beliefs we are bonded body and soul!!!

Organization:
Gyrfalcon Hall's organization is very simple and is somewhat modeled after the ancient Kindred's of old. We have only two offices: Law speaker , and the Gothi/Gythia. These are nominally life time appointments; however, the officers in question may trade positions or step down at their own initiative. These titles do not denote positions of power so much as they denote positions of responsibility.

Membership Requirements:
At this time you must be 21 years old or older(Indiana`s legal drinking age, and yes, it is stupid to send 16-20 year men and women off to war, but not let them have a beer).This will change when we have more members in the Kindred. Members MUST be true to the Aesir and the Vanir, and they must share our purpose. Finally, True members must live with in one hour of travle time to the Hof. Those interested in membership must first petition us; we will consider their Troth, and accept only those we deem worthy. This petition must first be made in person to the Law speaker of Gyrfalcon Hall. At the next Thing we will vote on whether to accept or deny probationary membership. Probationary means an open invitation to worship with us at blot and sumbel, but without the right to vote at the Thing. Probationary members will be assigned a sponsor who will be responsible for answering basic questions on the lore, the Kindred, and other similar matters. The Kindred member may go beyond basic questions if he or she feels comfortable doing so, but it is not his/her responsibility. That lies within the realm of the Gothi. At Yuletide we will vote to either grant or deny full membership. A petitioning member may be bound over and remain probationary, in order to better judge her/his worth and allow them more time to develop a greater understanding of the lore of the Folk and the meaning of the Kindred. A petitioner granted full membership MUST take the Oath of Gyrfalcon Hall at Thing's Tide. There are only two ways a true member may lose her/his rights in Gyrfalcon Hall. They are the breaking of an Oath and repeated failure to attend all of the four seasonal blots. If this happens the case WILL be presented to the next Thing. {Take heart. Not all cases are given full outlawry.}

.Duties of the Lawspeaker:
The Law speaker is the secular,or business leader of the Kindred.It is the duty of the Law speaker to call the Thing(a court/congress of the Folk)to order,and to perform the the role of moderator at the Thing. The Law speaker must affix his/her signature to any legal documents concerning the Kindred,as the chief secular officer of the Kindred.The Law speaker has the right to call a special Thing,with the consent of over half of the True members to consider special,or emergency issues.The Lawspeaker"MUST" remain impartial at"ALL"times.The Law speaker will also mediate in disputes where the Gothi/Gydia cannot reasonably be expected to maintain impartiality,or where one,or more of the disputants object to having the Gothi/Gydia mediate.The"PRIMARY"duty of the Law speaker is to keep the Kindred functioning in an orderly manner!

Duties of the Gothi/Gythia:
I am expected to be able to answer members' questions on matters of Lore(the eddas,and myths), either with direct answers or by directing them to the appropriate book,or books,and other resourses,depending on the Folks' desires and the limits of the Gothi/Gythia`s knowledge. I am not expected to know everything(NO ONE DOES!), but I am required to be reasonably familiar with all the most important areas. I am responsible for the planning and execution of the blot and sumbel, the rituals of the Folk. It is my duty to maintain a harrow(place of worship) for the meetings of the Kindred and to arrange for the provisioning of the sumbel. I assign readings in the blot to various Kindred members,and I usually perform at least the Hammer Rite and the Leaving for any blot. In addition to the blessings of the year, I am expected to be able to perform other rites, such as Naming, Wedding,and Funeral rites. It is noted that I may decline to perform these rites at my discretion, provided I do so for reasons other than the race, gender, or sexual preference of those participating in the rite. I am expected to act as a counselor to members. This counseling will be in a spiritual context. If the member's situation is beyond my abilities, I will then refer them to other counseling services. I will make myself available to the second counselor for information on Asatru. I am responsible for making the contacts necessary to arrange for the blot and Things, and of maintaining correspondence with other Kindred's and organizations. As Gyrfalcon Hall grows, I am responsible for maintaining the Kindred's library. Any legal documents concerning Gyrfalcon Hall must have my signature as the chief religious officer of Gyrfalcon Hall

Duties of the Shope

The Shope is appointed by the Lawspeaker for a term of one year, and serves as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Kindred. The Shope is responsible for maintaining the Book of the Kindred, the diary of our existence, and the record of our meetings.

The Shope is also our Treasurer, and as such keeps the financial records of the Kindred and collects whatever tolls are exacted by the Thing.

Finances and Hftollr:
In ancient times it was the custum of the Godi to collect the temple tax,or hof tolls, from members of the local Thing.This was a nominal fee,which could be waved,to be used in the maintenance of the Hof.
The primary financial obligation for this maintenance remained with the Godi/Gydia.Only the Thing may set the hof toll,and it is the responsibility of the Shope  to collect,and administer it.
Donations to Gyrfalcon Hall will be accepted by the Shope ,and administered by the Thing.Donations may be in money,or trade,the latter being craft items to be sold at fairs,markets,or Althings.
Any member of the Kindred may recommend investment of such moneys as the Kindred may accumulate at the Thing.In no event shall the Shope make any investment of any Kindred money in such a manner as to benefit himself,or any other of the Kindred directly,but shall make investments solely for the benefit of Gyrfalcon Hall as a whole.No investment of any kind may be made by the Shope without the consent of the Thing.

Any and all fees,or moneys received by the Godi/Gydia,or the Law speaker for the performance of marriages,funerals,counseling,or other religious activities shall be considered as Gyrfalcon Halls

Oath of Gyrfalcon Hall :
The Gyrfalcon Hall Oath Must be taken by every True member upon admittance into Gyrfalcon Hall.It is contained in the Book of Gyrfalcon Hall,and can only modified by the Thing with unonamose vote by all True Folk of Gyrfalcon Hall.It will be sworn at at the feast of Tyr,upon the Oath Ring of Gyrfalcon Hall.This Ring is to remain in the keeping of the Godi/Gydia.

Incorperation:
The Kindred of Gyrfalcon Hall fully intends to incorporate as an exempt,religious organization under Section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States of America.At such time as Gyrfalcon Hall incorperates,these donations(as well as any hof tolls)will become tax deductible

No part of the earnings of Gyrfalcon Hall shall inure to the benefit of,or be distributed to it's members,trustees,officers,or other private persons except that the corporation shall be empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered,and to make payment,and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in these Laws of the Kindred of Gyrfalcon Hall,which will serve as our Articles of Incorperation.The Kindred of Gyrfalcon Hall shall be completely apolitcal,and will not carry on any activities to the assistance of any political campain,or candidate for public office.

In the event of the dissolution of the Kindred of Gyrfalcon Hall,the remaining will decide in a Thing,how to get rid of the remaining asset of the Kindred,having made the provision to pay any and all liabilities of Gyrfalcon Hall.This disposal must be in the form of a donation to another Asatru Kindred!Should the remaining members be unable to agree on which Kindred to donate to,then the issue is to be settled in a court of law.

The Thing:
The Thing is the committee of the whole,by which all Kindred business is transacted.The Thing has the power to grant,and deny membership,to exact an annual hof toll for the maintenance of Gyrfalcon Hall's places of worship,and to advise the Lawspeaker,Godi,and the Master of Crafts in all their Kindred affairs.The Thing will meet formally at the Greatest Blessings of the Kindred.These are Frey faxi , Midsummer, Winternights, and Yule..The Thing will also be considered convened informally at every blo't.Attendance by all True members is considered to be of the UPMOST  IMPORTANCE.Any True member may lay new business before the Thing,and all True members will have an equal voice therein.The minutes of the Thing will be maintained by the Shope in the Book of Gyrfalcon Hall.

Each formal Thing will be opened by an invocation to TYR,God of the Thing , law, war, and oaths, conducted by the Lawspeaker.Following this the Law speaker will address the gathered Folk on the topics at hand(old business),and upon the purposes of Gyrfalcon Hall.The Law speaker will then recognize,and grant the floor to any True Folk who wish to speak on the issue at hand.Only one may speak at a time,and the Law speaker shall have the power to call the Thing to order at any point.
Following the discussion vote may be called for by the Law speaker if the issue warrants.The Law speaker will not have a vote,for the Law speaker as the moderator must remain neutral.Votes should only be taken under extreme circumstances,and only when a consensus cannot be reached.No hof toll of other financial matter shall be decided by vote; these must be decided by a complete consensus.In any event the Law speaker shall announce the decision,and the next issue (if any) may be raised from the floor. There shall be no set time limit on a Thing,each shall be allowed to run it's course naturally.

It should be noted that the ideal of the Thing embodies building a consensus of all Kindred members. Every effort should be made of the officers and the membership to reach this commonalty of purpose. Differences should be resolved in discussion and compromise rather than political struggle.This implies a burden on the Lawspeaker,for as moderator it is his responsibility to insure that Gyrfalcon Hall acts as the sum od it's Folk,and not merely as the arm of some of them.We enter the Thing as friends,and kin.We must always strive to leave the Thing in the same fashion.

The Thing will be closed with a blessing by the Godi/Gythia,and a reminder of who we are.
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