@hex@kolektiva.social2026-06-27 04:05:41
Now, I don't especially like the term "church" so I may use something else... like "coven." You can do what you want. But I happen to have already mapped out an example. (It is exactly that, just an example, so take if it's useful, change if you need, and don't stick to anything too closely.) Oh, this mapping also means that you would, for religious reasons, only be allowed to work under capitalism 4 days a week instead of 5.
Given the increases in productivity over the last 100 years, a 4 day work week is a completely reasonable expectation. If we have to annex Monday for the weekend by force of religion, so be it. It is rightfully ours anyway. If enough people try it, this will probably work. If it doesn't work, it just needs more people.
The Practice of Worship:
It is recommended to break down worship in to three sections: the functional, the communal, and the spiritual. It is also recommended to break these across multiple days. A common structure for some Christian churches is to take 10-15 minutes for announcements (Functional), an hour or two for services (Spiritual), followed by (Communal) coffee, tea, and cookies for an unspecified time up to two hours after. When starting or working with limited time a single compressed model like this may work, but it's not optimal.
- The Functional
The purpose of this section is to address the functional needs of the coven. Block out time (less than 90 minute blocks is recommended) to go through reports and updates from those involved in the Dispensary, Library, Works Committee (infrastructure), and Services Committee (providing services internally and, potentially, externally). Talk through any additional announcements, including those from other covens you may be federated with.
It is helpful to include unstructured communal time, such as shared meals, during or after functional meetings. As the federation grows, more time will be needed. It is recommended to break functional meetings, work parties, and such across multiple days. When a federation becomes sufficiently large, it is recommended to take every Monday, on top of Saturday and Sunday, as a third day of community and worship.
The scope of the functional spans 3 realms (which may be more-or-less fluid): the personal or family, the coven and federation, and humanity itself. It is up to each coven and individual to negotiate how to allocate the three days of the weekend once we have liberated Monday from the work week, but it is important to reserve it for one of these three. However, some people must work on weekends. Medical personnel, for example, cannot conform to a standard work week. While the work week should be universally restricted, which specific days are used will be up to the specific coven and their members.
A functional meeting can start with an agenda like the following:
Functional Invocation
Announcements
Report Backs
Dispensary
Inventory Check
What is low
What is empty
What is expiring
What is needed
Funds status
Library
Inventory Check and Items needing return
Library acquisition requests
Funds status and budget check
Works Committee
Upcoming projects
Subcommittee updates (Following the Works Committee agenda)
New committee formations
Funds status
Services Committee
New capabilities announcements
New needs requests
Subcommittee updates (Following the Works Committee agenda)
New committee formations
Funds status
Task Check
Breaking the Circle
This agenda is a suggestion for those who don't know where to start. It can be adapted or ignored as appropriate.
- The Spiritual
Spirituality is necessarily an undefined space. It is deeply personal. Each individual taking time to share their own personal spiritual experiences can help each connect with each other. This experience of connection can itself be a spiritual experience. It may also be useful to read esoteric, mystical, or philosophical texts together as type of "book club" and share thoughts. Others may draw from their own knowledge or traditions. This is something that must be defined together within a group.
- The Communal
The communal aspect of the practice of worship bind the coven and federation together. Within the community we find joy and release, connection and comfort. The coven is where we turn in times of need, and where we share our hopes and dreams.
@Techmeme@techhub.social2026-06-27 04:05:54
Insurance tech startup Corgi denies accusations that it used Papermark's open source software code to develop its software and present it as its own (Julie Bort/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/26/corg
@cdarwin@c.im2026-06-26 17:40:49
In Trump’s America, the First Amendment is a dead letter.
If you’re seen as anti-Trump,
you apparently no longer have any rights at all.
We’ll get to the man who moved a box of zines and got thirty years
— he wasn’t even at the protest,
but the judge claimed he was aiding a “terrorist on the run” (he was not).
To understand how that’s even possible, though,
you first have to look at how some people who actually tried to overturn democracy were tre…
@davidaugust@mastodon.online2026-05-26 18:37:03
“…prejudice blocking online creators & indie filmmakers from traditional distribution outlets is still occurring, but…model is broken. The glass is forever cracked. Fans, Creators & audience-community productions now play a center role in launching & developing new talent (that’s you!)…if you want to continue to be a storyteller you must make your own films & TV, or at the very least, surround yourself w/those who do.”
@hex@kolektiva.social2026-06-27 04:14:08
- Definite and distinct ecclesiastical government
This is explicitly defined in your legal documents. It's the way in which you "govern" things that are legally owned by the "church." If you're going to start a church with some people, you need to have a way of working together. The more formal you are about writing all this stuff out, the easier it will be when you *inevitably* have conflict. (Conflict is normal, so everyone should expect it.)
I also wrote something up about this. Again, it's an example (using the term "coven", because I like it more) so take it for what it's worth:
Group agreements are collectively defined rules that describe how members should interact. They may function to simplify interactions, ensure access needs are met, or to protect against the emergence of hierarchical behavior.
You can use the following prompts, or define your own:
- How should we interact with each other?
- What are your access needs?
- What would help you feel safe and respected?
- How should we deal with conflict?
- How do we deal with unanswerable questions?
- What is the process by which we update these agreements?
Write down these agreements. Edit them until you reach consensus. If it isn't possible to reach a consensus, the group may need to break apart to form separate covens.
Keep these available to refer to as they may be needed during services. These agreements will change over time. Keep them updated and be sure to check in regularly, perhaps even through a specific yearly ritual, to make sure they all still apply and no more are needed.
@Techmeme@techhub.social2026-05-27 14:20:54
Trajectory, founded by ex-DeepMind, Apple, and OpenAI staff to train "continual learning" models on user interactions, raised a $15M seed at a $115M valuation (Maxwell Zeff/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/ex-google-appl…
@cdarwin@c.im2026-06-27 18:48:08
AOC Says Mike Johnson’s GOP Is
“Running a Protection Racket”
for Trump
House Speaker Johnson told a far-right Faith and Freedom Coalition summit,
“I run the protection program.
We’ll take care of you, OK?”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-mi
@hex@kolektiva.social2026-06-27 04:55:56
- Regular congregations
and
- Regular religious services
Just meet regularly. "Regular" is not defined, but monthly, or weekly would be good. You figure out what that means, but it does need to be predictable. That's less about legal stuff and more about the fact that you need some kind of predictable cadence for any type of organizing.
ULC says "Our ministers congregate online in the forums and in other places online. They meet regularly, as our forum is available 24/7."
Now, "congregations" and "services" can be different or they can overlap. People can "congregate" for services. A lot of anarchists would already qualify for both just by way of monthly general assemblies.
But services can also be different. You could, for example, regularly post some ideas to a specific mastodon account or to a specific hashtag as a "service" and then people can "congregate" on a specific server. That would, as far as I understand it, qualify.
@Techmeme@techhub.social2026-07-27 16:51:02
Microsoft introduces MAI-Cyber-1-Flash, an AI model trained for cybersecurity, and launches Perception, an agentic security system to patch vulnerabilities (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/techno…
@Techmeme@techhub.social2026-06-27 19:35:58
Sports clips' rise on platforms like YouTube has left broadcasters debating whether to use them to attract younger viewers or protect their subscription revenue (Lillian Rizzo/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/25/tiktok-youtube-sports-viewership.html
