Hi all. Over the weekend I an offer was made to officially invite Kemetic Temple UK with the Pagan and Heathen Symposium (http://pagansymposium.org/), a group that pools the resources of UK pagan organisations to aid co-ordination of ideas, support, advice and an official voice for ALL pagans in the UK.
Now, I was previously an unofficial member because of my unique position within the community (i.e. I’m a nosy and popular sod with lots of skills), and for a few years yielded the pointy stick to ensure our meetings happened - organising pagans generally is difficult, doing it with the leaders of busy organisations was an even greater challenge. During those years too, I was often the Kemetic voice because they hadn’t any other significant understanding of that point of view, and provided assistance for Kemetic input on the school RE curriculum resource we produced with a view to eventually aim for full inclusion of paganism as part of RE education in the UK.
The invitation of course is really for the offical recognition of this website (as an early stage organisation) as a voice for Kemetism in the UK. In my resignation from the Symposium a couple of years ago specifically cited I needed time out from the general community to focus on both my writing and building a Kemetic community because we sorely need on in the UK. Of course the connections I maintained with the leaders of various pagan organisations continue to be curious on my progress. While I still feel I have a very long way to go before I can say we have a wide spread community, the general feeling is that inclusion early on while it continues to build is still an option and the inclusion of the Sumerian community into the Symposium, who are in fact far smaller than the one here signals I need to make a decision on this earlier than I would have liked.
The ethos I have for this community is one of freedom of choice on how we practice, this is not an initiation group. Kemetism didn’t have that concept and I don’t accept that is how the group should be. I don’t want to be some kind of lord over a group. The thought fills me with horror to inflict rules on how we practice our Kemetic ways. We have enough problems with a complex system, having someone dictate how we interpret it all is not an option.
I would consider such a relationship more like an interface between what is happening in the wider pagan community, how it could affect ours (such as the legalities for example on marriage law and chaplaincy), and to put our collective voice for needs etc into the pot with everyone else.
How that plays out into the Kemetic community is up to each member and I will leave whatever choices need to be made up to you. With Ma’at of course being what we should aim for in everything.
Sorry for the long posting but its a complex situation and I am voicing it here rather than just doing it because I want everyone to understand that we are a community and it will be what we want it to be, and not one that one person says it should be. And if I was to accept this invitation I want it to be clear that it is not because I have some ego to stroke. I’ve seen what that can do first hand to such groups and that is not going to happen here.
I welcome thoughts, questions or whatever you want to say about this.
Thanks
Kev
So too was Stephy, Cath and Di. In fact had a very long chat with Stephy on the day and again when we bumped into him at Treadwells. I know I’m missed and of course I do miss the fun and extremely challenging work keeping you lot moving 
