{"id":7190,"date":"2017-10-31T03:00:59","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T09:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=7190"},"modified":"2017-10-30T15:00:18","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T21:00:18","slug":"passing-dented-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2017\/10\/passing-dented-cup.html","title":{"rendered":"Passing the Dented Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Saturday night\u2019s Samhain ritual was my last event as Coordinating Officer of Denton CUUPS<\/a>. After 12 years in this position and 14 years as a CUUPS officer, my formal leadership has come to an end.<\/p>\n

Late last year I finally realized that it was time for me to step aside. I announced my plans<\/a> back in April, so members would have plenty of time to think about who wanted the job and who the membership wanted to be Coordinating Officer. At our Fall Business Meeting, we unanimously elected Hannah Nutt to be our new Coordinating Officer. I am thrilled with that outcome, and I am certain I\u2019m leaving the group in good hands.<\/p>\n

\"Hannah<\/a>
Hannah Nutt and John Beckett<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Time to share the opportunity<\/h1>\n

Anyone who\u2019s ever been a leader in a Pagan group knows it\u2019s a lot of work<\/a>. But it\u2019s also a great opportunity to learn and grow. I learned a lot because I had to \u2013 something needed to be done and it was my job to make sure it did get done. While I\u2019m a strong supporter of formal education, our mainstream society often devalues learning by doing. It\u2019s still one of the most effective ways of learning, particularly if you don\u2019t make the mistake of assuming that just because your first effort went well you don\u2019t have to keep trying to get better.<\/p>\n

I read books and took classes to learn how to be a better Pagan leader. I\u2019ve been invited to lead rituals for other groups, to speak at interfaith events, and teach classes because I was Coordinating Officer of Denton CUUPS. Just the practice of being front and center for the past 12 years has done wonders for my confidence and my ability to write and speak.<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s time for someone else to take over the work of leading Denton CUUPS. But it\u2019s also time for someone else to have the opportunities I\u2019ve had for over a decade.<\/p>\n

Sometimes a team needs a new coach<\/h1>\n

I know \u2013 most Pagans have no use for sports. But some of us do, and sometimes sports really can teach useful life lessons.<\/p>\n

If a team is losing consistently, the coach is likely to be fired. The team needs new direction and new leadership to help them learn how to win. That\u2019s an easy concept to understand. Sometimes it\u2019s too easy \u2013 changing the coach isn\u2019t going to help if the players just don\u2019t have the ability to compete.<\/p>\n

But sometimes even a winning team needs a new coach. A coach that\u2019s good at turning losers into winners may be unable to turn winners into champions. A coach that\u2019s good with developing young players may have trouble relating to a team of veterans, and vice versa. And sometimes teams just need a change.<\/p>\n

My leadership style and skills have been very helpful over most of the past 12 years. I set high expectations and I lead by example. I make sure stuff gets done even if I have to do it myself. I don\u2019t let excessive deliberation get in the way of action. That works well in a small group \u2013 it\u2019s probably necessary in a small group.<\/p>\n

But as Denton CUUPS has grown (we now have 49 members), my \u201cjust get it done\u201d style has become less effective. There are plenty of people to do the work \u2013 they all need to be included. Opportunities need to be shared more widely. Standard processes, best practices, and institutional procedures need to replace ad hoc decision making. I know this, and the 2016-17 officers did a lot of good work in this direction. But it\u2019s not what I do best.<\/p>\n

Denton CUUPS doesn\u2019t just need a new leader, it needs a different kind of leader. And now it has one.<\/p>\n

A wonderful Samhain ritual<\/h1>\n

I can\u2019t think of a better final circle than this year\u2019s Samhain ritual. Wren coordinated a ritual titled \u201cInto the Cave of the Morrigan\u201d which invoked and honored the Great Queen and allowed the participants to hear from Her. Everyone was invited to claim their wisdom, and then to consider how to put it into action to respond to the needs of our world in these troubled times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Hail<\/a>
Hail Morrigan!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had 64 people in attendance \u2013 that\u2019s a new record for Denton CUUPS. Numbers aren\u2019t everything, but they\u2019re nice to have.<\/p>\n

After the ritual, we recognized our outgoing officers, especially Bonnie Davidson. Bonnie has been a CUUPS officer for 12 years. She doesn\u2019t get all the publicity I do, but she\u2019s been a constant presence and a strong contributor over the years. She deserves a break at least as much as I do.<\/p>\n

\"Hannah<\/a>
Hannah Nutt and Bonnie Davidson<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Dented Cup<\/h1>\n

A couple years ago the Anomalous Thracian told me that when I say \u201cDenton CUUPS\u201d what he hears is \u201cDented Cup\u201d and he imagines a chalice with a dent in it, but that\u2019s still beautiful and functional. I loved that idea \u2013 and I had the perfect cup for it. It\u2019s been used in countless Denton CUUPS rituals to offer libations to various Gods and spirits (including this Samhain), and occasionally to share the blessings of the Gods in a small gathering. The tarnish is authentic \u2013 it\u2019s one of the first magical tools I bought when I began exploring Paganism almost 25 years ago. I added the dent myself.<\/p>\n

The Dented Cup has become the symbol of the deeper spirituality of Denton CUUPS. While the Coordinating Officer is not a High Priestess or a Chief Druid, they are responsible for insuring that whatever we do \u2013 and CUUPS is open to all forms of Paganism in alignment with Unitarian Universalist values \u2013 we do respectfully and we do well.<\/p>\n

That has been my top priority as Coordinating Officer, and it seemed both appropriate and necessary to formally pass the Dented Cup to my successor.<\/p>\n

Passing the Dented Cup<\/h1>\n

And so at the end of our post-ritual announcements, I asked Hannah if she would accept the job her fellow members elected her to fill, and she said yes. I asked her to take responsibility for the Dented Cup and all it represents, and she said yes. I charged her to demand the same from her successor, whenever that may be, and she said yes.<\/p>\n

\"passing<\/a>
passing the Dented Cup<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I almost said \u201cwill ye serve?\u201d But I\u2019m not sure how many people would get the Pirates of the Caribbean<\/a><\/em> reference, and in any case even 12 years as Coordinating Officer is not a hundred years before the mast.<\/p>\n

At various times over the years I\u2019ve said \u201cthere\u2019s no one available who can do this job.\u201d Whether that was ever true, it isn\u2019t any more. Hannah has been a great Communications Officer this year, she has great leadership skills, and she has a deep Pagan practice of her own. I\u2019m excited about how and where she\u2019ll lead this group that means so much to me.<\/p>\n

My future plans<\/h1>\n

So what am I going to do now that I\u2019m not responsible for leading a deep, growing, and thriving CUUPS group?<\/p>\n

For one thing, I\u2019m not going away. I\u2019m still a member of Denton CUUPS and I intend to remain active. I\u2019ll be at all our events unless I\u2019m out of town (which is happening more and more these days) but I won\u2019t be opening the building and locking up at the end of the night any more. I won\u2019t be running meetings and advocating for policies. I won\u2019t be pestering people to get stuff done. I\u2019m not \u201cin charge\u201d anymore.<\/p>\n

Having this responsibility off my plate lets me devote more of my attention to writing and teaching, and especially to my devotional and magical work. Some people are called to be leaders and some are called to be scholars. I\u2019m at my best \u2013 and my happiest \u2013 when I\u2019m doing<\/em> Paganism, and then writing about it so everyone else can see what I do, adapt it for their own practices, and let us know how it worked for them. That lets me adjust my practice based on their results, and the cycle starts all over again.<\/p>\n

This is how the Pagan movement grows in depth and meaning.<\/p>\n

I am honored by the gifts and tributes I received on Saturday night. Sometimes being a Pagan leader feels like a thankless job. Other times your friends let you know just how much they really do appreciate you.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a great 12 years. Now I\u2019m happy to pass the Dented Cup to Hannah Nutt.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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