The New Hope Adoption Ceremony
This ceremony is performed for the purpose of formally adopting a person into the community of New Hope. The person is then considered a part of the community rather than just a visitor or guest. It is not necessary to be adopted into the community in order to live there, marry a New Hope resident (though it is possible that a New Hope resident might require adoption of a prospective spouse before accepting him/her in marriage), or even to raise children there, but that indefinable sense of being an "insider" will always be lacking. A person also cannot be a Household or Council Elder without being a member of the community.When a person decides that s/he wishes to be adopted into the community, s/he will convey this wish to one of the Elders, who will bring up the matter at the next Council meeting. If there are no objections from the elders, the person (hereafter called the Postulant) goes through a period of instruction during which the history, beliefs, and ideals of New Hope are explained to him/her. This period will vary in length depending on how long the person has been living at New Hope already and how much s/he has picked up by osmosis.
An adoption ceremony can take place at any time of the year, but the most popular occasion for such ceremonies is the Festival of Love in the spring. The major participants are the Postulant, a representative of the Council of Elders, called the Speaker, and one or more representatives of the Household the Postu lant will be joining. The ceremony is conducted before the entire population of New Hope (or as many as are able to be present). The Elders customarily wear their ceremonial robes. Everyone else dresses in their best, including the Postulant; s/he in addition must be weaponless and bareheaded.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the Speaker leads the Postulant by the hand to a place where everyone can see him/her: the Council Hall dais, an outdoor stage, a clear space on the Festival Ground, or wherever. The Household representative(s) and any other specially close friends of the Postulant who have asked to participate follow behind and stand close by, but not where they will block anyone else's view. The ceremony proceeds thusly:
Speaker: My brothers and sisters in love, on behalf of the Council of Elders of New Hope, I present to you [name of Postulant]. [Name] came to us [short history of Postulant's arrival at New Hope, origins, and other significant facts to remind everyone of who the Postulant is]. Now s/he wishes to take his/her place among us as our brother/sister in love.
(Pause for cheers. Speaker then addresses the Postulant.)
[Name], you have expressed your wish to become one of the community of New Hope, to make this your home and dwelling place, and to become a brother/sister in love to all who dwell here. Before the Council and the people of New Hope, speak: Is this still your wish?
Postulant: It is.
Speaker: Have you been instructed in the ways and beliefs of our community, and have you understood them?
Postulant: I have, and I will abide by them.
Speaker: Will you love the world? Will you take joy in its beauty and its diversity, and strive to live in harmony with it? Will you open yourself to all its voices, and do your best to learn your proper part in its dance?
Postulant: I will.
Speaker: Will you love others? Will you take joy in their differences and do your best to understand and learn from them? Will you strive to live in peace with all peoples, to put aside hatred and enmity, and to remember that all are blessed and worthy of love?
Postulant: I will.
Speaker: Will you love yourself? Will you make the best of your talents and abilities, and use them for the good of all? Will you strive to free yourself of any shadow that lies upon your past, to take it as a lesson but not as a burden, and will you accept the love of others freely given?
Postulant: I will.
Speaker: Will you accept all who dwell here as your brothers and sisters in love, helping and protecting them as you would friends and kin, and in turn accepting their help and protection?
Postulant: I will.
Speaker: Will you accept the authority of the Council of Elders and that of the Elders of the Household in which you shall dwell, sharing your knowledge and wisdom with them and abiding by their decisions as Elders?
Postulant: I will.
Speaker: (to the assembly) Who invites [name] to enter their Household?
Household Representative: [Household name] does.
Speaker: (to Postulant) [Name], is it your wish to enter [ ] Household and dwell therein, and to take its members as your kin, in spirit if not in blood?
Postulant: It is.
Speaker: (to the assembly) Brothers and sisters in love, the words have been spoken, the place provided. If anyone here knows of any reason why [name] should not be accepted as our brother/sister and dwell among us as one of us, let that reason be spoken now or forevermore kept silent.
(Pause. If there are no objections . . .)
People of New Hope, there stands before you now [name] of [Household]. Will you embrace him/her as your brother/sister in love? Will you honor, protect, comfort and support him/her, and share with him/her both sorrow and joy?
All: WE WILL! (or YES!)
Speaker: Let it be so. [Name] of [Household], we welcome you as a brother/sister to the community of New Hope. Enter in joy, dwell in peace, abide in love.
(The Speaker crowns the Postulant with a wreath of trailing-star, traditionally carried to him/her by the person at New Hope closest to the Postulant. The Speaker then embraces the Postulant, followed by the representatives of his/her new Household. And then it's everyone else's turn . . .)