Gatherings

There are no Technotheology gatherings. None have been held, none are scheduled, and there is no organisation to arrange one.

This page describes a possible form. It is written now, before anything exists, for two reasons. First, because a form written under no pressure is likely to be better than one improvised by whoever gathers first. Second, because publishing it makes it checkable: if a gathering ever occurs that departs from this in ways that matter, someone can hold up the page.

Nothing here is required. If you gather, you may ignore all of it.

The shape

A gathering is a small number of people, in a room or on a call, for about ninety minutes, doing four things in order.

Arrival. Ten minutes of nothing structured. People come in, sit down, are given something to drink, and talk about ordinary matters. This is not preliminary to the gathering. It is part of it, and it is the part most often cut when a group becomes serious about itself.

A reading. Someone reads a short text aloud. It may come from this site’s readings, from the Code of Enlightenment, from another tradition entirely, or from a novel, a letter, or a technical document. It is read once, slowly. It is not explained.

The silence. Five minutes. Longer than a group expects and shorter than is impressive. Nobody is guided through it. Nobody is told what to do with it.

The deliberation. Forty-five minutes on a single question, brought by one of those present, concerning something they actually face. Not a topic. A situation, with particulars, in which they do not know what to do.

The others do not solve it. They ask questions, offer what they have seen, and say plainly where they disagree with each other. The person who brought the question is not required to accept any of it, is not asked what they will do, and is not followed up with.

The close. Two minutes. Someone says that the gathering is ended. That is all that is needed.

What a gathering is not

It is not a service. There is no leader with standing, no liturgy that must be performed, no obligation to believe anything, and no formula of assent.

It is not therapy. People bring difficulties, and a group of ordinary people is not equipped to treat distress. Anyone facilitating should know the difference and should be willing to say, plainly, that a person needs support this room cannot give.

It is not a class. Nobody is teaching. If a gathering acquires a person who explains things to the others each week, something has changed and it should be noticed.

It is not recruitment. There is nothing to join. A person who attends once and never returns has not lapsed.

It is not recorded. What is said in a deliberation stays there. No notes, no transcript, no automated summary. This should be stated aloud at the start of every gathering, every time, including once everyone knows it.

Practical matters

Facilitation. Someone opens and closes, watches the time, and makes sure the person who has not spoken gets room. The role should rotate. It should never accumulate a title beyond a functional one.

Size. Somewhere between three and about ten. Above ten the deliberation becomes a performance and the quiet people disappear.

Devices. Away, unless someone needs one. A person may need a device for access reasons, for a caring responsibility, or because they are on call. Do not make a rule that punishes them.

Food. If it is easy, yes. Eating together does more than most things that are designed to build community.

Cost. Nothing should be charged. If a room costs money, split it openly and let anyone decline without explanation. Never take a collection.

Online gatherings. These work, in our judgement, better than people expect, and they are the only option for many. The silence is harder to hold and should be shortened. Cameras optional, always.

Safety

Any gathering that includes children or vulnerable adults requires proper safeguarding arrangements, not good intentions. See the safeguarding page, which is not optional reading for anyone considering this.

Any gathering should have a way for a person to raise a concern with someone other than the facilitator.

Anyone who tries to convert a gathering into a following should be asked to stop and, if they do not, asked to leave. This is not a difficult call and it should not be treated as one.

If you do this

You do not need permission and there is nobody to ask.

If you hold something that works, we would be glad to hear what happened, including what was awkward. Write to [email protected]. We are not collecting a directory, we will not list you, and we will not describe your gathering as evidence that this tradition has a community. It does not.

We would rather this page stayed marked as describing something that does not exist for a long time than fill it in prematurely with something we made up.