Chat - Clergy and Ranks

12:34 AM Doug: If you're not terribly busy I had a quick question.
12:53 AM John: OK
12:54 AM Doug: Oh, I figured you were busy, I posted a topic on it:-)

I figured it was probably something everyone could benefit from at that point.

Br. John: Just answering mail and finishing the certificates.

12:55 AM Doug: You are probably pretty busy keeping up with everyone?
John: I'm caught up.
12:57 AM There's a whole etiquette business about what you are posting. I'll have to look up Miss Manners tonight and explain it all at once. Now I have something to do tomorrow.
12:58 AM Doug: Well, I hope that's a good thing, else I apologize for giving you extra work.
12:59 AM Doug: Fair enough. I also noticed that I can't delete posts, so if you want feel free to delete that post to avoid clutter and create a page for etiquette
John: This is good - people need to know and I can't remember what I forgot to tell them.
John: Around my town everybody calls me Father Phelan but that's another story.
John: Br. is a less formal address than Rev. and also used by brothers in monastery's.
1:00 AM Doug: So its not brother in terms of fellow Jedi but in terms of clergy. me: I just have Jedi, associate members who like to visit but are now sworn Jedi and Knights who have registered and taken the oath.
1:01 AM All of us are ignorant in many things and most of us know a great deal about so I'm not big on the master business but if folks like to call a teacher master as a sign of respect it's OK; it's usually just Br. John for me.
1:02 AM my preference Doug: So.. \"Brother\" \"Jedi\" \"Knight\" would be the primary titles then. me: Relatives call me Johnny and some call me John Henry.
All members of this faith are Jedi.
Doug: So in that case until I earn my rank of Knight I would be Brother, correct?

1:03 AM me: A minister is a Rev. or Br. or Sr.
1:04 AM Doug: Fair enough. I think I understand the jist of it enough that I can be patient until whenever you get the etiquite document up:-)
John: A minister is a Rev. or Br. or Sr.

It's not a mistake. I look at the applications and start off with something to live up to. If you go waving around a piece of paper and saying \"wheee I'm a Jedi Knight\" its going to come across as a joke. When you have confidence and are answering more questions here than you are asking (it's never wrong to ask I mean you KNOW what you are doing) then you fulfill the position your in. In the end its you that will make yourself a Knight - I cannot. I can help you but you have to find some things out for yourself and the only way to learn things on your own is with someone else.

If an emergency happens in the meantime at least you can help by the measure of your confidence knowing what to do or not do.
I'm used to being the local Father Phelan but working with folks in an online setting has challenges and advantages. I know lot's of ways NOT to do things now and I'm not going to make someone jump through hoops if they feel called to the ministry.
You can use a Jedi name of just say you're a student of Jediism, as am I, whatever. I don't emphasize ranks and beat the subject to death so much that almost nothing else gets done and
there is too much fun in the joy of learning.

These are all good questions and don't feel I'm being short with you. I have a lot of posting to do and lessons to get up there for us to discuss together. Your just getting a head start. ;-}