The primary stated mission of Spirit Circle shall be to promote tolerance, acceptance, understanding and respect for others regardless of their spiritual paths, age, gender, ethnicity or place of residence, worldwide. Tolerance and acceptance of all positive spiritual paths shall be the keystone upon which all activities and actions of Spirit Circle and its officers shall be based. This mission can not be changed.

Governance

Spirit Circle shall be governed/guided by a Board of Directors. Said BOD shall be made up of volunteers from the general membership and shall be comprised of 3-7 members. Any member of Spirit Circle may volunteer to fill a vacancy on the BOD. Since the members of the BOD may be required at some time to sign legal documents, all must be at least 21 years of age. Since the BOD must work closely with each other any such volunteer must be interviewed by the currently seated Board and be approved by all.

Duties of the BOD

It shall be the duty of the BOD to make routine, daily decisions regarding the operation of Spirit Circle, to develop and promote programs within Spirit Circle and to promote the growth of Spirit Circle. Further, in the event that the workload and duties of the BOD should become too great for the BOD to accomplish, they shall seek assistance first through volunteer aid and failing that they shall have the authority to hire employees of Spirit Circle and authorize payment of salaries from Spirit Circle funds. Any member of the BOD shall have the authority to bring new topics of discussion before the BOD.

In the event that a member of the Board of Directors should become inactive for a period of 4 months, and should the rest of the BOD be unable to contact said member for a period of 30 days, the inactive member may be removed from the BOD by a 100% vote by the other seated members of the BOD.

Changes of Operation

Any major changes in the operation and/or bylaws shall be placed before the general membership for a vote. A 60% vote in favor shall be required to make major changes.

Offices

The BOD shall have the authority to create offices such as President, etc. within Spirit Circle, and have the authority to define the duties and authority of said offices. The offices shall be under the authority and control of the BOD. Persons filling said offices must be members of Spirit Circle and may be removed from their office at any time if the BOD deems that they are not fulfilling their duties properly.

The BOD shall have the authority to expend funds belonging to Spirit Circle for normal operational expenses without placing such expenditures before the general membership. Unusual or major expenditures shall be placed before the general membership for authorization. All finances and monies belonging to Spirit Circle shall be under control of the BOD.

Members

Requirements for membership in Spirit Circle:

Any person on any positive spiritual path is eligible to join Spirit Circle. All members must be tolerant and accepting of the spiritual paths and ideas of others. "Do unto others as you you would have them do unto you," "An ye harm none, do as ye will," "Do no harm." These shall be the guidelines of behavior. Members may politely and respectfully discus the religious and spiritual beliefs of each other, and may respectfully disagree with each other, but must realize that whatever path another is on is correct for that individual at this time.

Flame wars: Any member "flaming" another member may receive one warning from any member of the BOD that their activities are unacceptable, and an appology is required. A second incident shall be grounds for expulsion. Members may agree to disagree, but verbal battles within Spirit Circle will not be tolerated.
Advocating or causing harm: Any member who openly advocates or delibertly takes actions meant to harm another in any way shall be subject to expulsion from Spirit Circle.
Dark path: Spirit Circle is a place of Light and Love, of acceptance, respect, trust and tolerance. Any member that sets themselves on a path that is in opposition to those standards may be subject to expulsion.

Youth Group

Spirit Circle shall organize and maintain a Youth Group as a subdivision of Spirit Circle. The requirements for admission to the youth group shall generally be the same as the requirements for admission to Spirit Circle general membership, but shall be for young people ages 15 to 18.

The Spirit Circle shall not use the Youth Group for purposes of teaching or instructing in any spiritual or religious matters. Rather its purpose shall be one of fellowship, allowing its members to meet and interact with others of their age group from different parts of the world and different cultures. In this manner it is hoped that better understanding and acceptance may be acheived on a world wide basis.

Although the Youth Group will be separate from the main body of Spirit Circle, it shall not be totally autonomous, it shall be under the supervision of the BOD

Since those under 18 are considered minors in many countries, it is necessary that Spirit Circle have verifiable parenatal permission before we can accept anyone under 18 into the youth group.