MISSION STATEMENT
The International Institute for Cultural and Religious Studies will provide a venue, forum and vehicle for inter-faith academic study, research and dissemination of information and materials relating to contemporary and ancient cultural, religious and social systems.
This Institute will provide accredited and non-accredited inter-faith theological education and training designed for ministerial, pastoral, deaconry and lay religious leader competencies.
The Institute will provide a broad-based, humanistic and holistic curriculum of comparative religions, pastoral studies, behavioral sciences, humanities, liberal arts and social responsibilities. This Institute will provide community service in the form of a sanctuary including an inter-faith chapel and retreat center where all religions may be safely and openly studied and practiced.
Additionally, the Institute will provide, or cause to be provided, spiritual and religious counseling, training and education for the community-at-large regardless of race, religion, creed, sex, ethnical or social background or physical or mental impairments.
Further, the International Institute for Cultural and Religious Studies shall enjoy the same legal and moral rights, privileges and responsibilities of any other institute, seminary or group organized for similar purposes.
The Institute is in its embryonic stages, and realization of the fully-implemented mission statement will require five to seven years. It will also require a lot of hard work, dedicated volunteers, and a considerable amount of money.
Our first task will be to create a research library, in both hard copy and electronic formats. Our intent to make this library accessible to students, scholars and researchers world-wide. We are soliciting scholarly papers, studies, books and material for this library.
We are also developing curriculum directed toward the goals of our mission statement, and are seeking qualified instructors to become part of the adjunct faculty.
We will sponsor research and studies geared toward the goals of the Institute, and make the results of that material available to other institutions, scholars, researchers, and the general public.
We are building a website to provide the widest possible access to the Institute and its services.
We are seeking:
- Faculty Members
- Research Fellows
- Contributing Researchers
- Curriculum Advisory Committee Members
- Other positions, such as IMS, Tech Support, admin, etc.
If you would like to help in any way, or have specific questions, please contact us.
Would you like to be part of our staff to help us build this initiative? Contact the staff: iicrs@sacredwell.org.
Giddings State School
Yára Silmárilde, in cooperation with Chaplain Jim Reeves, is providing scheduled classes and services for a youth group at Giddings State School. Any books, material or donations for this group would be most appreciated. Also, the Congregation has had numerous inquiries from incarcerated persons, youth and adult, who are seeking correspondence with Wiccans. If anyone is interested in assisting with this effort, or forming an out-reach program for institutions, please contact us.
Converse Animal Shelter
The Converse Animal Shelter is a non-profit, no-kill facility that has been serving Converse, Texas and surrounding areas for many years. They depend entirely on community to support to sustain their operations. They also have a recycling operation for aluminum cans. Yára Silmárilde collects and delivers cans to the facility on a regular basis. The facility also accepts cash donations. For more information, please contact us.
Golden Spiral Chapter, Spiral Scouts
The Circle of the Golden Spiral is a chartered Spiral Scouts group for boys and girls of non-traditional faiths, but all faiths are welcome. We meet in Killeen, Texas. We welcome all children who want to help heal our Mother Earth, and learn self-reliance, civic responsibility and the ways of Nature. Leaders: Shalott and Otremer. http://www.geocities.com/shalott66/CircleoftheGoldenSpiral.html
If your group is engaged in projects that would be appropriate to post to this page, please CONTACT US and we will list your activities, links and information here.