The province’s regularly-scheduled armored combat practice resumed this week.
Covid safety protocols are in place as required by the Society and modern authorities; among other things, pre-registration is required, masks must be worn, and there is no shared food or water.
Location and dates are posted to the Fighter Practice in New York City Facebook group, or you may email the marshal of armored combat for details.
Please join the Crown Province of Østgarðr for our monthly commons gathering on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 from 7:00 – 9:00 PM EST.
There will be an official business meeting, convening promptly at 7:30. Our agenda includes welcoming new and returning officers. If you have official business to discuss please reach out to our seneschal to get it on the agenda. There will also be an online social gathering and opportunity for informal discussion. All are welcome!
We’ll be videoconferencing via Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/nhu-qsgk-zzi
Video is optional, so you can disable your camera if you prefer, or use the numbers provided on that page to call in by phone.
This is a casual gathering; period garb is not required.
This coming Friday, December 18, 2020 at 8 PM, our regularly-scheduled Provincial Commons gathering will be transformed into an Etherial Court of their Excellencies Østgarðr. See the announcement below for additional details. The next official business meeting will be in January.
Please join us for The Winter Court of Their Excellencies Suuder and Lada, the Il Khan and Il Khatun of the Il Khanate of Østgarðr.
The court will be held via Zoom (link to be posted shortly). Everyone is welcome to attend court. We do ask that you wear garb or please keep your camera off. Court will be recorded and later added to our YouTube channel.
After Court please join us for a Provincial commons meeting and social via Google Meet. No garb is required for the social. You can join the social via your desktop web browser, Google Meet mobile apps, or the phone numbers listed here: https://meet.google.com/nhu-qsgk-zzi
The Society’s Corporate office announced back in March that they would not be marking expired memberships as lapsed, in order to provide some leeway for the disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Unfortunately, we have learned that this grace period will come to an end on July 1. This is particularly relevant for branch officers, warranted marshals, or other individuals whose position requires a current membership.
Understanding that renewing membership may represent a hardship at this time, a number of people have volunteered to sponsor memberships for others, and the Society’s Corporate office has distributed some information about how to do this effectively.
Attached below is a letter outlining the procedure for gifting memberships, along with copies of the membership forms for the U.S. and international members, followed by a plain-text version of the letter.
Gifting a Membership
Once the application is received and processed, an email confirmation of renewal will be sent to the recipient. The membership card will be mailed within 5 business days. If the waiver has not been completed, a waiver form and return envelope will be included with the membership card for completion.
We would like to thank you for your generosity and kindness.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. My email address is renee@sca.org., or you can reach me at the above listed phone number.
Kind Regards,
Renee Signorotti
VP/ Corporate Operations
Below is an official statement from the Society for Creative Anachronism’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
As so many of us struggle with the pain of separation from one another socially, so too do we struggle with the realities of systemic inequality and racism in our society. In the United States and around the world, the recent senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many before them have unleashed an avalanche of pent-up emotion.
Our Core Values, which guide us in even these darkest of times, include the following tenets: to “act in accordance with the chivalric virtues of honor and service”, to “value and respect the worth and dignity of all individuals”, and to “practice inclusiveness and respect pluralism and diversity”.
If we are to live by our core values then there is only one path forward: we must both fight against systemic injustice and support those that do.
As the unique educational organization that we are, we have the opportunity to leverage our greatest resource: our community.
It is our community that makes us who we are. That is the true value of the Society for Creative Anachronism. We treasure the rich diversity of our community as a reflection of the rich diversity of history and we owe it to ourselves to deepen our understanding of pervasive inequitable treatment so that we can move forward on a journey of healing.
There is a tremendous amount of work to be done. It is time for us to take a hard look at who we are in order to hold ourselves accountable for the actions we take – and the actions we don’t take.
There is also fear. Our current reality is the direct result of generations of discrimination and collective trauma. As we educate ourselves to best support every member of our community, we must acknowledge the fear – and speak regardless. The time for inaction is over.
Every member of the SCA can effect positive change through personal accountability. Educate yourself and those around you on issues of injustice. Speak out against it when you see it, and use any platform that you have to elevate other voices speaking out against it, particularly those voices of marginalized groups. Assist those causes which seek to address discrimination, racial inequity, and all systemic injustice through the resources that you have available to you.
I invite all members of the SCA to continue to think about further ways they can help strengthen our commitment to our Core Values.
My SCA stands against bigotry. My SCA will not be silent, and therefore complicit, in the face of injustice. I will continue to work to make my SCA a haven for all, and a key player for progress in the battle against inequality through education and community.
It is my most ardent hope that you will join me.
Jessica Van Hattem
alias Baroness Zahra Tesfaye
SCA Corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
#mysca #scaathome #inclusiveexcellence #blacklivesmatter
Thank you to Lady Lilie Dubh inghean uí Mórdha, Pantheon Herald, for contributing this peek behind the curtain at the functioning of the East Kingdom’s heraldic submissions office, led by the Blue Tyger Herald. — Ed.
Coffee in hand, I sit down at my desk and turn on my laptop. Sounds like a normal morning in the modern world? Partially, it is. Email first…
The Crown Province of Østgarðr is one of many baronies, shires, cantons, and other groups that play within the lands of the East Kingdom, and all submit heraldic items to the Blue Tyger Herald for review and registration. Generally, the East Kingdom has the most heraldic items in all the SCA in any given month or year, with Pennsic alone providing about half of the Kingdom’s yearly submissions.
Greetings All,
Starting December 1st, and going through December 14th, residents of the Province will be able to go on line and vote for the positions of Provincial Seneschal and Provincial Herald. Voting will be open to all paid members, who reside within the Province and its Cantons, and are at least 14 years old. Voting will be done using the “Borda Method”. This is a ranked voting system. People will pick out their first choice of candidate for the position and this will be recorded when their form is submitted. You will then get an email confirming your choices.
The link to vote is here: http://bit.ly/sca-nyc-vote
I will be verifying whether people are eligible to vote. Our Viceregents will have access to the actual votes.
If your membership has expired recently, and you have renewed, please print out a copy of your renewal and send it to me when you vote.
In addition, there are five other provincial officer positions that will only be voted on by the officers through email, as there is only one candidate for each of them. These are: Minister of Lists, Minister of A&S, Fencing Marshal, Historian and Webminister. Officers please check your gmail accounts.
I have asked our Chronicler, Zahra, to re-print the candidate statements for Herald and Seneschal (that were posted on Facebook) in the SEAHORSE, which has just been published.
Below is a list of all the Candidates. People can ask them questions directly, even if they are only being voted on by the officers. If anybody has a concern about any of the candidates, they should contact either the Viceregents or myself.
The positions and candidates are:
In Service,
Alexander MacLachlan
Acting Seneschal of Ostgardr
The Crown Province of Østgarðr is pleased to be hosting East Kingdom Twelfth Night on January 4.
Please visit our Twelfth Night pages for event information and registration options.
We are continuing to build out our event staff team, so if you’d like to volunteer, please contact the event stewards.
Greetings All,
The following Provincial Officer positions are up for election: Seneschal, Herald, Minister of Lists (MOL – currently vacant), Webminister, Historian, Fencing Marshal, and Minister of Arts & Sciences (MOAS). Each officer is elected for a two year term. This time, MOL and MOAS are only one year, as these are to fill out the remainder of the current terms.
Letters of Intent should be sent to the Viceroy and Vicereine, and myself, by October 31st. We would then post these to the officer Gmail list and ask the candidates to speak to the officers and populace at the Provincial Commons in November, with the elections in December. The details of the election process are in the Provincial bylaws. Below are some brief descriptions of the offices that Her Excellency has prepared. If you have any questions about these positions, please speak with the current officer, their Excellencies, or me.
In Service,
Alexander MacLachlan
Acting Seneschal of Ostgardr
From the Vicereine:
I’d like to share brief descriptions of each office and who the current office holder is. Please feel free to reach out to them and ask questions about the office.
Seneschal: Chief administrative officer of a branch, responsible for day-to-day overall smooth running of the Province. Current office holder Lord Alexander MacLachlan.
Herald: The office of the herald is two parts: 1. voice herald responsible for running Provincial Court and filing reports after each court, and 2. helping members of the populace submit names and heraldic devices. You do not have to be able to do both and can have a deputy to help with one or the other. Current office holder Bóaire Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin.
Historian: Keeping and maintaining detailed records of the history of the Crown Province of Ostgardr. Current office holder Mistress Sofya Gianetta di Trieste.
Webminister: Maintain and update the Provincial website and email lists. Current office holder Noble Anne of Østgarðr.
Fencing Marshal: Oversee fencing activity in the Province. Current office holder Lord Alexander MacLachlan.
Arts and Sciences: Responsible for overseeing A&S activity in the Province. Think of this as a booking agent for the arts and sciences in the Province. Current office holder Lord Donnchadh mac Eoin.
Minister of Lists: Oversees running of tournaments in the Province. This can easily come with on the job training as there are some really great MoLs to learn from locally in the Southern Region. Office is currently vacant.
The Crown Province of Østgarðr is the greater New York City chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a not-for-profit educational and social organization dedicated to re-creating aspects of medieval and Renaissance culture. You can read more about the SCA at “About Us.” If you have any questions or want to get involved, email our newcomers’ officer. You can find links to our Facebook group, mailing list, and local sub-chapters at “Getting Involved.”
