A resource for your circle
The circle
agreement.
It is read out loud in the first session and signed. It is not a formality: it is the only thing that makes it possible for someone to say what she has not said at home.
Here you build the whole thing: the names, the eight roles, the calendar of the eleven sessions and the retreat, the money, the four emergency contacts and the clauses. At the end you download it, print it and sign it.
1 · The circle
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2 · Who is here
A circle is 6 to 9 women. There are more roles than women, so somebody will carry two. The guide-elect is always named and also carries another role.
3 · Who carries each role
They are assigned by role, not by person: that way one woman can carry two, which is what happens when the circle is six. The guide-elect also carries another role.
4 · What each role does
5 · Where we meet
Wherever the circle decides: a house, a meeting room, a community hall, a public place. The one condition that is not negotiable is that it has a private space, where nobody outside can hear and nobody walks in mid-session.
6 · The calendar of the year
Eleven sessions and one retreat. Each session lasts four hours, except the first, which lasts two and a half. The dates are agreed today, for the whole year: changing one afterwards requires that everyone can make it.
7 · Money and contributions
The treasurer keeps the count and does not hold the money: each woman’s money stays hers until the provider is paid.
The contribution does not go to another woman: it goes to the retreat fund. Nobody receives it, and what is collected everyone enjoys. It is set today, in small amounts, and if it weighs on any of us it is lowered for everyone without having to explain why.
8 · The four contacts
They are four topics, not four numbers: each circle puts in what works in its own city. MQHD does not supply them, because a national number goes out of date and does not work in another city. They are reviewed every year.
9 · The clauses
The ones marked Fixed cannot be removed: without them it is not an MQHD circle. The rest you choose.
This circle’s own commitments
Whatever you want to add. They print at the end of «How we talk».
10 · How it looks
Pressing «Download or print» opens your browser’s dialog. From there you can print it or choose «Save as PDF». Only the agreement prints, without the forms.