My Dear Friends,
It has been a difficult week or two for so many whose eyes rest upon these words. Our Barony is affected by difficult situations both from afar and near within the SCA. We are feeling the pain of loss, of division, even of disillusionment. So many of us feel lost… our hearts and our spirits ache with it.
My dear friends and chosen family, remember who we are….
We are the newcomer with eyes bright and interested at their first tourney, or choosing the language and script for our first scroll.
We are brothers- and sisters- in arms, fighting side by side in joy and companionship.
We are the camp that comes together to find shovels and ropes, drenched by a downpour, so that our neighbors’ Pennsic homes are saved.
We are the group that makes hot soup and tea for those bedraggled camp saviors.
We are the family that comes together to support a virtual stranger with food and hugs and tears in the time of the greatest grief.
We are the grizzled old-timer, telling stories around the fire, and lending wise words to open minds.
We are the gentle striving toward the Peerage, taking an inner journey to mold their spirit in courtesy and compassion.
We are the smiling, laughing dancers and singers, with music filling our hearts.
We are the Royal that spends countless at home hours facilitating appreciation and looking for ways to enhance Their peoples’ delight.
We are the artisan that falls into the rabbit hole of researching their passion, a journey of all shapes and times.
We are the circle of friends by the fire, in homes, in meeting halls, planning shenanigans and fun of all kinds.
We are the bards, the scribes, the fighters, the parents, the children, the craftspersons and artisans, the martial specialists, the officers, the teachers, the students, the family and friends that love and respect each other.
We are a community. We are the SCA. We are AEthelmearc. We are the Debatable Lands.
Remember who we are. Hold out your hands in friendship to those you don’t know, and those you do.
In reason and compassion, respect and forgiveness, joy and passion… remember who we are.
Support each other, nurture each other, enjoy each other.
I love you.
In Levitate et Caritate,
(Which means “with levity and affection”)
~Your Baroness Hilda