Jotun's Bane Kindred has been forming plans to build a Hof for many months now, but we've talked about it very little publically. We wanted to be more sure of our plans, before we began discussing them publically.

Some people take the "Hof=Church" idea too far, in my mind. They want their own heathen church building, somewhere on a street corner or in the suburbs. They want a "congregation" of heathens to come to the Hof, "tithe" to the church, etc. Jotun's Bane Kindred's Hof will not be a Christian Church with a big hammer on the front of it.

Our Hof will have land. Land to grow food and land to eventually keep livestock/animals. Land that kindred members will have the opportunity to move onto...and live in closer proximity to each other. This will support and reinforce our current tribal structure, and take it further along the road we wish to travel.

Our Hof building will have a Hall, as well as a Hof. It will also serve as a cultural center, where we will offer classes on heathen, traditional crafts, etc. We will also likely run a small business out of our Hof-building, though that has not been fully discussed.

We're following a tribal model, and we wish to live more like a tribe. We won't be withdrawing from the world, or abandoning all technology, or living in some sort of commune-experiment. Our goal is to establish a place where our Kindred can live. A place that heathens in our area and in the region can gather. A place that fulfills the goals of our kindred.

Making this happen, is going to be a lot of work. When it happens, it will have been worth the work.

My thought on Hofs is simple. Thirty years of Asatru in the United States, and where are we at? Kansas City is 2,000,000 people when you include everyone on the outskirts. In June 2007 when I dedicated myself to our gods, I could not find another heathen in Kansas City. And believe me I looked. It took me two months to eventually find Rod, and from there we grew. Thirty years of heathenry, and where are our tribes? Where are our Hofs?

A California AFA member was telling me that a Sufi cultural center was built in his city. The Sufi's moved there, they picked a spot, they all moved to homes within blocks of that spot, they all worked their butts off and saved and pooled their money, and within 5 years they had built a large Sufi cultural center, a place of worship, and a school for their children. And that's with California land and building prices!

Thirty years of heathenry, and where are our Hofs? If Sufi's can move into neighborhood, and make this happen...then what stands in our way? I think we tend to stand in our way.

Jotun's Bane Kindred seeks to create something long-lasting, sustainable, useful, and something that meets our needs and goals as a tribe. This post is more about our Hof plans than we have posted anywhere. And I hope it shines some light on why we are willing to dedicate so much of our time, energy, and money towards this goal.

If other heathens have different goals, that's up to them. That's their tribe...and they should do what they want. I'm just expressing what Jotun's Bane Kindred wants, and the form it will take.

Mark

Part of what we do to "reach out" to the public, are our Public or Open Events. Open Pubmoots. Open Fainings.

Would it be easier for us to just shut the door, and insulate ourselves from outsiders and those we don't know? Yes...I guess it would be easier.

But would we be living up to our obligations to our gods...and the vaettir? No...not in my opinion.

Perhaps 300 to a 1000 people hear about any one of our Open Events. And of that mass of people, maybe 3 to 10 new people decide to make the time and effort to show up. And of those 3 to 10 people who come, 1 to 3 return to learn more. But if our efforts help bring one Tru Heathen home to his/her ancestral gods, then the efforts have been worth it.

And if over time, our efforts lead to 5...then 10...then 20...then scores of people reawakening to the gods of their ancestors, then our efforts should be pleasing to our Elder Kin.

So we will continue to "reach out" to those that will hear the call of their gods...

Mark

In early 2007 I was looking for other Heathens. I was interested in Asatru, and I wanted to meet other Heathens or possibly an existing Kindred in my area...and confirm that what I was thinking and feeling was normal. And that I was making the right choices...reading the right books...and shaping my religious beliefs in a Tru manner.

But, as I searched for other Heathens...I encountered the websites of dead Kindreds, a few inactive Yahoo Groups, and when I went to the Troth Steward Finder Map, there was no one listed for Kansas or Missouri. Just a big blank spot in the Heart of America. That blank spot and all the dead websites I found, led me to believe that Asatru didn't really exist in Kansas and Missouri. It lead me to believe that Asatru and the Troth have no presence what-so-ever in our states, and this is of course false.

Eventually I did learn there was no active Kindred in the Kansas City Area. Eventually I learned that if I wanted a Kindred to interact with, I was going to have to find some like-minded Heathens and work with them to build our own Kindred. Eventually I found Rod, and he was willing to give me advice on what to do (and what not to do) when forming a Kindred. Eventually I was persistant enough that I found those like-minded heathens, and we fought our way to where we are now.

But how many of our Folk, with the spark of Asatru forming in their hearts run into roadblocks, locked doors, and website graveyards on their way back to their ancestral religion. And how many of them become convinced that Asatru has not presence in their area? How many of them are disuaded from returning home by this lack of information or support.

Why does it have to be so difficult for them to find Heathens? Its 2008! Finding other Heathens should be easy...and we should do everything we can to make it as easy as possible. There are heathens in Topeka. Heathens in Witchita. Heathens in southern Missouri. Heathens in St. Louis. There are Heathens in Kansas in Missouri. But if we want Heathenry to grow, we need to knock down the road blocks and welcome our Folk as they return home.

So, Jotun's Bane Kindred is working on this problem. I recently joined the AFA and asked to be listed as a contact-person on their website. If someone is looking for Heathens in Kansas and Missouri, and they go to the AFA website and contact me from there...I will help them find Heathens in Kansas or Missouri. We're also working on filling that blank spot on the Troth Steward map on the Troth website. There should not be a blank spot on a National organization's map...when there are Tru Heathens across both Kansas and Missouri.

And at a time when alternative religions are growing, and Christianity is losing its strangle-hold on our culture, I would think we would all want Asatru (and the Troth) to be positioned to find those converts as they come home to Heathenry, and make sure they get the support they need to shake off centuries of social conditioning towards a Christian view of life.

So, what I encountered when I was converting to to Heathenry...the blank spot on the map here in the Heartland...drives much of what I do. What I encountered when I went looking for Heathens shouldn't happen anymore to anyone. Its something we are driven to change, because it shouldn't be that way, and it doesn't have to be that way, and it not going to be that way anymore in Kansas and Missouri.

Mark