Many people have noticed the change in our kingdom and have asked me what we can do to make the SCA better.  One of our problems is our approach to the SCA. Today we view the SCA as a social group and subculture. In the past, when we were keeping a lot of people, we viewed as a learning situation. We were creating pre 17th century events and working as community to make our events portray what we were learning.If we look at our population you will discover that many of us are "loners". We find it hard to maintain social groups and social interaction seems to have a limited amount of good interactions and unlimited amount of bad interactions. Also the dream has changed from meaning we feel that we are in another time to concepts to live by.The dream today almost has also a religious feel to it. When we recruit on the bases that we as people live to a higher ideal and we fail then people become very upset and leave.They usually leave in such a way that makes others upset and sometime cause a chain reaction of leaving. When we look at the SCA as a place to learn interesting things about our time period in the company of interesting people we treat the organization differently. We can use the structure of the system to provide places for people to interact. We can use the role playing to give us jumping off spots into our own research. When we step out side of ourselves and start sharing information we can have many hours of social interaction fun. 
What should we be doing to improve the situation? I can share some of things I am doing and what I have done in the past.
1. Set up an area with an activity you like and share it with others? I have been led by my son Lord Jonathan the younger to take up gaming.
2. Bring your books and share them with others?
3.Talk to someone and get them to teach you something and then grab someone and take them along with you.
4. Take up a new field and look to outside the SCA and bring the information back into the club.
5. Work on the persona of a Lord or Lady of your period. Find something you would be doing learn it and do it at events. For example if you are Norse try Norse dicing. If you late period take up  Whist. Learn something to do at Bardic because all Lords and Ladies did something. Learn embroidering. Play rock. ( that is a ancient game that you throw rocks.) Learn the courtly dances. Learn Heraldry. Do riddles and challenge people. Take up archery. 
The SCA is not a religion or a life style is an organization dedicated to learning about the Middle ages and Renaissance by doing.If everyone did something that taught us about the periods we are studying and shared it with others we would get over this slump.  
Willow de Wisp Most likely the oldest member you know.


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