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Here are some questions several people have asked about the IIMM program & related issues.
DFGL stands for Designated Faith Group leader. This is most commonly used for Pagans associated with U.S. military bases. One or more DFGL's serves their faith community by putting in the work to start/maintain a group at their military base.
Within some branches of service (notably the Air Force), a DFGL who has no official credentials may operate as a leader/facilitator by the group's consensus and by acceptance by the base wing chaplain. This leader would operate as the chaplain's Point Of Contact (POC). If, however, the DFGL is a legally ordained member of a recognized religious body, s/he may do essentially the same job as a Lay Leader.
Both Lay Leaders and POC's have a number of responsibilities including staying in-touch with the main base Chaplain at least monthly, having their contact information listed publicly so that Pagans coming to the base can find them, and so on. Lay leaders may have additional priveleges & responsibilities, such as the capacity to hold a religious service at the chapel without the presence of a military chaplain. We recommend that you review the appropriate regulations for your branch of service to find out the specific requirements for your situation.
The IIMM training program will help you fully explore your beliefs and how you may address the diverse beliefs of the Pagan community you plan to serve. While it is unlikely that you will be allowed to provide regular "worship services" as a POC, your service branch's regulations may permit you to facilitate an Earth-based faith study group. This would be a valuable means of providing fellowship for your base's NeoPagan faith community while you pursue your IIMM certification.
Short answer, at least with ULC, probably not. There are several reasons for this: Most importantly, ULC ordination is not recognized by all 50 states. Even if your head chaplain recognizes the credential, you would be authorized to lead a ULC congregation, not necessarily an Earth-based faith group. If your ordination is through a Wiccan or Pagan church, this is a more solid credential to function as a lay leader for a Pagan group.
However, IIMM is specifically designed for military groups, and we have a network of DFGL's at other bases. It will be helpful when starting a new group to offer your chaplain a list of references of DFGL's & chaplains at other bases who have similar groups.
We encourage our groups to be open to all practitioners of Earth-based faiths, including eclectic Pagan, Wicca, Druid, Kemetic, and so on. If there is a high demand for one specific tradition, you may work this out amongst yourselves, but please be very careful not to alienate Pagans of other faiths. Remember your karma, rule-of-three, or however you express it.
Also, please keep in mind that no on-base organization may discriminate against those of any other faith. This means that members of other faiths (including Christian, etc) may attend your events. However, you also have a right to meet peacefully -- If anyone is causes a disruption, your chaplain is obliged to help you resolve the matter.
You may have your own understanding of the Divine Principle, but we ask that you have an appreciation for the beliefs & practices of Earth-based faiths. Here is a quotation from the Crossroads Lyceum Fellowship of Isis web site that may be helpful: "However expressed, all members acknowledge the divine attributes of the Goddess: Love, Beauty and Truth."
Our friends with the Military Pagan Network have their own Pt of Contact (POC) program set-up. Any member of MPN is welcome to volunteer as a POC for the organization. This entails sending them quarterly reports to let them know how things are going in your region. This is helpful for MPN to continue to carry-out their mission of providing appropriate information, advocacy, & support for Pagans affiliated with the U.S. military. If possible, it's a good idea to get someone else from your region to be the MPN POC. Firstly, it's helpful to spread the workload & encourage many different people to be active in the faith community. Secondly, it's sometimes difficult for a group leader to keep "switching hats" between functioning as a leader for their own group and an objective representative for MPN. If possible, one person should act as an MPN POC and a different person should act as a chaplain POC or Lay Leader.
Yes! As long as you have access to a military base, you are welcome to help serve the military Pagan community. Also, it is helpful to have multiple DFGL's at any base, so that they can share the workload and provide alternate contact numbers when one is deployed, on vacation, etc. If you are the "stable" leader, remember to be open to incoming active-duty families who may be interested in serving as group leaders during their time at your base.
You can form a base group with as few as 3 people. However, if you do not expect to have enough people to keep the group going after you PCS, you may decide not to go through the effort. Once you have obtained IIMM certification, it is a minimal effort to keep it valid, and you may use it wherever you relocate.
All on-base faith groups are required to meet UCMJ-regulations. Of course, this means that there are some restrictions that your group will be subjected to. However, this also affords a measure of protection for you & your members. If you are making the effort to keep the chaplains aware of your group's presence, and you are following the UCMJ, you cannot legitimately "get in trouble" for meeting with your group for rituals, etc. If any issues should arise, the base chaplain is obligated to help you or your group member resolve it. Generally, though, if someone requests to take their dinner break "to attend faith group services at the chapel," no problems tend to arise. To adapt an idiom, if you just keep your umbrella open, you don't get rained on in the first place.
However, there are a few countries where Pagans (as well as Christians, etc) are not legally permitted to practice their religion, on or off-base. It is important to know this if you are stationed overseas, particularly in a country that has a state religion. Consult with your base chaplain, and find out if you would be permitted to form a discussion group or book club for your faith community. You would not be allowed to hold rituals, but you would at least be able to stay in touch with others.
This is an entirely self-paced course. You may complete the books & study questions very quickly, or you may take time to ponder some question sets in detail. The basic agenda is for a one-year program, but you may complete it much faster. Alternatively, if you find that you're falling behind, you will not be penalized.
There is no fee for the program. The cost of the books would be the only tangible expense to you.
After successfully completing the program, a student is granted the title of Officiant, which means that s/he has completed a program that is designed to fulfill all approprite DoD Regulations for functioning as a Designated Faith Group Leader (DFGL) for a military-based faith group. The Officiant certification must be renewed every 12 months. After at least 12 months of service, an Officiant may be eligible for ordination as a legally-recognized priest/ess through the Temple of Isis. This is not automatic, and there may be additional requirements. Please tell an IIMM facilitator if you think you will be interested in obtaining legal ordination. Also, please see the Fellowship of Isis website for further studies & titles that you may earn through their Lyceum.
Send an email to the IIMM facilitator(s), letting them know who you are & that you are interested in the program. We will send you the Student Agenda and pre-lesson question set, and you're on your way. Once you've submitted your answers to the pre-lesson questions, you'll be given the remaining question sets. We also recommend that you join the IIMM Mailing List.
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