Our ninth Disting closed on Sunday, February 22. More than three hundred members from seventeen countries took part over the three days, the largest assembly we have held.
The election
Four Council seats were filled. Members returned Elspeth Carrow, Imani Lindahl, and Tamsin Wray for a further term, and elected Celina Prado to the Council for the first time. Celina takes up the new post of Latin America Coordinator. She succeeds Agnes Whitlock, a founding member, who stepped down after eight years on the Council and who built our team of translation volunteers from nothing. Her deeds were named at length on Sunday, and rightly. We thank the three other candidates who stood, and we hope to see their names again.
Decisions of the Thing
- Members asked the Advocacy working group to prepare a third edition of the Frith Standard, to be voted on in 2027.
- The Fostering Program will be offered in Spanish and Portuguese from this year.
- Members confirmed that all programs of Heathen Women United will remain free of charge.
- The Hearth Pledge was reaffirmed without amendment, as it has been every year since 2018.
Reports
The Hearth Circles working group reported thirty-three circles meeting, with two more in formation. The Education working group reported twelve Distaff Lectures and two Lore Circle terms in the past year. The editorial board reported that The Distaff published more essays in the past year than in any before it.
The Naming of Deeds
The Naming of Deeds on Sunday morning ran for a little under three hours. One hundred and forty-one women were named. We cannot list them all here, but every name and every deed is recorded in the minutes sent to members.
The theme of the assembly was Nine Winters. Nine is a number that returns again and again in the lore: nine worlds, nine nights on the tree, nine daughters of the sea. It felt like a good year to take stock. Next year we will have been at this work for ten, and Disting 2027 will open on the anniversary itself.