ALL MEMBERS VALUED

Greetings Comrades

As is well known, the OR membership among prisoners is growing positively and I correspond with a large number of men locked up in the prisons. Quite often a prisoner will express that they feel they are not contributing as much as they would like to the movement due to their physical restrictions and that somehow, they are not as valuable to the cause as those on the outside. This is something I want to knock on the head right now. Every OR member is valued by the movement no matter where they reside. For one thing, Odin's Nation is not bound by walls and bars, by oceans and mountain ranges; it exists wherever our folk exist. True, a man in prison is restricted as to where he can travel, but let us remember that ultimately we are beings of energy, our thoughts are energy and have a great impact on the advance or atrophy of our movement. Thought is not constrained by prison bars or razor wire. I am not going to go into the metaphysical aspects here, suffice to say, a member in prison is no less valuable than one out in that aspect and the contact with our Gods is not dependent on the appearance of freedom, our Gods do not need a visiting order to connect with our members inside.

But what else? Well every member does help by donation, this is vital to the Rite's existence and all members in or out contribute to this. Actually, in many ways, those members in prison donate a far larger percentage of their income than many outside, true we have a reduced minimum donation rate for incarcerated members, but their income is usually much smaller than those on the outside. No one gets a free ride in the OR, all donate to the movement, all are valued. Some contribute money alone, which of course is vital, others contribute time and energy undertaking work for the OR. Some contribute articles and artwork, some write booklets etc. We all have different talents and if we all give those to the advance of the our movement, then it matters little where we are physically. And, as has been pointed out by Reid Darnell AOR in his article, those of our members in prison can help enormously by demonstrating how noble, honourable and positive living an Odinist life is. This of course is applicable to all members. If those around us, those we have contact with see we are positive, then whether that is in a prison or a town, it lets Odinism shine forth. And a light is seen more clearly in a dark place.

Ultimately a religion will be judged by how its adherents act. It can have all the fine words imaginable in books, but that counts for nothing if it doesn't translate into word and deed. If we strive to live by our code as set down in the Noble virtues and charges, we cannot help but effect a change. If we improve ourselves we automatically improve the folk and ultimately the only person we can improve directly is ourselves. So when a prisoner asks what they can do to help, the answer is, strive to live in an Odinist way.

It is also very important to remember, that the rights to practice Odinism won by prisoners, actually affects the outside world. If Odinism is recognised by the authorities in prisons, it makes it that much easier to gain recognition and rights outside. Remember that. Also, I think the rights for prisoners in Europe, which lag behind those accorded prisoners in Vinland, will benefit in time. European authorities pay quite a lot of notice to how things go in the US. It may well be that the struggle for religious rights for incarcerated Odinists will be won here and then transferred to Europe. Maybe this is a long way off, but so what? A step now has great resonance for the future. And what else can our comrades inside do, they can pledge their loyalty. Loyalty is vital and its value cannot be priced. Loyalty has no restrictions dependent on location either. A loyal member in prison is more valuable than a disloyal one outside. So let it be clear to all, all members of the OR are valued, all contribute something and inside or out, all are members of our movement and Odin's Holy Nation.

HAIL THE HIGH ONES
HAIL THE RITE
Heimgest.