Word List and Definitions

Word List and Definitions

“We gather in a sanctuary for congregation hour for our fellowship”

Adherents: a devoted and baptized congregational member.

Congregation Hour: Rather than saying “church” or “mass”, we used a broader term which is merely “congregation hour”, this is the hour/s for which we “gather into a crowd” (Webster Dictionary) to honor our Fellowship, our Sanctuary, and our Foundation.

Covenant, The: The Covenant of our Fellowship in its entirety, is an agreement to follow the Nine Virtues in addition to the Seventeen Commandments. This is an agreement the Sanctuary as a whole has agreed to take on. But because our fellowship places an importance on independence, it does not expect its individual followers to take on this agreement. To do so, whether in whole, in parts, or not at all, is entirely up to the individual. The only agreement they do make upon entering the sanctuary agreeing to become a member, thus inserting themselves into the fellowship and and becoming an Interconnectionist, is the promise that since everything—all planets, stars, people, life (both human and not-human)—are thereby connected to each other, every thing and every life must be treated with ultimate respect. (see Interconnection; Universe, The; Virtues, The; Commandments, The)

Fellowship: As the word religion typically refers to “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods” (Webster Dictionary), we thought it best to use the word fellowship as this means a “friendly association, especially with people who share one's interests” (Webster Dictionary). Members of our fellowship gather in a sanctuary for congregation hour. (see Sanctuary; Congregation Hour)

Foundation: In uppercase, this is a reference to the idea of interconnection and the honoring of The Universe, both in their entirety. It is sometimes used in tandem with "Fellowship". (see Interconnection; Universe, The; Fellowship)

Interconnection: “The foundation of our fellowship rests on the realization The Universe exists, and that as a result, everything—all planets, stars, people, life (both human and not-human)—are thereby connected to each other, and must be treated with ultimate respect. This is the idea of interconnection, and to worship interconnection, whether by following The Code or in other ways one deems fit, is to worship The Universe, recognizing everything it is and everything it gives to us” (The Written Code of Ethics). This is our belief system from which our mission statement was born.

Majors a.k.a. "Appointed Ones": their job is to "heal, motivate, transform, inspire, enlighten, and educate". They assist their local minister in rituals and rites, and aid in the personal growth of the individual members of the sanctuary. They also work to spread "the word" about Interconnectionism without pushing these values on others. It is up to the minister whether to have these Appointed Ones assist with all rituals and rites, or only some. All majors are addressed first with the title Major then their last name.

Ministers: their duties are to offer spiritual guidance, lead and support members of their congregation, officiate weddings and baptisms, lead ceremonies and rituals, and bring together members within their sanctuary to people outside the fellowship, in an attempt to form a larger and more diverse community, encouraging everyone to not only help each other but to take take action in the world, too.

Mission Statement: "a formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual" (Webster Dictionary). This differs very slightly from our belief system of Interconnection, though only through its wording: "Our mission of The Interconnection Fellowship is to worship interconnection and The Universe, recognizing everything it is and everything it gives to us. We stand with the promise to return its gifts to us (life, sustenance, everything) through this recognition and through our actions, actions which honor interconnection."

Monstrators: this is a Latin word meaning someone who is a guide, or a demonstrator. Their job within their local sanctuary is to point out, introduce, invent, teach and inform members of their congregation. Essentially they are the teachers as they mostly lead classes, or collaborate with their local minister so that both may help the sanctuary and its congregates the best the can. There is no limit as to how many monstrators can be in a sanctuary at one time; this is entirely up to the local/presiding minister. They also help their local praemonstrator regarding ways to help improve the sanctuary, and aid their congregation, the people within their community as a whole, and form out-reach programs within the world. (see Praemonstrator)

Nine Virtues, The: The Nine Virtues of Interconnection are kindness, loyalty, honesty, respect, generosity, love, tolerance, knowledge, and independence. These virtues serve the sanctuary in its entirety, and may be up to different interpretations of individuals within our congregation.  In The Covenant, these virtues are spelled out as specific actions one may take as a member of our fellowship. (see Covenant, The)

Praeminister: another Latin word meaning attendant, votary, and devotee. There is to be only one praeminister at all times in the entire realm of Interconnectionism. This is because of the extensive and very complicated job the praeminister has in regards to overseeing the entire fellowship, especially as they write the law, writes, rules, rites and more. Having one praeminister at all times avoids conflicting information. If there is no local minister within the current praeminister's location, they may act assume the part of the local minister and will also assume this description, but must still be addressed as "praeminister".

Praemonstrator: there must be an even number of praemonstrators at all times in the entire realm of Interconnectionism, 2, 4, or 6. Never any less than two or more than six. They not only follow the same rules as monstrators, they also provide spiritual guidance and counseling to members within their congregation, but to aid the praeminister in running the fellowship on a global scale. (see Monstrator, Praeminister)

Sanctuary: means “a place of refuge or safety” (Webster Dictionary). To honor our Foundation, it seemed only fitting to call our home of congregation a sanctuary, a place where all are welcome and all can and should be granted safety among the other members of our fellowship. No one should or will be judged, not for any reason. What happens in our sanctuary stays in our sanctuary. That being said, gossiping, spreading rumors or even lies about one another is not and will not ever be tolerated.

Seventeen Principles, The: There are seventeen principles that have been born through "The Code". These principles can stand alone, though more often they're used in conjunction with the Nine Virtues and The Covenant. (see Covenant, The)

Universe, The: “all existing matter and space considered as a whole; the cosmos. The universe is believed to be at least 10 billion light years in diameter and contains a vast number of galaxies; it has been expanding since its creation in the Big Bang about 13 billion years ago” (Webster Dictionary). While we can’t say deities do exist, nor do we know what caused the Big Bang, not entirely as scientific theories are always changing, we do know one thing—the universe is real. It is there. It is above us, below us, around us, and more expansive than we can even fully compute or understand. We honor this expansion, and understand that no matter how expansive The Universe is, it connects us to everything and each other. We strive to honor The Universe, almost as if it is a [in]tangible deity. (see Interconnection)

Our Home of Congregation: Because the word church is often associated with “a building used for public Christian worship” (Webster Dictionary), it was thought it best to use a generic branding for the place in which we practice and gather for our fellowship. Though we do have a name, you will often see and hear us refer to our Sanctuary as “our home of congregation”. (see Sanctuary)

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