Official Document
This page presents an official governing document of Campfire Park.
Guideline 001 – Running a Council Session Around the Fire
Practical steps for opening, tending, and closing a Council session.
In Brief
Arrival, Hearth, and Release. Use it as a script or as a loose outline,
adjusting details to your circle and setting.
Not every Chair arrives with a script, nor does every Fire Tender know what to say
when the circle first grows quiet. This guideline is a kindly scaffold—nothing more—
for those who wish the fire to feel less like a meeting and more like a gathering.
Part I Arrival – From Noise to Circle
Invite everyone to step within sight of the fire or its symbol.
Allow a brief, natural settling: people shifting, greeting, finding seats.
Then, in a clear but gentle voice, name the purpose of the gathering
and acknowledge the land, the season, and any absent friends.
Part II Hearth – Holding the Work
Outline the order of business in plain language—but weave it into a short story if you can:
“First we will hear from the Stewardship Subcommittee, then decide whether to amend our
Keeping of the Flame policy, and finally open the floor for any ember-sized announcements.”
Invite each speaker in turn, returning attention to the fire between items.
Part III Release – Banking the Embers
Before adjournment, offer a brief reflection, gratitude, or moment of silence.
Name one thing the Council has carried forward, and one thing it has laid down.
Announce the next gathering, and then formally close the session by “banking the embers”—
whether that means dimming the lantern, lowering voices, or simply saying, “The fire
Footnotes & Annotations
Chairs are encouraged to adapt this outline to their own voice.
The only strict requirement is that the fire—literal or symbolic—is acknowledged at both opening and close.