Em hotep nefer weret (in great and perfect peace), dear readers!
The Temple to which I belong, the Kemetic Orthodox House of Netjer, is at present seriously hurting for charitable contributions. One of our W’ab-priests and Fundraising Baku outlined our situation rather succinctly, while debuting the “donation tracker” feature on the Temple fora, so I am just going to relay her words here:
We are a non-profit organization and we rely on the charity of this community. That means every single dollar, every single donation, and every volunteer helps keep us going. That is why we wanted to make sure, in a very clear way, how much we depend on this community.
The tracker is a way that you all can better understand what really goes into the House. Every month requires a new goal to reach and I think it is easy to see that through tracking our efforts.
Our current immediate need is $5500.
The base cost of running the temple each month is $3000 and the $2500 is the last bill for the boiler repair. Right now the boiler bill needs urgent attention for the reason that unpaid bills gather interest. So the sooner it is paid the better.
Thank you for your continued support and help. We truly appreciate the efforts and donations of everyone of you.
Just 10% of the needed funds have been raised thus far, and there are only 14 days remaining to meet our goal. Please consider donating directly, if you are in a position to do so (note: if you are making a donation via paypal, a certain percentage is deducted, so if there is a specific amount you wish to donate with this percent deduction accounted for, I suggest using this calculator before making your donation). You may also set the House of Netjer as your charitable organization of choice on Amazon Smile, and also via iGive which is supported on multiple websites. Both Amazon Smile and iGive donate a small percentage of your purchases to the Temple. Every dollar helps — and is tax-deductible, as the House of Netjer is legally registered with and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States as a 501(c)3 nonprofit religious organization! Even if you cannot donate your hard-earned money, you can donate your time and attention by boosting the signal across various social media platforms, and that’s helpful, too!
The House of Netjer is something near and dear to quite a few Modern Kemetics, myself included. I know I wouldn’t have the meaningful community and cohesion in my everyday life and practice without it. Tawy House is also one of the very few brick-and-mortar “Revivalist” polytheistic Temples in the Western world today, where Wep Ronpet (New Year) retreats happen, where Kemetic Orthodox come together to celebrate our most important festivals. It’s a place — and, beyond the brick-and-mortar building, a community — where rituals which haven’t been performed for thousands of years for the Gods of Egypt are being done and made anew, collectively.
So far as I can tell, we probably cannot accomplish this alone. Economically, times are very hard for virtually all of us, and most of the Temple’s members cannot give as much back to the Temple as the Temple and its individual members have at times given each of us. While we Kemetic Orthodox have our own defined traditions that distinguish us from other Kemetics and from other polytheists and “Pagan”-types, as a minority religion and especially as a polytheistic religion, we don’t and can’t exist in a bubble. We must appeal to the generosity, goodwill, and what common ground we share with other “Pagan”-types and polytheists at times, just as other Temples, various smaller groups, and “Pagan”/polytheist individuals must sometimes reach outside their smaller respective communities. It is in the spirit of lifting each other up and helping to ensure that our various traditions survive our individual lifetimes that I make this appeal to the wider “Pagan” and polytheist communities, to help keep the doors of my and my fellows’ Temple — now nearly 30 years old — open.
Senebty (be well), and thank you so much for reading. A thousand thanks more to those of you who boost the signal, and / or donate. It means so very, very much to all of us.
