Initiation ceremony

[Cardinal Fang]

Seeing the Beeb has us do a Pastafarian initiation ceremony yesterday for the cameras, and there was much discussion about:

a) what we should do, and
b) what it all meant,

perhaps some consensus should be reached about what we do and why (seeing we were making it up as we went along really).

My thoughts (based on what we did yesterday and some of my own drunken ramblings):
- Joinee should be asked whether s/he accepts the FSM as his/her noodly master, whether s/he has been touched by His Noodly Appendage. Makes sense doing this seeing this is a joining ceremony.
- Plate/ bowl of pasta could then be brought out. We were all sitting round a table with Robin (TV presenter/ "joinee") at the head of it in the captain's chair. We passed the plate down the table then placed it in front of him. Could make it a sort of community thing?
- Definately should involve lobbing pasta at the ceiling (because it's fun doing it). Could symbolically mean making an offering of pasta to our noodly master in heaven? Wenchless John improvised a different (and rather funny) reason, about some historical basis, and something about finding your own meaning in the random pasta shapes (I'm remembering this right aren't I John?).
- Joinee then has to slurp/ suck strand of pasta up (also funny, especially if you get some pasta whiplash thing going) - a kind of communion type thingie?

Not sure about:
- Pirate hats on or pirate hats off - if they're off they can be waved instead
- Cutlasses, daggers etc - should they be laid on the table (should we even have a table?)
- Grog - my thinking is that there should be lots of it (but then I think there should be lots of grog all the time so...)
- What happens if you're not on a BBC-hired replica pirate ship at the time? Let's face it, how often is that ever going to happen?
- Pasta - with or without sauce (can be v. messy if with sauce). Spaghetti, oriental noodles or some other type (or doesn't it matter)? Think it definately should be cooked either way.
- We did it mostly in reverent silence, but this was only really because the sound guy had problems recording anything when we were banging the table and shouting "yar" all the time. So, reverential silence, or loud and raucous?

These are only my particular musings so can be freely ignored when saner/ sensible/ more sober minds come up with stuff.

What does everyone else think?

CF

[Brother Beaker]

As a cradle Catholic, I like to think that I have some understanding of ceremony and tradition.

I like the joinee at the head of the table. Perhaps each person could add to the plate as it went by to symbolize that we each bring something important to Pastafarianism. Two people bring the pot of pasta to the table, where a third plates it, a fourth adds the sauce, a fifth sprinkles parmesan and the celebrant adds the meatballs.

I am definitely in favor of spaghetti (he would have trouble reaching out to us with farfalle), but in the interest of inclusiveness, I would permit the joinee to elect an alternate pasta that has particular meaning to the joinee.

The joinee would then serve all the participants from the serving bowl, signifying giving back and community. This could be accompanied by the ritual breaking of garlic bread and a statement of belief by the joinee, offered as a toast (probably red wine).

More sedate chapters might want to finish the meal and then hear from a pirate celebrant, again in the form of toasts, this time with rum (Planter's Punch, Mojito or Grog) to be followed by cigars.

Alternatively, you might go with kegs of ale, wenching and midgit tossing...a raucous caucus.

Remember, as Vatican II recognized (and we would hate to be less forward-thinking than the ring-kissing, fish-eating Papists) it is not the form of the ceremony, but its content that is of primary concern.

[EarthRise]

This won't do, since some Pastafarians have allergies to gluten, a prominent part of pasta. Can we have an alternate entree entirely on hold?

[fractal]

^^ I vote for a cheese platter.

[Brother Beaker]

This won't do, since some Pastafarians have allergies to gluten, a prominent part of pasta. Can we have an alternate entree entirely on hold?

Point taken. We could use spaghetti squash under the sauce and meatballs.

In extreme cases, we could use the salad as the centerpiece (since salad accompanies spaghetti, anyway) and have people add ingredients and dressing as it moves down the table.

[Cuddly_Carpy]

there should be RUM! and LOTS OF IT!

That's my contribution...

unless you all want sambuka as well? I wouldn't mind that too much...