Code of Ethics:
At Psanctuary we believe that access to Divinity or True Self, ultimately comes through a love and acceptance of pure and universal consciousness and an understanding that everything and everyone is an aspect of this unifying field of consciousness.
Therefore, Psanctuary is judgment free embracing individual freedom of expression of freedom as a central tenet of our community. We welcome any person of any faith or ethnic background into our religious community and encourage our members to embrace a courageous exploration of self in order to discover one's True Self.
The guiding principle of our ethical beliefs in short is the “Golden Rule”, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us because as the mushroom shows us, we are each other. This belief is not just applied from human to human but regarding all forms of life.
Our guidelines are formed around maintaining individuals physical and psychological safety. This is of the utmost importance and we seek to establish and maintain ethical standards for our lives and work. These standards will help delineate boundaries by which ethical questions can be evaluated by Board, Staff or Clergy. While this Code of Ethics cannot answer all ethical questions faced by the Ministers, Clerics, Members, Volunteers or other individuals that may belong to Psanctuary Church, it does provide the following:
1. Declares the basic system of values and standards of Psanctuary Inc.
2. Provides a framework for decision-making and professional behavior.
3. Enables professional accountability.
4. Conveys to the public our expectations of Staff and members of Psanctuary.
These Ethical Responsibilities are as follows :
1. Staff are versed in a variety of practices and spiritual perspectives. Our staff is educated and trained through mentorship, standard educational institutions, personal study and personal experience.
While the training and education is essential our staff and leadership acknowledge the primacy of the sacrament. None of the practices or beliefs supersede the intelligence within the sacrament. It is the mission and purpose of our staff to stay out of the way of the sacrament and instead to only provide support. The greatest support we can provide is a conscious presence. Our Ministers and Clerics are prepared for whatever a service calls for. Our belief and practice is that there are simply no set of rules, practices or dogma that can be applied to a Psanctuary healing service.
This does not mean our services are unstructured or are a free for all by any means. Our format is definitive, incorporating an opening prayer expressing intentions and gratitude. We allow for the trajectory of the sacramental experience to unfold according to the intelligence of the sacrament and offer a closing prayer prior to departure. The following day is a required integration service that includes the participants and the ministry team.
2. Psanctuary Staff must display continued spiritual growth. They should maintain a sound body and mind by taking care of themselves with respect and dignity in order to lead by example. This includes staff staying current on their own particular sacramental practice. Staff must regularly consume sacrament or have proven to have reached a level of proficiency where sacramental ingestion at a miniscule level can produce the sacramental state. Psanctuary Church will provide twice per year staff services for continued work with the sacrament.
3. Psanctuary Staff and members should display compassion and consideration to all of Creation; to all creatures, humans, to our material surroundings and our environment. Psanctuary Staff and members are called to serve in every capacity of their lives. Service to the greater good is the prime motivation of our work and our involvement with the sacrament.
Regarding the Sacrament, including living or dried, Psanctuary Staff:
• Will maintain an attitude and presentation of respect and reverence in both public and private conversations.
• Will only consume sacrament during a service with Psanctuary or another ceremonial/spiritual setting in observance of the sacred understanding of our sacrament.
• Will ensure that any sacramental material from the Psanctuary property or the service space remains on site.
• Will ensure that only authorized members may have knowledge and/or access to where our sacrament is kept. This location will only be disclosed to authorized members.
4. Guidelines for interactions between the Psanctuary community. Staff and members will:
• Honor all persons as being created in the image and likeness of our Creator.
• Welcome persons from any religious background so long as they show equal respect to the sincere belief in our healing sacrament.
• Remember that they represent Psanctuary in every interaction.
• Display respect towards all cultural, ethnic, gender, racial, sexual orientations, and religious diversity of other staff and members.
• Respect diversity of age, national origin, and physical ability.
• Refrain from using their position, influence, knowledge, or spiritual affiliation for unfair advantage or for personal gain.
• Be transparent in any personal investments, partnerships or enterprises relating to the use of the sacrament (sacred mushrooms) outside of Psanctuary’s services.
5. Ethical Principles in Relationships between Staff and Members (including, family members, etc):
• While we believe and know wholeheartedly the gifts that our sacrament has to offer we are never to pressure anyone among our families, friends or communities to take the sacrament. It should only be through our example and the individual’s free will that this sacrament should be consumed. Consent must be memorialized in writing through our new member intake process.
Psanctuary staff will perform their best efforts to ensure that new members have realistic expectations and preparation before joining in any of our services. We understand that the experience with our sacrament can be indescribable. We recognize that the consumption of our sacrament can elicit what some may consider abnormal behavior. New initiates to the sacrament should be briefed on the unpredictable nature of the experience.
Preparation for new initiates will be provided through online, written, video and audio content and through our regularly held Communal Services. Each religious service will incorporate aspects of the preparation prior to consuming the sacrament.
• Individuals under the sacramental state can be suggestable. As they connect deeper with divine oneness, their boundaries are often expanded and therefore should be all the more respected. Neither the Psanctuary staff nor its members should attempt to influence anyone else’s experience with the sacrament and its inborn intelligence. When interacting with anyone who is experiencing the divine effects of our sacrament we are to remain open, curious and supportive.
• Speak and act in ways that honor the dignity and value of every individual; in our communication both verbal and non verbal we should be reinforcing the perfection of all of our members, their innate wisdom and that of the sacrament.
• We must always demonstrate respect for the cultural and religious values of all members of our Psanctuary community. While we encourage staff and members to incorporate their personal practices in our services, both members and staff should always refrain from imposing their own personal belief system upon any member or fellow staff.
• Psanctuary staff must remain mindful of a perceived and at times real imbalance of power in the Staff/Member relationship and refrain from exploitation of that imbalance.
• While we maintain that relationships with Members are best if kept to a professional basis only, we also acknowledge that bonds occur, love happens.
We ask that strong consideration is given to the relationship and that any staff member who has a developing relationship with any other staff member or member of our faith community communicates this in confidence with the Minister of their choosing. From there, a release of liability form will be required of all parties.
Regarding any staff member in a romantic relationship with a member or fellow staff, both parties are required to remain strict professional behavior in all Psanctuary activities. There should always be full disclosure to a Minister during services.
Relationships can complicate community membership but they can also contribute to a stronger community family. Again recognizing the openness of the individuals and the development of bonds through continued fellowship, we believe it is unreasonable to put demands upon relationships. Psanctuary does however require that individuals take full responsibility for their actions and consider the implications before acting. Any romantic/sexual relationship should be among legal, consensual adults.
• Avoid or correct any conflicts of interest or appearance of conflicting interest(s); these conflicts could involve business, personal or romantic relationships. Membership to Psanctuary Church for staff and members is a privilege not to be exploited.
• Refrain from any form of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, or sexual assault. All staff and members are to maintain respect for the sovereignty of all members and staff.
• Staff are to refrain from any form of harassment, coercion, intimidation, or otherwise abusive words or actions.
• Member confidentiality should be maintained at all times. Only members should disclose their membership and experiences with the sacrament to others. Staff are to respect the confidentiality of information entrusted to them when communicating with family or significant others, except when disclosure is required for necessary treatment and granted by permission, for the safety of any person or when required by law.
Understand the limits of each individual in terms of their own mental health. When staff believes that a member of our community should seek professional mental health counseling this concern should first be expressed to a Minister who may then directly contact the member or emergency contact if permission is granted.
6. Ethical Principles in Relationships Between Supervisory Staff and Staff in Training or Volunteers:
• Psanctuary Church maintains a healthy educational and spiritual environment free of coercion or intimidation; every member is sovereign. The primacy of this sovereignty is to be respected at all times.
• Staff and members should maintain clear boundaries in the areas of self-disclosure, intimacy, and sexuality. We welcome all expressions of gender, sexuality and love. However, our sacred services and community events are not a place for expressing or pursuing personal desires or interests.
• Staff are to be provided with clear expectations regarding responsibilities, work schedules, fees, and payments. All such expectations should be defined in the Psanctuary staff/volunteer manual and relevant contracts to help clarify those expectations and responsibilities.
• Staff are to be provided with adequate, timely, and constructive feedback helping them to grow as Ministers or Clerics.
7. Ethical Principles in Advertising:
• Psanctuary Church, Staff and Members shall represent our organization from the perspective of ambassadors. All public or private representations of Psanctuary Church should be done in a professional manner that communicates the mission and message of our community.
Staff should represent their competencies, education, training, and experience relevant to their position within Psanctuary Church any time they are publicly sharing their involvement with Psanctuary.
Do not use any professional identification (business cards, letterhead, Internet or telephone directory, etc.) if it is false, misleading, fraudulent, or deceptive; and if you have not been given explicit permission of a Minister.
List and claim as evidence only degrees and certifications that are earned from educational institutions and/or training programs recognized by the certifying organizations. Do not in any way misrepresent your training, competency or position.
Psanctuary Church shall do everything in its power to ascertain that the qualifications of their employees, supervisees, and students are represented in a manner that is not false, misleading, fraudulent, or deceptive.
Psanctuary staff are only to represent themselves as providing specialized services (such as Reiki or other alternative healing modalities) if they have the appropriate education, training, or supervised experience and the explicit permission of the Minister administering for the service that the said staff member is attending.
8. Code of Ethics Guidelines for Prevention and Handling of Violations:
• Each Staff and Church member within Psanctuary will be required to read, sign and submit an electronic copy of this Code of Ethics, indicating their understanding and compliance.
• Ethical complaints should be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors for review and investigation. This may be done by first communicating the complaint with a Minister that the individual in question feels the most comfortable with.
• Following the investigation by the Board of Directors a determination will be made as to the consequences the offender shall face.
• An appeal will be accepted by the Board of Directors and considered from the accused party. After a review of the appeal a final decision will be made and presented to both parties.
9. All members agree when they attend a service that they will be under the direct care of Psanctuary clerics. This means leaving a service without explicit consent from a Psanctuary cleric is nonnegotiable. Members will be notified by a Psanctuary cleric once they have deemed it safe for said members to leave a service.
