Announcements from Shining Lakes News - Beltaine 2000

Guild Trip

With about sixty members, Shining Lakes Grove is a very large group by neo-Pagan standards. It can be difficult for us to address the needs of our Grove members, not to mention the needs of the community as a whole. Fortunately, we have several Guilds. These Guilds are subgroups within the Grove that provide different services to the group and its members.

Our Guilds are based loosely on the medieval guild system, where members of different trades (blacksmiths, tailors, merchants, etc.) would get together to create educational standards and opportunities for their trade. They would also develop their own community within the greater community of their culture.

ADF, our national organization, has several different Guilds. ADF members can join one or more of these Guilds, to join other members who have the same interests, compare techniques and just have fun. Each Guild is currently developing a portion of the ADF Study Program, which will give members a chance to learn within their chosen field of interest and better serve their community.

Locally, our Grove currently has six active Guilds, which similarly provide Grove members with a chance to socialize and serve. The current Guilds and their specialties:

• Healers - Physical healing (first aid services at rituals, healing works for members)
• Magicians - Magical workings (magical education for members)
• Naturalists - Environmentalism (organizing environmental works)
• Producers - Making physical things (organizing the potlucks at rituals)
• Seers - Divination and counseling (taking the omens at rituals, counseling for members)
• Warriors - Protection of boundaries (setting up the altars at rituals)

Each Guild has a monthly meeting, which is open to the public. These meetings usually feature a workshop or presentation, which gives the Guild a chance to educate the public, as well as its own members. If you're interested in attending a meeting, then just stop by. (You don't need anyone's permission, really!) The schedule of Guild meetings is listed in this newsletter. For more info on each Guild, you can visit our Web page at http://www.msen.com/~robh/slg/ or call us at (734) 487-4931.

Yours in service to the Kindreds and the Grove,

Rob Henderson, Senior Druid