Shining Lakes News

A Newsletter for Shining Lakes Grove, A.D.F.

Lughnasadh 2002 - Vol. 9, No. 7

I Pledge Allegiance to My Conscience

Like most Americans, I’m sure you had your own opinion on the now infamous (and now suspended) decision by the 9th Circuit Court in California that ruled the current version of the Pledge of Allegiance to be unconstitutional because the words “under God" were an endorsement of a religion. If you're reading this in print, then you were probably supportive of the decision. If you're reading this on the Web, then the chances of that go way down. (And those of you on the Web who want to send me nasty e-mail when you're done reading this, my address is on the next page.) I know that my own reaction felt like a roller coaster ride: the thrill of our legal system making the difficult but correct decision, followed by the crush of my elected Senators (and nearly everyone else's Senators too) making an easy but wrong proclamation against that decision. Even Jon Stewart, my favorite television comedian, told those who didn't like those two words to "suck it up." Huh? The guy who built his stand-up career on being Jewish in a gentile world is telling me that minority religions should just shut up and deal with it?

How did it come to this? Why does an oath to the country where freedom of religion is guaranteed in our supreme governing document mention a specific deity, anyway? The original version, written by the (probably godless) socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892, didn't include the words "under God." They were added in 1954, during the height of the Red Scare, and around the same time that "In God We Trust" was put on our currency and made the national motto, replacing "E Pluribus Unum." Apparently ignoring the First Amendment was deemed a good way for our legislators to prove that our country was different from those evil totalitarians in Russia.

So what's a patriotic American pagan supposed to do? I'm sure some pagans will just go ahead and say it anyway, maybe by rationalizing "god" to mean their patron or a monist "god" encompassing all deities. If they can stand to do that, then that's fine. I've heard some folks suggest that we should just leave out the "under God" when we're asked to say the Pledge. I suppose that will suffice for most, though I'm sure they'll get some funny stares because of it.

Myself, if I ever say the Pledge in public again, I will leave those two words out. And I'm going to have to leave out another word as well. "What?" you may ask. "Another offensive word?" No, not an offensive word, in fact a word I would very much like to say, but now I can't. That word is "indivisible." Because if there's one thing this ruckus has shown me, it's that our country is very divisible. Those who would promote their own god over those who worship other gods, or those who don't believe in any, clearly want us to be forever divided by their beliefs. If being indivisible was really that important to them, they'd realize that a pledge of loyalty to any country that isn't a theocracy shouldn't mention any god at all. Now I understand why they got rid of "E Pluribus Unum" as our national motto and replaced it with that "trust god" nonsense. Not only is national unity less important than monotheism, but Latin is a pagan language!

We in ADF study what the ancient Indo-Europeans did and apply it to our modern lives. If there's one thing I know for certain about the ancient I-E peoples, it's that they took their oaths very seriously. Honoring such a vow, whether it was made to a god or to a person or to a state or tribe, was valued by everyone, and those who broke their vows would be punished by their society and their gods. So no, I could never say the Pledge of Allegiance now, not as it is currently worded. It would dishonor myself, my gods, my Grove, and yes, it would even dishonor my country, whatever the tyranny of the majority may say. I love my country and I love my gods, and I hate those who would force me to choose between them.

Yours in service to the Kindreds and the Grove,
Rev. Rob Henderson, Senior Druid

Was the White Rabbit a Pagan?

PST. No, I'm not trying to get your attention. Well, yeah I am. But that's not what PST is. Most of you probably already know that PST stands for Pagan Standard Time—that slightly different measure of time that causes rituals to start about a half hour after the scheduled time. I think we all run on PST once in a while and it's not an entirely bad thing. Some people may call us lazy or irresponsible but I think it arises from a different world view. A different set of priorities.

Face it, our ancestors didn't have Timex watches. Their lives were timed by nature. Meetings and rituals were held at dusk, dawn, or when the Sun or Moon were at their peak. Since the average villager didn't have these times down to the minute everyone came as soon as they could. Rituals would start once everyone had arrived. After all, the ritual was for the people, not the clock.

I like to think that being a little closer to Nature, hearth, and home is at the root of our tendency to disregard the clock. Our priorities are a little different from the secular world. We focus more on family, home, and community and less on schedules and deadlines. So the next time you're heading out to a movie and your child needs you to banish the closet monster, or a friend calls and needs words of encouragement; remember you're not late, you're on Pagan Standard Time.

By the way, the White Rabbit could not have been Pagan because: A) He knew he was late, and B) He was worried about it.

Jude Howison

SLG Financial Report - June 2002

Total Income (includes membership dues, raffle, donations, festival registration, and merchandise sales): $965.00
Total Expenses: (includes newsletter printing, site rental/deposit, bank fees, and ConVocation expenses) $937.62
Current Total in Bank Account as of 7/1/02: $285.10

Oh No, Not More TBA!

Sadly, yes. As of September 1st, Guild House is only offering meeting space to student groups and public service groups, and we don't fit either description. We now need to find new locations for: the business meetings; An Bruane; the Festival/Fundraising Meetings; and the Modern Druidry classes. An Bruane and the Fest/Fund meetings can easily be held in someone's home. It would be better if the business meetings and the classes were in a more public space, since we want new people to feel welcome, and meeting a new group of people in a private residence can be intimidating for shy new folk. If you have any suggestions for new locations, please contact us. And please contact us or check the Web site in September to find out where the meetings are being held. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Join us for the Guild Barbecue!

We'll be having our third annual Guild Barbecue on September 15th from noon to 6 PM. The various Guilds in SLG get together for an afternoon to share food and knowledge, and to let new folks find out what the Guilds are all about.

The Guild Barbecue will be at Gallup Park. The entrance is on Geddes Road, just west of Huron Parkway. (If you're coming from out of town, take the Geddes Rd. exit on US-23 and go west.) Look for our signs.

SLG Leadership Council

Senior Druid
Rob Henderson robh@cyberspace.org

Assistant Senior Druid
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Administrator
Don Clayton dclayton204718@comcast.net

Scribe
Deanna Justice sjdeannaj@hotmail.com

Pursewarden
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Chronicler
Genevieve Stoyak gstoyak@hotmail.com

Outreach Coordinator
(position open)

Youth Activities Coordinator
(position open)

SLG Guild Leaders

Magicians' Guild
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Warriors' Guild
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Healers' Guild
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Naturalists' Guild
Fred Wark fllwark@htonline.com

Producers' Guild (unofficial)
Gen Stoyak gstoyak@hotmail.com

Those without e-mail access can contact our officers at our snail-mail address or phone number.

Shining Lakes News (©2002) is published eight times a year by Shining Lakes Grove, A.D.F., P.O. Box 1732, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, (734) 998-1029. For information about SLN, contact the Chronicler at (734) 495-0813 or gstoyak@hotmail.com. For information about Shining Lakes Grove, contact the Senior Druid at (248) 446-0730 or robh@cyberspace.org.