Shining Lakes News

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

Spring Equinox 2004 - Vol. 11, No. 2

The First Decade of Many

May of 1994. The Chunnel was officially opened, connecting the lands where the ancient Gauls and Britons once lived. Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first Black president of South Africa. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis passed away. And Michael Fay received his caning in Singapore. Okay, so not everything that happens in a particular month is of long-term importance. But one thing happened that may not have made as many headlines as the Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley wedding, but had a profound effect on my life, and probably yours as well. Shining Lakes Grove received its official provisional charter from ADF, and held its first ritual at our nemeton at Botsford Recreational Preserve.

Here's how Fox, our founding Senior Druid, described the making and blessing of the nemeton and that first ritual:

Toward the end of April we began to gather enough regulars that we were able to start working on our Nemeton site. It is located just outside of Ann Arbor in the middle of a 20-acre mature forest. It is on private property and our landlord is willing to put up with such things as fires, drumming, nudity [not true any longer about the nudity, though, and no, I don't know why!-Rob], etc and we can advertise its location. He does charge us a fee to use the site though.

Before we began any work to modify the site we held a ritual to claim the right to do so. (7 attendees) We had an extremely powerful ritual and seemed to have made very good contact. We consecrated the site, made offerings to the local land spirits, the spirits of the peoples who once lived there, and the Gods that they worshipped (in other words we used no Indo-European Godforms or ancestors due to the intention of the rite, this was probably the only time that we will work with these local spirits). We informed them of our intentions and asked for their acceptance of us in their midst. Our omen taker was so dumb-struck by the energies that we had contacted that he declared that there was no need to cast runes, we could all feel a strong sense of connection and acceptance from the land and the spirits.

We cleared the underbrush from the natural clearing where our site is located. We erected an 18' , made a fire pit, dug an offering shaft, and erected a gateway using two 6' sections cut from the top of the bilé (more on them later). The site has a large stone (about 2' tall) sticking out of the ground on the edge of the clearing which became our Mother Earth Altar/Shrine. [This was before we had contacted Ana and were still using the standard Earth Mother concept.-Rob]

On 5/7 we held our Beltane ritual. It was a bit of a difficult affair because we were POURED on through most of the ritual. We built a large shelter over part of the ceremonial grounds and about a dozen brave souls carried out the ritual. We danced (sloshed) the May Pole (Mud Pole) and even had a mythological pantomime in the rain. I was kind of disappointed because things didn't go off very smoothly but a few of the members seemed to get a fair amount from it. If nothing else it was a good opportunity to strengthen the bonds within the Grove through adversity and we gave birth to a new Pagan saying . . . So MUD it be!

And later that month at Wellspring, we officially received our Provisional Charter. Now here we are, nearly ten years later, and we just received our Full Charter. Fast as a speeding oak, right?

The first few local pagan groups I was involved with didn't last their first year, so it still fills me with awe that this one has lasted so long. I really believe that we are blessed by our Gods, our Ancestors, and the Nature Spirits. And I feel blessed to have so many wonderful people in this Grove, through the years and right this minute, who have kept this Grove going through good times and bad. We've contacted our local river goddess and our tribal gods, we've done eighty public High Day rituals, and we've shared what we've learned with our local community and our remote friends on the Internet. May the Kindreds continue to bless us and our work for decades to come!

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

The Guilds (continued!)

By Jude Howison

Scholars and Liturgists

The pursuit of truth and knowledge is a core concept of ADF. I feel that above all else, this is what draws people to ADF and what keeps most of us here. It feels good to belong to a group that values truth over wishful thinking. These next two Guilds will be of interest to those among us who love to read, write, research, and debate. The members of these Guilds strive to bring us accurate information about our ancestors' spiritual practices and help us adapt those practices to be meaningful in our modern lives.

The Scholars Guild exists to promote scientific research and debate on subjects relevant to ADF. The members seek accurate information on topics such as the ancient Druids, comparative mythology, the Indo-Europeans, religion, and folklore. Through papers, on-line debates, and workshops, the Scholars Guild serves as a resource for all ADF members.

If you want to travel the Druid's path to truth and knowledge the Scholars Guild will help guide your way. The Scholars Guild study program is as versatile as it is challenging. Students choose their own topic of interest as they work through learning research methods, critical thinking skills, and how to write, present, and defend scholarly papers.

The Liturgists Guild, like the Scholars Guild, exists to promote quality research. They have sharpened their focus, though, to concentrate on topics related to liturgy. Members of the Liturgists Guild research the ritual practices of the ancient Indo-European peoples. By finding the core meaning of ancient rituals, they are able to help "fast forward" the practices and adapt them to our modern world without losing the deeper spiritual significance. When composing rituals for any purpose, ADF members of all hearth cultures can look to the Liturgists Guild for guidance.

At the moment, we don't have local chapters of either the Scholars or the Liturgists Guilds. However, SLG members who are also members of ADF may join the national Guilds by visiting the Guild pages at www.adf.org. And if there's enough interest, we can start our own SLG chapters! See Rob, Rod or me for more information about joining/starting Guilds on the national or local level.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Just as with national politics, it seems that as soon as you finish one election it's time to start the next. We need volunteers to serve on the Election Committee. The Election Committee is responsible for putting out the Call for Nominations, creating and mailing the election ballots, and counting the results. If you're interested, contact the Grove via robh@cyberspace.org or (734) 262-1052. (It's easy! Really!)

Bylaws Amendment: Change of Outreach Coordinator Title

In accordance with the Grove bylaws, the following amendment will take effect on April 19th, 2004, thirty days after publication in Shining Lakes News:

Article 7 paragraph 10: The title "Outreach Coordinator" shall be changed to "Public Relations Coordinator."

This amendment was voted on at the October 14th (2003) business meeting, and the vote was unanimous.

Wellspring 14

Wellspring is the annual festival of Stone Creed Grove, a gathering of Druids and Pagans in the woods of the Great Lakes. In an atmosphere of reverence and revelry, we return to our sacred places, light the fires of magic, and renew our oaths to one another, to nature and to the Gods.

As ADF celebrates our 20th anniversary, we find ourselves fully engaged in the work of our Pagan Druidry. Our many local groves serve a growing number of congregations and communities, and our solitary membership is growing, all occupying themselves with our Dedicant and Clergy Training program.

As we pursue the work of building our magical and spiritual training program, and confirming our policies and procedures, let's take time to celebrate this significant milestone, and learn from one another.

We come together as an International Body, to elect a new ArchDruid. We will come together as the ancients did (albeit by automobile and airplane) to witness the consecration of a new spiritual Chieftan, to lend them our strength and support, and speak our minds about what we expect. We will share frith in a Grand Sumbel fit for the Archdruid that leads us into our third decade.

Of course there will be a variety of workshops and discussion, music and evening rituals. The ADF Warriors Guild will host games, a Bardic Competition is in the works, many oaths will be taken with flowing cups of home-brewed mead and ale (and non-alcoholic libations).

Be part of the Magic, Joy, and Work our Druidry requires; celebrate 20 years of progress, trial, and triumph: join us at Wellspring 14. For more info, visit: www.stonecreed.org/wellspring.

SLG Leadership Council

Senior Druid
Rob Henderson robh@cyberspace.org

Assistant Senior Druid
Rodney Cox uberrod@comcast.net

Administrator
Jude Howison uputat@yahoo.com

Scribe
Jude Howison uputat@yahoo.com

Pursewarden
Rodney Cox uberrod@comcast.net

Chronicler
Genevieve Stoyak gstoyak@hotmail.com

Outreach Coordinator
(position open)

Youth Activities Coordinator
(position open)

SLG Guild Leaders

Magicians' Guild
Rodney Cox uberrod@comcast.net

Warriors' Guild
Rodney Cox uberrod@comcast.net

Healers' Guild
Rodney Cox uberrod@comcast.net

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

No e-mail access? Contact our officers at our snail-mail address or phone number.

Shining Lakes News (©2004) is published by Shining Lakes Grove, A.D.F., P.O. Box 1732, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, (734) 276-7809. For information about SLN, contact the Chronicler at gstoyak@hotmail.com or (734) 262-1462. For information about Shining Lakes Grove, contact the Senior Druid at (734) 262-1052 or robh@cyberspace.org, or visit www.shininglakes.org.