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Volume 4, Issue 4
Marae Price
As many of you in Shining Lakes Grove are already aware, there have been some serious difficulties over the last several months. Although it may be easy to blame it all on the financial situation, or the leadership, the most serious problem we've had to face is neither of these. The most serious problem in the Grove is the complications, pain, and confusion caused by the allegations and speculations of various people in and associated with SLG. This gossip isn't malicious: Most of these folks are relatively distant from the situations they're discussing, and in most cases, they're simply trying to learn more about what's going on, without realizing the negative results of their comments. It is easy to talk without thinking; it is far more difficult to think without talking, but I believe this is exactly what we should strive to do.
The saying goes, "The pen is mightier than the sword." An appropriate comparison for the tongue is the hand grenade: Once the pin is pulled (i.e., the word is spoken), there is no reversing the act, the result may land in the wrong place and cause unwanted destruction, and no one can predict where the shrapnel will fly. Words are powerful things. Our words have the power to do an amazing amount of harm with almost no effort on our part; it is a lack of effort to choose words wisely which most often results in the spread of rumor. Rumor can cause personal pain, damage reputations, reduce one's effectiveness, and destroy relationships. "Idle gossip" is a dangerous pastime, and can unfortunately become a pernicious habit. The greatest misfortune is that those who gossip are usually unharmed, and often have no idea what an effect their words have had on someone else's life; if they did, in most cases they would regret having spoken at all.
None of us is perfect; I'm guilty of gossip far more often than I'd like to believe. It is work to speak responsibly, but it is some of the best work we can do, both for ourselves and for each other. To help make that work a little easier, I'm sharing ten suggestions for monitoring and controlling speech about others. Keeping these principles in mind has helped me immensely. I hope you find them as useful (key phrases are in bold).
In closing, another phrase comes to mind: "Give the benefit of the doubt." Believing the best of someone until they prove otherwise is far better than believing the worst; once a negative view of someone has been entertained, it's very difficult to get rid of, but all too easy to spread.
Brighn
People talk. When people talk, we like to talk about interesting, often scandalous things-we're curious creatures, and while curiosity killed the cat, we have yet to learn from the felid example.
One unfortunate result for our penchant for dialogue is gossip, talking behind people's backs. Gossip is usually labeled with a broad negative stroke, but in truth it's not inherently negative: People gossip about promotions, their friends' new relationships, health recoveries, and so on. They also gossip about firings, break-ups, and illnesses.
And I'll admit something: I'm a gossip. Most people are. I know a few people who are gossip black holes-they hear everything, but share nothing. But such people are definitely the exception, not the rule (and, I would argue, aren't necessarily any better than the unrepentent gossip, since black holes frequently refuse to share, and hence confirm, the gossip with the people involved).
Editing Marae's article made me think about how I deal with gossip, and while I agreed with many of her suggestions, I disagreed with enough that I thought I'd state my own strategies for dealing with gossip. While Marae's strategies primarily focus on when to talk and when not to, mine primarily focus on when to listen and when not to.
Most importantly, I try to keep in mind that everybody's different, and has their own way of dealing with issues. I try not to take anyone, including myself, too seriously.
Lynxx
Warning: This is a blatant opinion piece. I'm sure I've already managed to offend someone with the title alone. I can hear them saying, "Standards are too mainstream, too labeling: Don't fence me in (or out)." Too bad. The reality is that all groups, ranging from two friends to a nation of millions, have internalized standards of acceptable thought and behavior. From personal experience we know that mainstream culture has standards. A fair number of us have been shown the door for being outsiders: pagan, gay, poly, the list is endless.
Are standards good or bad? Neither. I would say that they simply are. A group needs agreed-upon standards of behavior chiefly because members need to know what is expected of them and what they can expect. Perhaps because we have known intolerance ourselves, we tend to be pretty tolerant of people's differences and often reluctant to draw a line and say that a particular idea or behavior is unacceptable. Yet there are behaviors that are unacceptable to us. For instance, most of us would agree that we don't want a thief or a child abuser in our midst. But what constitutes theft or child abuse? That is what we have to decide.
If SLG were the dominant culture, we would not need to explicitly set out to develop community standards; they would just evolve. However, we're not. We live submersed in an assimilative culture-call it the melting pot or the garden salad as you like. We come to this community with all our cultural baggage and a sincere desire to find a better way. We need to recognize our lack of explicitly shared standards and start talking.
Now for my agenda.
Of course I have my own internal idea of what constitutes "traditional pagan values." Getting onto my soap box, let me suggest the following standards for discussion and resolution.
Some people will say that a group which is not tolerant of anything and everything is just a club, but I disagree. A community that doesn't have a shared vision will eventually fragment.
Others will say that trying to articulate shared standards will mean not welcoming all comers. I think people already self-select to stay with SLG or go elsewhere. I don't envision some heavy handed enforcement of "the right way," rather some serious discussion about what range of acts constitute "the right way."
Rather than set SLG's standards by default as situations come up, let's start a dialog and begin to codify the SLG virtues (as one Intensive put it).
Fox, Rob Henderson, and Brighn
As part of our work to develop our own cosmology, we continue our regular An Bruane meetings. Once or twice a month, members of Shining Lakes Grove meet to discuss, research, and perform rituals specifically aimed at performing works for our deities or our lands.
On November 10th, six Grove members (Fox, Rob, Mama Moon, Kore, Marae Price, and Lori Hammock) visited Rob's parents' new land to perform a blessing ritual for it.
To prepare for the ritual, the group discussed the land with the Hendersons, exploring what changes they'd made and planned to make to the land, how they intended to use it, and how long they'd been living on the land.
Pieces of sod were gathered from the four corners of the property and brought to the center, where it was placed in a pile. The central fire was built over the gathered land, symbolically bringing the entire property together to one central point.
After standard purifications with sage, water, and ochre, the ritual began (with Jan, Rob's mother, participating).
The fire was consecrated, and then a broom was made from an ash wand and birch branches. The broom was used to sweep out the house and the barn to purify it. As the buildings were swept out, they were smudged, and hawthorne branches were hung in the crawlspace or from the ceilings to protect them from fire and lightning. As added protection, and as a symbol of community, Bríd's Crosses were also hung up.
The ritual group then returned to the outdoors, making offerings to the fire to promote fertility and to symbolize the Hendersons' new beginnings on the property: eggs, seeds from the SLG spring equinox ritual, hawthorne, and the birch branches from the broom.
Oil was offered to Lugh through the fire. Oil was then poured on the ash handle from the broom, which was held over the fire and then pounded into the ground where the Hendersons were planning on planting their garden. The intent of this was to charge the wand, and by contagion the ground, with the essences of fire, fertility, and the spirit of Lugh.
Offerings were made to the Nature Spirits. As is the tradition, an area of the land (known as the Devil's Half-acre) was set aside specifically for the Nature Spirits.
As a final step of the ritual, the Hendersons were instructed to spread the ashes from the fire, after it had extinguished and cooled, spreading the energy of the ritual over the land just as the energy had been pulled together at the start of the ritual, and just as the smoke from the fire had spread out over the land.
An Bruane continues its work. As a member, if you'd like to participate or suggest an activity, contact Fox or Rob, or come to one of the regularly scheduled An Bruane gatherings and help us continue to build our community.
Brighn
This is ConVocation's fourth year, having worked around the Elemental wheel to Earth, with the motto being, "Supporting Our Community, Sustaining Our Earth."
Although ConVocation is run by the Magical Education Council of Ann Arbor, and is independent of Shining Lakes Grove, many members of SLG have been involved with Con, including MECAA founders Kami Landy and Michael McClennen, Jim Hoyt, Annette and Emly Gabriel, and myself (among others), and SLG has led an opening ritual at Con. The Grove is also considering having a Suite again this year.
From its inception, the purpose of ConVocation has been to provide a forum for sharing techniques, rituals, and beliefs, as well as to create a sense of community for metaphysicians and neopagans. This year, presenters include Llewellyn author Patricia Telesco, ConVocation favorite Tamarra James, Bekki Shining Bearheart and Dr. Crow Swimsaway, and Ken Deigh.
While I haven't been active in this year's ConVocation so far, past Cons have been a weekend well spent of learning and communing, and this year's Con appears to be even better. As always, there'll be child care, an art show and a merchant's room, and volunteering opportunities.
ConVocation is at the Plaza Hotel in Southfield, the same place as the first and third Cons, from February 19 to 22. For more information, contact Jane Pierce at (248) 548-7639 or JaneyPM@aol.com.
Brighn
At Lughnasadh, the Fool's Troupe celebrated the end of its first official year by continuing to fail to have any meetings, by-laws, or rules whatsoever. As of this writing, the Fool's Troupe has five members: Fool Emeritus (by self-proclamation) Brighn, Ousted Fool Davroz, King of Fools Rob Henderson, As Yet Untitled Fool Kore, and someone else, who shall remained unnamed because she never introduced herself to me.
Fool Emeritus Brighn failed to present the by-laws he'd written after last year's Lughnasadh festival because he doesn't really like them, and besides, he was in the middle of upgrading his computer hardware, and he might have lost them anyhow, and at any rate, they're in that old word processor he doesn't use anymore, and so getting them would be a hassle.
Davroz completed his tenure as King of Fools with a humiliating defeat in the Fool's Competition. He might have gone home in tears, except that he didn't seem terribly upset. He deserved the loss, having dared to ridicule the Fool Emeritus, who is perfect and beyond reproach.
This year's competition involved Davroz, Rob, Kore, and that other person. They all made complete fools of themselves. The Fool Emeritus wrote the competition, and therefore didn't think it would be fair to compete.
Rob's stunning ouster of Davroz resulted from the pieces included here. Rob was later made Assistant Senior Druid, a title which is nowhere near as interesting as King of Fools or even Vice Senior Druid, the latter of which the Senior Druid apparently wimped out on giving to Rob. At any rate, Rob wrote the Grove's Samhain ritual, which I've also included here. (There have been rumors that this is not the actual ritual script, but a hoax being perpetrated by Rob, but as history and tradition will show, Real Fools Don't Hoax.)
To become an Official Grove Fool, be sure to participate in the Fool's Competition at Lughnasadh. To become an Official Grove Fool and have your actual name published in Ripples, be sure to introduce yourself to the Fool Emeritus, who, perfect as he may be, isn't psychic. (Well, I am, but... I don't feel like exerting myself right now.) If you don't want to wait until Lughnasadh to become a Grove Fool, come to the next meeting and fill out our 25 page Declaration of Intent to Be a Fool form, have it notarized, and offer it to the fire at the next High Day ritual.
Members of the Fool's Troupe would all receive a bead, but Beadmaster Victor is having trouble locating the beads, because Brighn didn't buy enough at the outset, so right now only the Kings (or Queens) get them. The bead is a variegated miracle bead bell. Kore and that other person can go whine to Victor if they want.
Any standard dictionary should have a listing for variegated, if you don't know what it means.
All that official nonsense out of the way, here's foolish stuff from Rob.
Rob Henderson
First part: Provide a humorous story (not a joke) of precisely 50 words. (This event suggested by Mama Moon.)
Memoirs of a Hazel
I remember when the Martians invaded
Earth, many years ago, disguised as squirrels. They got out of their ships
and surrounded me. I tried to ask them what they wanted, but they didn't
know my language, nor I theirs. They climbed up, and stole my nuts and hid
them. OUCH!
Part two: Provide a song parody.
Through natural selection, you have won a Grove election
You're an
officer on the board
Most people love you, a few they wanna shove you
And now I'm gonna give you some more
It was the joke that got me
the laugh
It was the pun that got me the boos
It's a silly song
I'm humming
There a chance that I'm becoming
A Shining Lakes
Grove Fool
You hear all the whining that everything's declining
And you think it might just be true
If you're getting worried that
everything's too hurried
Then I really need to see you!
I've got a joke to give you a smile
I've got a pun to give you a
groan
If you think your job's too taxing
Then you need laughs
and relaxing from
A Shining Lakes Grove Fool
If you get
complacent, then I will get adjacent
And get you out of your rut
If you need a shake-up, I'll give you a wake-up
And a gentle kick in
the butt
Now I'm the one to tell you a tale
Now I'm the one
to give you a grin
I'm a prince in jester's clothing
And the
silliness is growing,
I'm a Shining Lakes Grove Fool
(to
the tune of "Someone Who Is Cool" by the Odds)
Part C: Cheerlead for the Grove.
Hail to the goddess Ana
Hail to the god Manannan
Hail, hail to
Aren, Danu,
Bríd, Lugh and Bel!
Hail to the goddess
Ana
Hail to the god Manannan
Hail and be welcome here
By
fire, tree, and well!
(to the tune of "Hail to the Victors," U of M's fight song)
The other parts of the Competition were: satirize someone in the room or in the Grove; charades; tell a joke impromptu.
Rob Henderson
We begin with the assembled participants around the fire. Leia (Kami Landy) is telling the story of the first Star Wars movie. Luke (Rob Henderson) is in the audience. As Leia finishes, one of the figures steps into the fire circle and reveals himself to be Yoda (Fox).
YODA: Mmm, yes, told a very good story you have. But why sitting around outside you all are? Know what night this is do you not? Wandering through the forest Obi-Wan is. Take you to the Otherworld he will!
LUKE: (standing up) We're not afraid!
YODA: You will be.
With that, Yoda leaves the circle. A few minutes later, Obi-Wan (Marae Price) wanders up to the circle, wearing a fake beard and a brown robe, and carrying a light saber.
LUKE: Obi-Wan! Why do you keep following me around anyway? I figured, once you were dead, I'd at least get a little rest... Why are you here?
Obi-Wan beckons for the crowd to follow him, and he leads them to the Nemeton, where Yoda awaits.
YODA: Tell you I did! Now summon your beloved ancestors you will.
LUKE: I call upon my Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru...
At this point, two masked figures dressed as Owen and Beru (Buck Shomo and Michael McClennen) come out of the forest and sit down.
LUKE: ... and I call upon my father.
Now Darth Vader (Victor Foshion) comes dancing out of the forest and twirls to a stop in front of Luke.
LUKE: You're not my father!
VADER: Oh, puh-LEASE. You know I'm your father. Look within your heart, you know it to be true.
LUKE: (screams) Noooooooooooo!!!!
Vader sits down with the other beloved dead.
YODA: Now perform for the dead you must!
A group of Ewoks come out of the forest and begin singing that stupid song they did at the end of the original version of Jedi, but the participants throw rocks at them until they run away in terror.
The Seer (Lisa Kamp) then takes Vader's dead body (actually made of cloth and stuffed with hazel nuts), throws it into the fire, and performs the divination.
YODA: And now go you must. Too old to teach you I am. (starts waving his arms, a la Tracy Ullman) Go home! Go home!
The audience leaves the Nemeton and returns to the fire circle, humming the Star Wars theme.
Greetings!
With all those bottles of St. John's Wort cropping up in the vitamin aisles of the local drug stores and supermarkets, Johnna's article in the Autumn 1997 issue of Ripples is most timely.
I'm real pleased to see that she included some precuations about using St. John's Wort. One can never be too cautious about self-medication, whether one is using one of the standard over-the-counter drugs or following an alternative course of treatment. Some people seem to think that if something is for sale, it is safe under all circumstances. Not true. Many commonly available medicinal substances can be dangerous, even fatal, under some circumstances.
Because there are people who do use herbs without complete knowlede, and because St. John's Wort is 'in' right now, I'd like to add to Johnna's precautions with some information from Michael Castleman's The Healing Herbs (published in paperback by Bantam Books): Like many other antidepressants, St. John's Wort is an MAO inhibitor. If MAO inhibitors are taken in combination with certain common medications and foods, they can cause dangerously increased blood pressure. Although St. John's Wort is not as strong an MAO inhibitor as some prescription antidepressants, one should follow the standard precautions. If one is taking St. John's Wort internally for any reason, one should not use amphetamines, narcotics, the amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine, diet pills, asthma inhalants, nasal decongestants, and cold or hay fever medications. Likewise, one should not drink coffee, wine, or beer, and should not eat salami, yogurt, chocolate, fava beans, or any smoked or pickled foods.
Brightest blessings!
Beket
Grove Organizer
Sun Raven Protogrove, ADF
I also received a letter and three flyers from the Michigan Nude Beach Advocates, some time ago. I apologize to them for the delay in following up. The letter read as follows:
Dear Druids:
Please post or otherwise make available the enclosed flyers for your members. Even those druids who do not get nude in a social setting or who only get naked at ritualistic events may be interested in helping open some public lands to clothing-optional use so as to expand the locales at which to hold events.
Thank you,
Matthew Kerwin
SMN Secretary
MNBA Liaison
The accompanying pamphlets described the two organizations, the Southeast Michigan Naturists and the Michigan Nude Beach Advocates, which promote nudism in discreet public places. For more information, call (313) 475-9198 or write SMN at P.O. Box 8127, Ann Arbor, MI 48107.
Despite numerous delays, the annual Grove elections have been completed according to the Grove by-laws, with an official quorom obtained. These are the results:
For Pursewarden/Registrar, Rob Henderson was running unopposed, and received nearly unanimous support.
For Scribe, Valerie Hartzer and Johnna ap'Morrygan (incumbent) were the candidates. Valerie Hartzer was elected by a narrow margin.
The officers began their two-year tenure at Samhain.
Brighn
Grove Chronicler
The S.L.G. Bardic Guild should have held elections at Samhain, but somehow we missed doing that. Let this serve as a notice that we will be holding elections immediately. I propose that we begin the process at the Bardic Guild meeting on Sunday, December 21, 1997. At that time, we can begin to accept nominations for candidates for Bard Rialta and Bard Scriobh, as well as deciding on a timetable for the election. My personal recommendation is that we try to have the process completed in time to vote at the January meeting, which will take place on Sunday, January 26, 1998. To facilitate this, I suggest that at the December meeting we appoint someone to conduct the election, who will then make sure that all guild members are included in the process and have an opportunity to vote. We should also decide on a Bard Mór for the coming year.
Other important news regarding the SLG Bardic Guild is the change in meeting schedule. As with all the other guilds, we will be meeting once a month at a "Guild Day," on a Sunday afternoon. The Bardic Guild will meet at the second Guild Day each month, following the Artisans' Guild meeting. Another change is that after December, we will no longer be scheduling Bardic Liturgy meetings. The bardic elements of the ritual will be decided on in the course of the regular Liturgists' Roundtables, so if you are interested in contributing bardic materials, please plan to attend the roundtables. We will continue to have music practice for the upcoming rite at the end of the second Liturgists' Round-table meeting.
On a personal note, I will likely be unable to attend Bardic Guild meetings from now on, as I am usually out of town on weekends. I have been acclaimed Bard Mór two years in a row, but as I am not able to be as involved in Grove and Guild activities as I once was, perhaps it is time to consider acclaiming someone else.
Marae Price
Bard Mór
The November meeting of the Guild was very productive. We ratified the new by-laws and began nominations for the Guild Officers. Election of officers will take place at the January meeting, as specified in the by-laws. All nominations should be sent to Brighn at seahorse@customnet.net, or at (248) 586-9222. The current nominations are:
Nine people had submitted their membership applications turned in at the time of the by-laws approval: Jim Hoyt, Lisa Kamp, Marae Price, Lori Hammock, Annette Gabriel, Chris Ottolini, Mark Gabriel, Jacqui Solti, and Mama Moon. Brighn submitted his application at the December meeting. These ten are considered full members, on condition that they complete the reading and divination requirements by Spring Equinox, 1998.
There was discussion at both the November and December meetings on a symbolic decoration for the Seers, based on suggestions by Jane Sibley. Several ideas are being discussed.
The group decided unanimously that the SLG Seers are not interested in learning a common form of divination. Since we are interested in affiliating with the ADF National Seers' Guild, we are discussing this with Linda Demissy, Guild Organizer; though our opinion will be considered, we may be required to learn runes anyway.
In December, Jacqui led us through a trance to explore our personal and group goals as seers.
In January, we will be discussing an ethics policy; in February, Brighn will discuss omens, particularly their role in SLG's history and liturgy; and in March, Mark will lead the discussion of On Becoming a Counselor, the Guild's sole reading requirement.
We're off to a great start!
Lisa Kamp, Guild Organizer
Brighn, Chronicler
The Huron River Watershed Council, in cooperation with the City of Ann Arbor Water Utilities Department, periodically mails information on things we can do to protect the watershed. There are currently two brochures available.
Water Ways No. 1 is entitled "Put household hazardous waste where it belongs" and includes stickers for marking hazardous materials for proper disposal in the future. It lists some common household items which require special treatment, and tells where to take them for proper disposal.
Water Ways No. 2 is "Save time and money: Simple lawn care practices." It includes tips for reducing lawn-care impact on the watershed by reducing lawn-related labor-and these same measures also improve the health of your lawn! These tips include choosing the proper seed mix for a Michigan lawn, mowing high for healthier grass roots, reducing or eliminating lawn watering, and proper use of fertilizer. (You probably don't even need to fertilize, but if you feel you do, use the fertilizer with the lowest possible phosphorus content, and don't fertilize right before a rain!)
These brochures are available free. For more information or to get on the mailing list for future tips, call the Huron River Watershed Council at (313) 769-5123.
Another project to help protect the watershed is the Buhr Park Children's Wet Meadow. Located next to Cobblestone Farm off Packard Road in Ann Arbor, this project has been in the works for much of the past year. It was planned and organized by elementary school children from the area, who have done an incredible job of gaining support and funding, and pulling together the designers and workers to make it a physical reality.
The purpose of the Wet Meadow is to act as a water retention area to allow water to be filtered and cleansed by the earth before passing into the river. The area has been partially planted with native wet meadow plants and seeds, with a cover crop of oats for this winter to stabilize the soil. Seeds were collected in October for future planting.
The Friends of the Buhr Park Children's Wet Meadow receive periodic e-mail updates on the progress of the project. If you are interested in the Wet Meadow and wish to become involved, you may access their website at: http://comnet.org/local/orgs/meadow/index.html (auth=guest), or contact Jeannine Palms at 971-5870 or dpetty@umich.edu.
Marae Price
Grove Ecologist
The Guild has elected the following officers, to a one-year term (elections to be held at Lughnasadh):
The by-laws are still in progress, but the following are definite elements: Guild members must be SLG members, and need to complete a Community level CPR course. Members do not need to affiliate with the ADF National Warriors' Guild. We have also decided on a weapons policy, pending approval of the Leadership Council.
The vision of the Warriors' Guild is based on the following:
a)
Mediation and Conflict Resolution
b) Empowering Guild and Grove
Members
c) The Spiritual Path of the Warrior, including representing
the Warriors at High Days and appropriate rituals
d) Physical
Fitness, including martial arts
e) Logical and Critical Thinking
f) Protecting Grove Activists
g) Knowledge of the Law of the
Land, with a focus on conflict resolution, festival security, weapons
laws, spouse/child/elder abuse, and self-defense.
We are also in the process of planning the security for 1998's Lughnasadh Festival.
Kestrel, Guildmaster
Brighn, Chronicler
It's been very active lately in the Healers' Guild. In the last three months, we've welcomed three new members: Don Clayton, Carole Rich, and Emily Gabriel.
At November's meeting, we held our annual officers' election. It was a close race, and "other" managed to get one vote for each office, but the eventual winners were:
Rob Henderson was also reappointed as Assistant Guildmaster.
We have also had several good presentations by our Guild members, on diverse topics including inflammation and infection, crystal healing, and patient interviewing techniques.
Our future plans include making dream pillows and compiling an informative booklet on various healing techniques.
If you're interested in joining the Healers' Guild, contact Rob Henderson at robh@cyberspace.org, or at (734) 487-4931.
Rob Henderson
Guild Scribe
Hey, it took a month of goading, but I finally managed to get a Guild report from every guild except the Artisan's Guild. It's wondeful to see how the Grove is diversifying and evolving as it grows.
The Shining Lakes Grove Guilds are intended to provide services similar to ADF National Guilds. The ADF National study program has been undergoing some major restructuring lately, and with the restructuring has come a codification and organization of the social roles of our Indo-European ancestors, as we perceive them. Right now, Shining Lakes Grove has a Guild for nearly all of ADF's National Guild recommendations.
The enormous enthusiasm behind the Seers' Guild-thirteen people present at the organizational meeting in October and ten provisional members by December-is especially exciting, and is a tribute to Lisa's excellent and assertive organizational skills.
Early in 1998, we should have our first Member's Guide, the results of efforts of the Membership Committee. Having seen "the beast" in several drafts, I can only marvel at the work that the Membership Committee has put in, particularly Elizabeth and Johnna.
And, also due to Lisa, Grove Regalia is the most diverse I've ever seen it. We have t-shirts, beautiful full-color patches, and other items to show your support for and membership in Shining Lakes Grove, ADF.
Thinking back of the crises a year ago, it speaks volumes about the resilience and pride of the Sluggies that we could get back on the right track so quickly and decisively.
On another note, something finally occurred this week to this often dense Chronicler. You'll notice several of the Guild Reports and articles include my name as a second or third byline. I'm so "into" writing, I sometimes forget that not everybody is as secure-or interested-in writing as I am. The Grove does have several excellent writers, but that doesn't mean that if you're not in the position to write a complete, polished piece, you don't have a place in Ripples.
Kestrel, for instance, sent me a series of notes for the Warriors' Guild which I molded into a short report. And I managed to buttonhole the ever-busy Fox long enough to get a brief recap of an An Bruane ritual, so I could write the story (with Rob proofing for details). The point being, if you have something you'd like to say, send me as polished or rough a piece as you can manage, and I'll edit or rewrite as needed.
Also, I always need art, especially for the front cover!
Brighn, Grove Chronicler
Elizabeth is collecting up unwanted but still usable goods, clothing, electonics, toys, and so on, to be sold at a garage sale in the spring. Donate your goods by calling 313-480-1859. She'll even arrange pick-up, if possible.
It's not just euchre anymore! Each month, we feature a different game. Got something fun? Bring it along! The $6 cover charge goes to support the Grove, and we'll give door prizes to the evening's best players, plus snacks to everyone.
At each ritual, to help cover site costs, we raffle away donated items. If you have something inexpensive (anywhere from a nice bookmark or incense to a favorite book or piece of handmade jewelry) that you think somebody'd like, give it to Fox, Rob, or Brighn, and we'll make sure to put it in the raffle box!
Remember your beloved ancestors who have journeyed to the other side of the veil with a nameplate on the Grove's Ancestor Plaque. For $15, most of which goes to the engraving and mounting, we'll place the name of your ancestor, to be remembered by the Grove. Contact Fox for more info.
Ripples is the quarterly journal of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF, and is published every other high day, or as close to that as possible.
Subscriptions are free for current members of the Grove, and $5/year for everyone else. The single copy price is $1.50; back issues are subject to availibility. Proceeds from sales defray publishing and mailing costs, or go to the General Fund.
Advertising rates are $3 per issue for business card size, $5 per issue for quarter page. Copy must be camera ready.
Please send letters, submissions, artworks, advertisements, or anything
else that seems relevant to:
Brighn
Editor and Grove
Chronicler
352 W. Bennett
Ferndale, MI 48220
(248) 586
9222
seahorse@customnet.net
http://customnet.net/~seahorse
or to Ripples at the address below.
See volume 3, issue 3 or contact the editor for submission guidelines.
The deadline for submissions to volume 5, number 1 is:
February
28, 1998
Shining Lakes Grove is the Ann Arbor-based grove of Ár nDraíocht;
Féin, an International Druidic Organization. Shining Lakes Grove
presents rituals, Bardic circles, and other events for the NeoPagan
community and the general public. For more information, contact:
Shining Lakes Grove, ADF
P.O. Box 15585
Ann Arbor, MI
48106-5585
(313) 480 2082
If busy, try: (313) 434 7444
robh@cyberspace.org
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