Shining Lakes News

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

Beltaine 2001 - Vol. 8, No. 5

Wellspring Is Nearly Sprung!

Now that spring is here, another kind of season is upon us as well-festival season! Every weekend during the summer, all across the continent, hundreds (or at least dozens) of pagans gather together to share ritual, learning, and fun.

Every year, ADF holds its annual meeting at one of the festivals run by an ADF grove. This year's annual meeting will be at Wellspring, the festival run by Stone Creed Grove. Wellspring runs from May 16th to 20th this year, and will be held at the Brushwood Folklore Center in Sherman, New York. (That's in the western part of the state, about an hour east of Erie, Pennsylvania.)

This year's Wellspring will feature several workshops by ADF members and Guilds, including a presentation by Skip Ellison on his new tree magic system, and discussions about the ADF Study Program and the development of our ritual liturgy. There will also be a concert on Friday night, and a huge Sumbel (Norse drinking and boasting ritual) on Saturday night.

This year is an election year for ADF, and a big one at that! New officers are being chosen for every office in the Mother Grove, including a new ArchDruid. The new AD will be consecrated at a ritual on Saturday afternoon, with the other officers taking their oaths at the Sumbel on Saturday night.

Perhaps most importantly, though, Wellspring gives folks a chance to meet ADF members from other Groves, as well as solitary members who aren't members of any Grove. We spend a lot of time within our own Grove, with our Grovemates, and this gives us one particular view of what ADF is like. But when we talk to other folks from ADF, we discover new ideas and ways to do things within an ADF context, and it reminds us that ADF is an international organization of folks working toward a common goal-something we can forget if we spend too much time gazing at our own navels!

If you're interested in going to Wellspring, let me know, so we can arrange a group caravan and group camping site at Brushwood. And if you can't make it to Wellspring, there are other ADF festivals coming up later this year, including Summerlands in Ohio, Muin Mound Madness in New York, Fall Festival in New Jersey, and, of course, our own Lughnasadh Festival here in Michigan!

Here are some useful URLs:

• Wellspring information: http://www.stonecreed.org/wellspring/
• Brushwood Folklore Center: http://www.brushwood.com/

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

Wellspring Schedule of Events

This schedule of events was to be mailed to all ADF members, but the entire mailing was destroyed in the fire that took Ian and Sue's home (see above article). As a courtesy to our members, we are including it here.

Wednesday, May 16

8:30 pm Remembering the Earth Mother: We gather in the Nemeton to make due offering to the Mother of All, whose image we created last year, and whose blessing we seek, for the whole world. Bring offerings for her, and charms to aid the world and the Kindreds.

Thursday, May 17

9:30 am-12:30 pm Study Program Roundtables: The ADF Council of Lore meets, compares notes, and works with the membership in several workshops. Includes the Role of Clergy, Meanings of Initiation in ADF, Starting On the Study Program.

1:30-5:45 pm Workshops

8:30 pm Evening Ritual

Friday, May 18

9:30 am-12:30 pm Ritual and Magic Roundtables: Some of ADF's most experienced liturgists and priest/esses discuss the growth and change of our rituals, and the work of training members for magic and religion. Includes New Directions in the Liturgy, Working Solitary Druid Rites, From Dedicant to Initiate.

1:30-5:45 pm Workshops

8:00 pm Concert with The Silver Mist Ramblers, and Bardic Circle: The folk gather in the Ale Hall for a short performance by the Stone Creed house band, including Ian Corrigan and Liafal. Afterwards, we all will share songs and music, poems, stories, jokes and japes. Bring a thing or three to share, or just come to listen (and bring a mug and/or a sample, for the mead-tasting).

Saturday, May 19

10:00 am-12:30 pm ADF National Meeting

2:00-3:30 pm Workshops

4:00 pm Consecrating the ArchDruid: In this rite, we will consecrate the new head of our Druidic order, our ArchDruid. The rite will be held at the Nemeton, before the Sacred Fire.

8:30 pm The Sumbel: A tradition on election years at Wellspring, we will gather in the roundhouse in Groves and households, to hallow ale, mead and beverages, and toast the Gods, the Spirits and our work. Presided over by the new ArchDruid, we will hear the oaths of our new officers, and make our own sacred vows.

Sunday, May 20

Closing offerings in the Nemeton.

A Call for Aid

As some of you may have heard, there was a tragedy that occurred before the weekend of April 14th. The home of Ian Corrigan and Sue Parker (aka Liafal) was destroyed by fire. Ian wrote the original version of the Dedicant Program, and has served as the Vice ArchDruid and the Preceptor of ADF. Sue is our current Great Lakes Regional Representative. Both belong to Stone Creed Grove, which is the oldest active Grove in ADF. While no one was hurt, and they were able to save most of their ritual items, this is a terrible loss to them.

We, along with other Groves, are trying to raise money to donate to these individuals who have given so much to ADF as a whole, as a way to help ease the burden of their loss. If you have gotten anything out of ADF, these are two people who are partly responsible for this.

Thank you,
Rod Cox, Assistant Senior Druid

Note: If you would like to make a donation, please contact the Grove. The American Red Cross is also accepting donations for Ian and Sue, in the name of "StoneCreed Grove, ADF."

Post-Publication Addendum (5-6-01): Ian and Sue were well covered by their insurance, and have asked that no more donations be collected on their behalf.

Looking for a New Scribe

Unfortunately, our former Scribe has had to resign from her position, and the Leadership Council is now looking for someone to fill in for the remainder of the year (until Samhain). The duties of the Scribe are to take notes at the business meetings and send a copy to the Leadership Council members. That's it! So if you'd like to help out the Grove, or if you have any questions at all, contact someone on the Council and let us know. Thanks!

Here's an incentive to clean out your closets!

Our next Quarterly Service Project will be a Clothing Drive. Bag up your old clothes and bring them to the Summer Solstice rite on June 23. The clothing will be donated to the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation.

In addition, there will be a chance to help low-income women who are trying to enter the workforce-scour those closets for interview-appropriate attire (business suits, blazers, blouses, shoes, etc.) and we'll donate them to Dress for Success, a not-for-profit organization whose clients are referred from homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and job training programs. Clothing should be in good shape, laundered, and on hangers. For more info on the program, call (734) 483-4638 or go to www.dressforsuccess.org.

SLG Leadership Council

Senior Druid
Rob Henderson robh@cyberspace.org

Assistant Senior Druid
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Administrator
Don Clayton wittke@home.net

Scribe
Position Open

Pursewarden
Patrick Monagin pmonagin@ameritech.net

Chronicler
Genevieve Stoyak gstoyak@hotmail.com

Outreach Coordinator
Matthew Blair

Youth Activities Coordinator
Kirn Greymalkin servespirit@voyager.net

SLG Guild Leaders

Magicians' Guild
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Warriors' Guild
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Healers' Guild
Rodney Cox UberRod@aol.com

Seers' Guild
Maria Valayil mvalayil@voyager.net

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 (©2001) is published eight times a year by Shining Lakes Grove, A.D.F., P.O. Box 1732, Ann Arbor, MI, 48106, (734) 487-4931. For information about SLN, contact the Chronicler at (734) 662-5639 or gstoyak@hotmail.com. For information about Shining Lakes Grove, contact the Senior Druid at (734) 487-4931 or robh@cyberspace.org.

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