Shining Lakes News

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

Beltaine 2002 - Vol. 9, No. 5

Fire from the Sky Blesses the Earth

ou've probably read about our Grove's wheat in these pages before, or have seen something about it on our Web site, or read about it in Cup of Wonder magazine, or The Seeker Journal, or . . . well, just about any place that would let me write about it!

To summarize, we plant, tend, and harvest emmer wheat as part of our commitment to understanding and following the ways of our ancestors. For me, this is one of the most important things our Grove is doing, and one thing that distinguishes us from so many other pagan groups out there. We don't just talk about the ancients and their practices, we actually get out there and do them!

This past Saturday, we continued our tradition by planting the wheat at Black Jack Farm, my parents' home. Last year we planted in two raised beds close to the house, and this year, we planted in four beds. Hopefully this year's harvest will be at least twice as big as last year's! In addition to the wheat seeds, the beds hold several birch twigs, since the birch is magically associated with protection and new beginnings. During the planting, a rabbit ran by the beds, and later that day I saw a fox run past them as well! The Nature Spirits certainly seem interested in what we're doing.

The Summer Solstice is coming up, and it wasn't a big holiday for the ancient Celts. (You may be wondering about Stonehenge, which was built to align with the rising sun on the day of the solstice-but it was built several centuries before the Celts came to Britain, so we can't assume anything about Celtic practices from that.) Since we don't have any ancient practices on which to base our celebrations, we look to our more recent spiritual ancestors (in this case, the post-Christian Irish).

According to Kevin Danaher in The Year in Ireland, on the night of the Summer Solstice the Irish would take lit firebrands and throw them into the fields, to bring fertility to the crops. Yes, I can hear your confusion now-"Um, wouldn't the crops catch fire if they did that?" At that time of the year, the wheat stalks and other crops are very green and nearly impossible to burn with a single piece of burning wood, unless there's been a drought. I know this because for the past few years we've been doing the same thing: bringing the flame from our Fire Watch ritual, lighting small pieces of wood, and tossing them into the wheat. So far, we haven't had one toasted wheat stalk.

So I invite everyone to join us at Fire Watch on June 21st. We'll do our usual fire lighting and blessing, and around 10 pm we'll travel to Black Jack Farm with a few lit candles to continue the traditions of our Ancestors. Like our wheat harvest, our tradition has grown slowly but steadily year after year, and with the blessings of the Gods and the will of our people, it will continue to grow.

Here are some useful URLs:

• Sowing the Seeds of the Ancient Pagans - http://www.msen.com/~robh/slg/sowing.html
• The Year in Ireland, by Kevin Danaher - http://www.irishbook.com/year.htm

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

Now is the Time

As I try to enjoy our hot-and-cold-running Spring, many thoughts circle in my head. I am struck by Nature's power. Plants sprout or bud, birds gather and return to nests abandoned last Fall, insects hatch, and animals awake from hibernation. All of this happens according to a grand plan that we can only dream of understanding

In our world of alarm clocks and deadlines, we often become disconnected from the world of nature that our ancestors knew so well. We often forget that we are ALL connected through creation. We share many similarities with Nature's other children. Take the sapling, for example. It starts life as a small vulnerable sprout. With fertile soil, water, and sunlight it may grow. To really grow into a strong and vibrant tree it also needs the protection of other, more mature trees.

We call our little community a Grove. I would like to think that that is because like a grove of trees, we stand together to support and protect one another so all of us can grow and mature spiritually. That support can take many forms. We gather at rituals to share common spiritual beliefs, but it takes more than just eight days a year to make a true community. It takes the constant participation of the members to really make our Grove grow.

There is so much that we could be doing for our community if we had the support of more members. I have only been a member for a short time, but by looking back at past meeting minutes and also talking to long-time members, it seems like membership in the Guilds and attendance at other Grove events has fallen off dramatically over time. These activities are vital to the survival and growth of our Grove. We need all of our members to contribute in whatever way they can.

If you have been thinking of joining a guild, now is the time.

If you have been thinking of helping with preparation for rituals, now is the time.

If you have been thinking of donating money, now is the time.

If you have been thinking of writing an article for the newsletter, now is the time.

Let's face it. One of the things we find fault with in Christian churches is the Sunday Christian. Do you want to be known as a High Day Pagan? Most likely not. Now is the time to make a commitment to help support our Grove. Together we can really grow our little saplings into the strong supportive community we dream of.

- Jude Howison

SLG Financial Report: March 2002

Total Income (includes membership dues, raffle, donations, and merchandise sales): $76.00
Total Expenses: (includes newsletter printing, site rental, bank fees, and ConVocation expenses) $316.93
Current Total in Bank Account as of 3/31/02: $24.69

The Grove elections are coming up this fall, and we need at least three folks 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) 998-1029. (It's easy! Really!)

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.

This year's events will include: a Friday night concert; the ADF (Inter)National Meeting on Saturday morning; a ritual on Saturday night including the oath-taking of our newly elected ADF officers; ordination rituals for several new ADF clergy members; and workshops all weekend long.

For more info, contact:
Stone Creed Grove, ADF
POB 18007, Cleve Hts, OH 44118
or visit: www.stonecreed.org/wellspring

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.

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