Shining Lakes News

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

Imbolc 2002 - Vol. 9, No. 3

Take Me to the River

This has been a strange winter in our local rivershed so far, unusually warm and dry-until this past week! Now, looking outside, it's hard to remember that spring is only six weeks away. Maybe Punxsutawney Phil has already decided that winter is going to be another six weeks, so he can sleep in on Groundhog Day?

In any case, our Spring Equinox ritual is coming up soon, where we honor our river goddess Ana and bless our wheat seeds for the coming year. Since we have some new folks reading this who don't know about Ana, I thought I'd write a bit about her this time around.

Back in 1995 as part of the research done by our An Bruane group, we found that the ancient Celts (among other cultures) associated goddesses of place with local bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers. Since we had already made a commitment to bring back the practices of the ancients in a way that fit in with our modern culture, it seemed silly to invoke the goddess of an Irish river at our rites, especially when we had a wonderful river right here at home.

So we set out to "contact" the goddess of the Huron River, by traveling to the source of the river and doing meditative work there, and then by doing further mediation and trance work on an individual basis. While we saw many different images, one name was heard by everyone: "Ana." This is the name we know her by. We consider her to be, as the goddess of the Huron River and its watershed, the force that brings life into the land and allows the plants to grow. This is why we call upon her to bless our wheat seeds before we plant them. Without her, our crops could never bear fruit!

I'm sure that everyone in SLG has their own stories of their experiences with Ana. My own go many years back, to before there was a Shining Lakes Grove, when I lived in Sumpter Township, very close to the Lower Huron Metropark. My family would go to the park for outings throughout the year, and the sight of the Huron (the biggest river I'd seen as a child, besides the Hudson) always filled me with awe. When I was a student living in Ann Arbor, I would often visit the Nichols Arboretum and sit by the river, watching the water flow toward my childhood home. Since joining the Grove, I've made many trips to Big Lake to commune with Ana, and to take part in our dawn Beltaine ritual to gather blessed water for the coming year.

I hope that everyone will be able to join us for our Spring Equinox ritual on March 23rd, as we continue our tradition of honoring our river mother and all of the living things she sustains in her watershed. The ritual won't be starting until 5 pm this time, so I recommend that everyone spend some time that afternoon visiting the Huron at one of the many parks along its banks. Reach into the water and feel her power and her compassion, and remember the ways of our Ancestors.

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

Bylaws addition: Grove Ecologist Position

In accordance with the bylaws, the following amendment will take effect on March 4th, 2002, 30 days after publication in Shining Lakes News:

Grove Ecologist-Shall coordinate the Grove's environmental work. The Grove Ecologist will inform the members of local environmental issues. S/he is responsible for organizing environmental projects, both within the Grove and in conjunction with other organizations. The term of the office of Grove Ecologist shall be one year. This position is appointed by the Leadership Council and is non-voting.

This amendment was voted on at the January 10 business meeting, and the vote was unanimous.

Have a suite time at ConVocation!

ConVocation, the annual convention sponsored by the Magickal Education Council, is coming to the Northfield Hilton in Troy on February 21-24, 2002. This year's theme is "Sharing the Knowledge of the Ages: Building a Magickal Community." As such, Shining Lakes Grove will be hosting a ritual honoring Bríd, the goddess of our community hearth.

Several grove members will also be presenting classes and workshops. Since specific classes were not confirmed at press time, check the program for details when you get there!

We're also happy to announce that SLG has rented a suite for the weekend. We'll be having our own talks and workshops throughout the convention, and special events are planned for the evening-including a post-ritual get-together and our traditional room party. Food, games, and a peaceful haven (when you need to get away from the hustle and bustle) are available all weekend-make sure to stop by!

The suite will also be available as "crash space" for those who don't want to drive home, but haven't got a hotel room (grove members only, please!). If you think you might want to do this, you might want to bring an extra blanket and pillow. We'd also like to request a $10 donation (to help pay for the suite), but of course we won't turn away our fellow grove members.

For more information on ConVocation-including a schedule, as soon as it's available, visit www.convocation.org or contact:
Magickal Education Council
P.O. Box 431309
Pontiac, MI 48343-1309

Shining Lakes News is now accepting ad space! Prices are $10 for business card size or $20 for a quarter page (prices subject to change).

Know any organizations or businesses that would be interested? Contact the Chronicler at (734) 495-0813 or gstoyak@hotmail.com.

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
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) 697-2514. 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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