Order of Service - Summer Solstice 2000

Welcome to Our Celebration!

Before we begin...

Enjoy the antics of the Fool and other entertainments, greet each other, and check out the Raffle items before the Briefing. Words to the songs we will be singing are on the back of this sheet.

Preparing ourselves for our time with the Gods and Spirits

• Processional and purification - Come We Now As a People
• Bardic Invocation for our eloquence and inspiration
• Welcoming the Allies, the spirits of the people and their gods who lived in this land before us
• Meditation, grounding and centering
• Unity chant - One Voice
• Statement of purpose: We celebrate the apex of the Sun during the Solstice and honor the first father Bel and first mother Danu.

Declaring Center and opening the Portals

• Tree, Fire, and Well - Standing at the Crossroads
• The opening of the ways
• Acknowledging the Outsiders - the forces of chaos and change
• Invocation of Manannan mac Lir, our Lord of the Dead, to guide and protect us in the Otherworld

Acknowledging and honoring our guests

• Ancestors - our beloved dead
• Nature Spirits - the spirits of the land and its creatures
• Deities: Lugh, Aren, and Bríd (feel free to offer a silent welcome to your own gods)
• Archetypes - acknowledging the three societal functions within us
• Deity of the Occasion: Bel and Danu

Giving and Receiving

• Passing the sun wheel: Direct your praise and energy to the sun wheel to build a group offering. While you hold it, you may give praise or thanks to the gods silently or in the form of a vocal or physical offering. When you finish, pass the sun wheel to the person next to you.
• Group praise - Think About... (offering of corn meal to the fire)
• Main Sacrifice - burning the sun wheel
• Omen of return
• Return blessing - lemonade
• Cauldron Blessing
• Welcoming new members, officers, and guild members, and bestowing other honors

Unwinding and closing

• Recessional - Walk with Wisdom

And afterwards... Join us for a potluck and socializing, and don't forget to get your Raffle Tickets!

Song Sheet - Summer Solstice 2000

Processional:
Come We Now As a People

Come we now as a people,
To gather together at Sacred Well,
Come we now as a people,
To gather in the warmth and the light of the Flame.

Unity:
One Voice *

I join my voice to yours, we are one voice
Our words ring out together to call us home
I join my heart to yours, we are one heart
One breath, one mind, one Grove, we are one

Opening the Ways:
Standing at the Crossroads **

Come together, gather at the Center
Open we these Portals three.
Start the journey, standing at the Crossroads
The Well, the Fire, and the sacred Tree. (repeat)

Group praise:
Think About... ***

Think about the sun, children
Soaring through the sky's expanse
How he lights the world up
With his golden glance
He's the guardian of splendor
Inviting you to dance
Children, think about the sun

Think about the sea, children
Think about the ebb and flow
Think about the power
That's so far below
And her passion and her wisdom
Are there for you to know
Children, think about the sea

Closing:
Walk with Wisdom

Walk with wisdom, from the hallowed place
Walk not in sorrow, our roots shall e'er embrace
May truth be your brother,
And honor be your friend,
And luck be your lover until we meet again.

* © 1995 Marae Price
** © Pandora
*** © 2000 Rob Henderson and Genevieve Stoyak, based on the song "Finale" by Stephen Schwartz, from Pippin

Note to Parents: Children are welcome to stay and attend the ritual with you, but only if they are supervised.

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