Order of Service - Summer Solstice 2001

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 - We Approach the Sacred Grove
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
Honoring our mother Ana
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 - Portal Song
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 - Now the Rite is At an End

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

Song Sheet - Summer Solstice 2001

Processional:
We Approach the Sacred Grove

We approach the sacred grove,
With hearts and minds and flesh and bone.
Join us now in ways of old.
We have come home.

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:
Portal Song
© Ian Corrigan

By Fire and by Water
Between the Earth and Sky
We stand like the Worldtree
Rooted deep, crowned high.

Come we now to the well....
...The eye and the mouth of Earth
...And silver we bring
...The waters of rebirth
...Together we sing:
CHORUS

We will kindle a fire
...Bless all and with harm to none
...And offerings pour
...A light 'neath the Moon and Sun
...Our spirits will soar.
CHORUS

Gather we at the tree
...The root and the crown of all
...Below and above,
...Together we make our call
...In wisdom and love.
CHORUS

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:
Now the Rite is At an End ****

And now the rite is at an end, again we're parting ways
May truth and honor be your friend and lucky be your days
I'll hold you dearly in my heart, I'll hold you in my mind
And though our branches grow apart, our roots shall be entwined.

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

Rob Henderson, SLG Webmaster

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