Shining Lakes News

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

Lughnasadh 2001 - Vol. 8, No. 7

Harvest Time for the SLuGs

It's that time of year again-Lughnasadh is here! This was the traditional time for the grain to be harvested in Ireland. Indeed, our own Grove's wheat patch is usually harvested around this time (preferably before the deer get to any of it) and a small amount of it is brought to our own Lughnasadh festival, to be offered to our tribal patron Lugh. The fruits (apples, pears, etc.) would be harvested later in the summer, and then the meat would be harvested around Samhain (early November).

On July 31st, Gen and I went out to the Grove's wheat patch and harvested it. As is our custom, I took the first cutting and spun it around my head, then threw it to the ground. The wheat stalks landed in one bunch, which means our harvest this year should be a good one. It took the two of us nearly an hour to pull up all of the wheat stalks-I don't have an exact count yet, but it looks like we got several hundred heads this year, from our original stock of 99 heads. One day, we'll actually have enough to make the bread for our pilgrimage at Lughnasadh! We then offered several stalks to the local land spirits, and several more to the local equines (a.k.a. my mother's mules and horse), who ate their share quickly.

Now that we are among the time of year when the harvests are happening, remember to think of the things you've planted/started in your life, and what you will do if and when it comes to fruition. Maybe you've literally planted . . . well, plants, and you will have good things to eat as a result. Maybe you've invested your time in reading a book on the practices of our Ancestors, and it will help you to understand their ways and enrich your own practices. Or maybe you've invested your time and energy in your Grove (I sure hope you have!) and the result will be the continuation of our new religious movement, and one day you will be the Ancestors who are honored at the SLG Samhain rite by those who will come after us.

Whatever the case may be, I hope your harvest is a bountiful one!

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

Useful URLS:


Join us for the Guild Barbecue!

We'll be having our third annual Guild Barbecue on September 15th from noon to 6 PM. The various Guilds in SLG get together for an afternoon to share food and knowledge, and to let new folks find out what the Guilds are all about.

The Guild Barbecue will be at Gallup Park. The entrance is on Geddes Road, just west of Huron Parkway. (If you're coming from out of town, take the Geddes Rd. exit on US-23 and go west.) Look for our signs.


The SLG Election is Coming . . .

. . . and it's not too late to run for office! The Offices up for election this year are: Grove Administrator, Scribe, Pursewarden/Registrar, Chronicler, Outreach Coordinator, and Youth Activities Coordinator. If you're interested, please contact one of the Grove Election Committee Members by August 10th:

Rob Henderson-robh@cyberspace.org

Fred Wark-fllwark@htonline.com or (810) 231-1601

Deanna Justice-sjdeannaj@hotmail.com or (248) 591-6243

The ballots should be in the mail by August 22nd.


So How Do We Locate TBA?

If you've looked at the calendar grid this month, you've probably noticed that the meetings usually held at Rob and Gen's home are listed as "(location tba)". Rob and Gen are in the process of moving, and as of press time for SLN, they don't know exactly where they'll be moving to. Once they've gotten everything moved (and cleaned to Gen's satisfaction) they will be hosting the meetings again. You can check the SLG Web site or call our temporary Grove phone number (734-697-2514) for up-to-date info on our meeting locations. (And don't forget, you can offer to host a meeting at your home if you're interested!)

Thanks to Liz Benson-Cox and Rodney Cox for letting the Grove use their phone number during this transition period.


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

No e-mail access? 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) 697-2514.