Unitarian Universalist Congregation East

17 January News and Notes

Kalen received his new member packet from Betty today.

Courage had surgery on his shoulder but has come  through the surgery well.

We were all asked to consider “Dreams” for Martin Luther King’s birthday.  Particularly, David asked us to define the “American Dream.”  Being Americans, we were all asked about whether we were happy, since the Declaration of Independence specifically mentions life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  Happiness is not being offered, only the right to pursue it.  Martin Luther King’s dream was, in part, to eradicate the effects of poverty in America.  When he died, he was helping out the sanitation workers.

This idea of the American dream is harder to figure out than it used to be.  Once it could have simply been that every American has the opportunity to move up in the world without regard to previous social status.  It was also tied to the hope and dream that one’s children had the opportunity to achieve a better life than you yourself had achieved.  This was certainly true in the 19th century when there was plenty of land to homestead and cities were growing up where there had only been grass and trees just a scant few years back.  Today, the American dream has changed into something different than it was.

ADF is for A Druid Fellowship?

Ár nDraíocht Féin – The Irish words, pronounced “arn ree-ocht fane”, mean “Our Own Druidism”, and that’s just what ADF is – a completely independent tradition of Neopagan Druidism. Like our sisters and brothers in the other Neopagan movements, we’re polytheistic Nature worshipers, attempting to revive the best aspects of the Paleopagan faiths of our ancestors within a modern scientific, artistic, ecological, and holistic context. Like our predecessors and namesakes the Druids, we’re people who believe in excellence – physically, intellectually, artistically and spiritually.

We’re researching and expanding sound modern scholarship about the ancient Celts and other Indo-European peoples, in order to reconstruct what the Old Religions of Europe really were. We’re working on the development of genuine artistic skills in composition and presentation. We’re designing and performing competent magical and religious ceremonies to change ourselves and the world we live in. We’re adapting the polytheologies and customs of both the Indo-European Paleopagans and the Neopagan traditions that have been created over the last fifty years.

We’re creating a non-sexist, non-racist, organic and open religion to practice as a way of life and to hand on to our grandchildren. We’re integrating ecological awareness, alternative healing arts and psychic development into our daily activities. Together, we’re sparking the next major phase in the evolution of Neopaganism and planting seeds for generations to come.

Druidry and the Three Cranes Grove/ADF – Columbus, OH

Welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation East

Prelude: “Sister Moon, ” Daughters of the Celter Moon, By Lisa Lynne.

Bell Tone

Chalice Lighting

Welcome / Opening Words

Children’s Reading

Announcements

Joys, Concerns, Birthdays

Offertory / Music meditation, “Maiden Dance,” by Lisa Lynne.

Responsive Reading

Facilitator: Shawn Scott

Topic: Druidry

Speaker: Mike Dangler

Comments / Discussion

Reading of the Covenant

Closing Music, “Brigid Cruise/Black Muddy River,” By Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter and O’Carolin.

You are invited for refreshments.

Thank you for attending.