Imbolc 2003
Imbolc 2003
Reminder: SEF Annual Meeting on February 23, 2003 The Annual Meeting of the SEF is typically held the last weekend in February. This year's will be held on Sunday, February 23, 1:00 p.m. at the Brigham Hill Community Farm, Grafton, MA. This is when the Board of Directors reports to the membership what the SEF has done over the past year, and what we have in mind for the coming year. This is a good opportunity for all members to offer us their feedback and suggestions and, most importantly, to volunteer to help with upcoming projects. Your enthusiasm and involvement make a real difference to how much the SEF is able to accomplish. Before and after the meeting, there will be refreshments and time to informally get to know other members of the SEF. For directions to the Annual Meeting, click here or call 508-839-3457.
Family Connection Holds First Meeting by Cerridwyn
On January 5, 2003, the first meeting/coffee hour of the SEF Family Connection took place at the Brigham Hill Community Farm in Grafton. The gathering was a blend of a social coffee hour and a business meeting. The coffee hour was a chance for pagan families to meet other pagans in the area and make connections. The business part of the afternoon served as an opportunity to find out what these pagan parents want from the SEF in terms of programs and services. Both the social aspect of the afternoon and the meeting were a very successful start to creating a comprehensive plan to meet the needs of pagan families. Five families attended, with a total of 7 children between them, (8 including those on the way!). Three adults who do not have children also attended to add their own invaluable perspective. After some discussion it was decided that there were two areas of concern that we could begin to address immediately. Firstly, we will start to hold Sabbat Celebrations specifically designed for families with songs, stories, and a child-centered ritual. The first of these Celebrations will be held at the Brigham Hill Community Farm in Grafton, for Imbolc, on Feb 2, at 2pm. For directions, click here or call 508-839-3457. There is a suggested donation to cover cost of materials, $3 per child for SEF members and $5 per child for non-members. The second area of interest was a family retreat. This will be held at a private retreat center in western Massachusetts, on the weekend of April 18 –20, 2003. If you are interested in attending this retreat keep a close eye on the Messenger for further details, as space will be limited to 30 participants. If you want to have a voice in shaping what I hope will quickly become a great resource for us parents who are struggling to find kid-centered pagan rituals and gatherings please fill out the Family Connection questionnaire or contact me directly at cymraes51@hotmail.com.
About Imbolg by Arachne
Imbolg is one of the cross-quarter, or greater, Sun festivals, meaning that it falls halfway between a Solstice and an Equinox. The cross-quarter feasts are usually celebrated on a fixed, "traditional" date rather than being exactly calculated according to the movement of the Sun, as are the Solstices and Equinoxes. Because Coven Symbios' Wicca is upon the Greek pantheon, our annual Imbolg celebration focuses upon one of the greatest of the Greek Goddesses: Hestia. Hestia was one of the original twelve Olympian Gods, and She is symbolized by Fire. Although Hestia was considered by the ancients so intrinsic to Life itself that She received the first and last libation at *every* sacred occasion, She is now one of the least known of the Goddesses. (Comparatively, Her Roman counterpart, Vesta, is much better known due to the impressive power wielded by her Priestesses, the Vestal Virgins.) Hestia was held in such reverence due to her very nature -- that of Fire. Fire is considered by many the great civilizing influence, a gift from the Gods. The hearth is the symbolic center of every home, and the very word "hearth" is closely related to "Hestia." Both the actual fire that heats our bodies and cooks our food, and the metaphorical "Fire" which is the passion and compassion burning in the heart of every individual are Hestia's legacy. The ritual Symbios performs at Imbolg is the Rite of Hestia. It is a ritual revolving about Her emblematic flame, which is used at this time of year for inner purification before the coming of Spring. We release the old and purify our hearts in preparation for the work of planting only weeks in the future. Whether your Spring planting will be actual or symbolic, in the outer world of the physical realm or deep within your spiritual Self, we invite you to join us in this rite.
Brigid of the Flame by Morwynna
Brigid is another virginal Goddess of hearth and home, often invoked at Imbolg for both purification and fertility. Her primal association with Imbolg has survived in the celebration of the feast of St. Brigid on February 2nd. In addition to the stabilizing hearthfire, She is also associated with the many transformational types of fire: the forge of the smith and the crafts worker; the divine spark of creative inspiration of the poet and the bard; and the personal warmth of the energy of the healer.As Arachne has observed, fire is one of the primary civilizing forces. According to the late Joseph Campbell’s Occidental Mythology, in both Scotland and Ireland Brigid was considered “the bringer of civilization”.
SEF Yule in Middleborough
On Friday December 20, an Open Yule Circle was held at Sacred Ways in Middleborough. The ritual was sponsored by SEF and led by Rowan, High Priestess of Persephone’s Midden Coven.Yule rites often involve the extinguishing and relighting of temple candles, to represent first the apparent fading and then the return of the Sun at Winter Solstice; at this circle, the candle rite held a more personal meaning. All participants held candles. Each was first asked to focus on something from the past year that they needed cleared away or banished, while the Priest of Winter came around the Circle and blew out each candle. After the Priest had been reborn as the Sun Child, he relit the candles while each participant focused on something new that they would like to bring into their lives this year. They then asked the Child of Promise to bless their intentions for the coming season.
Sabbat Workshops Continue in Worcester by Morwynna
Dates have been set for the 2003 “Celebrating the Sabbats” workshops at the Taproot Bookstore in Worcester. All workshops are on Sunday afternoons, and workshop dates are listed on the SEF website. I have been leading seasonal workshops since 1999 when Seth and I taught them in Cambridge. Last year, Diana (now known as Thea) and I led workshops at Taproot and met two new students there! This year, I am inviting different Elders of the community to join me in individual classes and share their expertise and knowledge in very specific topics, including: the Goddess Brigid, Ritual Drama, Astral Polarity, and Incense Offertory. It is my belief that each season has an inherent energy which is a common ancestor to both spiritual practices of many traditions and “secular” customs still surviving in our culture. The workshops feature materials useful to solitaries, newcomers, and anyone interested in new ways to work with seasonal energies. I use folkloric research as well as perspectives from Druidic, Dianic, and other contemporary practice.
Call for Liturgy! The Liturgy Committee, formed at last year's Volunteer Meeting, is tickled to announce that we have established a ritual framework for a standard SEF liturgy to be used at all open SEF rituals. At this point we are seeking inspired prose/poetry/songs/chants suitable for use with new comers and experienced practitioners alike.Specifically, we are looking for material for the following ritual components:
Remember that it is important to make our Society's liturgy accessible to both Traditional
and eclectic pagans. Material need not be original, but we will not consider Oathbound
material. For non-original material, please be sure to include complete citations!
Submissions will be accepted until SPRING EQUINOX only! At that time the Liturgy
Committee will review all material received in order to create an integrated liturgy
that - we hope - will truly reflect the SEF Community. Please be aware that the Liturgy
Committee reserves the right to edit and/or adapt submitted materials as necessary.
Additionally, please be aware that all submitted materials may be published in future
editions of the SEF Messenger. All submissions will be acknowledged upon receipt.
To send us your ideas, you may either use email or the US Postal service.
Please send all email submissions to: sef@elderfaiths.org.
For regular mail submissions, please use: SEF, PO Box 30, Marlborough MA 01752.
We very much look forward to hearing from you. Thanks and Blessed Be! The SEF Liturgy Committee
A Snowy Fallow Time 
On November 16 2002, 13 hardy souls braved sleet, ice, and snow to share mulled cider, squash soup, and several luscious desserts at the SEF Fallow Time Social. Each year at this introspective time between Samhain and Yule, Grove of the Mists Coven invites all SEF Members to rest and relax while sharing plans for the coming winter. Next year’s Fallow Time Social will be on Saturday, November 15.This was the most recent of many opportunities for us to become more acquainted as our church grows. We hope that other members are interested in getting together, and willing to help make it possible. If you don't have space at your home, how about a local park in your area during the good weather? Contact news@elderfaiths.org
or (508) 839-3457 if you'd like to host a social hour.
Spiritual Mentoring Workshop
On Saturday, Jan. 11, Judy Harrow, a Wiccan Elder, counselor and author, led an all-day workshop covering the insights and recommended techniques described in her recent book Spiritual Mentoring: A Pagan Guide (published by ECW Press). Fourteen people attended, bringing a range of perspectives as present and future coven leaders and elders. It was a lively day with much discussion between Judy and the attendees. Among the subjects covered in the workshop were the intended scope of a Pagan spiritual mentoring relationship and what expectations should be reasonably held by the mentor and the student, confidentiality, and techniques for mentoring. Some "hairy elephants" (big, scary problems that arise from time to time and don't have easy answers) were uncovered, including the problems associated with spiritual crises or overloads and fallow periods ("floods" and "droughts"). If you wanted to attend and missed it this time, keep an ear open as it may be offered again in future years.
The following clergy are available through the Society of Elder Faiths:
A licensed Wiccan Elder, with ministerial credentials from the Covenant of the Goddess and the Society of Elder Faiths (SEF), authorized to perform legal weddings and handfastings. Also available for other religious services and Rites of Passage. Debbie Fields-Berry P.O. Box 335, B.U. Station Boston MA 02215 dberry@bu.edu 508 839-3457
I hold legal credentials through the Covenant of the Goddess and am ordained though the Society of Elder Faiths. I am willing to travel within New England and will work with people of any Neo-Pagan tradition or non-Pagans with an earth centered focus. I require an initial face to face meeting with a couple at least 2 months before a wedding. I have also performed Wiccanings and am available for other rites of passage. Peg P.O. Box 485 Upton, MA 01568-0485 meagan@control.com 508 839-3457
SEF Messenger: The Community Newsletter of the Society of Elder Faiths Imbolc 2003
Editor : Jennifer
Staff: Morwynna
© 2003 Society of Elder Faiths
SEF Members may submit news to:
news@elderfaiths.org
or
PO Box 30, Marlboro, MA 01752
or
508 839-3457