I sat where I always do, the thready mists of Helheim swirling before me. The crowd had gathered again, an indistinct circle of hundreds around me. More an impression of a gathering of people than anything solid. I could smell apple blossom on the breeze. My heart hammered in my chest and I could feel…
Tag: holidays
Recently, Seo Helrune posted a question: if you were going to design a 30 day challenge, what would it be? That question got my wheels turning and they’ve been spinning ever since. I used to help manage a yoga studio and our Spring Challenge was one of my pet projects, so I’ve thought a lot…
Many years ago, I was introduced to the idea of selecting a single word for each calendar year to act as an intention, touchstone, and big-picture goal. The beauty of a single word intention is that the simplicity means multiple ways of connecting are possible. For example, one of my words over the years was…
When I was a kid, I spent many of my summers attending YMCA Day Camp programs. I grew up in Frederick, MD, and the region is blessed with abundant parks and forests. For each session of summer camp I attended, I had a buddy assigned to me. One of the camp field trips I went…
Right now, the sun is setting before 5 PM here in the mid-Atlantic and the days are only getting shorter. A season normally marked with family gatherings, festive events, circles, services, and bustling shopping malls looks a little different this year. Yuletide 2020 is shaping up to be a quieter, smaller, and more solitary affair….
For the last five years, September has had one specific focus for me – the Pagan Pride Day festival. Like many CUUPS chapters, my own chapter hosts an annual Pagan Pride Day in Frederick, MD. I have had the honor being the lead organizer since our inception. We have been fortunate – our festival has…
This sermon was for the August 2nd, 2020, service of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. Sermon text below: My day begins in the garden right now. I hand water my vegetables, fruit, and flowers with water from rain barrels. There are more efficient ways to water a garden, but I’ve discovered that hand watering…
“For many of us, the prospect of multiple family gatherings over the next couple months can be anxiety-inducing. Add shopping, holiday parties, school obligations and packed grocery stores, and we have the ingredients for a very stressful season. The good news is that we know it’s coming, which means we can prepare for it. So…
October 31st marks one of the High Holidays in the widely-used Pagan Wheel of the Year – Samhain. Out of all our holidays, I’d say this one gets the most press. Our celebration of the end of the growing season coincides with all that is spooky in the larger culture. This time of endings in…
“The green world around us will appear to slip into death or sleep. The truth, of course, is that deep beneath the winter soil, the plant spirits are recovering: healing, resting, growing and rooting deep for their rise in springtime. When we follow the cycle of the inward spiral, we can take advantage of the…