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Stone Creed Grove ADF
Is a local branch of Ar nDraiocht Fein (Irish for
‘Our Own Druidry’). For over ten years we have provided public Pagan
worship, fellowship and teaching to the Greater Cleveland Pagan
community. We offer:
• Public Worship: On the Eight High Days and at
other times through the year.
• Newsletter and On-Line Resources: to keep in
touch with the folk.
• Occasional Retreats and Teaching: In workshops,
special rites and lectures.
• A National Network: of Druids working a similar
path, sharing experiences and ideas.
We are a membership organization, with annual
membership dues (combining local and national) of $33. We offer most of
our services to all Pagans, regardless of membership, but members have
special access to teaching and national resources.
The Old Ways - Lore and
Wisdom
Many Ways, Many Peoples: Stone Creed Grove
calls itself a Druid Grove, and that means we attract a lot of Celts...
However, our ways are not limited to Celtic culture and spirituality. As
part of ADF, we study the ways of the family of cultures called the
Indo-Europeans. From India to the Mediterranean, to northern Europe and
the British Isles, these cultures shared spiritual ideas and mythic
motifs. In Stone Creed, our work usually focuses on Celtic ways, with
some rites worked in the Norse way, and occasional cultural experiments.
The Way Of The Land: Our Paganism centers on the
cycles of the land on which we live, and on the spirits that inhabit it.
We worship the Earth Mother, as the Mother of All, and do our best to
honor her in common life as well as in ceremony.
The Way Of The Spirits: Our Druidry honors
the Gods and Spirits of the Old Ways. We give our greatest worship to the
Gods and Goddesses, the Eldest and Wisest who have sustained humankind
from the first. We also honor our Ancestors and Forebearers, and the
Spirits Of The Land.
The Way Of The Soul: Druidry
is a magical religion - we seek to teach the spiritual techniques that
allow individuals to take the reins of their own spirituality. We offer a
progressive program of training, meant to sharpen skills of meditation,
ceremony and vision, leading to a program of training for Pagan clergy.
Growing a Modern Pagan
Way
Rooted In The Old Ways: Our
Druidry grows from the rich soil of real and honest scholarly research
into the ways of our Pagan ancestors. While we acknowledge that there are
many ways in Paganism, we don’t hold with outdated theories of universal
matriarchies, atlantean adepts, british israelites, or many other fables.
Instead we focus on the best recent scholarship about the facts of the
Old Ways.
Nourished By Intuition: Our
Druidry uses established (and sometimes experimental) techniques of
mysticism and spiritual work to inspire and awaken the forms of ancient
Paganism. Through meditation, conscious ceremony, devotion and vision we
seek to make the myths and lore of the Old Ways come alive, to begin to
grow again in our hearts and in the world.
Blooming In The Real World:
Our Druidry intends to manifest our work in forms that will last through
time, and affect generations to come. We plan to draw on the blessing and
inspiration of the Gods to build organizations, communities and,
eventually, buildings that will strengthen and empower our work. The Old
Gods need new homes in the modern world, and we mean to offer them. When
we can pass our work on to the next generation not just in ideas but in
institutions, we will have begun to succeed in this vision.
Building Pagan
Community
Keeping A Public Temple: Stone
Creed Grove is committed to providing public Pagan worship on a regular
basis throughout the year. With an experienced group of ceremonial
leaders we offer meaningful, powerful rites that can bring the Gods and
Spirits closer to our souls.
We keep the Eight High Days that are universal in modern Paganism,
and meet for other worship regularly through the year. Our rites are also
occasions for community festivity, with dozens of Pagans of many
traditions gathering to share our sacred fire, make music and dance, and
share in pot-luck feasting and fellowship..
Membership: Stone Creed Grove
is a membership organization, though we are open to members and
non-members alike. We are a local chapter of the national Pagan Druidic
organization, Ar nDraiocht Fein. Our national fellowship offers resources
and networking opportunities to members, including publications, retreats
and on-line resources. Members are also elegible for our Pagan training
programs, and clergy training.
Service and Outreach: Like all
ADF Groves, Stone Creed is committed to working in the larger community,
and to supporting local Paganism. We have donated to food banks and
libraries and given time, labor and paint to women’s shelters. In the
future we plan local environmental awareness work, along with continuing
our regular projects.
Nine Virtues of the
Druid’s Way
• Industry - earnest labor in pursuit of
bounty and prosperity.
• Sensuality - the power of reproduction, sexuality, feasting,
music and sensual delight.
• Hospitality - The right of a guest to food and drink, to share
wealth with the clan and with strangers
• Courage - never to turn away from duty or
right action because of fear.
• Strength - The body, and the heart and mind, should be able to
answer life’s needs.
• Honor - obedience, mercy, justice and pride. Keeping of oaths,
and doing right.
• Memory - The remembering of history,
mythology, legal precedent and genealogy, proper ways of worship and magic .
• Reason - The ability to draw conclusions from evidence and
precedent, the objective voice that sees beyond the personal.
• Vision - Innovation, creativity and foresight. The wise seek a
developed power of intuition.
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