Gender Diversity is Welcomed in ADF

For our US Druids, especially those who are gender diverse, I know the past few days have been a lot.  I want to assure you that ADF is a place where you are explicitly welcome.  You are valid.  You belong here. Your presence brightens our community and adds vibrance to our practice.  

Our system of practice and belief is centered around *ghosti.  Hospitality.  Building reciprocal relationships.  We welcome all those of good will into our spaces, and expect those we welcome to abide by the social contract of good will.  Our community will not tolerate hate speech or a debate regarding whether or not someone’s identity and existence is valid.  Our cis allies need to step up in this regard, and call out this behavior when you see it, so that appropriate action can be taken.  

Gender diverse members (trans, nonbinary, genderfluid, intersex, and beyond), please know that I am also processing this, but will make time to talk with you.  Please reach out if you need to.  Cis allies, if you need help processing this, I encourage you to reach out as well, though please be aware that I will refer you to another ally who can manage the emotional labor better than me at the moment. 

Queer Grief and Ancestor Veneration

Queer Grief and Ancestor Veneration

originally published for Oak Leaves Winter 2024

“As our ancestors did before, so we do now, so our descendants may do in the future.” This is what we say in every ritual, in every statement of purpose and precedent.  But how do we live it?

[cw: this article will touch on themes of death, grief, transphobia, homophobia, epidemics, and suicide]

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New Job, New Work-Life Balance

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve accepted a full-time position as a Resident Chaplain at OhioHealth’s Grant Hospital. I’ll be getting all four units of CPE (clinical pastoral education) as well as working rotations across all areas on a variable shift schedule. (I’m also still continuing my once a week work at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, though that schedule is shifting too)

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Perseverance is Making Sure You’re a Success Story, Not a Statistic

As I continue working as a prison chaplain, I’ve found not only is it a deeply fulfilling part of my vocation, it is also allowing me to re-examine my own spirituality and add depth and subtlety to my understandings of the cosmos.  I teach weekly using Rev. Dangler’s Dedicant Path Through the Wheel of the Year as a base, and recently we were discussing the virtue of perseverance.  Beyond definitions, I like to ask them to think of a person (real or fictional, historical or modern, famous or not) who they believe embodies each virtue.  For perseverance, it was thinking of who has the drive to continue towards their goals, even when the whole world seems to be conspiring against it.  They acknowledged each other as fully embodying perseverance.  

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Reflecting on the ‘Total Eclipse of the Heartland’

This past week I had the privilege to travel to Tredara with my family and many other pagan (and pagan-adjacent) folks to experience the totality of the solar eclipse that stretched across the United States on April 8th.  “Tredara is a 22-acre facility owned and operated by druids of Stone Creed Grove. It features multiple nemetons, an Ancestor Mound, a shrine to the Nature Spirits, and many other sacred spots” (Stone Creed).  Every time I have visited Tredara has been amazing, especially because they always seem to have new shrines each year (this year was a lovely Hekate shrine), but it was especially wonderful this visit because experiencing Totality is absolutely awe-inspiring, and then to see it on sacred ground amongst my spiritual community was ineffable.   

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Upcoming Workshops (Apr-June ’24)

Since partnering more regularly with a local pagan shop, The Magical Druid (Rev. Dangler is one of the co-owners, and you can shop online), I’ve been teaching on the 4th Saturday of the month, and occasionally other one-off classes.  It’s been going great. Here’s my classes for April through June 2024, and I’ll release my notes and such for over on Patreon as I create them.  I’m bringing my February “Awakening Your Garden” class to Trillium in a few weeks. If these upcoming classes go well, I might bring one to later festivals this year. If you’re local, you should totally show up for the class though 🙂

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The Importance of Team Building

8 mother grove members sitting around a table smiling and holding up Totem cards.

At the beginning of December I spent the weekend in Toledo, OH for the Annual Mother Grove Retreat.  Once a year we come together for some intensive work that is better suited to in-person meetings, like vision brainstorming, issues with complex moving pieces, and (perhaps most important) team-building. One of our NODs, Jeffrey Keefer, reminded us that “Team building is so vital an activity that is often overlooked.  Without it, team functioning can be impacted, ultimately leading to missed opportunities.”

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Annual Clergy Report for 2023

I’ve gotten away from posting these on a monthly basis, but we’re still required by ADF to compile our report for the year, and I shockingly find it fulfilling.  

I tend to suffer from imposter syndrome, and one of the best ways I’ve found for me to fight that is to list out all the things I’ve done and reflect on them.  So, this report, in the way that I fill it out, helps me combat the feeling that I don’t know what I’m doing.  So, without further ado, here’s how I fulfilled my oath last year:

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A Winter Solstice Reflection: Passing the Light

I wrote this brief reflection/working for the Winter Solstice Rite I’m running at ORW this year. I really like the imagery of passing the light. It gives us time to honor the holy dark, but also look to finding hope. If you’d like to do this working, you’ll need a candle (or electric candle) for each person present, and the overhead lights turned off. 

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