For many people, including me, November and December are so busy with family obligations and other social functions thanks to the over-culture, that our own personal devotional practice tends to fall by the wayside for awhile. Devotional practices, whether they be daily or weekly prayers, meditation, or magical workings, ebb and flow. They go in cycles like the seasons, and that’s okay. A dormant season is necessary for a fruitful growing and harvest season. So, as we’re coming out of the dormant season, it’s okay that our practice may have been dormant for awhile. Now is the time to reignite it.
Continue reading “Reigniting Your Devotional Practice”reflection
2022 In Review – Clergy Council Priestwork Report
Clergy Council Member Annual Report Form
Priest Name: Rev. Jan Avende
Time covered: January 1 2022 – January 1 2023
This report is designed to illustrate how each individual priest has chosen to fulfill their oath to love the land, honor the deities, serve the folk, and continue in their studies as best suits their individual vocations.
Continue reading “2022 In Review – Clergy Council Priestwork Report”Use the Fancy Art Supplies
I’ve been thinking lately about the Winning of the Waters myth. In brief, the Winning of the Waters is when one deity hoards all of the blessings and other “good stuff” for themselves. They are often described with imagery relating to dragons, and the hoarding of wealth. Then another deity acts as the hero who fights on behalf of mankind to get the Waters (the blessings, good stuff, the hoard) for us. The hero deity fights the hoarding deity, with the former ultimately winning, and thus allowing the Waters and blessings to flow once more from the realms of the gods to us.
Continue reading “Use the Fancy Art Supplies”Teaching Ritual Performance
Teaching Ritual Performance was designed to assist students to instruct others in ritual performance. In this course students are required to journal their work directing several rituals. Students do not necessarily need to write the rituals, nor do they need to write all the parts for the rituals. In fact, students may find it more challenging to allow others to write the ritual and then simply teach others how to work with the text they are given or come up with on their own.
The primary goal of this course is for students to enhance their skills for directing group ritual performance.
Course Objectives
- Students will increase their knowledge and skill in celebrant selection for assigned ritual roles and develop an awareness of how their selection impacts ritual performance.
- Students will enhance their skills for effectively directing ritual performances.
- Students will develop the skills necessary to effectively instruct the celebrants in working with ritual text, as well as specific elements of ritual performance, including movement, voice, and the internalization of text.
Theater for Ritual 2
Building on the theories in Theatre for Ritual 1, this course delves deeper into the practicum of how we work in public ritual.
The primary goal of this course is for students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively utilize physical techniques, such as voice, internalization of text, props, etc., to enhance ritual.
Course Objectives
- Students will increase their awareness of the importance of internalization of text and effectively apply this technique in ritual.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of the importance of voice in ritual to include developing an understanding of projection and diction.
- Students will demonstrate increased knowledge of physical techniques, such as internalization of text, the use of space, props, theatricality and movement in ritual.
Juggling Roles – Priest at a Moment’s Notice
This month is Pride Month, which means I’ve spent a lot of time at various Pride events. This is my first year where I’ve really felt deeply embedded into the community.
Continue reading “Juggling Roles – Priest at a Moment’s Notice”I’ve Been Praying All Along
As my kids have gotten older, it’s gotten more difficult to have a regularly scheduled personal practice. I used to have a very solid devotion/prayer schedule: daily devotion (often at dawn), twice weekly trance work, weekly solitary rite, full moon rite, new moon rite, Druid moon rite, and high day rite. These days I’m lucky if I manage a devotion once a week, trance work really only happens about once a month, and I’m down to just the grove Druid moons and high days. I’ll admit: I was feeling pretty guilty and inferior about it.
Continue reading “I’ve Been Praying All Along”Revisiting the Dedicant Path
Our grove has started up with a new Dedicant Path study group, and I while advising I thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit my own Dedicant Path work. After all, this is a path, and the Dedicant Path is only a snapshot of where you are on that path at that time.
Continue reading “Revisiting the Dedicant Path”Five Years a Priest
As of this past weekend I’ve been an ADF Priest for 5 years. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. The journey has been wonderful thus far, though definitely with its ups and downs. Sometimes this priesting thing is hard 😉. I like to occasionally reflect on the things that I’m doing, and decided this would be a good time to kind of do a round up of my accomplishments. Continue reading “Five Years a Priest”
Reflection on leading a UU Service
I had the honor of being asked to lead a service for the Delaware Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, which was extremely fulfilling and very affirming to my vocation.
Mist to Open. Mists to Bind. 