History of the Protogrove*
(always in progress)2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008
Preliminary Visioning Meeting at the Turner Chaos Parade
6/5/2004 — This was our first visioning meeting for the protogrove. We walked through the Grove Organizer's Survey, and decided on a provisional grove name. We also did a ritual and did some divination to seek some input from the Godden about where we should steer this thing. Photos available here!
September Meeting at Debbie's Chaos Cube
9/26/2004 — Our first working meeting was very productive. We helped tear down a neighbor's fence and relocated the wood pile and a couple of garden snakes (noble deeds, connecting with nature and the nature spirits); we discussed not only the nine virtues of the ADF, but also the possibility of a second nine virtues that could be extrapolated from the actions of the Druids we know and love (Dedicant's program mentoring, snarking); we decided where the next meeting would be, and set up the who/where/how/when for a semi-private Samhain ritual on November 1st (protogrove business); we ordered and ate pizza while making fun of Christopher Lambert in the dreadful film "The Druids" (community-building, snarking).
October Meeting at Entropic Trinity Headquarters
10/25/2004 — We ran through the outline for our semi-private Samhain ritual, so we're all on target for our first holiday ritual together. We discussed much business: we agreed to continue holding the Druid study group classes at Gaia Community; we agreed to finalize and promote the website after Samhain; we agreed to start an email list after Samhain; we agreed to find a public location for November's meeting, and we assigned leaders/date/time/location for the Yule ritual. We closed our meeting with a brief ritual; a very productive meeting overall.
Samhain Ritual at the Turner Chaos Parade
11/1/2004 — We held our first ritual together. We kept this ritual private, because we wanted to do one holiday ritual together as a group before going public. The key offering was made to the ancestors, with a chant and litany praise offering. We also spent some time doing divination for the coming year. The omen for the protogrove this year was "structure", which was interpreted as "this is a good start, now keep working on getting yourselves organized."
November Meeting at the Turner Chaos Parade
11/22/2004 — We did a check-in and discussion about the virtue of Excellence, and brainstormed some questions to get the FAQ section of the website started. All issues with the web hosting company have been resolved, and we can now get the website ready for the public. There was much discussion about what membership requirements for the grove might look like, an update about the Yule ritual, and some truly amazing desserts from Whole Foods. Yum!
No December Meeting to allow time with our families this holiday season.
Druid Yule Ritual at Gaia Community
12/21/2004 — In conjunction with Gaia Community's Adult Education Classes and Druidry Study Group, we held our first public ritual for Yule 2004 at Shawnee Mission UU Church. About 16 people came to mark the longest night of the year. We started with an introduction to druid ritual for those who had not been before, and then enacted the battle of the Oak and Holly Kings by them 'choosing teams' and engaging in a tug-of-war! Everyone seemed to have fun and a lot of questions were asked after the Return Blessing and Omen, which seemed to be favorable (really, how else can you interpret a spontaneously appearing box of Girl Scout cookies?). We hope they'll join us again!
2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008
January Meeting at the Turner Chaos Parade
1/24/2005 — Many of the parties interested in the formation of the protogrove met to plan out our next courses of action. With more than 15 people already in attendance at our first ritual, we ran the risk of burning ourselves out by trying to do too much, too fast. We therefore decided to limit ourselves to four public rituals (on the Celtic Fire Festivals, Imbolc/Beltaine/Lughnassadh/Samhain) this year, and set up a plan for the monthly meetings that involved less "administrative" work and more fellowship and piety. Take a look at our Events page to see what we decided upon!Imbolc Ritual at SMUUCH
2/4/2005 — Imbolc 2005 was our second public ritual, again held at Shawnee Mission UU Church. It was a celebration of Disting, a Nordic observance for the season (with some roots in Heathenry) which concentrates on "charming the plow." Tools of all kinds (from ritual knives to graphic tablets) were brought, blessed, and bragged about, and a good time was had by all!
February Meeting ("Potluck & People") at the Burrow
2/28/2005 — Many people got together to meet the challenge of "Red or White" as a theme for the food brought to the gathering, and we watched Jim Henson's "The Storyteller: Greek Myths" as both fun and pious practice. Pasta with marinara sauce, cheesecake, torte, potatoes, strawberries, and many other creative foods were had in generous portion among good company. Hopefully even more will join us in four months for the next of these "Potluck" meetings!March Meeting ("Debate & Discussion"), at the Turner Chaos Parade
3/28/2005 — Andrew facilitated a discussion on the virtues (or not) of Moderation and Courage. We had a great deal of fun debating the meaning, intent, and significance of these concepts, including when they apply and whether they can be recognized by oneself or only by others. We're looking forward to seeing what he comes up with to talk about next time!
April Meeting ("Physical Phun"), Shawnee Mission Park, Shelter Five (and the Chaos Cube)
4/25/2005 — The weather wasn't quite as nice as we might have hoped for, but it was time to get out anyway! Devin moved this event to a Saturday to take advantage of the daylight hours, and a good crowd gathered for picnic-style snacking, kite-flying which was somewhat less than successful (that cold wind was blowing, just not steadily or always from the same direction), and boffer-weapon fighting (in groups of three, when possible). We adjourned after the temperature continued to drop to the warmth and coziness of the Chaos Cube.
Beltane Ritual, at Entropic Trinity Headquarters
4/29/2005 — Held behind the house around the natural bile (an 80'-tall poplar tree), this ritual included many of the traditional elements of Beltane; a bannock cake was cooked and one piece of it burned, then everyone took a piece communally, and the one with the burned piece offered it up along with the community's fears and untoward feelings. We then welcomed that person back into the community by sharing our own pieces with them, until all had plenty. Offerings and oaths were made to the Fire or the Well, and at no point did we let our "Outsider" (a black hound) into the ritual area despite his whining to the contrary!
May Meeting ("Study Session"), at the Turner Chaos Parade
5/23/2005 — Several people in the protogrove who are working on their Dedicant's Programs got together with Nicole to discuss progress and future steps to take toward completion. Having been through the program already, she was full of helpful advice and encouragement.
June Meeting ("Potluck & People"), at The Burrow
6/27/2005 — The theme for this month's potluck was "finger foods", and we excelled! There was more food (and more people) than last time, and we got to conduct a little bit of business as well. We gave Nicole a vote of confidence as Grove Organizer for another year, and decided that we would continue working toward Chartered Grove status at our own pace, despite the number of people we've already acquired regularly at our meetings. Fast as a speeding oak...
July Meeting ("Debate & Discussion"), at the Turner Chaos Parade
7/25/2005 — Andrew led another discussion on some of the virtues; this time, it was Piety, Integrity, and Perseverence. A rousing debate followed, including some rather unorthodox ways of characterizing the differences, and while we didn't all end up coming to the same conclusions (who ever does?), a great deal of insight was had.
Lammas Ritual, at the Turner Chaos Parade
August 1st: Wild Hare's first Lammas ritual was held out-of-doors, with stormclouds looming, but we held to our desire to enjoy the weather regardless. More than a dozen adults and youth took park in giving thanks and affirming our community in the ways it has grown over the last several monts. Done within a roughly Norse framework of ritual, we made offerings of various bread or some other grain-based products (including beer, in Moderation), and were blessed with a rainbow at the end, from Heimdall, our gatekeeper. At that point we retired indoors, as the weather could not be held off any longer.
August Meeting ("Physical Phun"), cancelled
8/22/2005 — Weather put a kibosh on our plans to go swimming; lightning storms and outdoor pools may have worked fine for Benjamin Franklin, but both adults and children felt this was not a productive use of our time this month. We'll try again some other time; thanks to Bill for offering his pool, in any case!
September Meeting ("Study Session"), at the Turner Chaos Parade
9/26/2005 — Several of us are still working on our Dedicant's Programs, so we got together with Nicole to check in on how far we've gotten, and what our next steps might be. While progress is relatively slow right now due to busy schedules, it's moving forward.
Samhain Ritual, at the Turner Chaos Parade
October 28th: Wild Hare's second annual Samhain ritual was a lot of fun, despite the nearly very exciting apple bobbing incident (remember, breathe, then bob!), and a lot of excellent contests of dubious skill before the actual ritual. The ritual focused around the idea of the Beloved Dead, and we shared stories of those who have passed on that we knew. Even our littlest attendees had something to share!
November Meeting ("Debate & Discussion"), cancelled
December Meeting ("Physical Phun"), cancelled
* Monthly classes held in conjunction with Gaia Community are not summarized here.
2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008
Planning Meeting, at the Turner Chaos Parade
1/23/2006 — Nicole hosted a business/planning meeting for our 2006 activities this night; we decided to incrementally increase our number of public rituals from 4 to 6 for the coming year, and worked out a schedule of monthly meetings that spreads them out geographically and with better coverage of important topics. Please visit the Current/Future Events page for more information on what's coming!
Imbolc Ritual, at the Turner Chaos Parade
2/3/2006 — Wild Hare's Imbolc was put on by Nicole and Bill, as a blend of ADF-style and OBOD-style rituals. The blend seemed to work well for all in attendance, although with so many in attendance we may need to start meeting somewhere a little larger! A section on "MasterMinding" (positive visualizations from the group, about your goal) was very well received indeed, and came up with some interesting outcomes for everything from spelling bees to coming out of the "broom closet"!
Potluck & People, at Via's apartment
Via hosted a Mediterranean-themed potluck at her apartment this evening, and all of the dishes were very highly received. Lamb, Greek potatoes, baklava, baba ganoush, chicken w/vegetables, and a wealth of other tastes were made available. Although some people couldn't make it, the conversation was lively and varied!
Business Meeting, at the Turner Chaos Parade
3/27/2006 — Nicole and David hosted a small but focused session about potential bylaws for the group; many suggestions were made on the spot, and will continue to be discussed both online and in person as we work toward a Provisional Charter (possibly in November 2006). You can view the draft bylaws online and pick them apart; style points count for satire, remember!
Physical activity (cancelled)
4/24/2006 — An idea was proposed to visit the Konza Prairie for this month's outdoor activity, but the combination of a wealth of Earth Day events and other obligations caused us not to take the two hour trip; maybe later!
Beltaine ritual, at the Turner Chaos Parade
4/29/2006 — Nicole hosted this month's rite at her house; the weather cooperated so we were able to hold most of the ritual outdoors on a Saturday. Fresh flowers dressed the well, phallic symbols of various kinds were offered up, sparkly things and jingly bells were tied to trees and other vegetation around the neighborhood for the sidhe. A good time was had by all!
Dedicants' Study Group, at Stacy's house
5/22/2006 — Stacy hosted us all the way out in Sweet Springs, Mo, for a small gathering on the Dedicant's Program and any progress made to date.
Protogrove Birthday Party, at the Gadd-Nelson's Burrow
6/26/2006 — The Gadd-Nelson's hosted the celebration of our protogrove's second anniversary of existence! The potluck was themed around this event.
Debate & Discussion, at the Turner Chaos Parade
7/24/2006 — Andrew was unable to lead another of his infamous series of thought-provoking debates this month, so we sharpened our wits informally on each other for a time on various topics related to druidry.
Lammas ritual, at the Gadd-Nelson's Burrow
7/28/2006 — Jennifer and Via put on an excellent fall ritual in the form of the Kronia from ancient Greece. Shuffling things up a bit was an interesting experience, and no one really minded eating dessert first, either.
Physical activity (cancelled)
August/September — End-of-summer schedules just didn't make this an easy event to hold; two separate dates fell apart, including the opportunity for participating in a grape-picking festival up in Weston, MO.
Fall Equinox ritual, at Stacy's house
9/22/2006 — We ventured back out into the wilds of mid-Missouri for Fall Equinox in Stacy's lovely back yard. Some of our youth had never seen the night sky from a rural setting before, which was worth it all by itself. A delightfully refreshing ritual and a good, if meaningful, omen to get back to work after the light effort of the summer.
Dedicants' Study Group, at the Turner Chaos Parade
9/25/2006 — Schedules being so busy lately meant we didn't have much work to show; instead, Nicole offered space and setting to actually work on our Dedicant Programs, which was more useful than just discussing another frustrating period of no great progress. Instead, Jennifer was able to wrap up her DP and mail it to the Preceptor the very next day!
2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008
More archives coming soon!