This ritual was held at Highbanks Metropark, at the Mansion Reservable shelter. It was held on Sept. 23, 2007. The rite was held at Pagan Pride Day, and the ritual started at 5 PM.

Attendance: 72, 13 ADF/59 non-ADF
Canned Goods: 196 (191 lbs)
Donations: $10

Omen

What do the Ancestors offer us? Eihwaz
What do the Nature Spirits offer us? Naudiz
What do the Shining Ones offer us? Ingwaz

Interpretation:

From the Ancestors, we received life (Eihwaz); from the Land-Spirits we received necessity and need (Naudiz); and from the Deities we received strength and the courage to be heroic (Ingwaz). Good omens and gifts from all the Kindreds. The Ancestors give us life, the Land-Wights remind us that life is struggle and ordeal (not necessarily a bad thing), and the deities give us the strength to ascend to something beyond just mere survival.
    -NE

Grove Member

This was a rite in which I did not have an active role (except as fire tender) for the first time in a long time. It was wonderful to hear the mingling of new voices with the old. It was an honor to be part of a Grove like Three Cranes that gets invited to do ritual for the larger community. I feel this is a gift—to have the trust of the greater community, that if you call the Druids, they will be there.

I missed the offering to a patron of the rite. Other than that, the offerings were accepted well, and the folk almost all brought praise, even though it was not announced.

I feel the omens for us point to a bright future for our Grove, that we shall ever need to be mindful of the needs of the Pagan community, and we should make the [heroic] efforts necessary to continue to be trusted as leaders in the community.
    -LK

Senior Druid

Wow! My first rite as Senior Druid and I didn't do a lot—stood back and watched the Grove perform a truly powerful rituals. The opening of the Gates was very powerful. It almost knocked me over. I believe it was well received by the Pagans. It was great seeing new friends & old. I think of the gift I have been given and I am amazed. We truly do have a great Grove. I feel the Juice today—the workshops, the family, the ritual—it's all just wonderful. Five years young and a bright future.

Hail the Cranes
    -JD

Druid in Charge

With 72 people in attendance, this was our largest rite yet! Doing the ritual at Pagan Pride Day gave the Grove a real chance to show the community who we are and what we are about. I made on minor flub by forgetting the Praise Offerings (though our new SD corrected me, thankfully!), but the best part of this rite was having so many faces back with the Grove, from Meghan to Anna, and so many new people returning home for the first time.

As the omens were read, I thought about how they applied. Here, in this ritual where so many canned goods were donated, I saw the omen as this: life, need, and heroism combined in an amazing synthesis: we who have so much can give to those who have so little, and that is truly an heroic act. As we give, so may we receive.
    -Rev. Michael J Dangler