Annual Retreat
Our long-term goal is that annual gatherings would be held in all regions which maintain Communities, planned so that all Members can participate, even if at home as a solitary. At present, as we continue to create the foundation of our organization, we meet centrally. Since 1994 ce we have met at the gardens which have become known as The Hermit’s Grove at the home of Rev. Paul and gerry Beyerl on Rose Hill.
The Annual Retreat is organized by The Mystery School and the Board of Directors with a schedule of meditation, ritual and exploratory work suitable for Communities or for the individual as well as the Board of Directors’ annual meeting.
We give honor to our spiritual homeland, the Mothervalley of the Mississippi River. It was there where the first Retreat was held in 1985 and it is in that area where The Rowan Tree will some day purchase sacred land. Lothloriën believes the Mississippi to be the sacred river of North America.
During our first years the Retreat was held on the same site each year in Whitewater State Park. It was a lovely location, nestled among tall, limestone bluffs with clear springs providing cool water for swimming. Thousands of herons nested in a nearby waterway, flying the short distance to the Mississippi for their migratory routes and feeding.
We carefully gathered large stones with which we constructed a ring which was our ‘stone circle.’ At the end of our Retreat we closed the Circle by taking the stones and setting them in a patch of stinging nettles nearby, a small space which was not mowed and where we trusted the stones would remain safe. And so they did and each year more and more stones were added.
Whitewater State Park was a pleasant eighty mile drive from Minneapolis and we reserved the same primitive site for many years. It was in 1993 ce that the Rowan Tree last gathered at Whitewater.
To celebrate our Church’s twentieth anniversary as a legally-recognized entity, we held our Annual Retreat for the year 2000 ce in Yellowstone National Park as we gathered at this most sacred site to explore the wonders of Mother Earth and enjoy each other’s company. It was an extraordinary experience. We rented cabins near the Old Faithful Lodge and were within sight of Old Faithful for a full week. Adjacent the cabins was a wooded area which had a small clearing - also within sight of Old Faithful. This proved to be a perfect location for setting up a stone circle and in this magnificent locationis one in which Mother Earth is fully alive and creating, we had magickal experiences.
During one ritual, as Donna was invoking the Goddess, Old Faithful erupted. On another morning as we began gathering for the Child of Light a buffalo was rolling in the dust, upon his back, like some type of puppy! Although our ritual site is so close to one of the most famous gathering places for tourists in North America, our rituals remain undisturbed.
We had such a wonderful time at Yellowstone that we gathered there again in 2003 ce and have made plans that, for the time being, we will gather there for every three years.
Our Retreats in Kirkland are not primitive. Some lodge with Rowan Tree folk, many take rooms at nearby motels. We share a potluck, we often eat as a large family around several tables at nearby restaurants. We work ritual. We share memories and catch up on each other’s news. We take photos of each other. We discuss business issues and talk about spiritual growth.
Among the annual customs is the "mingling of the soil." In the 1970s Rev. Paul began collecting sacred soil to add to the antique planter which sat at his North Altar. At the first Retreat each participant who was attending brought some soil from their own garden. Those who lived in apartments brought a little soil from their favorite house plants. Those who could not attend sent soil. All of this was mingled together in the cauldron and, when the Retreat concluded, the now-mixed, sacred soil was distributed to all to add to their own earth pots for their north altars at home. This is a custom which continues whether we gather at The Hermit’s Grove or at Yellowstone.
We have worked The Ritual for the Dead and we have had Handfastings. We have transformed ourselves into Unicorns and we have been blessed with a Yoking Ritual.
The Annual Retreat is a time when we strengthen the family bonds we have with other Members for many of us see each other but once a year.
|
