Our recent experiment of adding a couple of hours of some social time at the end of our November business meeting was a success!
In fact we decided to do it again!
It was nice to have some new folks show up from our shared communities. One had even seen the notices here *that day* & decided to drop by & check us out!
The business meeting itself went well & among other things we decided to go ahead with the Mystic Grove Community Survey (see pinned post on our page here) to help us better serve our Pagan & UU communities into 2027 & 2028!
After business concluded we started by reminiscing about the Winter Solstice vigils he used to host in years past, either on the night of the Solstice or after the 1U Winter Solstice Service; we also discussed reviving this tradition in 2027. Conversation moved on to everything from genealogy to food-shares & mutual aid projects, to historic home restoration, to the travails of overnight shifts, & a little bit of everything else!
We enjoyed some light food & drink, laughed, & enjoyed a relaxed welcoming atmosphere with some of our fellow Pagans & Unitarian Universalists.
There is an old joke amongst Unitarian Universalists that “If you’ve visited one UU Congregation or Fellowship, you’ve visited one UU Congregation or Fellowship.”
This speaks to the fact that Unitarian Universalism operates on a congregational model, member congregations each have their own locally based ways of organizing, worshiping, & engaging in our shared Unitarian Universalist Faith.
Much the same is true with CUUPs chapters. There are many CUUPs chapters across the United States each with their own unique ways of engaging with their shared communities & traditions, practicing their faiths, and building beloved community as Unitarian Universalist Pagans. This means that in addition to Mystic Grove CUUPs there are other places where one can explore their interest in, or experience of, our unique unique way of gathering together in multi-faith beloved community!
Luckily for us, given the prices of air fare & gasoline, some of them are online! Here are a few resources to get new folks started & hopefully surprise some of our members & friends!
“This blog features articles from a variety of authors who reflect the span and depth of Pagan and Earth-Centered spiritual life within the 1,000+ congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Some essays are from parish ministers, some are from other religious professionals, and some are from laity, all of whom place a large part of their spiritual life in a Unitarian Universalist setting. Because of the diversity of authors, the topics they address will vary enormously as well.” –from their About page
Another Patheos blog to check out by author John Beckett. He is a Druid in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a member of Ár nDraíocht Féin, served 12 years as the Coordinating Officer of the Denton CUUPs, & 3 years on the Board of Trustees of CUUPS Continental. He also contributed to the Pagan and Earth-Centered Voices in Unitarian Universalism anthology.
This podcast only ran for a few years but proved an important role in some of the early years of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. It was hosted by David Pollard a Unitarian Universalist Pagan who served on the CUUPs Board of Trustees from 1995-2001 & again from 2007-2014, and from 2014-2018 served as the Executive Director for CUUPs national.
We at Mystic Grove hope this brief list helps visitors, members, & friends, to expand & deepen their explorations of our living traditions.
Mystic Grove CUUPs hosts a variety of events each month. We welcome anyone interested in being a part of our community & worship & work to come to a few of our different events to see what we are about & explore how you might become involved!
November 1 – First Sunday Mystic Grove Meeting & Social
Noon to 3pm.
Our monthly meeting is a great way to learn how we work & get to know some of the members of our community. This is where we plan the next ritual, classes, craft circles. Make friends, or co-conspirators, in a relaxed & friendly environment.
Planning is already underway for 2027 classes, events, & worship; if you’d like to offer ideas or volunteer to share your knowledge & talent, or simply would like to meet & get to know other Pagans & UU Pagans please drop on by.
November 7 – First Saturday Long Line Sewing Class
Reservation is 10 AM – 2 PM to allow set up and clean up,
Class from 11am to 1pm.
This event has some requirements & sliding scale fees involved, more details available at the blog or calendar on our website, or our event page on here!
November 21 – Third Saturday Craft Circle:
Bell Wreath & Warm Spice Simmer
11am to 1pm.
A pair of seasonally appropriate simple craft projects. A suggested donation of $5 helps us replenish supplies. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds while supplies last!
A beloved spiritual community is not built by rituals or classes alone. The small moments of discussion & sometimes random or rambling conversations that lead to new friendship & new ideas are a part of the glue that builds a beautiful collage of a community.
Such social events have a long history here at Mystic Grove as you may have seen exploring our website with the mentions of the movie nights, “field-trips”, & other events & adventures over the years. In fact, for a long time now, our First Sunday Meeting for business has had a social component. After the meeting those who were willing & able could vote on a nearby restaurant & go out to eat together.
The last few years however it seems like prices keep going up & so do the number of things on everyone’s calendar & to-do list. Making a spur-of-the-moment, & increasingly expensive, lunch with friends & co-conspirators more difficult than ever to manage!
That is why Mystic Grove is trying a new variation on this old tradition. We are adding a bloc of a couple of extra hours onto our First Sunday monthly meeting, as some social time where we already are! We are encouraging folks to bring some snacks to share as they are willing and able.
Our hope is to provide a little more space for the socializing, the sharing, the informal discussions of ideas or interests that are the seed bed of new ways of being in & building beloved community.
Join Mystic Grove CUUPS for our October 3rd Saturday Craft Circle, featuring a Three Seam Cloak workshop! Just in time for Halloween and Renaissance Faire season, we’ll show you how to make your own cloak from a flat sheet.
When: Saturday, October 17, 2026, 11 AM–1 PM Where: Gore Hall, Classrooms A and B Cost: $5 to help replenish sewing notions
No sewing experience is required, but you must know how to use an iron. We’ll provide sewing machines, bobbins, templates, ironing stations, and step-by-step instructions.
What to Bring
Please bring these three items:
One washed and dried flat sheet in cotton or a cotton blend (not a fitted sheet). We recommend a full-size sheet for teens and smaller adults, or a queen-size sheet for adults and plus-size wearers.
One spool of 5/8-inch satin ribbon for the cloak ties.
One spool of Coats & Clark all-purpose thread in a color that matches your sheet.
Reserve Your Spot!
Classroom space is limited, so we can accommodate only 10–15 participants. Please email us to reserve your spot.
On October 3, 2026, the “Long Lines” beginner sewing students continued building their sewing machine skills—and put them to work making pillowcases for Ryan’s Case for Smiles.
This month, students learned how to thread their machines and balance thread tension. They also began learning about the all-purpose presser foot and how it is used for everyday sewing.
For their first project, students used pillowcase cuff and body templates made from recycled election signs to cut their fabric pieces. They learned the “hot dog” method for sewing the cuff to the pillowcase body.
Next they learned two different ways to finish their seams: a zig-zag clean finish and a French seam.
The finished pillowcases will be donated to Ryan’s Case for Smiles, which provides cheerful pillowcases to children in hospitals. Learn more about Ryan’s Case for Smiles.
A special thank-you to Wendy and Mike, who donated two bags of fabric for our students to use!
Want More Sewing Time?
Missed class or want some extra time at the machine? Join us for Craft Circle on October 17 at 11 AM, when you can sew, work on your own projects, or spend some time with fellow crafters.
Looking for a Halloween or Renn Faire project? You can also make the October craft circle project — a Three-Seam Cloak from a bedsheet and a spool of 5/8-inch ribbon. It’s a simple beginner-friendly project that can be finished in time for Halloween or Renn Faire season.
Coming Up in Long Lines
Our next “Long Lines” classes will be November 7 and December 5, when students will learn to make a basic 12-block quilt to donate to Project Linus, which provides handmade blankets to children in hospitals and other children in need. Learn more about Project Linus and check out their free patterns for knit, crochet, and sewn blankets!
For more information about Long Lines, Craft Circle, or donating cotton fabric, finished pillowcases, or finished blankets, email mysticgrove@orlandouu.org.
Planning ahead for the end of life can help ensure that our wishes are known and our loved ones aren’t left making difficult decisions during a time of grief. But for people whose religious, spiritual, or secular identities don’t fit traditional funeral practices, finding options that reflect their values can present additional challenges.
Join Tee Rogers for Preplanning for Heathens, a discussion about making our end-of-life wishes known, documenting our plans, finding affirming deathcare providers, and exploring traditional, natural, and emerging options.
The event is being held in honor of Todd, who died in 2025. His loved ones experienced challenges that might have been eased through advance planning. This discussion grew from a promise to create a space where people from underrepresented communities could think ahead about how they want to be honored, remembered, and cared for.
Wednesday, October 14 | 6–7:30 PM First Unitarian Church of Orlando
This free event is open to all. Come learn, ask questions, and begin thinking about what you want your own final arrangements to look like.
Our “Long Lines” sewing students are making pillowcases and small quilts that can be donated to children’s hospital charities such as Ryan’s Case for Smiles and Project Linus.
We’re always happy to receive cheerful, kid-friendly 100% cotton prints for projects suitable for kids and teens. Not glitter fabrics, please. The glitter can rub off and get in patient injuries. Thanks to Linda and Lynn for the most recent donations!
Fabric donations can be dropped off:
Saturday, October 3, 11 AM–1 PM during the Long Lines sewing class
Tuesdays and Sundays in the donation bucket at the Alliance Thrift Store
In the church front office during office hours with a note it is for sewing class
Are you a crafter? You can also donate completed projects! You can sew a pillowcase at home for Ryan’s Case for Smiles. Project Linus provides blanket patterns, and accepts handmade blankets in a variety of styles, including knit and crochet blankets.
Background image from painted Wheel of the Year from Museum of Witchcraft, Bocastle, via Wikipedia
Folks occasionally ask us why we utilize the Wheel of the Year. “How,” folks sometimes wonder, “can you be a pan-Pagan group if you are focusing on a ritual calendar that only applies to some Pagans?”
The short answer is that we observe a schedule around The Wheel of the Year for two reasons. One is rooted in our history as a group; the other is grounded in logistics & practicality.
When Mystic Grove was founded some 30 odd years ago, most of our founders & indeed the majority of the Pagan community at large, observed The Wheel of The Year. Setting what we call our Solar Worship calendar to The Wheel is a part of our group’s unique history & culture. On a very practical note, having an established sort of worship calendar spaced relatively evenly throughout the year means that it is much easier to schedule our classes, meetings, & worship events in the context of a very busy Congregational Campus!
The longer answer is that it has never stopped us from being welcoming & inclusive.
As a UU Pagan group we welcome members of & seek to both honor many Pagan faiths as well as our Unitarian Universalism. Pagan traditions that draw inspiration & practice from ancient faiths & cultures. Heck some of the cultures that the Wheel calendar draws inspiration from are, in fact, STILL around & still enriching the world with their influences! Other contemporary Pagan paths, or their ancient forebears observed sacred calendars & rites that looked very different from the contemporary Wheel of The Year. At the same time, one thing that all those faiths, these ancestral & living cultures have in common is that Hospitality & peaceful prosperous Community were (& are) deeply held values, whether they are explicitly uplifted in “the lore” or not. Hospitality & Community can be seen as core human values from the most ancient of times down to the present day.
As Unitarian Universalists our values, as well as the sources & principles that are a part of our culture & history, call us to seek to build what Dr. King called The Beloved Community. It is a vision of a society where all people can live in peace, justice, and love, transcending divisions and fostering understanding among individuals.
We talk with, we listen to, one another. We understand that none of us has The One True Polytheism, Animism, Unitarian Universalism, or Way. We acknowledge one another’s many sources of inspiration & tradition. We work together to move from concerns or difficulties to seek solutions & resolutions. Over the years we have found a few different ones. Mystic Grove works together as a community to find ways in which we can welcome & honor the many talents, interests, faiths, & practices that our members bring to the table.
One beloved tradition in the Mystic Grove calendar over the years has been our Wep Ronpet observances that have been held on or around August 1st for many years, hosted by a long-time Mystic Grove member who is also a Khemetic Polytheist.
Our Samhain observances have over the years have often blended with the Church’s Halloween Party, which can be a delightful & festive time for everyone.
Mystic Grove CUUPs flagship event is our Winter Solstice service which we share with our 1U (First Unitarian Church Orlando) community every year. It was the first event we shared with our larger communities over 30 years ago! For many years as a part of our observances after the Service was over (or on the night of the Winter Solstice when scheduling issues arise between the Congregational & Astronomical Calendars) we would hold a small “bonfire” vigil overnight. We have many cherished memories of Sumbel offered around the portable fire pit that served as our bonfire by some of our Heathen members from years past.
The Wheel of the Year is a starting point for our commitment to our shared communities spiritual growth & life-long learning, not an unshakable or inflexible point of doctrine.
We hope this settles any concerns? If not, reach out to us in any of the usual ways!
As summer gives way to autumn, the Wheel of the Year brings us to Mabon, the Fall Equinox—a time when day and night are in balance and we pause to recognize the abundance that surrounds us.
Join Mystic Grove CUUPS for our Mabon Solar Worship as we gather around the theme of Abundance. Together, we’ll reflect on what has nourished us, celebrate the gifts of the season, and consider how abundance can be something we share rather than something we keep for ourselves.
As part of our celebration, we’ll also hold a food drive. If you are able, please bring a canned or boxed food item to donate to those in our community who are experiencing food insecurity.
Mabon Solar Worship Saturday, September 26, 2026 Gore Hall at First Unitarian Church of Orlando
Following the ritual, we’ll share a potluck meal together. Please label your dish with its ingredients to help guests with food allergies.
Mystic Grove CUUPS’ seasonal solar rituals honor the Wheel of the Year and are open to all. Families are welcome, though childcare is not provided.
A $5–$10 donation is welcome to help replenish worship and potluck supplies, but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.
Come mark the turning of the season, celebrate what sustains us, and share in the abundance of community. Email mysticgrove@orlandouu.org for more info.
