Thanks to those who attended the June 3 monthly meeting! Here are the notes if you missed it.

PHOTO

This month’s photo is called “Delicate Mystery” by J. Moore who writes

What practices light up my inner fire?

Being in nature, making photographs of nature, and creating art with those images.

If you want to share what lights you up for the Midsummer service slides and/or the monthly news, email it to mysticgrove@orlandouu.org and tell us about it!

CALENDAR & IMPORTANT DATES

The calendar has been updated again with all our Summer Semester dates so far.

The July 1 Meeting will includes VOTING for the 2018-2019 officers. We also have to vote on a date for the Guang Ming Temple group field trip (July 22 or July 29) and set the date for the annual Teacher Meeting to map out the 2018-2019 list of ideas for classes and craft circles.

MEMBERSHIP

Are you thinking about becoming a Mystic Grove Member or Friend? You can learn about the path to membership here.  The annual membership window is coming up in August-September at the monthly meetings.

MIDSUMMER  RITUAL

Our next solar ritual is Summer Solstice Morning Service on Sunday June 24, 2018.  It will be held at 11 AM in the Sanctuary.  The general theme revolves around “reigniting the spark” in your spiritual practices.   It should be a feast for the eyes and ears!  Fellowship time to follow in Gore Hall at noon.  For those interested, there is also the Pagan Pride Planning meeting in Room 1 at 12:30 PM.

After today’s meeting we have identified some easy volunteering jobs if anyone would like to help out:

• Kitchen Helpers. Show up around between 10 and 10:30 AM on the day to ask the kitchen folks if they need help setting up the snacks.  Helpers to linger to help clean up also welcome. 

• Community Altar Items. If you wish to display your “spiritual practice” item on the community altar rather than in digital photos on the service slides, please bring your item with a name label on it.  This way in case it gets forgotten so we can get it back to you.  Please limit items to about soda can size or smaller if possible.  Show up early between 10:15 – 10:45 AM to place your item on the front altar.
• Extra drummers.  To help carry a simple beat on several songs.
• Water Corner person.  To stand at the Water banner and shake a rain stick when cued.
• “Fire in the Head” shouters  interspersed in the pews.  We will be doing  a rendition of Emerald Rose “Fire in the Head” as a “call and response song.”  We need some voices in the pews  ready to yell “Fire in the Head!” in the right moments.
• Potluck finger food. For coffee hour after the services in Gore Hall.  As a courtesy to allergy people, please label dishes with name of cook and any allergy ingredients.
• “Stations Helpers.” At social hour we will have 3 areas for making god’s eyes, coloring pages, and a music corner.  Doing simple activities encourages people to get to know each other and actually ASK their neighbor — “what spiritual practices to you enjoy doing?”

LUNAR RITUAL

Registration for the new July – Dec block will open July 1!  We will continue our study of various deities and esbat celebrations based on Gathering for Goddess by B. Melusine Mihaltses.

TEACHING CRAFT CIRCLES

This month on Friday June 15, we learn to make personal God’s Eyes.  At Midsummer we will make a great, big community effort God’s Eye!

Plan ahead:  July 20 we will learn how to make various origami patterns Some practical (envelopes and paper cups) and some decorative (various animals and a heart shape.)

Are you interested in hosting a craft circle? Tell us your idea!

MOVIE NITE

Come join us each month on 3rd Sundays for movie night fun. It’s BYO dinner, watch, and discuss! This month we watch Spirited Away on June 17th.  In this fanciful adventure, a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro discovers a secret world when she and her family get lost and venture through a hillside tunnel. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, Chihiro must fend for herself as she encounters strange spirits, assorted creatures and a grumpy sorceress who seeks to prevent her from returning to the human world. She must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away

On July 15th we screen a reprise of “Something Wicked This Way Comes.”

What do you want to see in August? Let us know!

PAGAN PRIDE

Mystic Grove is co-hosting Pagan Pride 2018 on Sept 29th at the First Unitarian Church of Orlando! If you want to help out contact either Orlando Pagan Collective or mysticgrove@orlandouu.org.  The next planning meeting is on July 24 from 12:30 PM – 2:30  PM in Room 1 at First Unitarian.

BOOKS WANTED

Mystic Grove was given several collections of pagan interest books from folks who are moving away and from a dear member, Mary Ellen Mayo, who passed away.  We will be having a book table at Pagan Pride.  If you have books you have outgrown, considering donating them at any Craft Circle on 1st or 3rd Fridays or at the monthly meeting on 1st Sundays. If you cannot make it at one of these points, call the First Unitarian front office and see if you can bring them by at during business hours. (407) 898-3621.

We will be accepting them all summer.

SUMMER “HOUSEKEEPING” DATES

Mystic Grove aligns its business year with the First Unitarian business year.  Summer on our “Typical Calendar” is the time for doing all of the “winding it down/cranking it back up” work of our group.  While you can see the details on the PDF, the big summer highlights are

June:

• Midsummer Service
• Renew our CUUPS chapter membership.  You can also be an individual member of CUUPS.
• Start getting ready for the officers to change smoothly.

July:

• Officer Elections.
• Annual Teacher Meeting to plan out 2018-2019 offerings
• Start preparing PR materials and membership drive materials.
• CUUPS Annual Meeting.  (We will host “Tea and cookies” in the Assembly Room for anyone wanting to attend this video conference call as guests.)

Aug/Sept

• Classroom Clean Up
• Annual Member Dinner to welcome back old members/greet new ones
• Host Pagan Pride

MYSTIC GROVE LINKS TO KNOW

• Mystic Grove WordPress: https://mysticgrovecfl.wordpress.com/
• Mystic Grove Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mysticgrovecfl/
• Mystic Grove 1U Page: https://www.orlandouu.org/groups/mystic-grove/

Questions or more info?  Please email us at mysticgrove@orlandouu.org