Mystic Grove is celebrating 25 years of serving our shared communities this year & 10 years as a CUUPs chapter. At such milestones it is tempting to look back upon our past. At what has been done. The adventures, celebrations, successes & misadventures from across what is actually over 3 decades of our community if we are counting the nascent group of Unitarian Universalist Pagans who started to get more involved with things at 1U when then Reverend Marni Harmony was establishing the Winter Solstice Service & Spiral Dance.
To reminisce about the many good memories we have as a community. We have certainly been doing some of that. At the same time we have also been reinvigorating & renewing ourselves to meet the moment of some very troubling times for our shared communities & the world.
We are choosing to look to our future. Looking to how we can better serve our shared Pagan & Unitarian Universalist communities moving forward in the years to come.
As a part of that we have created a Community Survey. Roughly 17 questions, 3 of them optional. Entirely confidential. We will not have access to identifying information unless you choose to share your e-mail with us in order to hear back regarding some of your responses.
This Community Survey is to help Mystic Grove CUUPs plan & schedule our events, classes, & worship events for the 2027 & 2028 program years.
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.
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.
