Summerland 2022: Workshop Descriptions and Presenter Bios

Connecting With Your Crystals

Presenter: Michelle

Do you like shiny things? Crystals that sparkle? Rocks that speak to you? Did you even wonder how to really connect with them and explore them on a deeper level?

In this workshop you will be given an opportunity to learn how to connect with the deva residing inside a crystal/rock, better communicate with them, and increase your understanding of our connection to our mother earth through them.

The workshop will include hands-on touchy-feely of rocks (not each other!), selection of one to work with if you do not bring your own, discussion of how to connect, a light meditation to get you started, followed by discussion and Q&A. Part of the technique that will be taught is applicable to any sort of meditative practice and opening up the gates to your inner realms and beyond.

Michelle (she/her; Sr. Druid, Sassafras Grove, Pittsburgh) has been collecting, working with, and sometimes having torrid love affairs with crystals for over 2 decades. Never having met a rock she didn’t like, she now spreads the love by teaching, sharing and matching-making people with their own little wonders of nature. Michelle’s training in shamanic healing techniques and meditation has been intertwined with her passion for the rock kingdom and all its shinies.

Creating a Miniature Nemeton

Presenter: Kathleen

Create a tiny, self-contained nemeton that you can take with you while traveling or set up in your house. Each participant will receive a clear, plastic globe in which to build the nemeton and a wide range of objects that can be placed in it. Want your own miniature Stonehenge? You can build it! Would you like to create a replica of your inner nemeton? You can build that too! Need something to help you focus when you’re away from home? You are only limited by your imagination. Sculpty clay will be available to make objects like rocks or standing stones, but if you have a particular vision, feel free to bring whatever will work for you. The globes are roughly six inches in diameter.

Participation in this workshop will be limited by the available supplies. Adults and older children are welcome.

Kathleen (she/her) is the founder and current Senior Druid of Charter Oak Grove in New England. She has been a member of ADF for almost fifteen years and a member of the ADF clergy for ten. Her priestly interests include children’s liturgy, designing accessible rituals, creating ritual pieces in American Sign Language, ritual aesthetics, and writing liturgical music.

Druids In Cars, Going To Festivals: Extemporaneous Prayer Challenge!

Presenters: Revs. Jan Avende & Michael J Dangler

Three Cranes Grove, ADF, has a podcast called Druids In Cars, Going To Festivals, and a couple of years ago, we aired an episode (Episode 25, the 7th episode of Season 2) called “Extemporaneous Prayer Challenge!” That episode provides the blueprint for this workshop. This is the second part of a workshop we gave at Wellspring, seeking more diverse voices.

Revs. Avende and Dangler will present their processes for the creation of off-the-cuff, extemporaneous prayers: how they weave symbolism, surroundings, lore, and poetics into a cohesive prayer experience that connects a ritual participant to the community gathered for worship. We’ll give you the tools to create, and then apply them by speaking prayers and making offerings in an off-the-cuff manner within sacred space.

Note that portions of this workshop, and extemporaneous prayers created, may be recorded for use in the podcast, with consent of attendees. (Meaning: you can participate without being on the podcast.)

Revs. Jan Avende (they/them) and Michael J Dangler (he/him) work together on Three Cranes Grove, ADF’s, podcast, Druids In Cars, Going To Festivals, hoping to both bring the pre- and post-festival discussions to a wider audience, and to teach what we’ve learned in our time crafting ritual and prayer. Rev. Avende is ADF’s current Vice Archdruid, a Consecrated ADF Priest, and an ADF Initiate. Rev. Dangler is an ADF Senior Priest, an ADF Initiate, and a founder of Three Cranes Grove, ADF, and The Magical Druid in Columbus, Ohio.

Fairy Faith and Lore of Newfoundland!

Presenters: Carmelita Coffey

Using research from the Folklore and Language archive, some of which is my own done during my BA, I will talk about the belief in fairies of Newfoundland, how common these beliefs were even when I was growing up in the ’90s, and the knowledge that was passed from my grandparents to me.

This knowledge will be shared and shall be useful in dealing with the “Good Neighbours.” It will show the respect and the sacred reciprocity that was shown by the average person to beings much older, wiser, and slyer. Be respectful, be wise, and be on guard because you are a blip on the lifespan of the “Good Ones.”

Carmelita Coffey (she/her) was born and raised in rural Newfoundland, the most Irish place outside of Ireland. She went to Memorial University of Newfoundland and received a BA in folklore concentrated in Fairy Lore and Fairy Tales.

Further Beyond the Ninth Wave: A Deeper Look at Manannán mac Lir

Presenter: Mike Bierschenk

Many pagans are familiar with Manannán mac Lir, an intriguing but often confusing figure in the myths and tales of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Manannán’s presence in the lore spans a wide array of roles and temperaments, yet often he is glossed quickly as “the Irish god of the sea,” obscuring the complexity and contradiction at the heart of this enigmatic god.

Drawing on mac Lir’s appearances in the lore, on academic scholarship, and on the presenter’s personal experiences with his patron, this presentation will flesh out the figure of Manannán, not merely as lord of the sea, but as psychopomp, creative force, and magical spirit whose realm stretches from the misty past into our own time. Participants can expect to learn more of the mythological and folkloric complexity of Manannán mac Lir, then to go on a brief guided trance journey to meet with him where the lands meet the seas.

Mike Bierschenk (he/him) is a member of Three Cranes Grove in Columbus, Ohio. As a bard and liturgist, as well as a formally educated poet, singer, and linguist, he furthers the public work of ADF by writing prayers, rituals, and songs for his local grove and for the broader community.

Interspirituality and Pagan Paths

Presenter: Rev. Diane Emerald Bronowicz-Egelhoff

Interfaith/Interspiritual ministry seeks to find common ground between faith traditions and secular values. It places people above dogma or doctrine. We emphasize the universality of the religious experience while honoring the uniqueness of each path, seeking to learn from others while respecting their practices.

As an umbrella of unique religious and spiritual expressions, Paganism presents as a microcosm of the interspiritual movement. In this workshop we will explore principles of interspirituality and how we can use them to build solidarity between different Pagan traditions and groups while enriching our own personal practice. We will also discuss ways we as Pagans can more fully take our place beside the world’s non-Pagan faith traditions, thereby enriching all spiritual paths.

Rev. Diane Emerald Bronowicz-Egelhoff (she/her) was ordained as an Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister in 2020, and she has served as a Priestess and Leader in her religious and spiritual communities, both local and international, for 20+ years. An accomplished liturgist, ritualist, and bard, she is especially called to facilitate connection and foster magic by writing and performing personalized rites of passage, primarily within underserved and marginalized communities, but also for all people who want to mark their lives’ turning points in a spiritual way but do not have a set practice or congregation to which to turn. Her personal practice incorporates Druid, Wiccan, and Hellenic traditions and the modalities of trance, seership, scholarship, and magic to honor the Gods, the Ancestors, and the Spirits of this World while acknowledging the cycles of Earth, Moon and Sun.

Living in Accordance with Nature: How the Pursuit of Virtue Upholds the Cosmos

Presenter: Mike Kaan

The Stoic philosophers from ancient times said that to live well was to “live in accordance with nature.” What does this statement mean? In this interactive presentation we will discuss the answer to this question, and explore the cosmic implications of living virtuously. We will also discuss how well this philosophy blends seamlessly with Our Druidry, and how it can enrich your life and practice.

Mike Kaan (he/him) has been a member of ADF since 2012. In that time, Mike has completed his Dedicant Path work and is the current Grove Organizer of Proto-Grove of the Gathering Waters, ADF in Illinois. Mike also enjoys practicing River Druidry and studying Stoicism, cosmotheology, and Indo-European myth (among many other things).

The MAGpie Mind Method: One Grove’s Way of Approaching Mental Discipline

Presenter: Rev. William Ashton

One of the most seminal tools in the Druid’s toolbox is a disciplined mind, which is to say a mind that has the powers of discernment, drive, focus, and awareness. Interestingly enough, one of the biggest challenges in ADF’s dedicant work has been the “mental discipline” portion. Challenging not only in how we approach the subject in general, but also how do mentors engage in helping dedicant candidates develop a disciplined Druidic mind.

Rev. William Ashton brings his years of experience in martial arts (black belts in Aikido, Hapkido, and Japanese kobudo), as well as highlights and key elements from his own journey towards a disciplined mind (graduated from a Buddhist inspired university where mind-training was part of every curriculum), to the festival presentation table to do the following:

• Define discipline
• Layout what comprises a disciplined mind
• Offer methods in how to develop these tools
• Highlight how and where to use these tools

The method being offered will not only meet (and exceed) ADF’s dedicant requirements, but will become reliable tools in one’s personal journey, and their journey of Druidic service.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Rev. William (he/him) attended Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where in 2007 he graduated with a degree in Religious Studies, minoring in Psychology. Currently residing in Longmont, CO, he is one of the Priests and founder of Mountain Ancestors Grove. On February 8th, 2014 he was ordained as a priest in ADF. He spends his time playing mandolin (and some guitar), writing, engaging in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and education, community service, and sharing a larger vision of how a polytheist perspective can lead to greater human understanding, acceptance, and gods be good, peace.

Ritual Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities/Special Needs

Presenter: Sinann Patricia

This will be—you guessed it—a discussion of how to better include individuals with disabilities and special needs in rituals. We will discuss how to provide a nurturing, inclusive environment. Examples of ways to include persons with special needs (often, a little goes a long way!) will be given, along with discussion of what to say and what NOT to say. We will talk about how to remain approachable as a ritual team so that the family and caregivers feel that they can come to you with concerns.

Additionally, I will discuss conflict resolution when an issue does arise. Other little tidbits such as an explanation of caregiver burnout and how it affects caregivers, how to recognize the signs and adjust communications with them appropriately, and updated terminologies used in the disability field will be discussed to provide a window into the world of people living with, and caring for, people with disabilities and special needs.

Sinann Patricia (she/her) is in her 17th year with Stone Creed Grove, where she has served as a Wellspring Organizer, ritual officiant, Hospitality Coordinator, Secretary, and currently as Assistant Senior Druid. Sinann works extensively with her Ancestors and maintains a daily Ancestral practice.

She is the mother of a gorgeous, brilliant little girl, Honnora, who also happens to have some significant disabilities. Sinann has served as a Parent Disability Representative on the State Support Team for her educational district, and has been a passionate disability advocate in many other avenues of life. Sinann also has a disability, in the form of a seizure disorder.