For about three days in July a group of CHS students and faculty found themselves entering a sacred grove at the summer intensive retreat.  Some of us were old friends, others meeting for the first time; all had traveled long distances to gather (my husband and I drove 990 miles from South Carolina!). While each of our CHS conferences has been excellent, I have never seen a group so engaged with each other, veritably soaking up all the juiciness that refreshed us the entire time.

Greek myths from Ovid's Metamorphoses provided the theme for Bob Patrick's provocative teaching.  Where do we leave behind the everyday, our "domesticity," what do we sacrifice in the sacred grove, and what do we meet in the wild divine beyond the grove?  Those who have been in class with Bob before know that he is an artist and gifted teacher, so it was no surprise to find ourselves swept into a liminal state of mind for the weekend.  Every session was rich, but no one wanted to stop when break time came. The conversations just went on and on, through meals, through breaks, into the evening.

And such conversations!  -- not only about myth, but also about the times in our lives that have cut us or healed us deeply, about the journey that has brought each of us to identify as some type of Pagan, about our families, our work, our role as Pagan leaders, about voices from beyond the veil, about what "ministry" means to Pagans and what CHS should offer in the coming years as the Pagan world rapidly changes.  As might be expected during such honesty, there were tears along with lots of laughter. 

By opting out of air travel this time, Clyde and I spent many contemplative hours passing through lush summer-green countryside, including the Ozarks on the way out, and the Appalachians on a different return route.  By the time we reached Missouri we felt we had crossed a threshold into that place between the worlds. Indeed, Butler seemed much like an artifact of an earlier century; our meeting-place is the new office of Sacred Well Congregation which is slowly being reclaimed from its former life as a dry goods store by David and Willow Oringderff, our hosts for the retreat.

The video in this newsletter (pardon my cellphone footage and amateur editing) is but a memento of a time I will long remember fondly.  I have several interviews that we will post as we are able to process them.  Photos are already posted here on our Facebook page.

As in the best myths, I returned with more questions than answers, more feeling than knowing.  But I am confident of the my own small metamorphosis which emerged from my time at Entering the Sacred Grove.