From the President The State of the Henge: A Review of the Nineties The dawning of the nineties found the Henge as a single Grove with a newsletter. This newsletter began its life as a publication for the Pagan special interest group of the local Mensa chapter and evolved into a journal. It was through this journal that word of the Henge and its practices raised interest across the country and eventually across the seas. The growing interest prompted this small group of Druids to begin to commit to paper their beliefs and practices which inspired the Keltrian Book of Ritual, the monumental task of creating a correspondence course and eventually the establishment of the Henge as a non-profit church incorporated in the State of Minnesota in 1995. The growth witnessed in first half of the decade was amazing. The Henge was growing by leaps and bounds with the steadfast core group working madly to keep up with the demand and keep the journal on time and expanding. They then found themselves faced with some interesting situations and choices. Like most fledgling church organizations, the Henge of Keltria depends on volunteer efforts to keep the wheels grinding. This is a labor of love on everyone's' part, which means no one receives a living wage from the church. Nurturing the Henge of Keltria's growth became a second full time job even with all of the volunteer help available. A dilemma presented itself when one of the church's co-founders began to excel in his mundane career. Along with this success came added pressures, longer work hours, and the need to move repeatedly, which almost eliminated the "spare" time dedicated to the new church. After much thought, discussion and consideration of long-term goals, it was decided that financially secure leadership would be of better service to the church and the Neo-pagan community in the long run. With the security of hearth and home safeguarded, full time could be given to a future Henge of Keltria in retirement not so far away. What ensued was a time of incubation with full support of the Board of Trustees. It certainly seemed tragic at the time since the Henge was no longer growing as fast, however; good has come out of it. In the early nineties, although the Neo-pagan movement was growing exponentially, not much was available in terms of reading material or practical instruction for those who wanted to begin celebrating the Gods and Goddesses of the ancients. It was necessary to begin instruction with Neo-paganism 101 and educate people in the basics. Now, in the new millennium, so much more material is available and we find that inquiries are coming from people who have already educated themselves in the basics and have shopped around for what suits their spiritual needs the best. This means that the Henge leadership can concentrate on the specific meanings of Druidism and how the Henge of Keltria honors and celebrates these qualities. In the mid-nineties, for a while, the Henge appeared to be heading in the direction of becoming an umbrella organization for various Druid Groves. However, with the incorporation of the Henge as a church and the well-informed public seeking information, the requirements evolved as well as the long-term visions for the Henge. The Henge continues to evolve and the future form is never crystal clear. It continues to grow in resources for both Groves and Solitares. More importantly, the direction of the Henge is now and always has been driven by the energy of involved members. Start a Group, write for Henge Happenings, attend the Gathering of the Keltrian Tribe, meet with other Keltrians whenever you can. We are only as successful as our members. - Wren About the Henge of Keltria | Henge Happenings | Keltria Journal | Membership | Bookstore | Ritual Tools | Order Form | Contact Us | Links | Home Contents of this site are © 1999, 2004 Henge of Keltria, all rights reserved unless otherwise noted. If you are experiencing problems with this page please notify the Keltria-Webmaster. For other questions, please contact the Henge-Office Last updated:
From the President The State of the Henge: A Review of the Nineties The dawning of the nineties found the Henge as a single Grove with a newsletter. This newsletter began its life as a publication for the Pagan special interest group of the local Mensa chapter and evolved into a journal. It was through this journal that word of the Henge and its practices raised interest across the country and eventually across the seas. The growing interest prompted this small group of Druids to begin to commit to paper their beliefs and practices which inspired the Keltrian Book of Ritual, the monumental task of creating a correspondence course and eventually the establishment of the Henge as a non-profit church incorporated in the State of Minnesota in 1995. The growth witnessed in first half of the decade was amazing. The Henge was growing by leaps and bounds with the steadfast core group working madly to keep up with the demand and keep the journal on time and expanding. They then found themselves faced with some interesting situations and choices. Like most fledgling church organizations, the Henge of Keltria depends on volunteer efforts to keep the wheels grinding. This is a labor of love on everyone's' part, which means no one receives a living wage from the church. Nurturing the Henge of Keltria's growth became a second full time job even with all of the volunteer help available. A dilemma presented itself when one of the church's co-founders began to excel in his mundane career. Along with this success came added pressures, longer work hours, and the need to move repeatedly, which almost eliminated the "spare" time dedicated to the new church. After much thought, discussion and consideration of long-term goals, it was decided that financially secure leadership would be of better service to the church and the Neo-pagan community in the long run. With the security of hearth and home safeguarded, full time could be given to a future Henge of Keltria in retirement not so far away. What ensued was a time of incubation with full support of the Board of Trustees. It certainly seemed tragic at the time since the Henge was no longer growing as fast, however; good has come out of it. In the early nineties, although the Neo-pagan movement was growing exponentially, not much was available in terms of reading material or practical instruction for those who wanted to begin celebrating the Gods and Goddesses of the ancients. It was necessary to begin instruction with Neo-paganism 101 and educate people in the basics. Now, in the new millennium, so much more material is available and we find that inquiries are coming from people who have already educated themselves in the basics and have shopped around for what suits their spiritual needs the best. This means that the Henge leadership can concentrate on the specific meanings of Druidism and how the Henge of Keltria honors and celebrates these qualities. In the mid-nineties, for a while, the Henge appeared to be heading in the direction of becoming an umbrella organization for various Druid Groves. However, with the incorporation of the Henge as a church and the well-informed public seeking information, the requirements evolved as well as the long-term visions for the Henge. The Henge continues to evolve and the future form is never crystal clear. It continues to grow in resources for both Groves and Solitares. More importantly, the direction of the Henge is now and always has been driven by the energy of involved members. Start a Group, write for Henge Happenings, attend the Gathering of the Keltrian Tribe, meet with other Keltrians whenever you can. We are only as successful as our members. - Wren
From the President
The dawning of the nineties found the Henge as a single Grove with a newsletter. This newsletter began its life as a publication for the Pagan special interest group of the local Mensa chapter and evolved into a journal. It was through this journal that word of the Henge and its practices raised interest across the country and eventually across the seas. The growing interest prompted this small group of Druids to begin to commit to paper their beliefs and practices which inspired the Keltrian Book of Ritual, the monumental task of creating a correspondence course and eventually the establishment of the Henge as a non-profit church incorporated in the State of Minnesota in 1995. The growth witnessed in first half of the decade was amazing. The Henge was growing by leaps and bounds with the steadfast core group working madly to keep up with the demand and keep the journal on time and expanding. They then found themselves faced with some interesting situations and choices.
Like most fledgling church organizations, the Henge of Keltria depends on volunteer efforts to keep the wheels grinding. This is a labor of love on everyone's' part, which means no one receives a living wage from the church. Nurturing the Henge of Keltria's growth became a second full time job even with all of the volunteer help available. A dilemma presented itself when one of the church's co-founders began to excel in his mundane career. Along with this success came added pressures, longer work hours, and the need to move repeatedly, which almost eliminated the "spare" time dedicated to the new church. After much thought, discussion and consideration of long-term goals, it was decided that financially secure leadership would be of better service to the church and the Neo-pagan community in the long run. With the security of hearth and home safeguarded, full time could be given to a future Henge of Keltria in retirement not so far away. What ensued was a time of incubation with full support of the Board of Trustees. It certainly seemed tragic at the time since the Henge was no longer growing as fast, however; good has come out of it.
In the early nineties, although the Neo-pagan movement was growing exponentially, not much was available in terms of reading material or practical instruction for those who wanted to begin celebrating the Gods and Goddesses of the ancients. It was necessary to begin instruction with Neo-paganism 101 and educate people in the basics. Now, in the new millennium, so much more material is available and we find that inquiries are coming from people who have already educated themselves in the basics and have shopped around for what suits their spiritual needs the best. This means that the Henge leadership can concentrate on the specific meanings of Druidism and how the Henge of Keltria honors and celebrates these qualities.
In the mid-nineties, for a while, the Henge appeared to be heading in the direction of becoming an umbrella organization for various Druid Groves. However, with the incorporation of the Henge as a church and the well-informed public seeking information, the requirements evolved as well as the long-term visions for the Henge. The Henge continues to evolve and the future form is never crystal clear. It continues to grow in resources for both Groves and Solitares. More importantly, the direction of the Henge is now and always has been driven by the energy of involved members. Start a Group, write for Henge Happenings, attend the Gathering of the Keltrian Tribe, meet with other Keltrians whenever you can. We are only as successful as our members.
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Contents of this site are © 1999, 2004 Henge of Keltria, all rights reserved unless otherwise noted. If you are experiencing problems with this page please notify the Keltria-Webmaster. For other questions, please contact the Henge-Office
From the President