Imbolc Ritual and Message of Hope

GATHERING TOGETHER
Opening Words
Come those who wish to come; stay those who wish to stay; and fare those who wish to fare. This is an open circle in which we celebrate our hope and our creativity.
*Hymn # 361: Enter, Rejoice, and Come In
Lighting the Chalice
As we kindle the flame within our chalice, we pray that the flame of Brigid, goddess of fire, may burn in our souls and the souls of all we meet. We pray that no envy or malice, no hatred or fear, may smother the flame. We pray that indifference and apathy, contempt and pride, may not pour like cold water on the flame. Instead, may the spark of Brigid light the love in our souls, that it may burn brightly through the day. And may we warm those that are lonely, whose hearts are cold and lifeless, so that all may know the comfort of Brigit’s love.
CENTERING IN COMMUNITY
*Greeting One Another
*Affirmation of Hope: Responsive Reading
We affirm the unfailing renewal of life.

Rising from the earth, and reaching for the sun, all living creatures shall fulfill themselves.

We affirm the steady growth of human companionship.

Rising from ancient cradles and reaching for the stars, people the world over shall seek the ways of understanding.

We affirm a continuing hope

That out of every tragedy the spirits of individuals shall rise to build a better world.

Offering and Offertory
EXPLORING
*Hymn #38: Morning Has Broken
Message: “Hope”
Hope springs eternal. That phrase says so much, especially in the gloomy dark of winter. This is the second part of a three part series titled Faith, Hope, and Charity. I struck a chord with some people in preaching an evangelistic sermon on faith a few weeks ago, and there are others who are quite happy to see the accoutrements of a pagan ritual back in play today – even if I do insist on messing up the order of things in the service. All things in good time.

Today we celebrate the Pagan cross-quarter holiday of Imbolc. This is variously known in different cultures as Lady Day, Brigid’s Day, Candlemas, An Fheill Bhride, and uniquely in the United States, Groundhog Day. It is a feast of hope. I for one hope the winter is over. Now according to Punxsutawney Phil out in Pennsylvania, there will be six more weeks of winter this year. However, don’t give up hope. According to the other denizen of rodent prognostication, General Beauregard Lee down in Lilburn GA, winter is coming to a quick end. I checked with the guinea pig in our house, a distant relative, and the extent of his comment was “feed me.”

Is anyone here hopeful about something? I’ve noted a wide variety of responses wrapped up in the guise of hope. I hope I win the lottery. I hope I can go to the dance. I hope I get an A on that test. I hope I get a promotion, a raise, or get well. These are the hopes I call wishful thinking. When we phrase things like that it kind of trivializes them, doesn’t it. It discounts whether I studied of the test, whether I’m taking care of myself, whether I have worked hard enough to deserve a raise. We render them over to our wishes.

Then there is the hope that replaces worry. When I read about an accident, a bombing, a violent crime, I hope no one was hurt. I hope the families are cared for. I hope my friends and family were not involved. I hope my wife and daughter come home safely from their trip. I hope I can get this report done in time for the meeting. These hopes take the place of worrying. What an extraordinary power we have to change worry into hope, when really, we are just worrying.

So then what is hope? I’m going to turn to Merriam-Webster who defines the verb as “To desire with expectation of obtainment.” That puts a different perspective on this. For in this context, hope is neither worry nor wishful thinking. When we hope for something, we recognize a desire that we expect to fulfill.

Hope is closely akin to happiness. It is the expectation that arises when things are going right. When my daughter woke up yesterday morning facing her bear, with the sun coming in through the window, she told me she just felt happy. She had an expectation that this was going to be a good day. When I see flowers pushing up through the cold earth, I am filled with hope, for I expect that spring is coming.

You see hope is that which fills us with the desire to live. It fills us with the motive for creating, and it fills us with the confidence to go on. Hope, I believe is one of the many results of faith. If you remember the quote I used from Ghandi: “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” That fills us with hope for the future.

Now, why is it that we celebrate hope on Imbolc. Well, Imbolc is considered the first of spring. Its literal meaning is a little hazy, but its Irish roots seem to indicate that it is most closely related to the words meaning “In the Belly,” or “Ewe’s Milk.” It is in many ways a dairy festival. The livestock are ready to calve and the milk has begun to fill the udders of the mothers.

Imbolc is a fire festival. The goddess Brigid, Christianized as St. Bridget, holds three characteristics. She is goddess of hearth and forge, the fire aspect. She is goddess of health and well-being, the spring aspect. And she is goddess of creativity, which if you are like me is coming fully awake in you by this time of year. Her celebration is one of spring cleaning. Traditionally, the hearth and fireplace, especially are cleaned out and a fresh fire is lit.

We perceptibly begin to see the days getting longer. It is getting light earlier and we are on the ascent to the Equinox when day and night will be equal at last. Just six weeks ago, our days were less than eight and a half hours long. Now they are over nine and a half. In six and a half more weeks, there will be an even split in day and night. This is the period when the lengthing of the day accelerates – we gained an hour and ten minutes in length in the past six and a half weeks and we will gain two and a half hours in the next six and a half weeks. In a very real way, it celebrates being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Fishermen begin preparing their gear to go out, farmers make sure their plows and other tools were in good working order and that there is seed to plant. It is a time of preparation for one’s summer activities, whatever they may be. On the cautionary end, it is the time to check one’s food stores, to make sure they will last the rest of the season, for there is still little fresh food for some time.

For our ritual this morning, we are going to use Brigid as our focus and will be using several symbols of the goddess and her activities. So I’d like to have some children join me to get things started. We asked people to bring drums and we are going to start a parade around the room to the accompanying drumbeats and do the ritual sweeping. This is a pine broom. We need to sweep out the cobwebs of winter, the dust that has collected in the corners of both our sanctuary and of our minds. So if you would drum, and kids if you have a drum you can carry bring it and keep the beat as we march around the room sweeping away the old and musty. This is a ritual of banishing, so we will walk counter-clockwise.

RITUAL SWEEPING.
I’m feeling better already. Now in the old days, Brigid’s day was treated a lot like Halloween. Kids would go from house to house to bless the hearth. People in the homes would give them treats as they went. We don’t really have treats this morning, but we are going to go around to bless everyone. First, though, we need one of Brigid’s other symbols called Bride’s Cross. I made up a couple of these the past few days. Let me tell you that making them out of raffia, as Quinne and I did these, is kind of difficult. But we hung one on our front door at home and I want all the kids to be able to make one here with us. To make it easier, we are going to use pipe cleaners. All sorts of bright colors and a little bundle for each of you. Maybe some adults would like to participate in this as well.

What does Bride’s Cross look like? First off, this doesn’t have anything to do with weddings. Bride is a nickname for Brigid. Sometimes it is shortened even further to Bree. I’m going to use four of you to demonstrate. We are going to use your right hands. So put your left hand at your side and hold out your right hand. And we cross them all so each of you grasps the forearm of your neighbor in a circle.

That is what we are going to do with our little pipecleaners. Put one straight up and down and bend one in half across the middle pointing to the right. Turn it one quarter turn to the left and add another. Keep adding the pipecleaners until you have all twelve in the cross, then fold the first one back over the top and slip it through the last one to lock it in place. Now you can twist the ends together and you have a Bride’s Cross of your own. This time we will walk around the circle clockwise because this is an invoking ritual. While we drum, I’ll stop at each of the corners and ask a blessing. Everyone face the congregation with your cross and wish health and wellness for each person you see. Drums please.

RITUAL INVOCATION
Amidst the darkness the Lady is stirring,
Gently awakening from frozen dreams,
All the world has awaited this moment: The return of the Maiden,
And her promise of oncoming Spring.

Powers of Earth, the Maiden awakens!
Come join the circle and share in the light.

Powers of Air, the Maiden awakens!
Come join the circle and share in thelight.

Powers of Fire, the Maiden awakens!
Come join the circle and share in the light.

Powers of Water,the Maiden awakens!
Come join the circle and share in the light.

Be with us now, oh Ancients, eternal,
Hear now our prayers, hopes and dreams.
The Goddess has wakened, once more as the Maiden
By loving caresses from the strengthened Sun King.

Now we come to the part of our ritual that we have all been waiting for. It is time for the sharing our joys and sorrows, and this time, I suggest, of our hopes as well.

Brigid is the goddess of creativity, the inspirer, the three-fold muse. You’ve been waiting all winter to open up your creativity. You’ve been thinking about going to the new coffee house and trying out the open mike. You’ve been wanting to write a new book, short story, poem. You’ve been wanting to paint, draw, sculpt. You’ve been wanting to sing. Open up. This is the season of inspiration and creativity. What are the hopes that you pursue?

Sharing of Hopes
CLOSING
*Hymn # 115: God of Grace and God of Glory
*Opening the Circle
Closing words:
Blessed be the earth, and all who dwell upon it.
We give thanks for the season now departing from us
For the blessings it has bestowed upon us.
And upon those with whom we share this world.
Blessed be the new season.
We pray that it will be a time filled with peace,
With abundance, with prosperity,
With wisdom,
With love.
Blessed be all who have shared this ritual.
Let us now prepare for the season ahead
By opening our hearts, and our minds, and our spirits.
Blessed be.