January - 2012: Creating a better World through our Collective Consciousness

January 16th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Scott in 2012: Creating a better World through our Collective Consciousness! Changes are coming in 2012. Some believe that the changes are already taking place. Join Scott as he helps us explore these changes and how we can better prepare ourselves for the changes that need to be made. We will create a Mayan divinatory calendar that is based on the 20 actions of creation which is done over the course of 20 days. Please bring something to write with and whatever you wish to write it on. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish it to be. Please bring a canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

February - Imbolc: Celebrating Brigid

February 20th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Sprye in an Imbolc Celebration! Brigid the Goddess of Fire will be celebrated in this Fire Festival as we light the hearth fires within and begin to emerge from the depths of winter. We will have a candle celebration in honor of Her and an awakening of the earth. Drums, rattles and music makers are encouraged for this celebration. Bring any candles you would like blessed, anything that represents the hearth to you, and the warmth of your bright spirit! Please bring a canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

March - Ostara

March 20th, 2010 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm- Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Hijo and Embers in an Ostara Celebration! Spring comes when the earth, coaxed by lengthening days and warmer temperatures, begins to awaken from her winter slumber. She stretches open to receive the rain that gives drink to flower buds and seedlings. She takes a deep breath, and on her exhale the leaves on trees unfurl like tiny flags heralding her revival as baby animals tumble forth, trumpeting the good news to all who will listen. Rebirth and repopulation fill the void of winter with flurry and fury as what appeared to be gone forever comes into being once again. Even though it happens this way every year, we stand in awe, our insides trembling sweetly like the legs of a new foal as we too are reborn.

This is when we fall in love, again, speak without thinking, say yes to things we would normally refuse. It becomes more difficult to say no when the whole world around us appears to be an astounding affirmation of the resilience, richness, and plain, perfect beauty of life. We may find ourselves feeling several years younger and 10 pounds lighter without changing a thing. We may feel the urge to cleanse our bodies with a new pattern of eating, clearing our kitchens of cold-weather comfort foods and filling them instead with lighter fare and fresh fruits and vegetables. We may clear our closets of old clothes or cut our hair to express a new facet of who we are, and who we might become.

Springtime inspires us to believe that, along with the earth, we too might change, release the past, and give birth to new ideas, new relationships, and new perspectives. In honor of spring, we could make a list of the many possibilities we envision for the future and bury it in the earth, surrendering the fertile seeds of our imaginations to the nurturing soil. In tune with the season, we can then watch in wonder as the last of the snow dissolves into the rich brown earth, and stark winter gives way to green possibility.

And with that...we will be doing just that...listing the possilbilities we envision as we awaken...and we'll bury it in the Earth outside the UU Church...and cover with some seeds of those visions of what we hope...will come to fruition. This is a time of balance as Ostara is the Vernal/Spring Equinox...where the days begin to become longer. there will be colored Ostara eggs already hidden on the land with runes infused in them...so it will be time for young and old alike...to let the child-within (as the year is in its childhood)...come out to play...and find that egg(s) and see what it has to say for you....as....the Wheel continues to turn...:-)

What to bring... 1-your shining Springy Self! 2-some seeds to add to our cauldron pot (as we will be putting seeds in the ground at our fruition spot as well as other places that need healing and energy) 3-whatever you would like to add 4-a can good for the donation basket and a potluck item to share.

April - Tool Magick

April 17th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join our Guardians of the Circle as we play with Tools!! Bring your athame, your divining rods, or any other magical tools with you as we learn more about and recharge our magical hardware items. Please bring a canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

May - Beltane

May 15th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Sprye and Mike in celebrating Beltane! The Rites of Spring are in full swing as we dance the Maypole round and honor the energy of new beginnings. We will cleanse our spirits in the Beltane fires and begin anew. Please bring a canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

June - Mid-Summer

June 19th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Suz in celebrating Mid-Summer! Midsummer! Time to rejoice, to dance wildly and with abandon, to chase fireflies, to touch the juice of faery elixirs to one's eyelids and join in their revels! This festival is a pause in the midst of the summer's activities. The planting has been done, the first fruits have been tasted, the great harvests lie ahead, so let us take some time to bliss in the long summer sunlight, and make magick in the enchanted star-spangled night. Join Suz in a breathless ecstatic celebration of this blessed time of year. Please bring a canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

July - The Mysterion: Creating Harmonious Synergy through Spontaneous Ritual

July 17th, 2010 - 5:00pm - 11:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Queen of Heaven Circle as we Bring you The Mysterion! The Elements surround us daily bring to s experiences to awaken the sense. Our intent for this ritual will be to raise the consciousness of the whole, empowering each individual to emerge, to engage, in greater service of ourselves, of the circle, of humanity and of our planet as a whole through an Elemental Fire Circle. This circle is a small candlelit flame to all of the other Sacred Fire Circles happening on this earth. In this circle we will become a living Mandala so to speak – in our actions and movements, songs and words, colors and silent prayers - engaging ourselves in each of the Elements of our Planet - Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. In mystical work a symbol allows us to come in contact with levels of being of consciousness that normally do not exist on this plane. Mystical symbols communicate truth in a way that verbal formulas and doctrines do not. Mystic symbolic images, words, sounds gestures, scents, objects, can be combined to form a large symbolic meaning - which is ritual. Ritual is composed of a set of complimentary symbols arranged and used in such a way so as to evoke meaning on many levels. In ritual we come together with our very diverse experiences and perceptions by means of symbolic tools, gestures, sounds, scents, etc to unite our diverse experiences in a way that is intensely personal and yet at the same time transcendent and transpersonal. A mystery is an occasion where we encounter the truth. This encounter is not just intellectual knowledge but gnosis.

Please click here for more information!

August - Lughnassad

August 20th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join The Hann Family in celebrating Lughnassad! Lugh, pronounced "Loo" was a Sun God. His name means "the shining one," and he was considered a "Good God" meaning he was good at everything. Worshipped as the God of Fire, he also presided over metallurgy, crafting, weaving, and served as protector of the weak. A primary deity of the Druids, Lugh sometimes took human form and worshipped alongside them. He is a wonderful God to call upon when one doesn't know how to proceed, because he can do or assist with anything. Please bring some herbs of your choice and/or some corn, rice, oats or other grains to toss into our magickal fire to honor Lugh. Share in some magickal bread to commemorate the Harvest! We will also be assembling a prosperity bottle so please bring a small bottle with a cork, a fish hook, some clover, cinnamon and a few coins. Please bring a non-perishable boxed or canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

September - Follies Jollie Jubilation!

September 18th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Follie for a Celebration of Your Birth! Join me as we all celebrate those important "birth dates" in our lives. Cake and Ice cream, hats and noisemakers and bring a gift for the white elephant gift exchange! Come on out and have a jolly time! Please bring a non-perishable boxed or canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

October - Samhain

October 16th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Hawk for our Samhain Celebration Samhain is the beginning of the New Year as the Wheel turns. We honor our ancestors as we move through our life here on earth. We listen for guidance from them in how we can move along our path. Please bring a non-perishable boxed or canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

November - TBD

Noveber 20th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Queen of Heaven Circle for a Ritual Celebration! Check back in to see what we have planned for November Please bring a non-perishable boxed or canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

December - TBD

Noveber 18th, 2010 - 5:00pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown - Please join Queen of Heaven Circle for a Ritual Celebration! Check back in to see what we have planned for December Please bring a non-perishable boxed or canned food item to donate to our local food bank and a potluck item to share.

Belly Dance Beautiful

hosted by Queen of Heaven Circle.
Every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Hagerstown
7:00 - 8:00pm

Our next class is May 17th.

Fee: $15
Release your inner Goddess with Kennedy!

What to Wear: Belly Dance is traditionally performed barefoot, so shoes are not necessary. Wear loose fitting clothing, yoga pants (or the like) or skirts that allow you to have full range of movement and make you feel beautiful. We will be moving around a lot!

What to Expect: A friendly and empowering class embarking on a journey into self-discovery and realizing the Goddess Within.

About our teacher: Kennedy first discovered the art of belly dance in 2004 while she was living in York. She began taking lessons in intuitive belly dance shortly there after. After two years, when life and work brought her back to Chambersburg, Kennedy found an instructor locally and took a few lessons in more formalized styles. Now in 2010, Kennedy is celebrating 6 years of intuitive belly dancing and sharing the art form with others. Building confidence and self worth through the art of the dance is Kennedy's goal in every class she teaches, because every woman is a goddess in her own skin and every woman is beautiful. For more information please email us to let us know you are interested!

Food Drive - Strike Out Hunger One Pound at a Time

July 2009 - June 2010
WE MADE OUR GOAL OF 1000lbs and are upping the amount to 2000lbs!!
A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body. ~Benjamin Franklin
Queen of Heaven Circle and UUCH Faith in Action Committee are teaming up to do a Food Resources Drive to Strike out Hunger by the Pound! Our collective annual goal is to gather of 1/2 ton, 1000 pounds, for this year's drive and thanks to YOU we have surpassed our initial goal! Now we are upping the goal to 2000lbs and we need your continued help! At every QOHC celebration and Event we ask for a donation of a canned food item to add to local food bank. Here's where you can help! Food Resources considers a meal to consist of 4 four ounce servings, so one pound of food equals a meal. If you can add an extra canned or non-perishable boxed food item to what you bring to our Drum Circle's and our Rituals we will surely hit our goal by July 2010. You may also make a monetary dontion as this actually ups the amount per pound! Let's help out our neighbors and our community and create a space for all to be able to survive during these trying times.