Spring Equinox 2017

The wheel turns, and we enter the season of rebirth and renewal! Join us as we celebrate the Spring Equinox, the warming of the seasons, and the blossoming of the Earth.

The focus of our Ritual will be our own Mother Platte, the lifeblood of the high plains, carrying nourishing water from the roots of the mountains out to the fields of the heartland. We will stand on her shores to give her praise and thanks.

As with all our rituals, all kind folk are welcome to attend. There will be a time for the folk to make offerings to their own patrons, ancestors, favored kin, or any other such beings. Please bring offerings that are burnable/biodegradable!

Following the rite there will be a time for feasting and fellowship .We encourage those who gather to bring food to share that suits your dietary needs.

Once again we will be at our summer location in Overland Pond Park. Gather at 1 pm, ritual begins at 2 pm.

Imbolc 2017

Although our high day rituals are usually held on Sundays, we have had to reschedule our Imbolc ritual to Saturday January 28th due to scheduling conflicts at our site, the Kirk of Bonnie Brae. I will be posting more information about the ritual soon, but wanted to get this information out now.

Midwinter 2016

Chokecherry Grove invites you to join us for Winter Solstice on Friday December 23rd!

As the wheel turns it is good and proper that we invite and honor the gods, who stride upon the shores of Asgard, to our sacred fire in celebration. The deities of the occasion will be Njord and Skadi. In addition, we will do our very best to see that the sun, who now lives the long time away from us, will again resume its inexorable march toward the longer days.

There will be time, during the rite, for those who wish to make offerings to their patrons, deities, ancestors or anyone to whom it is proper to give such gifts.

Following the rite there will be a time for feasting and fellowship .We encourage those who gather to bring food to share.

We will meet this time at Jefferson Unitarian Church: 14350 W 32nd Ave, Golden, Colorado 80401. Gather at 7 pm; ritual starts at 7:30. Our celebrant will be Kevin "Arth yn Rhedeg" Jenkyns.

UPDATE: All cash donations we receive at this event will be given to the Dumb Friends League shelter in Castle Rock where one of our members volunteers.

Samhain 2016

We will be celebrating Samhain this year on Sunday October 30th. As the winter season begins, we leave our familiar site beside our Mother Platte and move to a series of more sheltered locations. For Samhain, that will be 2929 S Elm Street, Denver, CO. For this ritual we will gather at 5 pm, and the ritual will begin at sunset. The theme this time will be Welsh, with some dual-language sections, and the celebrant will be Rev. G. R. Grove. We will be collecting toys again this year for Toys for Tots, and ask that everyone bring at least one new toy. There will also be the usual potluck and fellowship after the ritual.

Saturday's schedule

8 am - site opens
9 am - Colorado Deputy Regional Druid Rev. G. R. Grove - Early Druids of Celtic Europe - What do we know, what do we guess?
10 am - ADF Archdruid Rev. Jean "Drum" Pagano - Fire in Avestan Religious Thought and Practice
11 am - Central Region Regional Druid Rev. Amber Doty - ADF Organization
12 noon - Lunch
1 pm - ADF Seers Guild Chief Rev. Rowen Grove - Þorbjörg’s Charm Bag: The Tools of a Spákona
2 pm - Kevin Jenkyns - Connecting with the Land Spirits
3 pm - Q/A Panel (Rev. Pagano, Rev. Doty, Kevin Jenkyns, Anthony Fleming)
4 pm - ADF Bard Laureate Rev. Melissa Ashton - Music in Ritual
5 pm - Unity Ritual
6 pm - Potluck Supper

Update

Unfortunately one of our invited speakers, Rev. Kirk Thomas, will not be able to attend our Rocky Mountain retreat this year due to the death of a cousin. However, the retreat will otherwise take place as planned, with his spot on the schedule being taken by our own Rev. Kevin Jenkyns (not an ADF priest, but ordained in a different tradition). Kevin will be speaking on connecting with the Land Spirits, building on the presentation he gave last year. Chokecherry extends our sympathy to Kirk for his loss, and we hope that he will be able to visit us next year.

Rocky Mountain Retreat starts soon!

Where does the time go? Chokecherry's Second Annual Rocky Mountain Retreat will begin two weeks from tomorrow with an evening gathering for preregistered participants, and will carry on through the weekend, concluding with an open-to-the-public morning ritual at Ruby Hill Park. All locations will be in south Denver, not far off the I-25 corridor. For more details and a preregistration link, see this page. And remember, there will be nothing like this in 1,000 miles!