RDNA: Oakdale Grove

Reformed Druids of North America

Reformed Druid Groves & Protogroves

Contents

About Reformed Druid Fellowships

Difference between a Grove and a Protogrove

Find a Grove

Register a Grove or Protogrove

Standard Disclaimer

Defunct Groves or Recently Lost Contact

About Reformed Druid Fellowships

The Reformed Druid movement started out with one fellowship: Carleton College Grove. It still exists today as the Mother Grove of the whole movement. The Arch-Druid of Carleton Grove is the chairperson of the Council of Dalon Ap Landu, and is the figurehead of the entire organization. As members of the council expanded beyond Carleton Grove, they established new Groves across the world. They ordained others to the priesthood, many of whom established their own Groves. Other budding Druids (who were not yet ordained) became inspired and created Protogroves which are informal fellowships in the movement. Eventually some protogrove leaders will get ordained to the Reformed Druid priesthood, which in turn permits them to turn their Protogroves into formal Groves, and the cycle continues.

What's the difference between a Grove and a Protogrove?

Groves

A Grove with a capital G is synonymous with a congregation or a coven. It is simply what we call our formally established fellowships. There are a few benchmarks in the RDNA for a group to be recognized as having a formal Grove status. Generally those benchmarks are the following:

• At least three members
  • At least one needs to be a properly ordained Third Order Priest in the RDNA with an ordination lineage to the founder, David Fisher
  • At least one needs to be a Second Order Druid or above
  • At least one needs to be a First Order Druid or above
• Formal Groves should draft and vote on a Grove Constitution which outlines:
  • Fellowship name
  • Date and location of establishment
  • Which branch of the Reform they are representing (i.e. RDNA, NRDNA, SDNA, etc.)
  • How one becomes a member
  • The Grove's preferred variant of the Two Basic Tenets
  • Officer titles and election times (i.e. "annually at Samhain" or something)
  • What fraction of the membership constitutes a quorum
• Elections for Grove officers:
  • The Arch-Druid must be Third Order; their core duties are to lead services and preside over ordinations, dealing in matters of the spiritual.
  • The Preceptor must be Second Order or higher; they assist the Arch-Druid in rituals, deal in the secular functions of the Grove, are mentors to newer members, and spokespersons of the Grove and of the Reform to nonmembers.
  • The Server must be First Order or higher; they are charged with grooming the ritual site, setup and takedown of altar materials, tending the the fire, serve as "cup-bearer," and otherwise assist the Preceptor
  • The Arch-Druid is oftentimes taxed with all of the above responsibilities though anyway, so it had better be a labor of love!

Protogroves

A Protogrove typically has no Third Order Druid and/or fewer than three members. As a courtesy, if a small Grove loses a few members and only the ordained priest is left, the Grove might retain its formal Grove status. Priest’s preference. A protogrove can be comprised of Reformed Druids of the First or Second Orders, or can be entirely uninitiated individuals. Without the presence of a Third Order Druid, Protogrove members would only be able to hold uniquely different ceremonies, and dedication rites to enter the Order of the Acorn or the Order of Bradan Feasa. Once one member of a protogrove becomes a Third Order Druid of the Reform, the members may form a Grove Constitution and vote in an election to appoint a Server, Preceptor, and Arch-Druid. Once the elections are complete, the Third Order Druid can lead a formal ritual to begin ordaining their members to the applicable Order.

If you form a new Grove, it is important to make sure you notify the Reform of it and give us a copy of your Grove Constitution: it will be shared to the International Druid Archive at Carleton College. Alternatively, we can submit it to the Archive upon request. Though for whatever reason, the International Druid Archive is not currently asking for copies of Protogrove constitutions.

Find a Grove or Protogrove

This is our Grove Finder map (in beta) and table. In the table below the map you can click on a fellowship's name to view it's individual page and learn more about the group and view its constitution if it has one.

Table updated September 2024. Some links still UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

Apply to Register a Grove or Protogrove

No luck finding a fellowship in your area? There are others nearby who feel the same. Register right here to create a new one! Don't worry if you feel like you can't run a protogrove, because you can. Protogrove of one? If you build it, they will come! Remember there are kids at Carleton College double majoring while running our founding Grove between extracurricular activities. Are you a Third Order Druid in an area without a Grove? Please consider that vow of service you made during your ordination. Consider Customs Chapter Six. People have been asking if there is a Grove in your area. We also encourage you to pick a unique name for your fellowship that hasn't existed before. There have been two "New York" fellowships, technically "New York Grove" and "New York 2 Grove" so you could create "New York 3 Grove." Check out the list of past fellowships to avoid duplicating past names.

Standard Disclaimer

Please look up safety tips for meeting people via the internet. You alone are responsible for your personal safety in these matters.

Defunct Groves or Recently Lost Contact

Sometimes fellowships close down for various reasons such as changes in life circumstances, spiritual interest, leadership burnout, et cetera. Sometimes we simply lose contact, and fellowships don't respond to inquiries or their contact method is defunct. At this point in the 21st Century, there's a general expectation that seekers reaching out to a fellowship expect to hear back within two weeks. Twenty years ago, a month's delay was considered acceptable. Now when we conduct a census of the fellowships we expect them to reply with their current status within two weeks, as that is deemed reasonable and only takes a few seconds. If they don't respond to the census (the sole purpose of which is to help seekers find a nearby active group) then we would assume they won't be responding to seekers, either. The following is a list of fellowships regarded as operationally defunct as of the two most recent censuses.

Defunct Fellowship /\ \/	Type /\ \/	Branch /\ \/	Location /\ \/	Year Defunct /\ \/
Duir De Danu	Grove	RDNA	California: Silicon Valley	2020 (Lost Contact)
Shikoku	Grove	RDNA	Japan: Shikoku	2020 (Lost Contact)
Rose Rock	Grove	RDNA	Oklahoma: Moore	2020 (Lost Contact)
Sunset	Protogrove	RDNA	California: Vacaville	2020 (Lost Contact)
Awen	Grove	RDNA	Alberta: Somewhere in AB	2020 (Lost Contact)
Ghost Orchid	Protogrove	RDNA	Florida: Fort Myers	2020 (Lost Contact)
Wilding	Protogrove	RDNA	Mississippi: Somewhere in MS	2020 (Lost Contact)
Hazelnut Mother Grove (HMG)	Grove	NRDNA	California: Sacramento	2022 (Lost Contact)
Monument	Grove	RDNA	District of Columbia: DC	2022 (Lost Contact)
Grove of the Order of the Mists	Protogrove	RDNA	Wyoming: Rock Springs	2022 (Lost Contact)
Nine Oaks & Mystic Well	Protogrove	RDNA	Nevada: Las Vegas	2022 (Lost Contact)
Three Stones	Protogrove	NRDNA	Nevada: Las Vegas	2022 (Lost Contact)
Earth Spirit	Protogrove	RDNA	California: Ridgecrest	2022 (Lost Contact)
Golden Bough	Protogrove	RDNA	California: Joshua Tree	2022 (Lost Contact)
Whispering Winds Through the Willows	Protogrove	RDNA	Michigan: Battle Creek	2022 (Lost Contact)
Akron	Protogrove	MOCC	Ohio: Akron	2022 (Closed)
AZ	Protogrove	RDNA	Arizona: Black Canyon City	2022 (Lost Contact)

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