Endings, part 2

After nine years as Archdruid of ADF and after sixteen years on the Mother Grove, I left on 22 April for my last trip as Archdruid for ADF. It was my own personal “Endings.”

I traveled, like the typical Celtic journey, to several stops before reaching my destination. The destination? Morlaix, Brittany, France, to Ordain our first French/Breton Priest, Hervé Chauméton. His becoming a priest was the culmination of some amazing coursework, research, and creativity, the likes of which I have rarely seen.

I arrived in Dublin in the early morning hours of 23 April and got comfortable with my three-hour layover before heading to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. I love Dublin and I enjoy being there, even if it is only for a few hours.

Paris

Paris was a welcoming site, and I made it through Customs and Immigration with no issues. I caught a cab outside for le Gare de Montparnasse and made my train heading for Morlaix. I hopped onto the TGV, and in no time, I was in Morlaix.

Morlaix

Over the next few days, I was fortunate to spend time with Hervé and his mother. Their hospitality was an important reminder of how especially important this virtue is – it really is the most important one.

Their home, their cat, the entire experience was remarkably grounding and was a lesson. Hervé was kind enough to take me to many places and see many things in his world, and now my world is so much richer. We saw villages, the ocean, doorways with figures embedded above them, dolmens, churches, and a world unto itself.

We were fortunate to have another European Priest, Diane, join us from Sicily, and the interchange of thoughts, ideas, stories, and experiences, filled not only this trip, but this important part of my journey.

The Ordination

Several physical items had to be in place to make the Ordination a success. To begin with, the Archdruid’s sickle, la faucile, is used to take the new priest’s oath. Secondly, the stole was needed, the symbol of the mantle of the priesthood. I had arranged for it to arrive before and left, and I was successful in doing so.

A stole bag was also necessary, and I took the next one in the stack of stole bags, and it matched my vision of Hervé’s priesthood. Finally, I needed to provide the Clergy Oath to Hervé, and I translated it into French.

Typically, a member of the Folk, of the people, carries the priest’s stole around the circle to be blessed by all the members present, and Hervé’s mother agreed to be the person to hold the stole. For this ritual, we decided to have those assembled approach Hervé’s mother while she held the stole, and when all was said and done, the stole was blessed by the folks and the priests on site, and those who were sending their blessings remotely.

This was an especially significant ritual, as it was the Dark Moon ritual and the ordination ritual. This was the first ordination ritual performed on French/Breton soil. We recorded the rite to share it. The ritual was in French, in Breton, and in English.

The Ritual

The ritual represented the culmination of one person’s hard work in several different languages to accomplish an important goal: the priesthood. This was the first person to complete the Clergy Training Program in a foreign language and my first review of the program entirely in another language.

The quality of Hervé’s work was superior, complete with not only the required information, but other supplementary and related information. As a reviewer, I always say that both the reviewer and the student learn. I learned a LOT.

We performed the ritual near an old, abandoned church, and the day was windy, but welcoming. When we arrived at the point in the ritual where Hervé took his oath, the Sun emerged from the clouds and shone its golden blessing upon everyone. I took this as a very auspicious sign.

Epilogue

Later that evening, we returned to Hervé’s home for a meal and for conversations among the people gathered. It was the culmination of many days’ worth of preparation, journeying, and just being together as friends and family.

As Hervé dropped off Diane and me at our respective hotels, we said our fond farewells until next time. And I hope that time comes again soon. I will work to make it so. That evening, as I folded my stole and packed away my robe. I looked back on a fitting end to my career as Archdruid with this celebration of completion and ordination.

An Ending

On the morning of April 27^th, I boarded the train in Morlaix, bound for Paris and points further east to visit my family. With three days to go until my term as Archdruid expired, I found myself with a full suitcase, a full heart, and a full compliment of memories, enough to last me a lifetime.

The five days in Brittany / Breizh passed quickly, and they were moments full of promise and discovery, just like any good Celtic journey. And I was lost along the way and then found my way to where I needed to be.

Family

My family greeted me warmly upon my arrival. I spent the next two days with them, looking back, looking around, and looking to the future. On the evening of the 29^th, I arrived in Paris and spent my last night in France. This time, reflecting on not just this journey, but some of the other journeys that had come my way.

Reflection

The next day brought me ready to leave the continent and return to North America. As I landed and walked to my car, I took a deep breath, looked around, and considered a trip that spanned not only a few days, and was many years in the making, but two continents and an ocean.

I looked at the sky, as I so often do, and thought about the wonders in my life. I touched my fingers to my lips, touched the ground on which I stood, and said “thank you,” for this ending.