This is a re-post of the most recent email Kassie sent out so that if you aren’t on the email list you can see it.  If you would like to receive weekly emails please send us an email stating you would like to be added.

We’d like to remind you that we still have a lot of things not claimed on the potluck list and members/supports are catering the side dishes this year. Food can be heated up in the UU Kitchen but NOT cooked. If you have questions or need a kitchen, please email back ASAP.  Here are the recipes:

samhainrecipes

• Please go to the link and sign up. There are two of each recipe because that is the MINIMUM needed.
• Remember we are cooking for at least 50 people, if not more. All recipes have serving sizes with them. Please adjust accordingly so 1 dish provides servings for at least 25 people.
• Please stick to the recipes provided and bring dishes in labeled crock pots, casserole dishes or bowls so they get back to you. Kitchen helpers will wash them so they go back home clean before the night is over. (bring Tupperware to take home leftover food if you wish-also labeled)
• Bring a serving utensil since the UU church doesn’t have very many.

Please check the sign up sheet before preparing and communicate what dish you want to bring there.
Additional questions are welcome here. Most dishes can be made in advance (except guacamole gets weird after a day…so don’t do that one)

Why are we so intent on people making food, instead of buying it pre-made? Well, preparing food is sort of a magical act in itself. Sharing food with others that you have personally spent time on is a wonderful way to build community, share in a success, honor the ancestors on Samhain, and it tastes better! Preparing for a ritual is an important part of it’s success, to put yourself in the mind frame of connection and gratitude will help bring a more powerful ceremony that night.

We also still need:

• 1 volunteer to receive Ancestral Items from participants and take them to Altar outside and arrange them on the table as people arrive. This person will also be in charge of altar take down and making sure all the items are retrieved.
• Someone to take photographs/ video that won’t be participating in the Ritual. (perfect for those that purely want to observe)

Kitchen personnel (so far only Tracy has volunteered)

• 2 people receiving potluck items, transferring them into serving dishes, arranging items efficiently and heating items in the oven on time if needed.
• 2 people to volunteer to wash or put extra items in Tupperware and get dishes and serving utensils back to owners

That’s all for now. We might squeeze in a Pagan Movie night if you all tell me your are interested Thursday night. But other than that. See you at Samhain.

(Be sure to buy your tickets or pay your dues at Citrus and Sage, Cafe Ibis, Early awakenings or ONLINE!)

Remember doors open at 7pm. Ritual starts Promptly at 8 pm. We will shut and lock the doors when we start the ritual and not allow anyone in after 8 pm sharp. So please be on time.

As Samhain quickly approaches I encourage all of you to look deeper into the lines of blood. Samhain is about calling them to US within the sacred circle we will create on October 30th. Even if we don’t get along with family now, or find bad qualities in them there is a depth and revelation in looking further at those that struggled so we could live our lives now.

Within the mirror of bone are clues to why we act the way we do, why we approach problems in a certain way, why certain things make us angry or happy. Yes we are our own people. Nothing can take that away but take this chance to look across the gap and see our grandparents, our ancestors, sweet friends and loved ones that have crossed the great divide.

I encourage you, each night before Samhain to light a candle, sit down in front of it and consider your ancestors and those you love that have passed. Pick out certain ones and call their names in your mind or out loud. Have a conversation with them, explain the Samhain ceremony to them and what it would mean to feel their presence, receive their council and feel their love that night. They will come. Don’t worry about if you are “doing it right” A sincere attempt will get you a sincere answer. Know you are safe, no harm can come to you. If you feel ill-at-ease contact any officer of the USUPA and we are glad to help you.

If a bad history haunts your lines of blood and you don’t feel comfortable calling on them, first pray for their healing so that one day it might be possible to have them within the circle with you. Then you are free to choose a deceased person you look up to or had greatly influenced your life, like Marie Curie or  Florence Nightingale. Our troubles are not solved by death.Know also that the circle the night of Samhain is carefully constructed, no spirit that means you harm can enter through it.

Researching personal genealogy during this time is highly encouraged, even if it is just back a couple generations, find our what your grandparents or great grandparents did to earn a living, what their hobbies were, where they were born. If you have a family history read it. If you don’t look up documentaries about your ancestral countries or the people that crossed the plains or settled the land in which you are from.  It is also suggested you find photographs of as many deceased  family as you can and bring them that night in a silver-style frame. These will help bring them closer,

The only thing we’d like people to be careful of is calling individuals like Isaac Bonnewits, Alaster Crowley or Gerald Gardner. These are powerful people who had intense occult training. The Ritual of calling to the blessed dead is VERY powerful. If you feel really drawn to call on these occult leaders please talk with Kassie first.

Kassie's Ancestors

 It’s OCTOBER! And my head is already spinning!The USUPA has a TON of activities this month so keep up! The USUPA will have Samhain Tickets available for sale at the NCOday Carnival (10/11), Cupcake fundraiser (10/12) and all our events until Oct. 30th.

All this information is of course on our Event Calender but sometimes information sinks in if presented in slightly different ways   -Kassie

Tuesday, October 11th from 10 am to 3 pm. We are hosting a booth for National coming out day carnival. We will be playing the Toss a Toad game again this year but this time if you get it in the far cauldron you win a goldfish! We are also doing 3-card tarot spreads (Bring your own deck if you want to read) Sign up sheet coming soon so we can cover all the times!Please be punctual and polite. Please, no more than 2 members in or around the booth.

Tuesday, October 11th at 7 pm at Kassie’s we will be decorating the cupcakes for the fundraiser!  Bring your cupcakes that you baked at home (at least 1  batch from 1 of the recipes) We will have all the decorating supplies here and bag/box them up!

 Wednesday, October 12 from 10am – 3pm on the TSC patio we will be holding a Cupcake fundraiser.  Here is the sign up sheet for the booth and guidelines.  Let Kassie know on FB or by our club email what times you can fill. This list will be emailed out to everyone the night before so make sure we have your email ( if you haven’t filled our our membership survey then we don’t )

Wednesday, October 12 from 10 pm to 11 pm at the USU Amphitheater Kate will be leading this months Full Moon Ritual. It is the Blood moon and the full moon of the season of Samhain. Sure to be a powerful ceremony so come, bring your friends and be sure to be dressed for the weather. Cloaks and Children welcome .

**Edit**

Ask each member of the group to bring an item to place on the altar that represents ancestral connection and place it on the altar

• postcards of home countries or states
• family jewelery/crests