Sacred Groves: Creating and Sustaining Neopagan Covens

Book excerpt: Sacred Groves: Creating and Sustaining Neopagan Covens is an in-depth exploration of the role of groups within Neopagan religious practice. Specifically designed for clergy and clergy-in training, Sacred Groves seeks to provide critical guidance, exploring issues such as: historical and theological purpose of groups; stages of group development; member selection and retention; teaching and training; tradition development; working with families; multiculturalism; ethics and more. Sacred Groves is grounded in the latest theories from social, developmental, and group psychology to provide students and current clergy with a firm and practical foundation in understanding how these elements of group work operate within a religious context to ensure that group leaders care, not only for the spiritual lives of their members, but also their emotional and relational ones.