Open Days
OPEN DAYS AT THE NEWARK ODINIST TEMPLE ARE HELD ON MOST WEDNESDAYS FROM 1pm TO 5pm. IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING FROM SOME DISTANCE, IT IS BEST TO CHECK BEFOREHAND THAT THE OPEN DAY IS GOING AHEAD, SO FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL US AT [email protected]. AND OF COURSE TEMPLE MEMBERS MEET REGULARLY AT THE FESTIVALS TO CELEBRATE THE SACRIFICE. SEE YOU THERE!
GOOD YULE & MERRY FEAST TO ALL!
Open Days will resume on 8 January 2025. For times of the Yule ritual, please contact the priest-in-charge via e-mail, [email protected].
FANTASTIC YULE EVE MOOT
On Yule Eve we welcomed 41 worshippers including 10 children to our ritual. It was a bit crowded! But it was a very moving ceremony, and everybody had lots of fun. One of our members from Warwickshire, THK, took the Pledge of Faith, and pronounced the oaths with great sincerity, I thought. We sang lots of Odinist carols - not all in English! I think we have all learned the tunes by now. And afterwards the mead and mince pies were passed around. Some newcomers were introduced to new comrades-in-faith. Some members from out of town were greeted. But most came from the greater Newark area. There were two little illuminated Yule trees decorating the altar space, which I picked up in the market for a tenner, and made the venue look very festive. All in all, a very happy and joyful occasion!
EINHERIAR 2024 - Altar Decorated
This is a photo of our altar decorated with three helmets, an Anglo-Saxon helmet, a modern-day British Army helmet and a Norse helmet, to symbolise that we Odinists celebrate and commemorate ALL the warriors of our folk from every Age when we conduct our Remembrance ceremony at the festival of Einheriar. Twenty-five people attended our Temple including three children. And we sang a new song! The rite was conducted by our comrade-in-faith, Robert G, as we believe in the priesthood of all believers. The wreath was laid with great aplomb by Steve H. Thank you all who came!
OLDEST IN NEWARK
We send our commiserations to the the Anglicans of the parish church of St. Mary Magdelene who are now homeless during renovations. It is reported that the parish church will be closed for a whole year during £3 million repairs. So it now appears that the Newark Odinist Temple (built 1556) is the OLDEST functioning place of worship in Newark.
If you would like to visit our historic Temple, do feel free to make an appointment to visit, or come along on one of our open days. (Best to check beforehand if travelling from some distance.) And while you are there, why not enjoy one of our free, tours?
HARVEST & THE NINE LADIES - AND SOON EINHERIAR
fWe had a great Harvest Eve moot on Harvest Eve with about three dozen attendees at our Temple, and a real spirit of enthusiasm. It was wonderful to see so many people there and to see the children enjoying themselves. The following day some of us went on a trip to the Nine Ladies Stones in Derbyshire, a place I had visited many, many years ago in my youth. The stones had not changed, but I was astonished by the crowds of people there, which is not how I remembered it. Anyway, we carried out a ritual in the open air which went well. The next moot at the Newark Odinist Temple is for Einheriar, of course, - our Remembrance Day service. It is always a very poignant occasion. Do feel free to join us!
MIDSUMMER GATHERING 2024
BRIEF REPORT ON MIDSUMMER GATHERING We had a fantastic, uplifting, and fun Midsummer Gathering at the Newark Odinist Temple, with 37 persons present (including 5 children), though it was a bit hot and sticky! Perhaps the main aim of the Gathering is to encourage Odinists from around the country to meet and socialise and swap contact details, whether that is one person passing on a link for an Anglo-Saxon meadhall, or giving tips for home schooling, or just finding out that there is indeed another Odinist in your area, and putting a face to a name. Odinists came together from as far away as Cornwall, Scotland, and Dublin. Well done!
The rite of Midsummer was fantastic. Speaking as the person standing at the podium, I felt a blast of enthusiasm from the congregation. The responses were delivered with with such enthusiasm. And when the rune song was performed by one of our youngest members - only 8 years old - he got a rousing round of applause. But several people told me afterwards that the thing they most remember was the Odinist Anthem. I said, “Open the doors, I want the Methodists across the road to hear us.” People thought that was a brililant touch, apparently. Also two members took the Pledge of Faith. Congratulations! There was plenty of time during the Gathering for members to socialise, and we retired afterwards to a smart hostelry in town where some ate and others supped. I am glad I had the chance to chat to many of our members, including those I had not had the opportunity to talk to much before.
Of course, there is a more serious side to the proceedings. The principle subject of discussion was Succession. And I think that we came up with the beginning of a strategy to tackle this thorny issue. So thanks to all who contributed their time and their ideas!
TWINS NAMED
Last Sunday, we had the great pleasure of conducting the Naming of two identical twin boys aged 6 weeks. We have had numerous Namings at the Temple, but this is the very first time we have conducted the rite for twins, and I have to admit I have never in my life seen twin babies before. The service went very well and to the great satisfaction of the parents of the children, and we retired afterwards for a reception at a local hostelry. It was a most memorable occasion.
REDECORATION COMPLETED
After 10 years as the Newark Odinist Temple, it was time for a bit of redecoration. I am pleased to say that all has now been completed. The bell-tower is looking exceptionally white. And the walls looking refreshed. Open Days resume from Wednesday 22 May from 1pm to 5pm.
YULE EVE MOOT 2023
We had a fantastic Yule Eve moot with 35 present including 8 children. A lot of visitors, some from as far away as Cornwall were welcomed, and several first-time visitors. Didn’t the carol singing go well! I was amazed, as singing has not been our trump card before now, but I am forced to revise my view on that now. And that included one carol in German!!! We were delighted to welcome Jake as the latest of our Pledged members too. The social afterwards with mince pies and various flavoured meads was very enjoyable. One member even brought along runic mince pies. And did I spot some alcoholic tea doing the rounds? I hope your Yules all went as well as mine. Thank you!
Saxon and Viking Festival at Threekingham
Many members from the Temple were happy to support the excellent village festival at Threekingham, Lincolnshire on Sunday, 17 September. The festival put on by the village commemorates the (admittedly legendary) battle of Stow Green in 870 CE which took place in a nearby field over the course of two days, with the English (Saxons) winning on the first day, and the Danes (Vikings) winning finally on the second day. There were some excellent re-enactments, stalls manned by very learned artisans and craftsmen and women, and vendors of food and drink. In the parish church a series of excellent lectures were arranged in comfortable surroundings. It was a first-class local festival for the village and I was surprised that there was no entry charge. I hope we can make this a regular day out.
Pilgrimage to Thor's Cave
On 9 July 2022 about a dozen members of the Newark Odinist Temple went on an expedition to Thor’s Cave in the Staffordshire Peak District. The promonotory in which the Cave is situated is a stupendous natural feature, affording splendid and beautiful views across the Manifold river valley. And the Cave itself is a wonderful place to explore and to imagine the lives of late-Stone Age man who dwelt there for centuries. We took the opportunity of Reclaiming the Cave for the holy Odinist faith and pouring out a libation to Thor, before passing round the mead-horn. Some of us then ventured down the hundreds of steps into the river valley, though, surprisingly, the river bed had dried up, presumably because of the dry weather we have been having. It was a glorious day, and a fantastic outing that everyone, including the children, all enjoyed. Hail Thor the Thunder God!
A Happy Midsummer Gathering
A fantastic Midsummer Gathering of the Odinist Fellowship was held at the Newark Odinist Temple on 19th June 2022. Thirty people attended a rite that was conducted with great enthusiasm. The congregation broke out into spontaneous applause when two small children played their part, one taking a short reading, and the other acting as Gift-Giver and gathering the collection. Two members from Somerset, a married couple, took the Pledge of Faith, something they have been desperate to do for some time. So congratulations to them too! After the business session, at which we discussed recognition of Odinism in the Armed Forces and security measures for the Temple, we retired to a local hostelry for a feast and refreshments. The Gathering gave an opportunity for Odinists to renew friendships and make new acquaintances. There were a considerable number of new members present, which was excellent, and a very high quality of member too. Many have since commented on the amazing sense of comradeship and kinship that was the overriding mood of the day. And, frankly, I can’t wait till the next one! We hope you all passed a wonderful Midsummer this year!
Schoolchildren Say "Thank You"
Following the recent school visits by the 8 and 9-year-olds of Mount Primary School, I was delighted to receive a very generous donation from the School. Thank you so much. It is greatly appreciated.
But even more delightful, was the batch of thank-you postcards written by many of the children, which I really enjoyed reading. How well written they are! And how pleased I was to learn that the children all seemed to have a favourite God or Goddess. This is the best example of the outreach our Newark Odinist Temple is doing.
Here is just one example of the postcards received: “Dear Friend, Thank you for letting us go to the Odinist Temple and to see every God and Goddess. My favouite God was Tyr because he is probably the bravest. Hope to met you again. L.” Or this one: “Thank you for the visit at the Odinist Temple. I really enjoyed learning about Gods / Goddesses. My favourite is Freya, Goddess of Love. I loved it so much. Thank you from J.”
Well, all I can say is that I am well-chuffed!
School Visits
Hello Fellow Odinists,
Recently, we had four - yes four! - school visits from Mount Primary School, the closest primary school to us, and a C of E school. The visits were divided into half-classes of around 15 children plus about five teachers or teaching assistants, and took place over two days. The children are aged 8 or 9 years old, and they had been learning about the conversion of England to Christianity. With the help of Julie Saxon we provided some pictures of the Gods and Goddesses to colour in, and I also e-mailed photographs of the paintings in the Temple for them to learn a little in advance about some of the Gods.
As you can imagine, the children were thrilled and excited to learn about the stories surrounding the Gods, and had lots of interesting questions to ask. One hot topic of debate was, what was in Frigg’s casket? At the end of each visit the teacher asked the children to stand by the picture of their favourite God or Goddess, and that proved very revealing. I think we have planted some seeds in their little minds and - who knows? - in years to come some of them may well become Odinists. At least, I can be sure that they found nothing stuffy or boring about the presentation on Odinism.
A Thank-You Letter
It is always nice to receive positive feedback. I thought I would share this kind thank-you note from Pete of Yorkshire, who visited our Temple with a friend at a recent Wednesday afternoon Open Day. Here it is:-
“Dear Ralph, Thank you for allowing us to visit the Temple last week. It has a wonderful feel to it and I hope to return when time permits. Many thanks for your time and all the information. We had a fantastic day in Newark and aim to return to camp and walk. I will keep an eye on events and try to come again to coincide with a meeting / ceremony.”
“I do a bit of pyrography and crude woodcraft. Please accept this wooden [Thor’s] hammer as a token of thanks for making us feel most welcome. All the best to you. Hope to see you again soon. Pete.”
Many thanks for that, Pete, and thank you especially for the beautiful Miollnir!
The Newark Temple Now Registered as a Charity
In November 2015 we were able to announce that the Newark Odinist Temple had been registered by the General Register Office as a place of worship under The Places of Worship Registration Act 1855. Not only was this the first temple dedicated to the Old Religion of England to be so registered, but it also obliged the General Register Office, an official government agency, to add ‘Odinism’ to their list of recognised religions.
Now we have some more good news. On 10 October 2016 the Newark Odinist Temple Trust was registered as a religious charity by the Charity Commission of England & Wales, and of course this is the first heathen temple to be recognised as a charity. It is registered under charity number 1169576.
Both these steps forward not only help us operate more effectively in promoting Odinism, but they have also put Odinism on the map among the world’s religions. Not so long ago, it was common to hear people ask, ‘Odinism? Is that a real religion?’ Of course, we have always known that Odinism is the one true Old Religion of our people. The Anglican Church is a recent invention of the 16th Century; Catholicism was introduced among us only in the 7th Century; but for centuries and centuries before, going back into the mists of pre-history, our folk have worshipped the elder Gods of the Odinist faith.
Now, at last, the Law of this land gives credence to our religious status. And none can gainsay us!