In Memoriam: Rev. Robert Henderson.

The Rev. Robert Henderson passed away last night, 25 July 2024, after a brief illness. He was 55 years old. I considered Rob as a friend, a fellow priest, and a mentor. He was a good man.

Rob joined ADF in 1996 and was one of the few members with a three-digit membership number. He was a long-time member of Shining Lakes Grove in Ann Arbor. He led Shining Lakes Grove tirelessly for over two decades as Senior Druid. The Shining Lakes liturgy remained consistent for the many years that I attended. It harkened back to a style that pre-dated the Core Order of Ritual and contained many beautiful elements from an earlier time in ADF history. His rituals were a thing of beauty.

Rob was an ADF Priest. He was ordained by Fox, the 3^rd ADF Archdruid, on 2 February 2002, on Imbolc. While it was not called ordination at the time, Rob was an Ordained ADF Priest. And a damn good one.

Rob was the chair of the Grove Organizing Committee and ran it beautifully, keeping a close eye on standards, procedures, and deadlines. Rob was also the Chief of Oi Asproi Koukouvayies: White Owls Kin, the Kin of the Hellenic Hearth.

I first met Rob at a Shining Lakes ritual in the very early 2000s. It was held out at Botsford Reserve, a beautiful and magical tract of land that was at once close to Ann Arbor and again nestled in the woods to the point where one could forget where they were.

I was a solitary for almost 20 years (with a brief exception as a member of River of Night Protogrove in the Twin Cities) and Shining Lakes was my first encounter with organized ADF ritual. I had built my ADF ritual practices off old copies of A Druid’s Progress and when I first saw a Shining Lakes rite, I was truly blown away.

When I showed up for my first rite, I introduced myself to Rob and told him my brief history and he took the time to explain the Shining Lakes rite to me in detail. I came to consider the Shining Lakes rite as the “traditional” grove rite. The beauty of the procession through the woods to the nematon, the offerings to the Outsiders, the large groups of people that would gather for the rites, all of these made it feel like family to me.

When it came time to enter the Clergy Training Program, I often looked back on the things that Rob did in ritual and used that to mold my ritual style moving forward. I stayed with Shining Lakes for many years, taking a brief year-or-so hiatus to support another Grove, only to find myself back in Shining Lakes not long thereafter. It was good to be home.

I remember sadly when Mr. Botsford passed away, and our home-from-home at Botsford’s disappeared too quickly and that part of history was gone. Rob took the group to a horse farm near Ypsilanti and then eventually ended up at Fox’s property.

I remember when some of his more serious health problems first surfaced, and the subsequent surgeries and recoveries. I provided transport to several ConVocations and participated in rituals at Midwest Pagan Convention. Every time, Rob was there representing not only Shining Lakes Grove, but ADF as well.

Rob approached so many of his duties with dedication and dependability and perseverance. Just a week ago, his main concern was getting things done for Ann Arbor Pagan Pride. He was that kind of person.

When I saw Rob for the last time yesterday, he was resting peacefully, and I offered him prayers and I anointed him with water from Brighid’s Well at Kildare. One journey was ending, and another was beginning. Yesterday, I called him my friend. He was a good man.

I wrote this prayer for him yesterday, to call Danu, Bel, and Ana, River Goddess, to his side.

A Tribal Call

We call to Danu,

Tribal mother.

You are the land beneath our feet.

You are the earth that surrounds us.

Please welcome our brother,

When he comes to call.

We call to Bel,

Tribal father.

You look down upon the earth,

From your home in the sky.

You are the light that shines upon us all.

Please welcome our brother,

When he comes to call.

We call to Ana,

Goddess of the waters that flow.

Those that flow through this land, and

Those that flow through our lives.

Please welcome our brother,

And carry him onwards,

When he comes to call.