Leader Bio: Sharon Smith - ADF Neopagan Druidism

Home : About Us : Leader Bios : Sharon Smith

Who am I?

I am Sharon Smith, formerly Sharon Smith Hurlburt, Grove Organizer & soon-to-be-official Senior Druid of Whispering Lake Protogrove in Erie, PA. I'm currently a full-time art student at Edinboro University studying Graphic Design & Jewelery/Metal Smithing. I make books, paint, play with leather & I sell glass bead jewelry. I'm active in the Society for Creative Anachronism & I've been learning to belly dance in an effort to become more fit. I've been Pagan for close to 12 years now. I got into Wicca first, when I was in college the 1st time (when I got my Bachelor's in Psychology) & was very much into the Celts, particularly the Irish & Scottish. I was into *all* aspects of the Celts & discovered that the more I found out about actual Celtic history, the less it jived with what a lot of the Celtic Wicca books said. I started getting a bit disillusioned & found my way to Celtic Reconstructionism. I liked their scholarship but was put off by the fact that they seemed more concerned with history than in actually creating a workable spiritual path for today's world. And then I met Ian Corrigan & found ADF.

Why did I join ADF?

Because it was exactly what I was looking for- solid scholarship coupled with a very workable approach to modern Druidic practice. And I really liked their emphasis on open & public Pagan worship. I also liked that the guilds provide ways for folks to be involved in ways other than as clergy. Not everyone's cut out to be a religious leader. And for me, my artistic expression relates very deeply to my faith.

What do I do in ADF?

I'm currently the Grove Organizer/Senior Druid of Whispering Lake Protogrove in Erie, PA. I hung out at StoneCreed Grove rites a lot but since I was the only person I knew of in Erie that wanted to be a Druid rather than a Wiccan, I didn't see much point in starting a grove of my own. Then I met Josh Dunn, an Archeology student at one of the local colleges & member of the British Druidic Order. He agreed to help me run my Coven's Beltaine Rite, which I'd been doing as an ADF-style Rite for a couple years (much to the confusion of the other folks in Brighid's Haven). I walked into his apartment one day to find him on the phone. He finished his conversation & said, "That was somebody from ADF. I was thinking that since I'm going to be here for the next three years, maybe I ought to look into getting a grove started here." And I said, "Funny you should mention that. I've been wanting to myself." We soon came to realize that while Josh's knowledge of lore is truly amazing, organization is not one of his strengths, so I ended up being the Senior Druid & he gets be our Senior Liturgist. It works well. We've got about 9 members or so now & we've even started to discover that other than that, I'm a member of the Artisan's Guild & I hang out on the Scholar's & Bard's lists, although I don't have the time to dedicate to those things that I would like right now.

What's my vision for ADF?

I love the idea of having an actual Druid University- so much so that I've already volunteered to be an art professor there (hey- metalsmithing was an important art to the Celts, therefore it only makes sense that we should make sure that a Druid school would have a fantastic metals program).

Home : About Us : Leader Bios : Sharon Smith