The Temple celebrates the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year, as well as the Feast of Hecate in August. Our sabbats are held at the Upper Village Hall, 52 East Derry Road in Derry, NH and at the Allen Avenue UU Church in Portland, Maine.
Workshops
We typically offer an afternoon workshop in conjunction with our evening sabbat ritual, taught by a Temple minister or guest teacher. Workshops generally run from 2 to 5 PM on the day of the ritual, with a two-hour break between the end of the workshop and the start of the ritual for participants to get dinner and the like. We do ask that attendees clear the hall during the break to allow us time to clean and set-up the space for ritual in the evening.
You can find details on associated sabbat workshops on our calendar and they are sent out to our e-mail list as well when registration opens for the sabbat. We offer a combined reduced donation for those attending both the workshop and the ritual.
Registration
We offer online pre-registration for each sabbat (and its associated workshop) at least two weeks prior to the event (sometimes longer, if scheduling allows). Pre-registration is strongly encouraged, as it helps us to plan things like ritual supplies and participatory elements of our rituals based on estimated attendance.
Links to online registration are found on our calendar and are sent out to our e-mail list as well. Signing up for the e-mail list is the surest way of getting notifications of Temple events and registration openings. We also announce events and registrations via our social media like Facebook and Twitter.
You can choose to donate for the events when you register, or to send a check in the mail. We encourage pre-payment via PayPal when you register, since it simplifies the process and ensures we receive your donation in advance (as checks may become lost in the mail, not get sent out in time, etc.). We do not offer preregistration with a donate at the door option at this time, because we were getting too many no-shows from it, throwing off our pre-registration estimates.
Charitable Donations
Traditionally, the Temple also collects charitable donations for a particular cause at our sabbats, including non-perishable food items for the NH Food Bank, animal care items for local animal shelters, Toys for Tots (our traditional Yule collection), and donations for yarn for the Temple’s “Stitch ‘n’ Witch” Shawl Ministry. We’ll specify what donations we’re looking for on the sabbat’s event registration page and usually provide a reminder a few days beforehand. Your donations are greatly appreciated and help build goodwill for the Temple in many communities—we receive an annual thank-you card from the Food Bank for the amount that we collect and donate!
Potluck Feasting
After our evening ritual, we have an hour or so of social time accompanied by a potluck feast. Attendees are invited to bring contributions to the potluck, and we have a rotating list of suggested items (main and side dishes, beverages, etc.), which is emailed out to registrants. Kitchen staff from the Temple’s Mother Ministry handles the food set-up and provides the necessary serving and eating utensils. For questions about the potlucks, email [email protected].
Upper Village Hall Parking
Parking at the Upper Village Hall is in the gravel and dirt lot to the northeast side (behind the building from the street) or in the lot behind the library building across the street, which is open to us during weekend events. Please do not park in the lot of the convenience store next to the hall, as it is reserved for their customers. If you have questions about parking at the event, please speak with a Temple volunteer and we’ll get someone to assist you.