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Moon Services
at Four Quarters

    We are an InterFaith Sanctuary of EarthReligion, and as such we work hard to create a spiritual and ceremonial framework that is welcoming and open to all. We incorporate traditions from around the world and over time we have developed our own traditions too. Moon Services at Four Quarters continue to grow, change and gather their own maturity of practice.

    Our Moon Services are held on the Saturday evening most closely falling upon the Lunar Full or New Moon, usually a little bit before dusk. In fair weather we celebrate the Moons with the beauty of the Stone Circle, and in foul weather we often use the Church Meeting Hall. Many choose to stay overnight, and sharing Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast together is a part of our ongoing tradition. In cold or wet weather we can always find heated floor space for sleep-overs.
    Moon Services are often celebrated within a Wiccan Ceremonial Framework, as this is the predominant tradition of our Membership. Wicca has developed into a Lingua Franca of modern EarthReligous practice and provides spiritual symbolism that is readily accessible to almost anyone, without requiring any previous explanation or training. We Cast Circle in a Sacred Way, Honor the Cardinal Quarters of the Circle, Invoke the Goddess, God and the Ancestors. We honor the children, their parents, the Maids and Gallants, and our community’s Aunts, Uncles and Elders who stand in their support. Finding recognition for all of the stations in the Wheel of Life and all of our places upon it. We also invite members of the world’s other Earth Religious traditions to bring their traditional ceremonials to our Moon Services. Thus we have seen the traditions of Wicca, ADF Druidism, Tibetan Buddhism, Eclectic NeoPaganism, Southern Italian Folk Magic, Santeria, Vodoun and Native America represented at Four Quarters.

    Our ceremonials are written and led each month by The Couple in Service to the Circle, drawn from our Membership and invited guests. This couple reflects the gender balance that we find is necessary to EarthReligous practice, although that balance is not necessarily reflected by physical gender. In taking on the responsibility for leading Circle, the Couple in Service are able to grow in their own understanding of ceremony; and by inviting others to assist them, they make a place for those with less experience to grow as well. More than any other reason, it is this practice of open leadership in Circle that has unified our diversity of traditions for eight unbroken years of monthly New and Full Moon Services.
    The Membership and Board of Directors of Four Quarters has not ordained any clergy, nor do we recognize any permanent High Priestess or Priest. In so doing we keep the traditions developed by the Plain People (Amish and others) of Pennsylvania; our legally binding marriages are celebrated and witnessed by the congregation assembled, the marriage certificates are sealed by the President of the Church Corporation. Moon Services often feature the song of “The Stone Singers,” our Church choir. Together with the rich decorations of the Altars and the Stone Circle, they help weave together a vibrant experience in Earth Religion.

    Our Moon Services have become the core experience that binds together the People and Land of Four Quarters, providing the seasonal continuity that lies at the root of our Spiritual sensibilities. We hope that you will join us in Circle as we worship in the old way, and find out for yourself what makes shared ceremony so important in developing the real living traditions of EarthReligion.

We understand that a first visit for a Moon Service can be intimidating; what to expect, who to meet, how it all works. But please, do call ahead with your questions, bring your children and join us for a Moon Service with the Circle of Standing Stones.