Remembering Rev. Rob Henderson
It is with great sadness that we share the news of Rev. Rob Henderson’s passing on July 25, 2024. He was an ADF Priest who cared for his Folk with creativity and care, and served in various leadership positions across his nearly 30 years in ADF. Those who knew him, or were touched by his work, will miss him deeply.
A memorial service to honor his memory and celebrate his life will be held virtually via Zoom so that all who wish to may attend regardless of distance. The service will be on August 1st at 9pm EDT (8pm CDT, 7pm MDT, 6pm PDT, Aug 2 at 3am CEST, Aug 2 at 11am AEST).
The service will follow a Shining Lakes Grove, ADF style ritual format, and attendees are welcome to have a beverage to share the blessing.
Two of our priests wrote lovely eulogies remembering Rev. Rob Henderson. You can read them below:
“In Memoriam: Rev. Rob Henderson“
by Rev. Jean Drum Pagano, ADF Senior Priest & Archdruid
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 3rd 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"
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.
“My Friend, Rev. Rob Henderson”
by Rev. Michael J Dangler, ADF Senior Priest
I speak of my friend of many long years, Rev. Rob Henderson, and of the impact he had.
His guidance as Chair of the ADF Grove Organizing Committee was invaluable; when Three Cranes Grove, ADF, was founded as a Protogrove, he responded to my (many) questions with patience and grace; he was the first and only mentor 3CG ever had or needed, and his work in that arena, though I suspect it was small to him, remains bright in my memory.
His skill in programming and crafting tech in order to provide vision and knowledge to others was unique and fascinating to me. His support of the #FlameOfHope project, crafting an app to help others keep a light in their life during tough times for us all, remains bright in my memory.
Our collaborations on so many iterations of the Grove Organizers’ Handbook have touched so many generations of Groves: some still thriving, some long gone, and some replanted. His advice and work through those processes remain bright in my memory.
One of my finest memories of him was sitting down to record an episode of Druids In Cars, Going To Festivals, and we had picked the topic specifically for him: “Space Druidry!” You can listen to it yourself, if you wish, and may his voice remain bright in your memory as it does in mine.
His connection to and patience with my children left an impression, and he was one of the first people my diabetic son was able to place in a constellation if successful adults with the disease early in his diagnosis. His connection to them remains bright in my memory, and it will in theirs as well.
I have shared so many projects and joyful moments with Rev. Henderson. But of all of them, it was the friendship I had with him that is at the front of my mind: the times I stopped by for a momentary visit and a hug, the chance I had to visit the metaphysical stores in Ann Arbor with Art Shipkowski and him, and all the times I traveled with him to and from festivals and retreats. His laugh and wit, his joy in life and in his friends, and his experience and guidance: these are the brightest things in my memory, and I pray I am able to do that brightness justice and honor for all of my days.
Travel well, Rev. Henderson; know that the fare is paid for you and the path is clear: let all you encounter on this new path of your nature. You are a Child of Earth and of Starry Heaven, and those who know the paths of the Otherworld will recognize this within you.And I know that when I pass those roads myself, you will return the joyful work of our friendship: you will go out of your way to meet me at those misty shores, and I will bear that bright memory to warm you once more.
