In 1991 I was serving as First Officer of the Covenant of the Goddess, which meant I had to chair the national meeting, an exercise much like herding cats, though somehow an amazing amount of work gets done. By evening, I was ready to relax, and I found myself drinking mead with one of the dealers, whose stock included a lot of things with runes. By this time, Hrafnar kindred was prospering, but I was still uncertain about getting involved with any other heathen organizations. However two of the young men who were sharing the mead told me that they were in the Troth, and they were pretty impressive, so I decided to check it out.
The Troth had been founded by Edred Thorsson and Jim Chisholm in 1987, but at this time the organization was being run by Prudence Priest, who lived in San Francisco. I had known Prudence for years through the Bay Area pagan community, so when I heard that Trothmoot, the organization’s national meeting, was going to be held nearby, I decided that it was time for Hrafnar to meet the heathen community.
Thus began an involvement that has deepened over the years. I found the people who had come to Trothmoot to be an admirable group, with a commitment to sound scholarship, tolerance, and fellowship. They appreciated what I had done with the runes and oracular work, and in 1993, made me an Elder. In 1985, I was appointed to the High Rede (Board of Directors), and was elected to that position after the Troth’s reorganization in 1986. In 1987 I became editor of the Troth’s journal, Idunna, a post I still hold. From 1999 to 2002 I served as Steerswoman (President) of the Troth, and am currently Coordinator of the Clergy Training program.
The Troth is the most liberal of the major international Heathen organizations, and continues its commitment to serve as a resource for all heathenry. In addition to Idunna, the Troth has a small but impressive publishing program, including my own Working Within, Heathen Spirituality in a Prison Setting, and the forthcoming, Words for Warriors, a Devotional Manual for Heathens in the Military. I am also proud of my part in producing Our Troth, a two volume compendium of everything you ever wanted to know about heathenry.
Trothmoot, the organization’s annual meeting, is open to non-members (see Events, below), and I hope to see some of you there.