First of all, this is Lisa Morgenstern writing this. I am not the Gythia or the Chieftess (nor do I play one on TV!) but I felt inspired to make some comments which I am sure our Chieftess will edit or add to once she sees this. (So, apparently Nan liked it, no edits, but this one..)
We have had people ask to join our kindred; this can be problematic. For one thing, we are a very young kindred and a very small one. We do put on some events and host Lore nights and Seidhr and blots open to others. We are not at this time ready to admit new members to our kindred. That doesn't mean you can't come and play with us! We just are a small group oathed to the kindred at this time.
Now, that said, we can move on to some other information. We are starting a trance group which will work on trance work and Warding (Grounding, centering and learning to 'spot' that in others ) in preparation to learn Seidhr. We are open to some people joining the trance group, though that will also be a limited number of people. We are probably going to have to pre approve everyone who wants to join this group, and of necessity it will be small. Once we have a team together we can start another class later on. The Trance work will be done mostly one on one training.
Don't be offended if you ask to join and are told not yet or no. It does not mean the answer is never, it probably means we are just not ready for more people.
However our kindred is devoted to working and playing well with others no matter how much our Chieftess may rail about it, and we will have open blots and events for others of like mind who want to honor the Norse Gods, Odin, Frigga, Frey, Freya, etc. While we do honor some of the Jotuns who have joined the Aesir or are friends to the Aesir, we do not blot to enemies of the Aesir. We do give nods to Laufey's son (Loki) though that is not done in blot and is a private choice for some of our members who feel that giving him attention once in a while keeps him out of your hair.
Hrafn Skjoldr kindred does attend some SCA events and you might find us having a blot or sumbel around the campfire at times, and by all means you are welcome to join us!
We have been known to do some Prison Ministry and one of our members attends Interfaith Council meetings and has been known to quote Havamal when offering prayers amongst the other clergy members. In fact she recently held a mini-blot at an Interfaith event for National Day of Prayer.
We are definitely intersted in connecting with other Asatru and Heathens in our area. We are definitely NOT racist, so if you are and cannot keep that to yourself, you are not welcome amongst us. One of our members is also a member of the local Hate Crimes Task Force.
We do have a local yahoogroup for the High Desert area of Antelope Valley and beyond-so consider joining us there to discuss events and issues of interest to Heathens and Asatru.