Womenspirit Newsletter Imbolc

Womenspirit Newsletter
Imbolc - The Stirring of the Seeds
According to legends wherever groundhogs live, the midpoint between Winter Solstice
and the Vernal Equinox -- February 2 -- is when these animals emerge from
underworld labyrinths to examine their shadow in the light of day. What a groundhog
sees at noonday determines whether it remains above ground or goes back inside, slows
down its body temperature to near the freezing point, and travels again into the
Dreamtime to retrieve more clarification about plans for the coming year.*
Earth-based practitioners also recognize February 2 as Imbolc (or Candlemas),
Nature’s holyday that celebrates and honors the stirring of the seeds that are still deep
underground. It is a celebration of the increasing light and warmth... and the groundhog gives us an
animal to use as a metaphor for our own hibernations, gestations, incubations, and spring manifestations.
So may we all honor and celebrate the seeds that are stirring within each of us, which will sprout and
grow in the spring!
* This introductory paragraph was written by Robinette Kennedy, who leads retreats and workshops. You can learn more
about her offerings at www.journeytocrete.com
“Many Faces, One Goddess”
May 17-21, 2006
She's all the same, we call her by different names. Unmask many faces of
the Goddess. Awaken her ancient wisdom; hear the many voices with which she
speaks. Discover how to birth her wisdom into your life and into our world.
The Spring 2006 Planning Committee would like to invite you to attend
an event that we have designed to aid you in self-discovery, healing and
socializing with like-minded women. Watch your mail in early March for our
flyer with registration information.
Institute (Wednesday-Friday, May 17-19): The Goddess has many faces, some familiar, some
hidden, some so old we have forgotten her name. We will explore the different names and the many
paths to the one Goddess. Gathering (Friday-Sunday, May 19-21): The Goddess is awakening. We are
tasked with awakening the world consciousness to her, but first we must awaken our own consciousness
to her.
Our event logo was created by Heather Cramer to honor the many faces of the Goddess. Deosil
(clockwise) are: Cerridwyn, Kali, Innana, White Buffalo Calf Woman, Isis, Pele, Kwan Yin, and
Artemis. The Great Mother is depicted in the center. We will be offering this sacred design on T-shirts
and Tote bags.
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Wendy Hammer, Event Coordinator
Byron Ballard, Institute Worship Coordinator
Kathleen Barnes, Gathering Worship Coordinator
The Planning Committee for this event is:
Carol Dover, Tracks & Workshops Coordinator
Quinn Hazelbaker, Sales & Activities
Margaret Schmidt, Scribe
Please Note These Important Changes for Spring Event!
There are a few changes happening with the Spring WS event. As announced at our Fall membership
meeting, our fees are increasing as of 2006. The Coordinating Council (CoCo) realized that we need to
increase our annual WS membership fee to $20 per year (from $15) and our event fee to $60 per
event (from $55). This is in an effort to avoid the kind of financial difficulty we found ourselves in last
year. In addition, the CoCo has approved budgets for the Spring and the Fall Events in order to
better anticipate event expenses.
Additionally, the CoCo has approved opening our bank account at a bank that has locations in Florida
and Tennessee (our Registrar lives in Florida while our Treasurer lives in Tennessee). Donna Gibson,
our Registrar, will be able to now deposit checks directly into the WS account within a couple of days of
receiving reservations and payments from members. (Previously, Donna would mail these checks to
Lea Close in Tennessee, who would then deposit them into an account at a bank there. This gave our
members an extra week or two before checks would be deposited.) So be aware that your checks will be
deposited within a few days of your mailing them to the Registrar.
In Loving Memory of Our Sister and Friend, Claudia Wright
Claudia Wright, a resident of Gulf Breeze, Florida, and a long-time
member of Womenspirit, passed away at 2:18 a.m. on Thursday, January 5,
2006, after a year-and-a-half-long battle with melanoma cancer. She was
surrounded by loving family when she passed. In lieu of flowers, the
Wrights request donations to the Melanoma Research Foundation at 1-800673-1290.
A celebration of the life of Claudia Wright was held on Sunday, January
8, 2006, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Pensacola (Florida). Per Claudia_s request, this was an “Italian Wake”
with lots of eating, drinking, laughing, and talking. Time was available for
sharing memories of Claudia during the service. Donna Gibson and RC
Edwards helped to coordinate the service and celebration for the family.
We will all miss Claudia, her quick and warm smile, her open and joyful
manner, and her true joi de vivre. If we pay attention very carefully, I bet we’ll feel her at our spring
Womenspirit event!
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Fall 06 Will Be Held In September
In our Fall newsletter, we reported that our fall event date would be moved into October. Please note
that this is not going to happen this year! This Fall’s event will be held from September 20 - 24, 2006.
Amy Sindermann has agreed to be the Event Coordinator (EC) of our fall event. Amy is gathering a
Planning Committee (PC); if you are interested in helping to create our fall event, contributing to
strengthening our community, and getting to know WS sisters as you all create something wonderful
together, contact Amy. Serving on a PC is a wonderful way to learn more about our sisters and our
community!
Our 20th Anniversary Is Approaching!
It’s hard to believe that WS is almost 20 years of age! Our first event was held in the Spring of 1987.
We are planning to have a celebration in Spring and Fall of 2007. Part of that celebration will include
inviting back some of your favorite tracks and workshops. So let us know what some of your favorite
offerings were (or who your favorite teachers/leaders/subject areas are) and we’ll try to including
them in our 20th Anniversary. You can send these suggestions to Kate Stockman at
<kstockman@mchsi.com>. Let us know how you want to celebrate together!
Anyone want to be a part of this planning? Just let Kate know.
Spreading the Word
by Kathleen McGowan
Where was your favorite retreat for 2005? Where did you find sisterhood, spirituality, and
renewal? What one group activity do you wish everyone who is important to you could share? I suspect
the answer to all those questions is Womenspirit.
As most of you know, UU Womenspirit faced a crisis in 2005 that could easily have led to our demise.
It was only through the generosity and concerted efforts of our Sisters that we continue. Now is the
time for each one of us to do our part as well.
Growth is important for each Sister’s spiritual path and for our group as a whole. The only way to
remain financially viable, and that means the ability to put forth programs and share the search for the
Feminine Divine, is for our membership to grow. Each Institute and Gathering requires cash in advance
to prepare and present. Payments must be made to the Mountain to guarantee reservations and services,
and our sisters who so generously volunteer their time and efforts to bring Worship and Programs
deserve at least partial reimbursement for their expenses.
If you find, like most of us, that funds are limited, you might ask what you can do. 2006 is the year
you need to go forth and tell others about Womenspirit, Institute, and Gathering. By spreading the word,
our organization will grow. Each of us knows an individual or a group that would benefit from
involvement with Womenspirit. If you belong to a UU congregation, a women_s group, or just have a
few friends who desire to grow spiritually and intellectually, now is your chance to spread the word. If
you are not exactly a public speaker, don’t fear! A script is available, both for writing to a congregation
or group and for doing a brief ten minute personalized presentation about Womenspirit. Check out the
Fall newsletter for wonderful ideas on events suitable for spreading the word. Brochures are available to
provide visual stimulus to your presentation, as is a powerpoint slide presentation.
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I would also love to hear ideas and suggestions about how to spread the word. Please contact me at
kate100@alltel.net, with Womenspirit as the subject line, and I will be in touch quickly to help you plan
a presentation or to gleefully accept suggestions on how we can spread the word. You needn_t take this
project on alone. I can help you connect with others, and offer support by phone and email. Let_s make
2006 the year we secure the future of Womenspirit.
Who ARE We?
(And what is that thing on the bumper sticker?)
by Kati Haney
At the fall 2005 Womenspirit retreat, I had the chance to talk with a group of women in the
Womenspirit 101 workshop about what we're all about. As the group asked questions about what
defines UUWS as an organization, I said that there are some things that can be clearly stated about
Womenspirit. We are a volunteer group with no paid positions, we do operate by consensus and
committee not majority rule and hierarchy, we do have some emotionally-charged traditions (like the
artichoke dip or the Cookie Jar) that will meet with uprisings if changed, lost or forgotten.
We are also fundamentally a women’s spirituality organization. That’s what we do. We support
spirituality as defined by women. This is a no-brainer, but it’s important to say because it means that
no matter how we do that defining, no matter how chaotic or unstructured or circular or nontraditional,
it’s valid. Women, whose ability to define and whose power to claim things for themselves is
threatened most other places in society, are doing the defining and the claiming here. Statistics and
anecdotes about womens’ spiritual practice, their writings about spiritual experiences, all those details
pile into the definition, to make an infinitely complicated, but infinitely more complete picture.
Beyond what’s in the bylaws, everything else about this organization is fluid. The Sacred Text is a
Word document that gets revised after every membership meeting and every Coordinating Council
meeting. If something goes over well at one event, others do it again. If it flops, it never gets
mentioned again. Womenspirit, in a way, defies definition. But if you want to talk symbols! Wow!
We’ve got ’em!
Womenspirit is a cauldron of transformation. The Sacred Text, the bylaws, all the paperwork and
forms and database info that we’ve developed over the years, all become the cast-iron container that
provides safety and structure. Within the cauldron bubbles and boils the ideas of women; women from
vastly different traditions and paths, who would like to see new types of rituals planned, new activities
added to events as old ideas fade away. Those ideas are heated with our collective energy; the
excitement of the next event’s flyer, the joy of finally bringing a friend, the fear of speaking in front of
a group. Each event creates something tangible, something that sustains the group. Some love the
taste, some don’t, and some like it (but think it needs more cinnamon).
Womenspirit is a labyrinth. We travel to the entrance from a thousand places, literally and
figuratively. We stop for a moment in reflective silence, and tentatively step inside. We walk fast or
slow, noticing the details of the path or conscious of the details of ourselves. We find ourselves at a
point of centering, not quite sure how we arrived there, surrounded by others we hadn’t noticed before.
We turn and follow the same path outward and our focus has shifted subtly; is this the same path we
just walked? We stop again for a moment, and then carefully reenter the world beyond the labyrinth in
a thousand different ways.
Womenspirit is a woman’s body; no, thousands of women’s bodies. Soft, round and squishy, hard
and unyielding, flat, hairy, curvy, smooth and puckered. It is a circle within a circle within a circle; it
is a spiral, and a helix. We are each of us a chalice. Womenspirit is food to some and breath to others.
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It represents flowering joy, icy challenge, cheerful communication, and solid community. It’s
poignant emotional work; each woman at an event is responsible for and entitled to safety, integrity
and confidentiality.
The symbols of Womenspirit appeal to me much more than the paperwork of it. I found my notes
from the fall event while researching the event contracts and my artist self says, “Let’s blow off this
stuff and talk about a new logo or something interesting!”
I pause and gaze at life through
MY SMALL WINDOW
By Debbie L. Owen
Somewhere in my thirties the desire for a garden began to germinate.
After being transplanted to Indiana from the red clay of my native Georgia, I couldn't wait to get my
fingers into this dark fertile ground. However, my knowledge of gardening was no where equal to my
enthusiasm. Settling into my new home here, mornings were spent studying the shifting patterns of
sun and shade looking for the perfect garden spot. Seed catalogs were reviewed in idyllic anticipation
of abundant harvests of luscious vegetables and fruits.
One day in an act of courage and commitment, I drove four stakes into the ground to mark the
boundaries of the garden. Existing grass was energetically relocated to other areas of the yard in need
of ground cover. With the rented tiller, the black dirt was turned in preparation as I inhaled in the
musky scent of freshly turned ground. Standing back at the end of the day, I was proud of my new
garden plot.
There was only one problem; what to do next. I mean, I realized seeds must be planted for plants to
grow but what to plant first, where to place the beans, tomatoes, herbs?? Luckily for me, a neighbor
along the nightly path where I walked the dog had a green thumb and an organized mind. Each night
examining what he did to his garden plot gave me the blueprint for the next morning’s task in mine.
Night after night, day after day he worked the soil, covered it with plastic and mulch, built mounds for
the squash and melons, nurtured his garden. I observed, made mental notes and copied his actions.
Over the weeks of summer our gardens developed and grew. Friends commented on how well I had
done with my first garden with more than a little disbelief. Walking into the back yard, seeing tomato
plants heavy with fruit, or harvesting fragrant herbs filled me with pride. Friends received gifts of
flavored oils, dried herbs, fresh tomatoes and beans. Only my dog, who strolled with me every night
past my unknown mentor knew the whole truth and she wasn't talking.
As I think back to that first summer it dawns on me how much the actions of a stranger changed my
life. Imitating the actions of another improved my level of competence allowing me to bring joy into
my life and the lives of my loved ones. It occurs to me how often others may be watching us, imitating
our actions, copying our lives. Makes you wonder what kind of lessons you have taught others. Don't
think I would be proud of all of them.
Today, sitting here looking at my beautiful garden, I resolve to plant the seeds in my life with the
same time, consideration and thoughtfulness as I use in my little garden. You never know who may be
watching!
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Our Web of Community and Connections
Website is up for the PopUp Books created by Heather Cramer: www.ldcoach.com
Many of you have listened to me enthuse over the last 4 years about the popup books I have had the
privilege of creating for Bill Allen & LD Coach. These 13 books are now into full print production, and
the website is on-line for you to read all about them and the MELT learning techniques! Begin on the
home page and follow each new link provided at the end of each page. These books were originally
designed for children with learning disabilities, but are equally valuable for all early learning readers.
The easiest way to find my bio is click on "Find Out More" then "About the Artist." Please enjoy and
pass it on! ~ Heather Cramer
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South has launched a creative exploration of
the Feminine Divine through visual art, music, movement, and storytelling. This effort will include an
exhibition of art about the Feminine Divine, to be held at various venues in Durham, NC, April 21-May
14, 2006. Entries of paintings, sculpture, photography, prints, multimedia or site-specific installations
will present a wide variety of forms and faces of the Feminine Divine. Information is available at
www.rcwms.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sisters, I have been working on my personal Womensprit scrapbook. I cannot find any pictures from the
“Gardening in Her Spirit” event, a few springs ago (with Heather's beautiful Temple of the Goddess
pieces used in the Treehouse). I was a workshop leader, so I guess I was so wrapped up in teaching
women I admire, and I either forgot to take pictures or I have lost a roll of film (pre-digital camera). I
am willing to pay for copies of photos, a disc of photos from that event or even email downloads of
photos. My scrapbook will feel empty without pictures of such a special event for me. If you can help
me out email me at: whammer911@comcast.net. Thanks, Wendy Hammer
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jean Shinoda Bolen's new book, Urgent Message from Mother: Gather the Women, Save the
World speaks strongly of what is needed NOW in our world. She tells us that it is time for the women’s
movement to move into its third, and most powerful, phase which is that of coming together “in circles
with a spiritual center” to work for peace and to save the planet. A feminine spiritual activism is the only
answer to the cult of masculinity that is endangering us all. This book is a true blessing which is
inspiring and hopefully galvanizing. I urge you to read it, to pass it on to others and to gather together in
the spirit of its message. The women of Womenspirit will surely be emboldened by Bolen’s call and
hopefully find ways to actively be involved. ~ Virginia Carver
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This belly cast, “Dawn” was created by
Heather Cramer for Reid Suchanec’s daughter,
Jennifer, when she was pregnant with her
daughter, Josephine Reid, who was born in the
early fall of 2005.
Cave Art Tells of Gender-Specific Rituals
Wed Jan 4, 10:45 AM ET
Cave art: men and women each did their own thing
PARIS (AFP) - Analysis of stencilled handprints found on the walls of an Indonesian cave suggest that
prehistoric men and women chose not to mix genders when it came to this enigmatic art form.
Experts from France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) looked at handprints left at the
Gua Masri II cave in Indonesia, using a new computer model to determine whether the hand which made
the mark was male or female.
They found that the male cave dwellers grouped their handprints in given locations and the females
put their own handprints in their own areas.
“This discovery supports evidence put forward by ethnologists showing that prehistoric man had
different rituals than women,” Jean-Michel Chazine of France's Centre for Research and Documentation
on Oceania (Credo) told AFP this week.
“The findings suggest that the female role was far more important than was previously thought,” he
said, venturing that women in primitive societies might have played the part of magician or shaman.
The new software is based on research that can calculate the gender of a hand's owner according to the
proportionate lengths of the ring and index fingers.
These two fingers are of equal length among women but there is a big difference in their length among
men.
The two Gua Masri sites, found in limestone rock in the highlands of Borneo in the 1990s by a
Franco-Indonesian team, comprise hundreds of hand stencils that are believed to be between 8,000 and
20,000 years old. CNRS archaeologists are looking at other handprints at the Pech Merle and Cosquer
caves in France, at the Cueva de las Manos Pintadas in Argentina and other caves in Indonesia.
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2006: What Does It Add Up To?
From a numerology standpoint, 2006 is an “8” year (2+0+0+6 = 8) a karmic year for all of us. In an
“8” year, we reap the seeds which we have sown during the last seven years. 8 is the number of power
and abundance. 2 is the number of partnership and balance, and 6 is the number of vision and love. So
with balance and love we are getting ready to create abundance for all and authentic power where no one
is more or less than us. The energies relate to Saturn which was always seen as the heavy one astrologically but although he is stern, when you are on the right path he is completely supportive. This is a
year for coming together and letting go of the difficulties of the past 7 years.
Whale Rescue -- A Story of Blessing
If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle on Thursday, December 15, 2005, you would have
read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a tangled web of crab traps and
lines. She was weighed down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat.
She also had hundreds of yards of line (rope) wrapped around her body -- her tail, her torso, a line
tugging in her mouth.
A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an
environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was
so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition. One
slap of the tail could kill a rescuer. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.
When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to
each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around -- she thanked them.
Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of
her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.
May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and as fortunate in the New Year -- to be untangled
from the things that we think are binding us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have anything you would like to include in this quarterly electronic newsletter (information,
creative work, etc.), email your information (in a completed, article form, please!) to Kate Stockman,
WS Newsletter Editor, at <kstockman@mchsi.com>. If you would like to share the joy of
creating/editing/formatting this newsletter, let Kate know!
Every effort is made to distribute newsletters quarterly around the cross-quarter holydays: Imbolc,
Beltane, Lugnassah, and Samhain. Deadline for submitting copy is the fifteenth of January, April, July,
and October.
You are receiving this newsletter as one of your member benefits of Womenspirit. Please be sure to
renew your membership as it comes due so you can continue to keep up to date with our event
registrations as well as seasonal newsletters! For membership information, contact Donna Gibson,
Registrar & Membership Chair, at <registrar@uuwomenspirit.org>.
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