Workshops

Even if you can’t attend the Friday-Saturday Sessions, you can sign up for a Sunday afternoon workshop. (Sunday, November 4 at 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM) email me at sboorn@aol.com with name and workshop choice. SEE BELOW

SUNDAY WORK/playshops

Wisdom’s Urgent Cry – November 2-4

A Faith and Feminism/Womanist/Mujerista Conference

CHRISTIAN WOMEN’S SPIRITUALITIES THROUGH THE AGES

Gabriele Schroeder, PhD

Pastor, Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church

South San Francisco

This workshop will explore the lives and spiritual practices of a small number of Christian women of the past.

We will hear accounts of their lives and listen to some of their own words (and music), paying attention to how they spoke of themselves, of the divine, and of their authority to serve as leaders to other Christians.

Some of the questions we will be asking include:

· What does the Christian Bible say about the gendered nature of God, about women, women’s spirituality, and women’s leadership (both Hebrew and Greek Bible)?

· Can we trust historical texts that are said to be written by women? Why or why not?

· What are some of the difficulties in trying to reconstruct women’s lives, faith, and spiritual expressions?

· Why does it even matter to us to know what other women have believed about the divine, and how they lived those beliefs?

· What can we learn from them about our own spirituality, about our own authority in religious/spiritual matters?

· What role does the Bible play in your own spiritual life? What are your criteria for reading it?

· Have you experienced other sources of divine inspiration? If yes, what are they?

"PAPER ICONS"

Join Rev. Shiloh McCloud, Visionary Artist for an afternoon circle to explore creativity as a spiritual practice through journaling, drawing, conversation, intention and prayer. We will explore creativity as a path of healing, and as a spiritual practice that can benefit and bless you in ecstatic ways!

You do not need to have skill as an artist to be nurtured through the gifts of creativity that are innate in us from the time we were children. All of us loved to make our first marks on paper, it said, here I am. We all still have that longing within us to express ourselves through deeply creative acts. As an artist and teacher within the mystical Christian tradition, my work focuses in exploring the Divine through creating our own images and words as prayers and offerings.

We will create devotional "Paper Icon" prayer cards to bring home with us! This will also be an ideal time to bring into 'form' your deeper spiritual commitments, desires and intentions that you gleaned from the conference. Visit the Wisdom House Gallery in Mendocino or online at http://www.wisdomhousecatalog.com

GODDESS AND GOD CIVILIZATION OF

ANCIENT CRETE

In this workshop, Goddess theologian Dr. Mara Lynn Keller will share a slide presentation on the remarkable civilization of ancient Crete, a deeply spiritual, artistic, nature-loving, and peaceful culture which worshipped both Goddess(es) and God(s) and Nature itself.

Mara will invite people to consider the significance of a polytheistic monotheism, which was probably the belief system in ancient Crete. And she will ask people to explore the possibilities of a spirituality which pervades all of life’s activities, from family to work to communal celebrations. She will ask us to consider what qualities of wisdom the peoples of ancient Crete seemed to share which made their own culture so advanced.

People are welcome to read Mara’s articles on “Crete of the Mother Goddess: Communal Ritual and Sacred Art” and “Goddesses around the World” by visiting her faculty webpage: http://www.ciis.edu/faculty/keller.html.

FELT FORMS OF SPIRITUALITY

with Judith Lavender Dancer

By listening deeply to the rhythms, movement and stillness of the body, I hear the Goddess speaking to me. I experience her in my breath, in the release of an exhale, in the wiggling of my toes. Sensation teaches me how the Goddess inhabits me, and how I inhabit her. Open attention to this visceral language engages me in a very felt form of spirituality.

As women, we are often taught how to view our bodies from the exterior, grading ourselves according to our looks and in comparison to others. My intention is to inhabit my body fully and respond from the inside out. Liturgical dance is an extension of this intention: to move fully, inspired by the Goddess, from the inside out. Movement is not imposed on me but felt deeply, starting as a breath, movement or sound.

On Sunday afternoon, I will teach ways for you to connect to sensation and feel how the Goddess is always with you as you slow down and listen through your cells, sinew and sensory endpoints. This playful and caring time allows each of us to explore this connection with sound, stillness, touch, movement and breath.

Minister of Embodiment, Liturgical Dancer, Somatic Movement Educator Judith Lavender Dancer has been dancing since she was in the crib and loves sharing her knowledge and joy of embodiment with others.

GODDESS ROSARY – Thealogy, Ritual and Beading

Pastor Stacy and Rosarian Jim of herchurch will share with you the thealogy behind communal and individual meditations using a “Goddess Rosary.” Discuss how both Jesus and multiple faith traditions necessitate the integration of the Goddess into their various doctrines and practices. Discover the liberation in this form of meditation.

Gemstone beads (amethyst, rose quartz, carnelian, obsidians, garnet, jade, etc) will be provided as you are guided into the prayerful meditation of designing and making your own Goddess Rosary. Ritual for liberation and empowerment! The term “Rosary” refers to the repetition of prayers as well as the string of beads on which prayers are actually recited. One of the many meanings of the word “rosary” is “wreath of roses,” symbolizing the string of prayers. The word derives from the Latin rosarium, or “rose garden,” a contemplative place for meditation associated with the garden of Eden and Paradise.