“I’m not afraid. I was born to do this.” -Joan of Arc Women are inherently valiant. In extreme situations we armor up and lead others through whatever we are battling at the time. Joan of Arc was a human woman… Read More ›
Gender
Adoring God in Labor by K Kriesel
The day before the 2019 Nevertheless She Preached conference at First Baptist Church of Austin, TX my own Catholic church’s young adult ministry hosted Eucharistic Adoration. Although I’ve enjoyed Adoration dozens of times, several factors made this evening different. I… Read More ›
“If All Knowledge Must be Reinterpreted, Why Not Religion?” Says Islamic Feminist
Vanessa Rivera de La Fuente is Muslim, feminist, and a human rights activist Photo: Personal archive Background: Journal O ‘Globo, one of the most important newspapers in Brazil, belonging to the transnational media group of the same name, published this… Read More ›
Greenness, Whiteness, Blackness, and the Nature of the World by Marisa Goudy
There’s magic in hiking alone, but as women, we’ve been taught to worry about venturing far on our own. In fact, we’ve been taught to worry about a lot more than that. Though once I merely shrugged off the warnings… Read More ›
Sappho’s Poems as an Ethos for Women’s Ritual by Jill Hammer
For by my side you put on many wreaths of roses and garlands of flowers around your soft neck and with precious and royal perfume you anointed yourself. On soft beds you satisfied your passion. And there… Read More ›
We Won’t Go Back by John Erickson
Bottom line: abortion is healthcare. Nearly a fourth of women in America will have an abortion by age 45. Every day, people across the United States make deeply personal decisions about their pregnancies. Those decisions deserve respect.
If Holly Near’s Simply Love Album Were a Musical by Lache S.
For many of us, listening to women-loving-women songs is a spiritual experience. That is because somehow it makes us feel seen, puts a sense of hope into our world as well as daydreams of romance. We can understand the challenges… Read More ›
Moments by Katie M. Deaver
The phone rings loud on the bedside table near my head, and I wake with that tiny heart attack that only truly jarring things, like middle of the night phone calls, seem to trigger. It takes me a moment to… Read More ›
Surviving My Recovery by Esther Nelson
For the past fourteen months, I’ve been going from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what ails me. Specialists I’ve seen included wonderfully competent people immersed in their individual disciplines of nephrology, cardiology, rheumatology, and neurology. At long last,… Read More ›
Re-Imaging Three Marys by Janet Sunderland
The recent #metoo movement, along with young women entering Congress, has pointed to an important question. Why, in this 21st Century, are these achievements remarkable? Why has it taken so long for women to be recognized as capable for these… Read More ›
Patriarchy is a pedophile – Why else does “feminine” always mean “sexualized little girl”? **TW rape** by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
I used to love to wear makeup. My mother (Goddess rest her wonderful soul) wore a ton of makeup; she was known as a beauty – compared by friends and acquaintances to Elizabeth Taylor her entire life. So when I… Read More ›
In the Meantime, I Thrive by Karen Leslie Hernandez
Let me tell you, the dating world is a whole different universe. Especially for a woman my age and who do what I do. I am sure many reading this can relate. Here are some comments I have received from… Read More ›
Women’s Bodies and the Bible by Janet Rudolph
Trigger Alert: The bible on its face is quite violent to women. Amidst the ugliness that is American politics in general and abortion politics specifically, I began to look for guidance to understand what is happening. I ended up pulling… Read More ›
The Lady Be With You – A Closer Look at Liturgical Idolatry by Tallessyn Zawn Grenfell-Lee
Even though I realized at least 17 years ago that it makes no theological sense to limit our symbols of the Divine to male symbols – Lord, God, Father – it took several years for this idea to embed itself… Read More ›
Hekate, Goddess of Liminality and Intermediary by Deanne Quarrie
Let me share with you the Goddess most honored as the Goddess of liminal time and space. It is our beloved Hekate, Great Goddess of the Three Ways, bridging Earth, Sea and Sky as we travel between worlds. In modern… Read More ›
Marianne Williamson. . . I’m Sacredly Smitten by Lache S.
I caution myself to be critical and nuanced. I’m sorry, folks. I just haven’t had such dazzling hope or remote interest in politics since. . . well, since I was a puppet junior high evangelist for an independent candidate my… Read More ›
The Modern Problematic Nature of the Sabarimala Temple, Part 2 by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
The Sabarimala Temple has received an influx of global attention since last October. In my last FAR post, I researched the origin story of the Sabarimala Temple and its dedicated deity, Ayyappan. Ayyappan’s unusual parentage and chosen attributes and patronage… Read More ›
Exercising Women’s Religious Voice and Authority – Why is this Still an Issue? by Elise M. Edwards
Over the past few days, I’ve been spending time at a church in Alexandria, Virginia conducting oral history interviews. I’m doing research for a project about the arts and the church that has me diving deep into the church’s congregants’… Read More ›
Gendered Only In Expression by Christy Croft
“I want you to see this new piece I wrote for our newsletter,” said Sister Ann. We were safe inside the dining room of the Episcopal convent where she lived and I was an extended guest, and yet she spoke… Read More ›
New Beginnings: Re-Birthing Myself a Million Times and One by Lache S.
I think being a mother must be an amazing experience. I don’t really know the glimmers and shadows of any life but mine, even though I would be more than happy to listen. Recently, I’ve been reading the poems… Read More ›
A Meditation on Revolution In the Vagina Monologues by Marie Cartier
“It’s like feminist summer camp, except it’s in February,” said Shaina, the director, “I’m not sure how to re-enter the world.” I agreed. How to re-enter the world where vaginas have little voice? Where asking a woman what her vagina… Read More ›
Generosity and Community: the Alternative Worldview of Women’s Ritual Dance, Part 1 by Laura Shannon
My life’s work with traditional women’s circle dances of Eastern Europe and the Near East has been a natural interweaving of feminism, activism and Goddess spirituality. In more than thirty years of experience, my students and I have gained valuable… Read More ›
Find Your Warrior Archetype, Sisters: We are in the Fight of our Lives by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
I read a news story this week about dozens of children sex trafficked at an auto show in Detroit. I read about a young man getting no jail time for sexually assaulting a six year old girl… sex traffickers targeting… Read More ›
Holly Near’s Music and a Holistic Feminist Perspective of Peace by Lache S.
It’s hard for me to be dignified and peaceful sometimes. To produce and sacrifice without rewards, making sure I’m not “sacrificing” in a way that quells my truth and power, making sure I look at dignity in a liberating way…. Read More ›
Compassion to the Why by Karen Leslie Hernandez
This last month, I’ve found myself doing work on what I call, Compassion to the Why. That is understanding why. Asking why. Getting why. Having compassion, for, why. Why is this important, you ask? Because getting to the ‘why,’ is… Read More ›
Eve is the Hero of the Garden of Eden, Part 2 by Janet Rudolph
The serpent in the Bible is treated as Eve’s partner in crime, a malevolent seducer who is responsible for humankind’s expulsion from paradise. But did you know there are serpents who figure positively in the Bible? There are serpent priests,… Read More ›
Eve is the Hero of the Garden of Eden, Part 1 by Janet Rudolph
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her and those who lay hold of her are blessed. Proverbs 3:18 (Berean Study Bible) Eve’s story, as it has been passed onto us from the Bible, makes Her responsible… Read More ›
Help, My Daughter Got a Bunch of Princess Stuff for Christmas! by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
Every year, I see multiple pleas from concerned mothers (rarely fathers, because (straight) fathers rarely take on emotional labor of child rearing) wondering what to do about the pile of pink plastic that just came into their home. It’s such… Read More ›
What Gender is God Anyway? by Janet Rudolph
Adult Daughter (“AD”): Hi Mom, Alex said to tell you “hi.” Me: That’s nice. How is she? AD: How are “they?” Alex uses “they,” mom. Me: Oh right, sorry. I am having some trouble wrapping my head around using “they”… Read More ›
Women’s Ritual Dances and the Nine Touchstones of Goddess Spirituality – Part Four by Laura Shannon
In Rebirth of the Goddess, Carol P Christ offered Nine Touchstones of Goddess Spirituality as an alternative to the Ten Commandments. The Nine Touchstones are intended to inform all our relationships, whether personal, communal, social, or political.[1] In this four-part… Read More ›
