From the day my Father, Theodore, was brutally and callously murdered in Toronto, on Easter Monday, March 27, 1978, I wanted to meet his killer. I wanted to know how it was possible to do such a horrific thing. I… Read More ›
General
Expectations and Fulfillment by Gina Messina
What is happiness? We all seek it. And yet, it seems so difficult to define. We often find ourselves drawn to options for synthetic happiness — having more things. I am embarrassed to admit that when I am struggling, I… Read More ›
A Matter of Life and Death: The Military or the Green New Deal? by Carol P. Christ
“I have set before you life and death . . . Choose life.” (Deut. 30:19) Scientists tell us that an environmental catastrophe which has already begun threatens every aspect of life as we know it on planet earth. The choice… Read More ›
Ariel, just fighting to get above water…by Yara González-Justiniano
I am all for the critical deconstruction of Disney Princesses, especially since now I see more of a commercial push for them as a collection than when I was growing up in the late 80’s. However, I too had a… Read More ›
Tree-Hugging Is About Trees and So Much More Than Trees by Carol P. Christ
Not too long ago I heard someone deride members of a seminar who were building labyrinths in the olive groves of Greece as “a bunch of tree-huggers.” I bristled! I probably first heard of the Chipko tree-hugging movement which is… Read More ›
Vayikra: No Temple Required by Ivy Helman
This week’s Torah portion is Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26). Vayikra is essentially one long discourse on animal sacrifice with an occasional grain or oil offering included. This killing of animals, their subsequent burning and the shared eating of their… Read More ›
Integrity of the Self by Natalie Weaver
I sat in a frigid moot court room at a conference on the morning of March 8, trying to concentrate. Within an hour of the program’s opening keynote, my underarms had become damp with that weird cold sweat that happens when… Read More ›
Recognizing Abuse by Karen Tate
I’ve been thinking a lot about abuse. Of course, most of us know about the domination, exploitation and need for control meted out by patriarchy, but I wonder if we have actually normalized many abuses? Abuse in the home, in… Read More ›
I am in Peace: The Ministry of Margaret Fell by Mary Sharratt
This linoprint of Margaret Fell can be ordered here. Pendle Hill will forever be associated to the Pendle Witches of 1612 who live on in the undying soul of the landscape and its folklore and who inspired my 2010 novel,… Read More ›
Eve by Any Other Name… by Janet Rudolph
This title isn’t entirely true. Eve would need an exceptionally well thought out replacement for Her name to be as sweet as it already it. That is because Eve’s name is unique, multi-dimensional and integral to the Bible’s mysteries. The… Read More ›
Meeting the Windigo by Carol P. Christ
Towards the end of Braiding Sweetgrass, mother, biologist, and member of the Citizen Potawami Nation Robin Wall Kimmerer sets out at the end of winter to visit a forest area near her home that she considers hers not in name… Read More ›
Practical Lessons in Kindness from the Grasshopper and the Ant (With apologies to Jean de La Fontaine for significant changes to his fable) by Barbara Ardinger
Note: This story was originally posted early in 2016. I’m posting it again because, thanks to the state of UNkindness the Abuser-in-chief has pasted all over the semi-civilized Semi-United States, we need lessons in kindness more than ever before. I… 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 ›
Celtic Awen, Spiritual Homecoming, and Singing with Trees by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
Does your name have a special meaning? Mine does. In fact, in one corner of the world, you would be very hard pressed to find anyone who did not know the significance of the name Trelawney and its history. They… Read More ›
Re-reading Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN by Joyce Zonana
And so is born the “monster” most people associate with the name Frankenstein–a lone and lonely terrorist who lashes out against a world that has no place for him. One by one, he strangles all the people his “maker” holds dear: his brother William, his best friend Clerval, and his cousin/bride Elizabeth. Yet the novel invites us to have compassion for the creature, even while it condemns the society that makes him as he is. Victor, raised by a devoted mother and tenderly loved by a doting cousin, should have known better. As should we.
Logic and Intuition – Antithetical or Cooperative? by Judith Shaw
“Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.”-Klee An artist is continually making decisions – decisions about subject matter, themes, materials, size. Does one do pre-planning with preliminary drawings are just dive right in? Once those decisions are… Read More ›
Time to Dismantle the Myth of the Nation State? by Carol P. Christ
I am a citizen of two countries currently being torn apart by popular nationalism. In Greece, the cry is “Macedonia is only Greek,” while in the United States a nation of immigrants is being told that it must fear being… Read More ›
Dear Mary by Sara Wright
This piece was written in response to Gina Messina’s recent Feminism and Religion piece “Who is God?” Dear Mary, When I responded to a post on feminism and religion this morning I wrote that you were my first goddess. As… 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 ›
Who is God? by Gina Messina
I often say I am a theologian who is uncomfortable with prayer and does not have a relationship with God. What I mean is that I am still trying to figure out how I understand the divine; conventional prayers feel… Read More ›
Making a New Home: It’s Not So Easy by Carol P. Christ
I am sitting in my studio apartment with my computer on my lap on a cold, windy, and rainy day in Voutes, Heraklion, Crete. My little dog is curled up asleep, seeing no reason to awake on a day like… Read More ›
Leading by Mandala by Nurete Brenner and Elizabeth Meacham
Lake Erie Institute The old myths and images that sustained us in earlier periods are no longer serving us during this time of breakdown of the old and the uncertainty about the future. The lone wolf, the frontiersman, the all-powerful… Read More ›
I’m [Not] Batman by Sara Frykenberg
A little tongue-in-cheek, somewhat punchy, somewhat angry reflection for your consideration. Thank you for reading. Ever have trouble speaking your mind? I do. I do, particularly in situations where I was taught (in all sorts of ways, violent and nonviolent… Read More ›
Just When We Thought It Couldn’t Get Worse, It Did by Carol P. Christ
Like many of you I have been following discussions of the revelation that Virginia Governor Ralph Northam dressed in blackface or as a member of the Ku Klux Klan when he was a medical student. It was reported that Northam… Read More ›
On Tetzaveh by Ivy Helman
The Torah parshah for this week is Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20 – 30:10). Mostly it describes the priesthood, both of Aaron and his sons. It details how they should be consecrated, what they should wear, the difference between the garb of… Read More ›
Reclaiming Sacred Music by Mary Sharratt
Women Singing Earth by Mary Southard Here is a hymn of praise, a beautiful and intimate piece meant to be sung. Reader, I invite you to guess the author of this text and the sacred figure to whom this work is… Read More ›
Generosity and Community: the Alternative Worldview of Women’s Ritual Dances, Part 2 by Laura Shannon
Starhawk describes the work of her Reclaiming collective as the creation of ‘spaces of refuge from a harsh and often hostile world, safe places where people can heal and regenerate, renew our energies and learn new skills.’[i] These words also… Read More ›
For Love of Trees by Sara Wright
Yesterday I dreamed that I discovered a bird’s nest that was hidden in the center of an evergreen tree. This little dream moved me deeply because this is the time of year I celebrate my love and gratitude for all… Read More ›
The Mud and the Lotus: What India Is Teaching Me by Vanessa Soriano
About 5 years ago, I began a consistent yoga practice. Right around the same time, I started a PhD program in Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies where I eventually wrote my dissertation on Women’s Spiritual Leadership. … Read More ›
Seeking Enlightenment? Let’s Try Endarkenment by Barbara Ardinger
In the version of the calendar I follow, February 1 is the true beginning of spring. That’s because early February is when we can see the light coming back. We know spring is really coming. February opens with a holiday/holy… Read More ›
