She studies, and disputes, and teaches, and thus she serves her Faith; for how could God, who gave her reason, want her ignorant? —Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Villancico, or, “Carol”, in celebration of St. Catherine of Alexandria (1692)… Read More ›
Poetry
The Nature of Communal Pondering by Elise M. Edwards
Last week, I listened to an episode of Krista Tippett’s series On Being that featured an interview with poet Marilyn Nelson. I am not very knowledgeable about the world of modern poetry, but I am familiar with Nelson’s work. A… Read More ›
Religion, Race, and Feminism in an Era of Elusive Enlightenment by Salaam Green
The warrior spirit is not only the coherent ability to resist circumstances outside of one’s making; but the ability to fight the war within all of us thus managing discomfort and chaos with the force of authenticity. Recently an enlightened… Read More ›
Agape: Inspiration and Word Made Flesh by Margot Van Sluytman
breathe me compel my flesh to stir. will new landscapes through your pores. dine upon my potent supplication. peel the lonely longing from your swelling desire. partake of flaming majesty, while speaking: yes, over and over and over again, rising… Read More ›
The Book of Earth & Other Mysteries: a book review by Elizabeth Cunningham
When a poem shows me something in a strange and wonderful light and at the same time awakens some bone-deep knowing of my own, I feel more alive, I feel less alone. My soul is stirred and satisfied. The Book… Read More ›
Make Art. Tell the Truth. Fight Back. by Marie Cartier
For my dear Feminism and Religion family: I’m sorry I have no words really this month. As many of you know I was very invested in Hillary Clinton’s campaign– and am devastated by her “loss”—or rather what I see as… Read More ›
Be Still by Natalie Weaver
Be still, and know that I am God. During this season of Advent, I have found great comfort in one biblical passage, Psalm 46:10, which translates as “Be still, and know that I am God.” I take comfort here,… Read More ›
“Tricolor Mary: Encountering Three Faces of the Divine Feminine” by Simone Grace Seol
I always felt curiously distant from the figure of Mary. I always sensed that there is so much there and yet, I could never connect to it emotionally. The foil to Eve, vessel of Love, suffering mother. I wanted to… Read More ›
Divine Physics: A Poetic Reflection on Ecclesiastes 3:14 by Lori Stewart
Ecclesiastes 3:14 – I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all that should stand in awe before him. Nothing can be added… Read More ›
For Strong Women… by Marie Cartier
This month I had planned to write a long column of finding joy in the midst of pain, or rather enjoying what you can still enjoy. I know you all will be reading this the day after Thanksgiving…I want to… Read More ›
The Community Bardic Exercise Revisited: Body, Land, Tribe Poetry by Kate Brunner
Two years ago, I hosted a Devotional Poetry themed Community Bardic Exercise which turned out to be heaps of beautiful, inspiration-filled fun. Inspired by Elizabeth’s latest post, I’d like to revisit this venture today. Consider this an invitation, an opportunity, or… Read More ›
Rocks, Flowers, Circles: Sustenance During Troubling Times by Elizabeth Cunningham
I had planned to write my October post about the election. Out of respect for everyone’s election fatigue, I’ll give the subject one paragraph only. I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary. Like Bernie himself, I will vote for… Read More ›
Prayers to Black Madonna and Kali Rising by Natalie Weaver
This past Saturday, I had an opportunity to sweat in a traditional Lakota sweat lodge for the first time. It was, above all, an interesting cognitive experience for me. I found myself sort of shaking hands with the ritual, the… Read More ›
Elegy for An Old Life Gone: A Feminist Says Goodbye to Football by Marcia Mount Shoop
I married into your strange cadence A drumbeat that never felt natural All consuming was your intention But I protected pieces of myself from your designs And more pieces retrieved me As you showed me your true colors You were… Read More ›
Loosening the Weave: Leaving Space for Mystery by Kate Brunner
Yesterday morning, I sat in a sunrise fire circle on a ridge above my new Rocky Mountain home. Two years ago on the same day, I stood before a loom in a reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse in Wales. And in… Read More ›
Facing the Moon Alone by Molly Remer
“When all is said and done I think every Witch should, at some time, face the moon alone, feet planted on the ground, with only his or her voice chanting in the starry night.” –Laurie Cabot, Power of the Witch… Read More ›
Wonder Bread by Natalie Weaver
It is a difficult thing to wake up and realize you are living a life you do not recognize. This happens for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, it happens dramatically as in the case of death, job loss, personal trauma,… Read More ›
Celebrating National Poetry Month by Elizabeth Cunningham
One of my morning practices is Lectio Divina, divine reading. Instead of reading scriptures, I read poems. The practice calls on me to be alert and contemplative. Recently, I have been reading The Shambhala Anthology of Women’s Spiritual Poetry, an… Read More ›
Caroline Schelling on Birth & Death by Stuart Dean
Of the many letters Caroline wrote to her lifelong friend Luise, one of the most intense (the 57th Letter) dates from seven years after the 4th Letter discussed in my last post. By then both were married; only a few… Read More ›
Caroline Schelling’s 4th Letter by Stuart Dean
Caroline Schelling (‘Caroline’) wrote the fourth letter of hers that survives (the ‘4th Letter’) on October 7, 1778, shortly after she had turned 15, to a girl she met at boarding school who was to become her lifelong friend (Luise)…. Read More ›
so said black Jesus by Natalie Weaver
Last month, I went to a conference in San Antonio, Texas. Feeling overwhelmed by the combined elements of work, family, and creative writing, I did not have much of a desire to go. It was right before Valentine’s Day, which… Read More ›
And No Religion Too by Elizabeth Cunningham
Religion. As a species we can’t seem to live with it or without it. There is dispute about the derivation of the word, but some scholars believe it has the same root as the word ligament, ligare, to bind or… Read More ›
Ghosts by Lauren Raine
GHOSTS Where do the dead go? The dead that are not corpses, cosmetically renewed and boxed, their faces familiar and serene. Or brought to an essence, pale ashes in elegant canisters…. Read More ›
E Pluribus Unum: The Woman From Africa by Stuart Dean
She’s his only savior. African in origin, her figure bears witness to her homeland: her hair twisted in dreads, her lips full, her color dark, her chest broad with pendulous breasts, her stomach flat and firm, her legs slender, her… Read More ›
Why Is Pizza Round? The Black Goddess of Rome by Stuart Dean
The poem Moretum (discussed in my last post) narrates the preparation of a meal that can be characterized in modern English as ‘pizza.’ Round flatbread is baked; to go on it, a cheese spread is mixed. The details of the… Read More ›
Covenanting Justice. Covenanting Joy. by Margot Van Sluytman
Justice as a lived and living experience is a poem. Is a song. And as a song it is filled with all manner of rhythm, of texture, and of sound via melody and lyric which affects us in an infinity… Read More ›
I Am A Woman’s Poet by Marie Cartier
This is the first poem I ever wrote and had published. I wrote it in the early 80s at the height of the second wave of Women’s Liberation. Having just returned from the final Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, I publish… Read More ›
My Problem with the “Proverbs 31 Woman” by Elise M. Edwards
In my home, in my journals and notebooks, and in my office, I display proverbs and quotes of all kinds around me to inspire me to live meaningfully. Proverbs and fables from around the world are stacked on my bookshelves… Read More ›
E Pluribus Unum and The Unrecognized Black Goddess of Rome by Stuart Dean
E pluribus unum (‘EPU’), which first began to be used by the U.S. in the 18th century, comes from a poem entitled Moretum that until well into the 19th century was generally attributed to Vergil. During those centuries Latin would… Read More ›
A Cornucopia Sometimes Curiously Stuffed With Nothing by Natalie Weaver
The summer is getting late. School supplies are coming in, and it is time to try on the uniform pants in order to get them hemmed before the first day. I always feel a little funny at this time of… Read More ›
