Women’s Spirituality – Page 12 – Feminism and Religion

Invisible Connections: The Hidden Web of Women Writers, part 1 by Theresa C. Dintino

Moderator’s Note: We are pleased to announce that we are forming a co-operation with The Nasty Women Writers Project, a site dedicated to highlighting and amplifying the voices and visions of powerful women.The site was founded by sisters Theresa and Maria Dintino. To quote Theresa, “by doing this work we are expanding our own writer’s web for nourishment and support.” This was originally posted on their site on Nov. 16, 2021. You can see more of their posts here.

created by Data Visualization Specialist Mia S.Szarvas as part of a larger project of Nasty Women Writers about the Web of Women Writers

In the years that my sister Maria and I have been writing for Nasty Women Writers, one of the things that has become increasingly clear is how connected women writers are to one another. Every time I explore the life of a woman writer for Nasty Women Writers, I learn of other women writers she is connected to, inspired and supported by. Some of these connections are through time, meaning one woman writer reads and interacts with the body of work of a woman writer whose lifetime preceded hers chronologically, others are alive at the same time and they interact in person or through letter writing.

Public Goddess Gatherings by Caryn MacGrandle

I swat at her like an annoying fly. ‘Stop it. I’m good. I’m very happy. Go away.’

I took a part time security gig on the weekends to bring in some extra cash, and they sent me out to direct traffic at a holiday outdoor market here. 150 booths of incredible, local, organic, home-made, natural items. Right up my alley.

The festival started at noon. And the steady stream of cars started. By 12:45pm, the entire parking lot was filled, several football fields long: a Dave and Busters, a Wahlburgers and a Trader Joe’s sharing the same area. All their spaces filled too.

Can Feminist Christians Hasten the Advent of Reproductive Liberation? by Elizabeth M. Freese, PhD

Wikimedia Commons, Servite Church in Hungary

The collision of the 2023 Christian liturgical season of Advent with American reproductive politics has been jarring. Feminist religious critique and transformative activism are imperative.

With the Texas Supreme Court decision on a dire abortion case, alongside increasing criminalization of women having miscarriages, we are witnessing the principle of patriarchal dominance of female reproductive capacity and the denigration of women’s full, equal personhood pushed to the extreme. In part, this barbarity is perpetuated by Christianity. Even though this tradition often challenges social systems of injustice, and it does not actually support their hollow theology of “life at conception,” misogynist oppressors have plenty of Christian religiosity to stand on.

Better Than a Rainy Norwegian Cruise: the Divine Feminine App Comes to Another Fork in the Road by Caryn MacGrandle

I have just recently taken on debt with the divine feminine app. I made the decision to go to the Parliament of World Religions. We added a weekly email feature and an affiliate program. I have been investing in some other features in an attempt to make the app sustainable. I find myself $13,000 in debt.

And I’m not done. Both the Operating System that the app is built on and the smartphone apps need to be updated. In technological terms, they are ancient, and we are starting to have different issues pop up with them.

If I am lucky and continue to work without a paycheck as I have the past ten years and with the company in India who is about 1/8 the cost of doing this state side, this will cost us about $7,000.

In other words, I need $20,000.

I ask myself, is it worth it?

Yes.

Archives from the FAR Founders: The Dark Half: Reflections on the Winter Solstice By Xochitl Alvizo

This was originally posted on December 21, 2011

Xochitl Alvizo; Photo by http://www.chrispinkham.com/

I’m a Capricorn. People seem not to be surprised when they find out. I’m also the oldest of three siblings and a keeper of people’s secrets. Stories and secrets – my family’s included – I hear them all, take them all in. Sometimes someone will share something with me that involves another and afterward say, Now, don’t you go telling so and so that I said this. And of course I always reply, I don’t tell no one nothin’. And it’s true, I don’t tell – I simply take it in. I listen and I take it all in. The stories shared, stories of joy and of love, excitement and disappointment, of hurt feelings and misunderstandings, all of them inform me. They all cause me to reflect and consider the fragility of us all, the precariousness of life. We affect each other so much, from the smallest moment to the largest system, all of it makes such a difference to us.

Tonight we celebrate the Winter Solstice – it marks the boundary of darkness and light – it is the shortest day and longest night of the year.

Jacob’s Ladder, A Feminist Perspective by Janet Maika’i Rudolph

Today, I embark on my retelling of the biblical story of Jacob, the section usually referred to Jacob’s ladder or Jacob’s pillow. The entire story-arc of Jacob is filled with mystery and a sense of shamanic-style questing. What is the goal of a shamanic quest? There are many but the foundation is to open gateways to travel amidst thresholds. It is through these passages that we can gain knowledge of ourselves, have ecstatic experiences, do healing work, divination . .

I believe this is a feminist issue because when we look at Jacob’s story more holistically, we can strip away the patriarchal assumptions inherent in the tale as it’s come down to us. For example, in my retelling, there is no male grand deity standing above, judging and dictating human actions and interactions.

What “Can” Women Do? – An Excerpt from Nice Churchy Patriarchy by Liz Cooledge Jenkins

In an essay called Sister, You Can Be Anything God Desires You to Be,^[1] Kara Triboulet recalls a discussion in her theology class at her Christian college. When the professor opened up the floor and invited students to express their views on women in leadership, these are some of the things her classmates said:

“I believe women can be in leadership, just not as pastors.”

“Allowing women to teach other women and children isn’t limiting. At least they have a place to serve.”

“Women can be directors, but not pastors.”

“The Bible is very clear . . . women can’t teach or lead men because men were created first. It’s just the way God ordained it, and we all just need to accept that.”

Embracing the Shadow Woman of Justice in Dark Times by Carolyn A. Cushing

Justice/Shadow Woman by Rachel Pollack. From the forthcoming The Shining Tribe Tarot: Definitive Edition

Prayer to Justice

Justice, we call you into the center of our hearts, our minds, our spirits.

May the fire of your being inspire us to believe your beauty can shine forth in our world.

May the flow of your being purify and release us from wounds that come from the places where You are violated.

May the breath of your being pass through us and form on the lips of all words of wisdom.

May the endurance of your being aid us to persist in serving You.

May we hear your truth. May we know your balance. May we gather your wisdom.

Justice, guide us.

Justice seems so far away, obscured by terror, purposely ignored in these days of war and season of darkness. How can we invite Her back? What will bring Her renewal?

Prophetic Publishing, Feminist Publishing: 2024 Goals by Dr. Angela Yarber

Queer Chicana feminist author, Gloria Anzaldúa, once claimed, “The world I create in my writing compensates for what the real world does not give me.” I’ve long connected with the revolutionary Anzaldúa, believing in the prophetic power of the written word to create new worlds, worlds big and wide and just and beautiful enough for all people. Worlds where the perspectives of the marginalized are brought to the center.

This is what I aim to do as a publisher and writer myself. It was a meandering path to get here, but on the cusp of a new year, I find myself finally in place with my calling and vocation where all my skills as an activist, writer, professor, artist, and pastoral presence are coming together.

War, War and More War – Can Goddess Wisdom Offer a Path to Peace? by Judith Shaw

Branwen, Celtic Goddess painting my Judith Shaw

I was on my way home from a wonderful morning spent with my son when I heard the news of the horrific attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens. We had risen early to witness the mass ascension of balloons at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, joining tens of thousands of people from around the world. For 10 days, a diverse crowd gathers on a vast field, experiencing childlike wonder as they watch brightly colored balloons ascend into the early morning sky. It was a joyful morning.

But then, after all that wonder, the car radio delivered the shocking news of the Hamas attack. My joy was shattered.