Maeve (aka the Celtic Mary Magdalen) on Elections, transcribed by Elizabeth Cunningham

You are a poet and a seer. Say you are a V.I.P (very important poet; in the first century CE when I lived such a thing was possible). Because of your poetic prowess, your ability to go between the worlds and see into the heart of the matter, it has fallen upon you to seek a vision. Who will be the new leader of the tribe?  Here is no simple matter of primogeniture. Here no ballots to be counted or stolen. No one has had to endure televised political conventions or candidate debates. It goes hardest for the sacrificial bull, who has been slaughtered and must be consumed—by you, sometimes raw, sometimes cooked, depending on local tradition. In either case, you consume the flesh and blood of the sacred bull. Then you are wrapped in its still-bloody hide. You fall into a trance, you dream….

My name is Maeve (rhymes with brave). I came to be known as Mary Magdalen. (How that happened is a long and exciting story, but not the subject of today’s post.) I am taking Elizabeth’s place to make some commentary from my first century perspective as you twenty-first century Americans prepare to elect new leaders. (You hope you will be electing them. I’d trust poets in bloody bull hides over electronic voting machines any day.) The rite described above, called the tarbhfleis or bull-sleep, was used to select the kings of Tara. The Celts counted wealth in cattle, so the bull was revered. The Gallic god Esus (as the druids called Jesus) was associated with the sacrificial bull. The infamous Queen Maeve of Connacht (for whom I am named), that champion of women’s sovereignty, went to war over a bull that defected from her herds to her husband’s. People said that the bull did not want to be ruled by a woman. Those were fighting words for Queen Maeve.  Continue reading “Maeve (aka the Celtic Mary Magdalen) on Elections, transcribed by Elizabeth Cunningham”

Freedom from Unjust Privilege by Kelly Brown Douglas

Freedom is about the elimination of systems and structures that privilege some and penalize others. 

Not too long ago, my son asked me how people who knew what it felt like to be denied justice, could deny others justice.  It did not make sense, he said, for various minority groups  to be at odds and not support  one another in the struggle for equal treatment.   I agreed with him.   But I also knew that solidarity amongst oppressed people was easier said than done.

Growing up, I always made friends with the kids who were teased, bullied and just did not seem to fit in because of who they were, or because of who they were not. I hung out with the kids who were bused into my middle-class black elementary school to achieve class diversity. I made friends with the boys who were called “sissies” because they did not like to play sports, and were not as “rough” as the other boys. I ate lunch with the girls who were teased because their hair was too short and their skin was too dark.  It seemed so easy then. But, really it wasn’t. I still wanted to fit in. So, while I did not tell the jokes, do the teasing, or call the names, I did stand silent when the jokes were told, the teasing was done and the names were called.  I hung out with the kids who were ridiculed and rejected, but I did not always stand up for them, especially when they were not there.  I did not know then that in my silence, I was claiming my privilege to be a part of the in crowd. Continue reading “Freedom from Unjust Privilege by Kelly Brown Douglas”

The Changing Face of Christ in the Catholic Church by Janice Poss

Yesterday, as I have done for the last six years, I attended another ordination, an ordination that as the others has been two thousand years in the making.  It was historic, it was Catholic; it was the new face of in persona Christi, the true ideal of Imago Dei.  It was also a retrieval of our roots, of the other side of God.  These ordinations make and bring God and Christ into integrated authentic wholeness and, therefore true holiness.

Yes, it was the ordination of two more women to the Catholic priesthood.  This movement is real and has been going on now since 2003. The changing face of God and Christ is in women, their determination in their discernment as a ‘priestly’ people in living out the Gospel messages with which we are all too familiar and need to be ‘lived’ to make them real and felt in our Church. Continue reading “The Changing Face of Christ in the Catholic Church by Janice Poss”

Hitting the Trifecta in Women’s Issues by Michele Stopera Freyhauf

One did not have to watch the debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney this past Tuesday to know that Romney hit the trifecta in the area of women’s issues.  It was all over social media within minutes of statements being made that marginalized or treated women as “less than.”

The issue of contraception and rape is still a topic of debate.  Church’s post signs to “Vote for Religious Freedom” and hand out voting guides that help you gauge the moral candidate.  Bulletin boards stating that “Obama believes in abortion and gay marriage – do you? vote Republican” appear by the highway.  This issue will not be settled during the election.

If people in power set an example of bullying and/or oppressive behavior, this behavior becomes acceptable.  If women are treated “less than,” then their dignity as well as their humanity is compromised.

An extreme example of this de-humanizing treatment of women in American society appeared October 13th in Cincinnati.com.  A story was published about a flyer found in the men’s restroom of a co-ed freshmen dorm at Miami University.  The title of this flyer – “Top Ten Ways to Get Away With Rape:” Continue reading “Hitting the Trifecta in Women’s Issues by Michele Stopera Freyhauf”

IN THE NEWS: Women’s Ordination in the Catholic Church

On October 6th, the first Catholic women’s ordination in Los Angeles was performed when two women were welcomed as priests into Roman Catholic Women Priests.  There are now 143 women ordained worldwide in a movement that has refused to wait for the Vatican to acknowledge women as leaders in the Church.

There has been a great deal of dialogue around the issue of women’s ordination in the Catholic Church.  Organizations like Women’s Ordination Conference are focused on the mission of ordaining women in the Catholic Church and argue that women in leadership roles will lead to change in policies that are oppressive to women.   However, other movements argue that ordaining women simply continues the hierarchical culture of the Church.   Continue reading “IN THE NEWS: Women’s Ordination in the Catholic Church”

Social Engagement as Feminist Praxis in the lives of Patricia A. Reif & Rita Nakashima Brock By Teresa A. Yugar

Today our country and global community need religious leaders to utilize their theological education and feminist principles to model the formation of ally ships across ecumenical and interfaith perspectives, laying the foundation for a more just and peaceful society. While Reif and Nakashima Brock did not know each other, their feminist stance of commitment to social justice and praxis should give us pause.

In 2002, Claremont Graduate University and the Immaculate Heart Community collaborated and created an endowment to sponsor a Lectureship in honor of the memory of feminist teacher, scholar and activist, Dr. Patricia A. Reif. Each year the Dr. Patricia A. Reif committee invites cutting edge feminist scholars in religion to discuss the intersection of their research interests and its influence on their scholarship, activist work and teaching in the broader sense of the term, both inside and outside of the classroom. This year the Reverend Dr. Nakashima Brock is the select guest Lecturer to honor Reif’s life, memory, and legacy. Tammi Schneider, committee member and Dean of the School of Religion stated Nakashima Brock’s visit is timely because in three weeks the national U.S. presidential elections will define the trajectory of our country for, minimally, the next four years. Nakashima Brock’s involvement in the Occupy Movement on a local and national level extends from her feminist commitment and advocacy for the rights of the 99% of our country who are being squelched by U.S. policies that favor the elite 1% of our nation. For Nakashima Brock it is a moral imperative for persons of faith and goodwill to educate individuals and take a stand on policies, on a state and nation-wide level that safeguard the livelihoods of the majority poor of our country. For Nakashima Brock this means quality health care for all, living wages and decent jobs, free high quality public education through college, and an end to the prison-military-industrial complex. Continue reading “Social Engagement as Feminist Praxis in the lives of Patricia A. Reif & Rita Nakashima Brock By Teresa A. Yugar”

The Turtle Goddess from Myrtos in Ancient Crete by Carol P. Christ

“As we bless the Source of Life, so we are blessed.” Song by Faith Rogow. 

The strange and cheerful figure portrayed in this ancient Cretan vessel comes from the site known as Fournou Korifi near Myrtos, in Crete.  Dated before 2000 BCE, she was called the “Goddess of Myrtos” by the excavator, Peter Warren.  This little Goddess was found on an altar in a small room in the ritual area of a complex of small rooms on a hill above the sea that was home to up to 120 people.  The Goddess of Myrtos is a vessel holding a vessel.  In ritual libations, liquid would have been poured from the pitcher she holds onto an altar.

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She is obviously female, with breasts and a sacred triangle. Continue reading “The Turtle Goddess from Myrtos in Ancient Crete by Carol P. Christ”

“From Teshuvah to Justice: Jonah’s Call to Change” by Ivy Helman

(I offer here an abridged version of the sermon I gave on Yom Kippur (5773) at Temple Emanuel in Lowell, MA.  The full version will be available on their website soon.  The book of Jonah is always read on Yom Kippur in the afternoon service as the Haftorah.  It is rather traditional that someone (usually the Rabbi) offer an interpretation of it.  Temple Emanuel asked me this year.  I thank the congregation for the honor and I hope my words offered them, and now you, food for thought.)

Scholars believe the Greek philosopher Plato lived between 428 BCE and 348 BCE.  The Allegory of the Cave is one of Plato’s most famous stories.  It illustrates the effects of a change in knowledge, education and experiences on the human being.  Some of you may know it or have read it at some point but for those of you who don’t, let me offer a very brief summary.

There are human beings shackled to a cave in a way that they can only see the wall directly in front of them.  Continue reading ““From Teshuvah to Justice: Jonah’s Call to Change” by Ivy Helman”

Painting Frida Kahlo By Angela Yarber

As we begin the month of October and ghosts and skulls fill our homes, I am reminded of the holy days that await us.  Poignant to my own background, Dia de los Muertos beckons us to remember who has gone before us.  Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday that is officially celebrated on October 31 and November 1 in a manner similar to the pagan Samhain holiday and the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.  It is a time for Mexican families to remember their lost loved ones, to celebrate their lives, and to pray on their behalf.

It is fitting that we remember the many Holy Women Icons with a folk feminist twist that have gone before us: Virginia Woolf , the Shulamite, , Mary Daly, Baby Suggs, Pachamama and Gaia. These icons join with many others on display as my solo show at Woven Soul Gallery in Winston-Salem, NC.  As we prepare for Dia de los Muertos, the holy woman icon dearest to my heart is none other than the Mexican feminist and revolutionary artist, Frida Kahlo. Continue reading “Painting Frida Kahlo By Angela Yarber”

Half the Church by Lorie Winder

Last week’s nationwide airing of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide reminded those of us who read the Kristof/WuDunn book of the same title how profoundly we were affected by its revelations. For those unfamiliar with either, the book and two-part film document one of the most shameful realities of the twenty-first century, namely, the continued, widespread oppression and degradation of millions of women linked to gender discrimination. Lest we feel impotent when confronted with such a grim reality, the film presents the inspiring stories of courageous women who are making a difference—a Cambodian woman, for example, sold into prostitution as a child, who escapes and later builds a school and refuge for girls with a similar history. Such stories challenge us with what Half the Sky calls “the single most vital opportunity of our time: the opportunity to make a change.” Continue reading “Half the Church by Lorie Winder”