Womenspirit Fall-Into-Winter Newsletter
October 2005
Autumn Greetings, Sisters!
by Kate Stockman, Newsletter Editor
As the days shorten into the first day of Winter (Samhain, October 31), we
watch Earth and Air become partners in the dance of the falling leaves and
falling temperatures. As the days have turned crisper and cooler, the sky has
become clearer with the Moon shining more brightly than before. May this beacon
give us the peace, wisdom, and centeredness we need as we go into the dark
time of the year.
Make yourself a cuppa and relax as you catch up with all the news about our
community of Sisters.
by Kate Stockman
For those of you able to attend our Fall event, you know how magical it was. For those who weren’t able to attend, we missed you and called you into the circle. The volunteer Planning Committee (PC), committed to continuing the fall event tradition in a time of financial stress for the Womenspirit (WS) organization, created a deeply meaningful series of experiences as a gift to their sisters.
At our Worship circles, we called in the directions by lighting a blossom-shaped candle floating in a large glass cylinder of water which held colored glass rocks corresponding to that direction... and a beautiful Siamese fighting fish in each cylinder! Their exquisitely graceful movements only enhanced the energy in each direction... each fish was stimulated by our calling of his direction and swam up to the light as the flame was lit. In the center of the treehouse was a beautiful fountain surrounded by lush greenery... truly an oasis! We sang songs, participated in wonderfully relaxing meditations, and even made a scrapbook of our WS experience! We will never forget our way back to the well!
Many, many thanks to the women of the PC who planned this wonderful event:
Meg Boendier, Event Coordinator (EC) and Scribe
Alice Hugi and MJ Lieberman, Institute and Gathering Worships
Heather Vrana, Tracks & Workshops Coordinator
Karen Barthel, Activities
Amy Bagnall, Sales
Return to The Well
by Meg Boendier, Fall Event Coordinator
Over the last 8 months, I've reflected a great deal on what these words really
mean to me: Return to The Well. What is The Well? How do we Return to something,
if we don't know what it is? Through the process of planning this event with
six amazing women, this is what I have found The Well to be for me.
Have you ever gone somewhere and instantly felt at home? Felt welcomed and at
ease, nurtured and safe? That's The Well. It can be a place, a group of friends,
a spiritual community, a sacred space within yourself where you know who you
are. And it can be all of these things at one time, where it all comes together,
where you can relax, rest, learn, laugh, cry, share, be yourself, and know you
are safe among friends, new and old. That's The Well of Womenspirit. It's like
taking a swim in a cool mountain pool of wisdom, continually being renewed by
the waterfall of new and longtime members coming together to create a refreshing
respite from our hectic world.
Sometimes the journey can be difficult, requiring us to look at our true reflection
in the still waters of The Well. And sometimes it can be a journey of pure joy,
feeling the inner Well being renewed as only true friendship and sharing can.
Whenever we drink in the refreshing truth of Spirit -- when we let our tears
of pain and sorrow fall like rain onto its smooth surface, creating small rings
that flow outward, inner-linking with one another -- The Well of Womenspirit
is forever changed. When our peels of laughter and joy ripple across the surface
like a soft summer breeze, The Well of Womenspirit is forever changed. With each
gift of sharing, The Well deepens within ourselves, and around us as each of
us grows in Spirit, forever linked by our shared experiences.
The Candlelight Labyrinth on Fall Equinox
by Meg Boendier
by Wendy Hammer, Spring Event Coordinator
"Many Faces, One Goddess"
She's all the same, and we call Her by different names. Unmask the many faces of the Goddess. Awaken her ancient wisdom. Hear the many voices with which She speaks. Discover how to birth Her wisdom into your life and into our world.
Institute: The Goddess has many faces, some familiar some hidden, some so old we have forgotten Her name. We will explore the different names and the many paths to the one Goddess.
Gathering: The Goddess is awakening. We are tasked with awakening the world consciousness to Her, but first we must awaken our own consciousness to Her.
Join our sisters at The Mountain the week after Mother’s Day (Wednesday, May 17 through Sunday, May 21) for this spring’s event. Look for registration information in the mail during in early March 2006.
The Planning Committee (PC) for this event is:
Wendy Hammer, Event Coordinator (EC)
Byron Ballard, Institute Worship Coordinator
Kathleen Barnes, Gathering Worship Coordinator
Carol Dover, Tracks & Workshops Coordinator
Quinn Hazelbaker, Sales & Activities
Margaret Schmidt, Scribe
Because of feedback from the WS membership that there is too much time between the fall and spring events (compared to the shorter time between the spring and fall events), the Coordinating Council (CoCo) has rescheduled our Fall event dates. Beginning this coming Fall we will be coming to the mountains in the crispness of October. In 2006, our event will be held from October 18-22. The third week of October is traditionally the most beautiful for the fall leaves, so that will be an extra bonus as our sisters travel the pilgrimage to The Mountain. And be sure to pack warm clothes!
$$$$ News from the Treasurer $$$$
by Lea Close
Thanks to the generosity of the wonderful women who put on the fall event without
taking any credits for their work, along with all the generous women who have
donated to WS, we are in much better financial shape than we were this time
last year. Last fall, the Coordinating Council (CoCo) was worried that WS would
not continue to exist because of our steady decline in funds. While we are
not out of the woods yet, things are looking much better for the future!
To further our goal of having two events a year and to allow our volunteers
to receive much-deserved credits for their work, the CoCo has reluctantly decided
to increase the WS fee from $55 to $60 per event and the membership fee from
$15 a year to $20 a year. The fees have not increased in several years, and
the consensus is that it is necessary to do so to cover the increased costs
of putting on the events.
To explain a little, each volunteer on the PC as well as workshop and track
leaders receive credits for their work. One credit equals the WS fee as well
as The Mountain fee. Right now that equals $185 for one credit. (The WS fee
portion of the credit is actually a loss of income as opposed to an outlay
of funds.)
The number of credits each woman receives is based on what she does. A PC volunteer
gets two credits for the event. A track leader also gets two credits. An all-day
workshop leader gets one credit, and a half-day workshop leader gets a half-credit.
WS also reimburses the PC members for their travel and limited food for the
two meetings they have prior to the event. They also receive reimbursement
for expenses incurred to put on the event, such as supplies for worship services
and registration flyer expenses (postage and copying costs). After the credits
and other expenses are subtracted from each event’s income, we hope to
have a very small profit, usually $500-$1,000 for each event. That amount,
along with donations, fund scholarships as well as expenses incurred by the
CoCo to keep the organization running.
Each CoCo member (there are six of us) receives one credit per calendar year.
We have one weekend meeting a year and one conference call. All other business
is done via email. There are periodic costs for updating the Sacred Text as
well as miscellaneous expenses such as banking costs.
And that is the story in a nutshell! Hopefully, everyone now understands how
our fees are spent and understands the need for the increase. I, as well as
the rest of the CoCo, am always available to anyone who has questions or suggestions
concerning WS.
Welcome Home to Our Newest WS Sisters!
by Donna Gibson, Membership
We currently have 171 members, including 39 new members who have joined
since the Spring event! Thirty-one new sisters joined us for the Fall
2005 WS event. Nine women have joined us recently without even attending
an event!
Welcome Home to all our new Sisters! We are currently revising our
new member packet and will mail them when completed.
by Donna Gibson
Joan Moore was the surprised recipient of the premiere “UU Womenspirit Sisterhood Award”. The special “The Spirit of the Crone” award was presented to Joan at the Fall 2005 WS Membership meeting. She was honored for her ongoing commitment, support and guidance to WS and women’s spirituality in addition to Unitarian Universalism and The Mountain. Joan is a steady presence at WS and an elder model and mentor to many of us. According to our records, Joan has attended more WS events than any other member. Joan reflected that she has attended WS since its early days, served on PCs, and drove many women to our events in her van. In addition to the public recognition, Joan received a lifetime honorary WS membership, a certificate, and a commemorative moonstone necklace created by Kate Stockman.
The UU Womenspirit Sisterhood Award was created to publicly honor the energy, intention and commitment of our members. These awards will be given periodically by the CoCo when it is determined that a member deserves recognition because of the difference she has made in our organization.
A fun and creative challenge was issued at the Fall event: what are other words that PMS can stand for? These are some of the PMS titles offered by our all-knowing sisters, gathered and shared at Caberet by our inimitable Mistress of Ceremonies, Claire Little:
Pleasing My Self Pretty Magnificent Solstice
Poor Me Syndrome Pre-Mountain Syndrome
Punch Men Silly Pack My Suitcase
Priority Mental Status Powerful Magickal Sisters
Pain (in) My Special location Primitive Mood Swings!
Piss & Moan Syndrome Partially Mad Side-effect
Pain (in) My Stomach Persistant Mental Sympathy
Perpetual Mood Swings Probably Male Stress
Poutty Male Syndrome Problematic Mood Surge
Probing Massaging Sex Persistent Mental Silliness
Playful Manattee Soulsisters Practical Magic Spells
Permanent Mental Spasms Platelets Moving South
(Thanks to Deb Brown for the transcriptions.)
Our 20th Anniversary Is Approaching!
It’s hard to believe that WS is almost 20 years of age! Our first event
was held in the Spring of 1987. We are planning to have a celebration in Spring
and Fall of 2007. Part of that celebration will include inviting some of your
favorite tracks & workshops back. So let us know what some of your favorite
offerings were (or who your favorite teachers/leaders/subject areas are) and
we’ll try to including them in our 20th Anniversary. You can send these
suggestions to Kate Stockman at <kstockman@mchsi.com>. Let us know how
you want to celebrate together!
Anyone want to be a part of this planning? Just let Kate know.
Piecing Together
Our WS Herstory
We have 2 projects going on to weave our WS herstory into creations that we can
all view, appreciate, and enjoy! One is an album project headed up by Heather
Vrana. The other is a quilt coordinated by Meg Boendier. Read on to see how you
can help us gather this information and bring these projects up to date!
Album of Sisterhood
We are gathering photos, notes, and stories from WS over the past 19 years
so we can create a WS album. Do you have any memories to share? If so, please
send
them (by email or snail mail) to Heather Vrana (<kidbaby2k@yahoo.com> or
7443 Windyrush Road, Charlotte, NC 28226-3113). Heather donated an album and
brought materials to our fall WS to begin putting the album together with others
interested in
participating. The intention of this effort is to preserve stories
and photos from all of the years that Womenspirit has been around, to enrich
our present experiences, and to inspire hope in the future of our organization.
This beautiful album will portray what is so special about WS and will be passed
on and added to from year to year, sister to sister.
The Fabric of our Community
As many of you know, we have a completed quilt that boasts a patchwork
of logos from t-shirts from our first 10 years of WS events... a beautiful
testimony of our herstory. We are gathering t-shirts to piece our second
decade of herstory together.
We’re asking you to give us the shirt off your back (how many times can
you really say that?!?) We are missing one t-shirt logo and are putting a call
out for someone to donate hers to our quilt: a shirt from our Walking the Magical
Path event. Can anyone help us out and give us the shirt off your back?
If you can donate your t-shirt, please contact Meg Boendier at <mboendier@bellsouth.net>.
Many thanks.
Getting the Word Out about WS!
Many, many sisters have been busy getting the word out about our sisterhood! Thanks to all of you!
Several women introduced WS at SUUSI this past summer, which resulted
in at least 10 new memberships!
Also, this summer there were other events when our sisters spent time
promoting our community. Here’s one account from Toni Stephenson:
In August, I had the opportunity to attend the first Pagan Pride Festival in Knoxville. It occurred to me that this would be a great opportunity to tell participants about Womenspirit. So, using our beautiful and eye-catching quilt, Heather Cramer’s wonderful poster, and numerous handouts, I had an information table at the event (see photo, below). I did get the names of several interested wimmin and gave out lots of brochures. None of the participants who came to the table had ever heard of our organization.
I am writing this to remind each of us that we need to be aware of and open to opportunities to bring information about WS to others. As you are aware, our numbers have been down, which results in financial problems for our organization. If you are like me, you do not want to see WS cease to exist. Each of us can do something to “spread the word.” It does not need to be as elaborate as what I had the opportunity to do. Just talking to individuals and giving them information can be very worthwhile. So I challenge each of you to do your part to share with others in individual situations or at large events what WS means to you and what it can mean to them to join us.
If you have an event where you would like to promote WS, please contact
Heather Cramer at <heathercramer@bellsouth.net>.
Heather is coordinating sending out materials to anyone who needs brochures,
posters, handouts, a Powerpoint
slide show starring our sisters, etc.
Recently, Lynn Hughes distributed WS information at the Asheville Goddess
Gathering and Renee Robb-Cohen promoted WS at Asheville’s Pagan Pride
Day.
Other sisters are stepping up to help inform and welcome others to WS:
Kathleen McGowan has agreed to coordinate UU Congregation Outreach efforts.
We’ll send out more info on this project in the near future. Meanwhile,
be thinking about UU congregations you can visit to talk with women about the
WS experience and what it means to you. Kathleen is developing a suggested
script and introductory letter that she can share. Katie Haney conquered her
fears and talked with a couple of Raleigh UUs (and gathered a couple of new
sisters who attended this Fall’s event!). If you’re interested
in working with this aspect of outreach, contact Kathleen at <kate100@alltel.net>
Elizabeth Adams continues to be our Webmistress Extraordinaire. Heather Cramer
has donated proceeds from the Praises for the World concert this past spring
(see previous newsletter for more info) to go towards revising our website
and make it even more informative about who we are. Thank you, Heather! Elizabeth,
Heather, and Kate Stockman will be working together to develop some new designs
and options with our website. If anyone has any ideas or expertise she’d
like to offer, please contact Kate at <kstockman@mchsi.com>.
Kay-Sea Conklin and Deb Brown are piloting a phone survey by contacting sisters
who we haven’t seen at WS in a while. Thanks for all those hours on
the phone, sisters! Anyone who would like to help, please contact Kay-Sea
at <conklingroupnews@bellsouth.net> or
Deb at <itsinourhands@earthlink.net> .
Renee Robb-Cohen is working with Patricia Cooper, a new WS member and
grantwriter, to explore grant opportunities for WS... with funding
for outreach efforts
as well as program explorations. If you would like to contribute to this
effort, please contact Renee at <robbcohen@buncombe.main.nc.us> .
Kate Stockman wrote an article about WS entitled “A Pilgrimage to Sisterhood” that
was published in the September issue of WNC Woman, a monthly tab mag distributed
throughout western North Carolina. Copies were available to be picked up at
our Fall event. If you’re interested in reading the article, contact
Kate. If you have a publication you think might be a good place for an
article on WS, contact Kate.
Also, WS is running periodic advertising (which Heather Cramer designed)
in WNC Woman, which has resulted in several area women contacting WS (a
couple attended our fall event!) for more info. While we need to be careful
with
our
spending, some publications that are women-focused and/or spirituality-focused
are good opportunities for outreach. If you know of any such publications,
please contact Kate at <kstockman@mchsi.com>.
Upcoming Events of Interest
“Cafe Medusa”
by Heather Cramer
Atlanta area women... and all of you who are willing to make a road trip...
please join us for this powerful women-centered evening in the heart of Little
5 Points
in Atlanta, GA! Alice Lovelace, who opened the “Praises for the World” concert
with her beautiful and powerful poetry, is gathering women to speak through
the various art forms. Kate Stockman (poetry) and Heather Cramer (painting)
will
both be presenting. We will have a table for WS between our sales booths and
would love to have some of you come to help share the joys of WS with an expected
attendance of around 500. This promises to be a very high energy evening...
more amazing than even we can imagine! Please join us! Volunteers who help
with set
up/event work/clean up will get in free and be greatly appreciated.
Women on Fire Performance Collective,
7 Stages Theatre & Word Diversity Collective
present… for one night only…
Café Medusa
Saturday • November 19
8:00 pm - 1:00 am
A female centered evening of performance, visual art, spoken word, drama, poetry,
fiction,
food, books, music, dance, song, and film/video.
7 Stages Theatre • 1105 Euclid Avenue • Little 5 Points • Atlanta • GA • 30307
Participating artists include over 50 critically acclaimed women who will be
performing and exhibiting their talent. Performers range from 14 to 73. A full
list of participants with bios is available on the Word Diversity Collective
website: www.worddc.org
Tickets: $10 (Advance reservations are encouraged and tickets will be sold
at the door.)
Reservations: 7 Stages Theatre 404-523-7647 www.7stages.org
Information: Alice Lovelace 404-755-1905 www.worddc.org
"We Shall Lift Each Other Up"
by Heather Cramer
Sharings from our Sisters
Circle-Gather
by Renee Robb-Cohen
We circle-gather together,
Mother, Sister, Daughter, Crone
to work our magic,
our miracles,
in everyday living.
We employ the paradox of diversity
speaking with one voice.
Our rhythms move from jaunty to smooth,
and harmony is textured with syncopation.
We circle-gather to speak our truths,
as diversity has many,
and to honor our differences.
We serve
Mother, Sister, Daughter, Crone
even as we are Ourselves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Three
by Linda Myers
The Maiden fair
Sings her strength
Her soft bright hair
A shining length
The Mother calls
" Come to me
As water flows
Into the sea"
The Old One weaves
A starry net
And with it breathes
What is not yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dark Moon
by Linda Myers
Dark as the night wind
Empowered by magic
Strong as the Earth
At the Crossroads
The Goddess of Birth and Death waits
The leaves spin round
Black robes flow
The dark winds swirl
No moon shines upon her face
Arms raise to the sky
Power vibrates the night
Slowly moving widdershins
Suddenly a spark
Fire burns brightly
Shadows flicker
She calls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Invocation
by Kate Stockman
Blessed Creator,
Individually and collectively, we grieve and tremble
in concert with the Earth’s weeping and shaking.
We watch in dread at the suffering of many,
feeling helpless, feeling fear.
Plant within each of us the seeds of hope.
Sacred Mystery of the Universe,
As the first leaves of fall blanket the earth,
Surround our hearts in a cocoon of love and light
So that we can make our most enlightened choices.
As the nights lengthen into winter,
Plant within each of us the seeds of light.
Blessed Nurturer of All,
As we engage in daily schedules driven by achievement,
Stroke our spirits with your gentle hand
So that we can refocus on what is nearest and dearest:
Family, friends, health.
Plant within each of us the seeds of peace.
Spirit of Life,
May Your grace inspire our lips to gentleness,
our minds to gratitude, and our hearts to love.
And may our lives reflect Your generosity and creativity
that nourish the soul of the world.
Give us gratitude. Give us hope. Give us light. Give us peace.
Blessed Be.
Every effort is made to distribute newsletters quarterly around the Fall and Spring Equinoxes and the Summer and Winter Solstices. Deadline for submitting copy is the first of September, December, March, and June.
You are receiving this newsletter as one of your member benefits of Womenspirit. Please be sure to renew your membership as it comes due so you can continue to keep up to date with our event registrations as well as seasonal newsletters! For membership information, contact Donna Gibson, Registrar & Membership Chair, at <registrar@uuwomenspirit.org>.