Welcome! The Women and Religion Movement is alive and well in the 21st Century. A grassroots project started by lay leaders in the 1970s as an effort to promote examination of religious roots of sexism and patriarchy within the UUA, UU Women and Religion officially began as a task force following the unanimously-passed WOMEN AND RELIGION RESOLUTION at the 1977 UUA General Assembly. Although the Task Force was eventually sunsetted, the movement still exists in UU Districts that hold Women & Religion programs and woman-focused gatherings. It exists at General Assembly, where UUW&R has an annual gathering and a booth in the display area. And it lives in the hearts and lives of women and men who have been touched by the many changes inspired by this movement. "We do not want a piece of the pie. It is still a patriarchal pie. We want to change the recipe!" -- Rosemary Matson
The Fall 2011 issue of WOMUUNWEB was e-mailed October 27! Click the News-->WOMUUNWEB Current link at top to read it. Here's the PRINTABLE version (PDF). |
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Belonging Values – Modern Morphing Replay
Walhonding Road, at the end of my street, is my pre-dawn destination for not-so-regular walks. Why? The urban symbolism of what I experience there gives my day’s work, usually for social change, much inspiration. It reminds me that sustainability is at the heart of any workable action plan. It reminds me to endure without giving way to power-over circumstances that can control my “balance”, “expressiveness,” “playfulness” and “openess to spirit.” (Note – all words in quotes come from a “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” resource, Carol Lee Flinders’ Rebalancing the World’s Belonging Values list.)
I seek to live with others in the pre-patriarchal forager ways (a redux for today’s needs.) It can be achieved by partnering with consensus decision making that employs complementarity, “mutuality” and “inclusiveness,” “generosity”, “deliberateness”, “egalitarianism”, “non-violent conflict resolution” (or management), and “self-restraint.” For my additional spiritual guidance, my Walhonding Road experience sparks awe-filled awareness of my “connection with the land”, my “empathic relationship to animals”, and to be a helpful inhabitant in my part of Earth’s biosphere, supporting healthy growth in the natural world (“custodial conservatism” which includes the motto, “What you have, you share.”)
These days many factors are often involved in making decisions, so that “ordinary deductive reasoning processes aren’t equal to the task.” So, with “affinity for alternative modes of knowing”, I try “to allow intuitive wisdom to come to the surface.” (Flinders quotes, again, to complete the Belonging Values list) All the Occupy consciousness raising brings a different national dialogue to the surface.
Continental UUW&R featured in One-and-OneOur online retreats calendar and the Cakes class calendar on www.cakesforthequieenofheaven.org were both featured as "one useful tool" in a January 2012 issue of One and One, an e-newsletter from the Ministries and Faith Development Staff Group of the Unitarian Universalist Association. http://www.uua.org/documents/mpl/one/120125_issue38.pdf
Apply for the Dana Greeley Award
All Unitarian Universalists are invited to submit a sermon (or address) to the UU-United Nations Office (UU-UNO). The topic this year should address “Empowering Women for a Better World.” While all submissions will be considered, those highlighting the work of the United Nations and the UU-UNO will be given priority consideration. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of $1,000 and will have the opportunity to deliver the sermon or address at the next UUA General Assembly. Send submissions by February 1, 2012 via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information, visit the UU-UNO's website. Consensus Resources
The following materials have been compiled to provide an overview of Consensus Decision Making, including definitions and suggested procedures. -- Nancy Irons, a past member of W&R in CMwD. Consensus decision-making is a group decision making process that not only seeks the agreement of most participants, but also the resolution or mitigation of minority objections. This strategy involves everyone playing a role in the decision making of the group. In order for this to be successful it is important to be open to compromise! Consensus is usually defined as meaning both general agreement, and the process of getting to such agreement. Consensus decision-making is thus concerned primarily with that process. While not as common as other decision-making procedures, such as the parliamentary procedure explained in Robert's Rules of Order, consensus is used by a wide variety of groups. Religious denominations such as the Quakers. . . . Longtime UU Leader Receives Interfaith Award
Janet Nortrom, long time active member of First Unitarian Society in Milwaukee, was honored at the 41st Annual Awards Luncheon hosted by the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee. Janet received the Frank Zeidler Award for her tireless work on social justice issues, voter education, as an environmental advocate and for her service as an Interfaith cabinet member from the Southeastern Wisconsin Unitarian Universalist Congregations (SEWUUC). Janet Nortrom is a Central Midwest District W&R WiseWoman and longtime UU Women's Federation member who also served on their national board. |
The fall edition of the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women's (ICUUW) newsletter is now available. Included in this edition:
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Upcoming Events
- Metro NY Women and Religion Annual Luncheon
January 28 (12:00 - noon) - Winter Woman Spirit in Rockford IL
February 03 (4:00 pm) - SWUUWCon in Clear Lake (Houston) TX with Meg Barnhouse
February 24 (4:00 pm) - Celebrating our Herstory - Women & Religion PCD 2012 Retreat
March 02 (10:00 am) - Celebrating Our Herstory with PCD W&R in Napa, California
March 02 (4:00 pm) - Eliot Chapel Women's Weeekend near St Louis MO
April 21 (5:00 pm)
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