Religious Feminists Share How to Build a Good Society

Our theme was inspired by the work of Dr. Mary E. Hunt in “Whither the Common Good?” Waterwheel, Vol. 9, No. 3 newsletter article. Mary is a Ph.D. feminist liberation theologian and ethicist and co-director of WATER, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual.

By Helen Popenoe
The common good has been cast aside for promoting individualism and self-interest. *As Dr. Hunt says, “Like our foremothers who had little to say in the matter, we are the ones expected to hold it all together.” Finally there is growing awareness that women’s respected stand in society is the key to progress and women’s personal independence gives strength for interdependence. I see this as the path for, (as Rev. Dr. Shirley Ranck, “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” author says), “us to alter society whenever it fails to support harmony within the self, among selves, and in relation to nature.”
“We are not here to judge people,
We’re here to unlock them.
In unlocking people, you will discover
A vast amount of simple goodness.”

From Swami Chetanananda’s “Songs from the Center of the Well.”
*For more from Mary’s article, see the Exchange column at the end of this issue.

NEWS FROM THE FIRST EVER INTERNATIONAL UU CONVOCATION FOR PROGRESSIVE WOMEN OF FAITH

SAVE THE DATE at the beginning of 2009!

The last major gatherings of UU women in the United States were in the early 1990s. It’s time to gather again, this time with international representation. The UUA, UU Women’s Federation, UUPCC, ICUU and UU Women and Religion have joined together with The Southwest UU Women, the primary organizers, to co-sponsor this special gathering convocation.

The Convocation will be held February 26 to March 1, 2009, in Houston, Texas. Women from around the UU world will meet to

• Educate ourselves about women’s rights worldwide,
• Engage with others to cooperate on action,
• Ground our action in faith and UU theological principles,
• Transform ourselves and our world.

We will form ourselves as a living-learning community to share our stories and learn from each other, worship, dance, sing and celebrate together, motivate each other to action, inspire and support emerging leaders, and form lasting partnerships and friendships committed to working together to enrich women’s lives.

Here are some of the challenges that we will learn more about at the convocation:

• Global Poverty
• The politics of power and oppression
• Right relations between unequal partners
• Sexuality, health care and safety
• Access to educational opportunities
• Global climate crisis and environmental challenges
• The role of religion in oppressing or supporting women

You won’t want to miss this!

Some of the speakers who have agreed to date are Dr. Sharon Welch, Rev Laurel Hallman, Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, and Rebecca Adamson.

Save the date and share the information about this Convocation with others in your church. See the article elsewhere about the Global Literacy Project and plan to use this curriculum in your congregation. Check out the website for more up to date information www.icuuw.com Consider sponsoring a woman from you congregation here who other wise could not attend. See the next article on bringing someone from your partner village or sponsoring an international attendee to the conference.

Imagine what we can do as Unitarian Universalists by coming together in person and via the Internet to strengthen our UU global village network and enrich women’s lives worldwide.

Rev. Dr. Dorothy May Emerson, ’05 – ’07 Co-Convener, UU Women & Religion, Program Coordinator, International Convocation of UU Women adds this news:

Global Literacy Project:
Weaving our U*U Global Village Network

The Global Literacy Project provides a process and Internet-based resources for educating ourselves and each other in global and cultural literacy, encouraging participants to:

• Examine how we are connected with others around the world
• Explore the impact our connections have on others
• Consider ways to be in right relations with people in our global village
• Learn about U*U and United Nations organizations working globally to improve women’s lives
• Consider what we know and what we need to know to be effective global citizens
• Strengthen our U*U global village network

The program may be used by individuals, families, congregations, women’s groups and other organizations. There are six two-hour sessions, with time in between for individual exploration and reflection. Order online at www.icuuw.com. $50 for congregations and organizations, $25 for individuals and families.

SESSION I: How is each of us connected globally? Mapping personal connections and networks and considering what it means to be in right relations with those with whom we are connected

SESSION II: Who is in our U*U Global Village Network? Learning about U*U international organizations and programs and hearing stories of women in countries where there is a U*U presence

SESSION III: How is the challenge of achieving Women’s Rights worldwide being addressed? Facing hard facts about the status of women and exploring ways the United Nations and other organizations work to improve women’s lives

SESSION IV: What strategies and model programs are working to end poverty and improve women’s lives? Learning about the Millennium Development Goals and programs that bring hope and transformation to those who live in extreme poverty

SESSION V: How can we develop global partnerships based on right relations? Identifying practices and characteristics of effective partnerships, including new capacity-building programs based on right relations

SESSION VI: How can we weave the U*U Global Village Network? Exploring ways to increase connections among U*U’s around the world and participate in the International Convocation of U*U Women both in person and via the internet.

Social Action Report from the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy

Lauding the Work of UU W&R Core Group Member Nuala Carpenter, a member of Main Line Unitarian Church of Devon, Pennsylvania, worked hard to elect Joe Sestak to the House of Representatives in 2006. As a Freshman Representative, Rep. Sestak has encouraged his constituents to write him and send emails, so that he can respond to their needs and wants.

So when Nuala attended a gathering of his supporters last week she brought along the information the UUA Washington Office sent out on our advocacy-news list, urging support for H.R. 3797, the New Diplomatic Offensive for Iraq Act. As she left the event Nuala mentioned the bill to Joe and handed him the information.

The next week, Nuala got an email from Sestak's Military Legislative Assistant. He said, "[Rep. Sestak] gave me your information as well as your notes on H.R. 3797, The New Diplomatic Offensive for Iraq Act… he recognizes the importance of diplomacy and, after discussing your notes with him, Congressman Sestak has decided to cosponsor H.R. 3797."

Nuala is a founding member of the Peace and Justice task force at Main Line Unitarian Church which was started in response to the threat of the Iraq war when they were organizing busses to go to the peace marches in Washington. But this was the first time Nuala had ever personally approached an elected official about a bill, though she had sent lots of letters and e-mail.

Nuala wrote to me saying, "It was an elating experience since it was so successful and it restored some of my hope in a rather dark time." While we do not all have representatives that we agree with or support, we all have the right to call our representatives and request a meeting. Sitting down with your representatives and asking them to support a specific piece of legislation (such as H.R. 3797) is the most effective way to get results. We highly encourage you to review our resource on setting up in-district lobby visits and to start making a habit of visiting your legislators.

Thanks to the work of Nuala and to the 225 people who have taken action on our website, six new Members of Congress have co-sponsored H.R. 3797 since Congress reconvened on January 14th.

For Justice,
Adam Gerhardstein

________________________________________
Adam Gerhardstein - Legislative Assistant for International Issues
phone: 202.296.4672 x21 | email: agerhardstein@uua.org
Alex Winnett - Program Associate for Peacemaking | Marry Bonner Memorial Internship
phone: 202.296.4672 x20 | email: awinnett@uua.org
UUA Washington Office for Advocacy
1320 18th Street NW, Suite 300B | Washington DC, 20036
website: www.uua.org/socialjustice | fax: 202.296.4673

The Sisterhood of UUWF and UU W&R

I was elected to the board of the UUWF, UU Women’s Federation, in 2004, serving as chair of its then recently formed funding program that advances equity and justice for women and girls by making grants for bold and innovative projects that contribute to positive social change. When I became President in June of 2007, it was a daunting yet exciting adventure. There are projects, both current and future, that I see as ones about which our two organizations will be excited and to which we wish to contribute in some fashion. What I must stress, though, from the UUWF vantage point, is that we have morphed into a FUNDING ORGANIZATION and thus must keep that priority front and center at all times. One such project outside of our in-house grants program to which we have contributed (modestly, in keeping with our new priority) is the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women. Having recently obtained a stack of the convocation brochures, I was truly impressed with both the quality of featured speakers and the breadth of the list of women who serve on the advisory committees. (including two representatives from UUWF on the Steering Committee--Arlene Johnson and Dorothy Emerson.)

Recognizing that this is the first ever international convocation for UU women, it is ground breaking and maybe even a little scary. "Will it really happen, can we pull this off?" Well, my answer to that question is YES. And, to summarize why I am so certain of that fact, I would like to quote an unknown author's poem --

"One woman awake, awakens another
the second awakens her next door neighbor and three awake can rouse
the town and turn the whole place upside down. And many awake can
raise such a fuss that it finally awakens the rest of us.
One woman up with the dawn in her eyes,
MULTIPLIES."

CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE WHAT 1,000 WOMEN GATHERED FROM ACROSS THE WORLD IN HOUSTON IN FEBRUARY OF 2009 COULD DO?!

I CAN......................................

With best wishes,
Linda Lu Burciaga
President, Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation

Report from the Field Newsletter of Crabgrass

The adoption of this ambitious program, initiated in 2000 by the United Nations, came with staged deadlines that take into account such practical matters as feasibility and funding. Here are eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which, in shortened headline form, are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Develop a global partnership for development.

Misogyny in the '08 Presidential Elections

Janet Keysser in Golden Valley, MN

[Editor’s Note: Since UU W&R seeks to model fair, non-patriarchal process, it is important to us that those of you who wish to give comments on all three candidates (Clinton, Obama and McCain plus those still trying to be heard such as Kucinich and Paul) are welcome to submit them for publication in WOMUUNWEB’s Summer and Fall issues.]

These words shared by Janet Keysser come from Robin Morgan, the keynote speaker for the 13th. Annual International Women’s Day Celebration in Minneapolis. The full article can be found at http://www.womensmediacenter.com/ex/020108.html

Goodbye, goodbye to . . .

—blaming anything Bill Clinton does on Hillary (even including his womanizing like the Kennedy guys—though unlike them, he got reported on). Let’s get real. If he hadn’t campaigned strongly for her everyone would cluck over what that meant. Enough of Bill and Teddy Kennedy locking their alpha male horns while Hillary pays for it.

—an era when parts of the populace feel so disaffected by politics that a comparative lack of knowledge, experience, and skill is actually seen as attractive, when celebrity-culture mania now infects our elections so that it’s “cooler” to glow with marquee charisma than to understand the vast global complexities of power on a nuclear, wounded planet. (my bolding - JK)

—the notion that it’s fun to elect a handsome, cocky president who feels he can learn on the job, goodbye to George W. Bush and the destruction brought by his inexperience, ignorance, and arrogance.

Goodbye to the accusation that HRC acts “entitled” when she’s worked intensely at everything she’s done—including being a nose-to-the-grindstone, first-rate senator from my state.

Goodbye to her being exploited as a Rorschach test by women who reduce her to a blank screen on which they project their own fears, failures, fantasies.

Goodbye to the phrase “polarizing figure” to describe someone who embodies the transitions women have made in the last century and are poised to make in this one. It was the women’s movement that quipped, “We are becoming the men we wanted to marry.” She heard us, and she has.

Goodbye to some women letting history pass by while wringing their hands, because Hillary isn’t as “likeable” as they’ve been warned they must be, or because she didn’t leave him, couldn’t “control” him, kept her family together and raised a smart, sane daughter. (Think of the blame if Chelsea had ever acted in the alcoholic, neurotic manner of the Bush twins!)

Goodbye to some women pouting because she didn’t bake cookies or she did, sniping because she learned the rules and then bent or broke them. Grow the hell up. She is not running for Ms.-perfect-pure-queen-icon of the feminist movement. She’s running to be president of the United States.

-- Robin Morgan

More . . .

Dear Friends,

Regardless of what you think of Hillary Clinton's politics or style, I urge you to read the op ed [by Marie Cocco for the Washington Post] HERE. I wrote to thank the author for her piece, and saw that there were already over 1100 responses from this morning, many of them nasty and angry (sigh)... So much for civil and respectful public discourse. What I also thanked her for was that she didn't put down Sen. Obama in the course of making her points.* And yes, of course, there has been and will continue to be racism hurling its disgusting head throughout the Obama campaign. However, that doesn't negate that the sexism and outright misogyny have been ever-present toward Clinton's campaign, and has continued largely without objection raised by public leaders and the media. Feel free to pass this along, to men as well. Many may not be attuned to these dynamics; at least this can hopefully serve as an educational opportunity.

Ronni/Veronica Adams, President, Riding the Wave Training & Development "Innovative Management & Diversity Resources for a MultiCultural World"
www.ridingthewave.net

* Although I would appreciate him calling this out (more than we've been made aware of) and serving as a role model and ally to women in this regard.

District News

FOLLOW-UP ON THE WINTER WOMUUNWEB LEAD STORY* ABOUT THE MURDERS OF JENN, HER 2 YR. OLD, HER 4 YR. OLD AND ANDREA

From Susan Pendergraft, FL District W&R Chairwoman

All UU W & R women are invited to participate in a short ritual at GA to honor victims of domestic violence. A memorial art piece consisting of a central W & R banner and a number of prayer flag-like sections will be brought to display at GA. Women from W & R circles far and wide have submitted small and large pieces to honor the lives of two women Jennifer Davis and Andrea H. Pisanello, as well as the lives of Jennifer’s two children Olivia and Magnus. They were the victims of domestic violence this December. All were members of the UU of Clearwater, Florida. As part of their honoring we will have a silent witness where anyone who would like may gather to walk the panels through the halls of GA. Women are invited to wear purple, the color of domestic violence awareness. Small purple ribbons will be available to pass out as well. We will walk to together as sisters to remember all those who have suffered and are suffering at this time.

Thanks to the Central Midwest District and the UU W&R Core Group for the wonderful feathers they sent. I have them on my healing altar and, also placed them on the altar at Jenn's memorial service in December. I can't thank you enough for your loving support. We are trying to reorganize here. I just sent out a long e-mail detailing our volunteer needs. I made it clear that our new co-chairs need to commit to be involved nationally. .

* Past WOMUUNWEB issues can be found on www.uuwr.org. Also, please, see P.59 of the Spring UU World issue, entitled “Murders, Suicide Rock Florida UU Congregation” to gain information on the local, district and UUA responses to help with healing. The Florida W&R web site is www.floridawomenandreligion.org.

GLOBAL SISTERHOOD – Pacific Central District's RECENT RETREAT THEME

Over the March 7, 8, 9 weekend about 50 women from througout the Pacific Central District joined together in Napa for our annual retreat. We come from Honolulu, Reno, Carmel, Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto and the immediate San Francisco Bay Area. Our theme this year was Celebrating Global Sisterhood. We sang, laughed and cried together. Workshops included writing, learning about two amazing African women, Miria Matembe and Wangari Maathai, Shirley Ranck led a workshop on the updated Cakes for the Queen of Heaven and we talked about domestic violence and created some pieces for the Altar Cloth to be used at General Assembly. We broke into smaller affinity groups to discuss the meaning and aspects of sisterhood and had a wonderful closing worship on Sunday.

Geri Kennedy

GLOBAL LITERACY – Joseph Priestley District W&R’s SPRING CONFERENCE WORKSHOP THEME PLUS MORE NEWS

JPD W&R sponsored a workshop at Joseph Priestly District's Spring Conference on the Global Literacy Project.

JPD W&R FALL RETREAT October 17-19: Searching for the Goddess in Nature; Finding the Divine Within. We will take the heritage from the women in our lives and look at where we are and where we want to go from here. This will be a time a part with space to ponder and friends to share with. Come plan your next steps. Learn what to let go of and what to cling to. At Murray Grove Lanoka Harbor, N. J. Keep updated at JPDWR's website: http://www.jpdwr.org

JPD W&R has WomanLinks. What are WomanLinks? A woman link is a conduit for information of particular interest to women, and news of upcoming events between her congregation and the JPD Women and Religion Facilitators' Circle. A woman link receives information from us (the Facilitators' Circle) and from the JPD monthly packet. She transmits information to her congregation via bulletin boards, the church's newsletter, and Sunday morning announcements. If your congregation sponsors an event of interest to many women, your woman link informs us, and we include the announcement in our newsletter, transmitting it to all JPD congregations. Being a woman link is not onerous. In fact it is a pleasant way for the woman link (and event participants) to get to know other women in the District and an easy way to reaffirm bonds between your congregation and the JPD.

Central Midwest District's “Cakes” Curriculum Trainings

Leaders representing the CMwD Women & Religion Committee and the UU Women's Connection (CMwD UUWF successor) jointly presented a Central Midwest District Assembly workshop, and they plan five facilitator training events for the newly revised, ground-breaking curriculum, Cakes for the Queen of Heaven. These events will be held around the Central Midwest during the spring and fall.

For more information on these upcoming events, PLUS facilitator tips and discussion, visit http://cakesforthequeenofheaven.org or email CakesTraining@uuwr.org

W&R Event Calendar Online

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PUT YOUR TIME SENSITIVE ITEM ONTO OUR WEBSITE’S CALENDAR?

Send it to Gretchen with info@uuwr.org as the address. Be sure to include your District, date and location of the event, and a contact name and e-mail or direct link to more information. We generally will not publish phone numbers here.

Cakes Update

Announcements

Re-release of Rise Up & Call Her Name

Enjoy gorgeous images, inspiring music, art explorations, rituals, research, fun!

Now available in all new formats including DVD, CD and CD-ROM, this popular 13-week course is a Woman-honoring Journey into Global Earth-based Spiritualities that thousands have enjoyed since it was first introduced in 1995. One participant, Rene Bond Collins of Easton, Maryland, comments:

Rise Up gave me both imagery and the symbols I needed of the strong, powerful female who is nurturing, compassionate and vulnerable.

For details about the course, please visit www.RiseUpandCallHerName.com

All New Formats

Now more versatile, Rise Up can readily be undertaken in shorter segments. Selections are easier to find and play, as well as use independently from the longer course. The printed material is spiral bound in two handsome volumes, the Leader’s Guide and the Sourcebook.

Sylvia Tuchscherer of Kansas City, who had been using the well worn original version, comments:

When I got the updated curriculum, I curled up on the couch with the Leader's Guide, and read all the introductory material without having a 3" binder threaten to break further, pages refuse to cross the gap in the binder rings, or the videotape fall into my lap. It was a pleasure to work with the more compact and accessible materials.

Range of Activities

• exploration of the art, music and practices of varied cultures that reveals images honoring the female divine.
• joyful experiences of appreciation for indigenous cultures and world religions which are not exclusively monotheistic.
• opportunities for interchange with others about personal values.
• stimulation for individual reflection.

Rise Up can be ordered directly from the UUWR Store using a credit card, at http://www.uuwr.org/store.htm#riseup. Or, if you wish to pay by check contact the author, Elizabeth Fisher, at lizfisher@RiseUpandCallHerName.com.

WANT TO ENJOY A BERKSHIRE MOUNTAIN RETREAT? A longtime friend of the WOMUUNWEB editor, Sarah Prince has a beautiful bed and breakfast home. Go to www.innnature.com to see the details.

BARBARA STARR-LANGHUS GIVES US A WARNING!

I've checked this subject out and it does not seem to be a hoax:

Inflammatory breast cancer is an accelerated form of breast cancer that is usually not detected by mammogram or ultrasound. It is a rare cancer, accounting for approximately 1% - 3% of all breast cancers. Inflammatory breast cancer causes the breast to appear swollen and inflamed. The inflammation occurs because the cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast. This causes a blockage in lymph flow leading to the reddened, inflamed appearance to the breast. See http://www.ibchelp.org/

FEATURED UUWR STORE ITEM:

Remember to fill in the UU W&R survey, please.

W&R Herstory Survey

As a step in the documentation of the effects of the 1977 Women & Religion Resolution, we invite you to share your experiences and reflections by completing a short survey. You can access the survey online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=108723474835. Or you can contact Dorothy Emerson at RevEmerson@aol.com or 781-483-3133 and she will send the survey to you via email or snail mail.

UU Women Exchange Ideas and Actions!

This is a column that invites reader response.

By Helen Popenoe

This is my response to Misty’s last question, stated for this Exchange in the Winter Issue: “What role do religions play in social change or resistance to social change?”

Let’s begin our thinking with this quote from the theme description at the start of this issue: “In unlocking people, you will discover a vast amount of simple goodness.” This has happened to me when attending I.A.L.R.W., International Association of Liberal Religious Women conferences because of the small group encounters we customarily have. The goodness brought out in us reaches toward harmony and unity of purpose. I expect a delegation of my I.A.L.R.W., Japanese, Buddhist sisters to attend the ’09 Convocation. They are warm, progressive religious women from whom I have learned a great deal to apply to my personal mission for the betterment of people’s lives in today’s complex world.

My faith community of pagans (Transcendentalist-influenced) within the UU movement is showing me the way for my religious relationship with life’s inherent harmony. Yes, the lightning in a thunderstorm reminds me that regaining balance from conditions of imbalance can give off vigorous energy. I use that kind of energy in justified anger when I see a need for social change from my one to one marriage commitment to collective efforts such as with the non-patriarchal process I am learning from belonging to UU W&R...

Dr. Mary Hunt asks in her “…Common Good?” article (while giving context with her encapsulation of our U.S. history’s power-over-march into our future), “How can we use feminist religious resources to recoup social concern and repair the grievous damage to the social fabric?” She emphasizes that theological and ethical ideals, worship innovations and polity discussions all ask, “What impact will this have on children? How can we explain it or dance it or paint it or write it so they will understand that they and all of their peers have the human right to live fully as part of an abundant creation? The common good ahead begins with the survival of the children on the bottom as a first step toward reorganizing society. …Religious feminists share the notion that the common good is finally not a political term but a religious one.”

When giving her historical context, Mary hit home with me by giving a description that is a picture of my home congregation. “Religions, the traditional loci of such concerns [concerns relating to sheer individualism and marginalized, shoe-boxed groups with ‘special issues’] were, sad to say, not much help. Most of them by mid-century had bought the corporate model. Father/minister/rabbi was CEO; bigger was better, so growth and numbers took on real significance. The message had to be tailored to fit the cultural ethos in order to be understood. No sin that, but perhaps it contributed, albeit unwittingly, to the increased social fragmentation. …I propose some resources from feminist religious work that may help. …We are all approaching a common problem…the hegemony of attitudes, structures and practices which are founded on the notion that some people deserve more than others, rather than that the goods of the earth are meant to be shared. …Second, the resources of religion are not trivial in the equation, indeed they are crucial. The common good is finally not a political term, primarily ‘concerned with the government or state’, but a religious one.”

Note: To gain understanding of Mary’s full message, I suggest you request a copy of “Whither the Common Good?” from WATER: E-mail - water@hers.com

Web Site - www.hers.com/water

WOMUUNWEB DEADLINE for Summer 2008 issue is August 11.

Send your news to Helen Popenoe or mail to Helen at 6307 Wiscasset Road, Bethesda, MD 20816 – 2111

Many thanks to Gretchen Ohmann, UU W&R Webweaver for creating the formatting and all necessary logistics for publishing WOMUUNWEB in the first place! AND, AS OF THIS ISSUE, many thanks to longtime W&R’er, Betty Hoskins, for becoming my editorial board. How blessed I am to have Betty’s mentoring!

See WOMUUNWEB issues and the rest of our website at http://www.uuwr.org