Patricia Monaghan 1946-2012
Author Patricia Monaghan passed on November 10. She wrote many books, The Goddess Path being perhaps the most well-known.
http://www.patricia-monaghan.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Monaghan says:
Patricia Monaghan, Ph.D., (born 15 February 1946-died 10 November, 2012) [was] one of the pioneers of the contemporary women's spirituality movement.[1] She is the author of more than 15 books of poetry and nonfiction, including the two volume Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. She live[d] in Black Earth, Wisconsin (although she [held] dual Irish and American citizenship), where she and her husband Michael McDermott tend[ed] a vineyard and large organic garden. ... a wine expert,[2] and author of Wineries of Minnesota and Wisconsin, she [was] a founder of and Senior Fellow at The Black Earth Institute,[3] connecting earth, spirit and society through the arts.
International Convo II is underway
On Thursday October 4, 2012, the Second International Convocation of Unitarian*Universalist Women kicked off its three day conference in Marosvásárhely, in the Târgu Mure? region of Transylvania.
Drawing over 240 participants from Transylvania, the United States, India, Hungary, Japan, England, the Netherlands, Germany, and beyond, the meeting’s theme is centered around “Keeping Your Balance in a Changing World.”
Among the many purposes of this conference is the rare and wonderful opportunity for U*U women to come together from all over the world in solidarity around women’s issues. Participants are afforded opportunities for cross cultural understanding and sharing, in essence, the chance to broaden horizons while strengthening our global community. Continue Reading
UUSC Rights Now: New Issue Spotlights Women Human Rights Leaders
Hot off the presses, the Summer/Fall issue of Rights Now, UUSC’s biannual newsletter, brings you stories of some of the remarkable, courageous women that UUSC works with every day to make our world a better place for all. In its pages you’ll meet Iris Munguia, a union organizer in Honduras; Rose Anne Auguste, director of a youth art program in Haiti; and many others. Read the new issue online now.
News from UU Women's Federation
The summer issue of their newsletter, The Communicator, is online, as well as the handout from the workshop on Social Justice they sponsored at GA2012.
The "Half the Sky" Movement
The Half the Sky movement is cutting across platforms to ignite the change needed to put an end to the oppression of women and girls worldwide, the defining issue of our time. Inspired by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s book of the same name, Half the Sky brings together video, websites, games, blogs and other educational tools to not only raise awareness of women’s issues, but to also provide concrete steps to fight these problems and empower women. Change is possible, and you can be part of the solution. The Series
The Half the Sky project includes a four-hour television series for PBS and international broadcast, shot in 10 countries: Cambodia, Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Liberia and the U.S. Traveling with intrepid reporter Nicholas Kristof and A-list celebrity advocates America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde, the series introduces women and girls who are living under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable — and fighting bravely to change them. Their intimate, dramatic and immediate stories of struggle reflect viable and sustainable options for empowerment and offer an actionable blueprint for transformation. The series will premiere in the United States Oct. 1 and 2, 2012, with international broadcast to follow.
This TV series (and the book) provide a great opportunity for individual Unitarian Universalists and UU congregations to develop greater understanding of the global context of Human Rights for Women. And, with that great understanding, to pursue action steps in many ways – including partnering with the UU Holdeen India Program (donate) and the UU United Nations Office (donate) – both of which are actively engaged with partners around the world fighting for Human Rights for Women.
Charlene Spretnak Honored for Leadership in Women's Spirituality
Charlene Spretnak is the 2012 winner of the Demeter Award for Leadership in Women’s Spirituality. The award will be presented at the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) national conference in San Francisco, May 11-12, 2012. Her presentation is entitled, Modernity, Mythology, and the Elusive Gestalt.
Ms. Spretnak’s work is internationally recognized in the areas of spirituality, cultural history, feminist and other social criticism, and ecological thought (Green politics, ecofeminism, ecophilosophy). In 2006 she was named one of “100 Eco-Heroes of All Time” by the publication of the British government’s Environmental Department.
She is one of the founding mothers of the Women’s Spirituality movement, through her work in the second half of the 1970s and the early 1980s. Her first book, Lost Goddesses of Early Greece: A Collection of Pre-Hellenic Myths reconstructed pre-Olympian myths for the first time in more than 2500 years; the Los Angeles Times called it “a poetic revelation.” [Two pieces from this work and several other references are included in Shirley Ranck's Cakes for the Queen of Heaven curriculum - Gretchen]
Her most recent book, Relational Reality: New Discoveries of Interrelatedness That Are Transforming the Modern World (2011), focuses on the “Relational Shift” seen in the fields of Education and Parenting, Health and Healthcare, Community Design and Architecture, and the Economy.
Keep Margaret Fuller's Spirit Alive
The Margaret Fuller Bicentennial Committee would like to thank everyone who hosted the traveling display “Why Margaret Fuller Matters,” celebrated Margaret Fuller Sunday, and created or participated in the many programs that were part of the Bicentennial all over the country. You have helped make this Bicentennial both rewarding and memorable.
The final Boston-area event was held on May 25, 2011, at Max and Dylan’s Restaurant at 15 West Street in Boston, the former Peabody Book Room, where Fuller offered several of her famed “Conversations." We are happy to report that the Boston Landmarks Commission voted unanimously to designate 13-15 West Street a Boston City Landmark, with a recommendation to pursue national designation for the site. There was no owner opposition to this listing, and no protests to the nomination. This is happy news after three years of waiting. What this means is that any attempts to demolish or take the building further away from its original configuration will have to go through a process of scrutiny that will hopefully give the public time to defend the site. It does not make the building invulnerable, but it does establish a first line of defense. Be sure to visit the site next time you’re in Boston.
Although our scheduled program has come to an end, we would like to remind you of the extensive resources that will remain on our website: www.margaretfuller.org.
