Early Influences Endure
A number of leading women in the Protestant world began their work in and around the student movements.
Entries by waterstaff
May 31 The Life of Ruth Harris: A Service of Remembrance and Celebration
Friday, May 31, 2013 Noon to 1:30pm, reception to follow 475 Riverside Drive, 3rd Floor New York, New York 10115 RSVP to SLamour@unitedmethodistwomen.org. If you are unable to attend but would like to contribute a reflection to the service, send your message to Mary E. Hunt (mhunt@hers.com). Memorial gifts may be made to: WSCF Ruth […]
May 15 Rape Culture, Sexual Violence, and Spiritual Healing by Gina Messina-Dysert
Originally posted on Feminism and Religion.
Recently I had the great pleasure of presenting on the WATER Teleconference Series and dialoguing with women from around the world about how to promote healing in a rape culture. Likewise, in a previous post I discussed rape culture in the Church and its impact on victims of sexual violence and the greater community. Within a rape culture, those who experience sexual victimization endure physical, emotional, and spiritual wounding. It is a victimization unlike any other, and one that we must continue to discuss in search of healing.
Courage Needs to Make a Comeback to Create Change
A dose of courage would go a long way toward solving many ecclesial and civil problems.
May 13 Congratulations, Clarafrancie Cromer!
Clarafrancie Cromer, a former WATER intern, received her M.Div. on May 13, 2013 from Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC. Congratulations, Clarafrancie!
May 22 Teleconference with Marie M. Fortune, Jeanette Stokes, Mary E. Hunt, and Diann L. Neu
“A Century of Creative Feminist Leadership in Religion”
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
1 pm – 2 pm EDT
• In 1977, Marie M. Fortune founded FaithTrust Institute to mobilize faith communities to address sexual and domestic violence.
• In 1977, Jeanette Stokes founded the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South (RCWMS) to support women in and entering ministry and to weave feminism and spirituality into a vision of justice for the world.
• In 1983, Mary E. Hunt and Diann L. Neu founded the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) in response to the need for theological, ethical, and liturgical development for and by women.
Together, these modest non-profit organizations have logged more than a century of progressive feminist work for justice.
April 16 Pope Francis and the American Sisters by Mary E. Hunt
The jury is still out on Pope Francis in a pontificate that may well be shaped by women. A month after Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was named Bishop of Rome, his Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Most Rev. Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, met with the presidents of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group of American nuns that had come under doctrinal scrutiny and been found wanting.
Archbishop Mueller claimed that he had “recently discussed the Doctrinal Assessment with Pope Francis, who reaffirmed the findings of the Assessment and the program of reform for this Conference of Major Superiors.” On the face of it, this means that Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, Bishop Leonard P. Blair, and Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, who were named to enforce the terms the Congregation’s findings against the LCWR, are given carte blanche to do so. There may be more to this than meets the eye.
May 2013 Ritual: A Pentecost Prayer: Come, Sophia-Spirit
By Diann L. Neu | Divine Wisdom, Sophia-Spirit, calls for the liberation of all from patriarchy and kyriarchy.
July 3-4 A Spiritual Gathering For All Women: Claiming Our Roots, Nourishing Our Branches
Wednesday, July 3rd, 1 PM – Thursday July 4th, 11 AM
Hilton Minneapolis, 1001 Marquette Avenue South, just off Nicollet Mall downtown.
Register at: Women’s Retreat on convention registration page: https://conv2013.dignityusa.org/civicrm/event/info?id=41&reset=1.
Suggested donation is $25, more if you can, less if you can’t!
Join us to claim our roots and nourish our branches.
For more information:
DignityWomen@DignityUSA.org
DignityUSA office 800.877.8797
Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER)
waterstaff@waterwomensalliance.org or 301.589.2509
April 16 Article about Mary E. Hunt posted on Jann Aldredge-Clayton’s Blog
Click to read the article on Jann Aldredge-Claton’s blog.
“Changing Church: Dr. Mary E. Hunt, Catholic feminist theologian, Co-founder and Co-director of the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER), Silver Spring, Maryland”
More than two decades after women-church began, the movement is mature enough to let the needs of the world, not the failings of the institutional church, guide it. . . . It has always been a constructive feminist force that tries to embody what it envisions. Members keep the justice focus sharp by prodding one another to explore hard issues including racism, reproductive choice, homosexuality, and economic justice. . . . Leadership in house churches tends to rotate among participants. Empowering lots of people to be involved is a goal in women-church.