March 2018 WATERritual: Mary Magdalene and the Women Witnesses

By Diann L. Neu and the WATERstaff

Preparation

Cover an altar with a cloth. Place on it oil in a jar or bowl for anointing, and symbols of faith.

Call to Gather

We gather tonight to honor women who witness to their faith. This week Christian feminists celebrate Holy Week and Easter resurrection, the movement from death and mourning to life and hope. Jewish feminists celebrate Passover, the holiday of spiritual freedom and national identity. Women of both traditions tell the stories of journeying from oppression to liberation. Tonight we raise up women who have been faithful witnesses to faith that resists and does justice.

Naming the Circle: A Litany of Witnesses

Let us share our name, where we are geographically, and name a woman witness who inspires us:

I am [name] and I invite [a woman witness] into our circle.

Reader’s Theater of Women Witnesses  

Tonight we center our readings around the phrase found in the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, “If God has made her worthy, who are we to reject her?” (Ch 9.8) Listen to the women who witness to the Divine.

Miriam

I am Miriam, a prophetess. I saved the life of my little brother Moses. I had hope when those around me did not, yet they prophesied to the power of such hope. I led my people in jubilation as we crossed the Red Sea. I witness to faith which brings hope instead of fear, liberation instead of bondage, and joy instead of sorrow. 

Mary Magdalene

I am Mary Magdalene, a successor of Jesus. I traveled with him and supported his ministry financially. My discipleship was equal to that of the male disciples. At the foot of the cross my spirit fell, but in the garden I found hope. I saw Jesus and had faith and the strength to spread that faith. I ran to tell the others who were still in mourning. Many responded with doubt, yet I responded with courage. My story has been altered throughout history, but do not be mistaken. I was the apostle to the apostles and a witness to the Resurrection.

Aisha

My name is Aisha, wife to the prophet Muhammad. I am the mother of the believers in Islam and a leading scholar who played a vital role in the establishment of the Islamic civilization. Through my knowledge, I helped teach the Quran and conveyed more than 2,000 hadiths to Islam. I also had a considerable knowledge of Arabic poetry, medicine, and genealogy which led me to advocate for the education of women and children. I was a teacher for 40 years. I am an eye-witness of the spread and expansion of Islam. I nurtured it as a woman, a wife, a theologian, a political activist, and a leader.

Dorothy Day

I am Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. I have witnessed the abject conditions of those in poverty, the mistreatment of workers at the hands of greedy corporations, the catastrophes of war and violence, and the evil of an economic system that prioritizes profit over people. I have spoken out against these injustices in my newspaper, The Catholic Worker. Drawing on my deep religious commitments, I along with many others have taken part in a movement that centers hospitality, pacifism, equal distribution of resources, and radical faith.

Women of the Wall

I am a Woman of the Wall and I speak out with Jewish women from around the world who believe it is our right to pray freely at our most holy site, the Western Wall in Jerusalem. We encounter verbal and physical violence, we risk arrest, and we fight legal battles to empower Jewish women to embrace religion freely. We will not keep quiet until women are able to wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah at the Western Wall.

SSenfuke Joanita Warry

My name is Ssenfuka Joanita Warry. I am a lesbian, born and raised in a country where same-sex relations are punishable by imprisonment, and violence against LGBTQ individuals is commonplace. I am a human rights activist fighting to change this, but I have had to leave my home country of Uganda for my own safety. Many fellow lesbians and other LGBTQ individuals have been imprisoned or killed in Uganda. I am one of the lucky few.

Bree Newsome
I am Bree Newsome, an activist woman who climbed the flagpole in front of the South Carolina Capitol Building to remove the confederate battle flag. For some, my act was viewed as civil disobedience and for others it was a symbol of resistance and the empowerment of women. The confederate flag was a symbol of hate. After a white supremacist killed nine people at Emanuel AME Zion church, it was time for change, and I had no choice than to challenge, renounce, and resist white supremacy and tell the world that Black Lives Matter.

Fatima Mernissi

My name is Fatima Mernissi. I am a Muslim feminist raised in a haram with my mother and other women in my family. My mother and grandmother were illiterate. I was the first woman in my family to receive an education and am a pioneer in the field of Islamic Feminism. I have challenged misogynistic hadith and forged a new, liberating path for Muslim women in my home country of Morocco and abroad.

Naomi Wadler 

Speech from the March for Our Lives 

Reflection and Sharing

Which woman do you feel connected to and why? How are you a faithful witness to faith that resists violence and does justice?

Song: “You Shall Be My Witnesses” by Miriam Therese Winter (1987)

Refrain:

You shall be my witnesses through all the earth,

Telling of all you have heard and received,

For I arose and am with you and you have believed.

Verses:

Women leave your tombs. Roll the stones aside.

Do not despair, though so many dreams have died

Do not be fearful of the vision that you see.

Believe in miracles again. Believe in me.

Blessing of Oil and Anointing

Oil is the symbol used for anointing. We bless this oil and anoint one another to be faithful witnesses to faith that resists and does justice.

Pass the oil around the circle and anoint the person on your left saying:

“[Name] if God has made you worthy, who are we to reject you?” 

Greeting of Peace/Sending Forth

So go forth in peace and witness to that which you believe.

Song: Refrain of “You Shall Be My Witnesses”

Refrain:

You shall be my witnesses through all the earth,

Telling of all you have heard and received,

For I arose and am with you and you have believed.

Take Action:

• Support your daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and other young women in your area.
• Learn about feminist and womanist theology.
• Support the March for Our Lives Movement, here.

Let a woman-identified person in your life know that you see their witness at work.© 2018 Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER). Planned by Diann L. Neu dneu@hers.com, Heureuse Kaj heureuse@waterwomensalliance.org, Hannah Dorfman hannah@waterwomensalliance.org, Janaya Sachs janaya@waterwomensalliance.org, Rachel Beaver rachel@waterwomensalliance.org.