November 2023 WATERritual
Give Thanks for Women of Wisdom
Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at 7.30 pm ET
By Diann L. Neu with Pamella Miller and Lisa Lauterbach
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Watch the recording of the November 2023 WATERritual on YouTube here.
Preparation: Have an apple nearby.
Welcome and Call to Gather
Welcome to our Thanksgiving liturgy. This is the season of gratitude which offers us an opportunity to say thank you. This is the time to remember ancestors. This is the time to give thanks for all good blessings. We gather to “Give Thanks for Women of Wisdom.”
Centering Prayer
Let us center ourselves by breathing together to release the negative energy that manifests in our bodies and minds.
Breathe in hope, Breathe out anxiety
Breathe in gratitude, Breathe out tension
Breathe in calm, Breathe out any stress or burdens
Breathe in creativity for peace, Breathe out grief
Holy One of Gratitude, Wisdom Sophia, we remember today the women, named and unnamed, who throughout the ages have used their wisdom and gifts to transform the world. We call upon these ancestors to help us discover within ourselves your wisdom and the ways we can use it to bring about desperately needed peace with justice. Be with us on this journey. Amen. Blessed be. May it be so.
Video: “A Moving Story about Gratitude” by Meir Kay
Litany of Goddesses and Biblical Women
Today, we have gathered to honor and give thanks to women of wisdom. This is particularly important because noteworthy women are – despite their wisdom and impact – too often forgotten or given not enough credit by society and history.
Further, we want to acknowledge the obstacles they encounter on their journey: Many women in the past as well as today have to face a lack of access to certain resources such as education or medical treatments. Too often, they also do not receive equal payment and treatment in their workspace nor in society.
Despite these circumstances, there are so many women who have brought and are still bringing light and wisdom to us. Let us remember their work and impact. Let us remember their inspiring lives and personalities. And most importantly, let us give thanks to them, to the women of wisdom.
In gratitude, let us remember women who imagined they could make a difference in the world—and did. Our response to each name is: Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Kwan Yin, a Buddhist Bodhisattva from China, the Goddess of Compassion, whose name means “She who hears the cries of the world.” Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Gaia, the Goddess that embodies Earth itself and all that live and breathe.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah, for answering the call of Sophia Wisdom and putting their faith in a covenant with the Holy One.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Mary, a Galilean Jew and mother, for listening, pondering, and knowing that she had been chosen to give birth to Jesus, a powerful liberator.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the apostles and the foundation of Women-Church, for sharing the first news of Jesus’ resurrection.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
Song: “Gratitude” by Sweet Honey in the Rock
Thank you for the blessing that you brought my way.
Your love is all around me each and every day.
Thank you for your goodness. I can feel it in my soul.
The joy you brought into my life is making me whole.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh…..
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Litany of Women of Recorded History
We remember Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, the Mexican nun who courageously criticized misogyny and hypocrisy of the patriarchy that led to her condemnation by the bishop of Puebla.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Sojourner Truth, for her defiant declaration of “Ain’t I A Woman” as she advocated for freedom by fighting for abolition and women’s rights.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks, the Sisters of Selma, Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, Fannie Lou Hammer, Gloria Richardson Dandridge, and the brave women who sparked the Civil Rights Movement, for refusing segregation.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Rachel Carson, for being an ecologist whose book Silent Spring advanced the global environmental movement.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Thea Bowman, FSPA, for being a trailblazing African-American Sister, the first black Sister in her white congregation who encouraged people to stand up for their rights, especially toward racial justice.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
Song: “Gratitude” by Sweet Honey in the Rock
Thank you for the blessing that you brought my way.
Your love is all around me each and every day.
Thank you for your goodness. I can feel it in my soul.
The joy you brought into my life is making me whole.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh…..
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Litany of Contemporary Women
We remember Dolores Huerta, for founding the United Farm Workers and continuing to work tirelessly to support immigrants and health-care reform.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember Malala Yousafzai, for defying the Taliban in Pakistan and demanding that girls be allowed to receive an education.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember women in the arts: Alice Walker, Oprah Winfrey, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelo,
and women musicians: Joan Baez, Aretha Franklin, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Holly Near.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember women in ministry, feminist theologians, scholars and journalists, women prophets, and all women who speak out against oppression in all of its forms, especially Rosemary Radford Ruether, Katie Geneva Cannon, and Rosemary Ganley.
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember women in politics, especially Rosalynn Carter (who very recently passed away), Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Shirley Chisholm, Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
Thank you for your Wisdom.
We remember our mothers, grandmothers, ancestors, all women who have been our guides and whose powerful lives have shaped ours,
Thank you for your Wisdom.
Song: “Gratitude” by Sweet Honey in the Rock
Thank you for the blessing that you brought my way.
Your love is all around me each and every day.
Thank you for your goodness. I can feel it in my soul.
The joy you brought into my life is making me whole.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh…..
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Reflection / Sharing
Who are the women of wisdom who have inspired us?
Share the names of those you are thankful for . . .
Blessing Apples
We bless apples to taste and see the wisdom of women. Hold your apple and let us bless them together.
Blessed are You, Wisdom of the Harvest, for giving us these apples that are symbols of women’s wisdom. We remember Eve, who reached for knowledge, took a bite of the apple, and found that it was good. She was a wise woman! Take a bite of the apple and give thanks.
Blessing One Another as Women of Wisdom
Song: “Berakah, the Blessing” by Jan Novotka
From the Source of everything, from the Ground of Being,
receive strength and light, receive peace, receive love.
From my heart to your heart, from my soul to your soul,
receive strength and light, receive peace, receive love.
Take Action
In this ritual, we have lifted the names of some women who have passed on their wisdom and have made lives better for countless people. Here are some ways we can continue to learn about and honor women for their wisdom.
- Visit the National Women’s History Museum.
- Watch the November WATERtea, “Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement” with Clarafrancie D. Cromer Sowers here.
- Watch documentaries on the work of women globally.
- Read the life stories of some of the women we lifted up here.
- Support organizations that are making a difference in the lives of women and are empowering women.
- Pray for women around the world as they continue to share their wisdom.
Sending Forth
Let us go forth in peace with
every breath of gratitude
for the wise and visionary women in our lives, communities, and world.
Let us go forth in joy with
every ounce of knowledge
that wise women are changing the world.
Let us seal our prayer with hugs of gratitude.
Filled with this Wisdom, let us bless one another as women of wisdom.
Song: “I Am Grateful” by Karen Drucker
