Women Religious Refuse to Answer Vatican Questionnaire

Many American Roman Catholic women religious are refusing to answer the questionnaire sent to them by the Vatican as part of a larger study to check up on the practices of women religious communities, including whether their forms of worship conform to RC standards. Even after the Vatican removed some of the questions that women religious (aka nuns) had found objectionable, and with the deadline for responding approaching, only about 1% have participated in the questionnaire phase. Some elected instead to send letters to the Vatican with what they feel is the relevant information, according to an article titled "Women Religious Not Complying with Vatican Study," in The National Catholic Reporter Online. The article quotes one Sister as calling the Vatican action an "unjust affront to women religious." Another said that many women religious believe that the Vatican investigation is part of an effort to regain control over women religious congregations. Still others compared the investigation to "abuse" and "violence." You can read the entire questionnaire through a pdf link in the NCR Online story.

Thanks to the Wild Hunt for tipping us off to this story.

Buzz Coil: Nov. '09

A look at some posts of interest from our blogroll and beyond:

Amused Grace: Two Oct. 30 Samhain-related posts from Thalia Took: In "Remembering the Ancestors at Samhain," she recalls one of her ancestors who was burned at the stake for hereticism; and in "The Veil," Thalia tells how she shut off her sensitivity to thinning veils and "ghosts’ while living in a "haunted" house.

Driving Audhumla: Two posts from Victoria Slind-Flor, both with wonderful pics. On Nov. 1, her post "We’re the coven that makes stuff," is about the altar cloth Victoria’s coven made for this Samhain, and the candles they decorated for Dia de los Muertos. Her Nov 9 post, "The Season of Marigolds," tells about (and shows) the colorful Dia de los Muertos festival in an Oakland neighborhood.

Dirt Worship: Starhawk’s Nov.2 post, "The Spiral Dance - A Beautiful Night," is an account of Reclaiming’s 30th Anniversary Spiral Dance this Samhain with a whirly pic plus links to more pics, videos, and to some of the other people involved.

The Village Witch: In her blog in the Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times, Byron Ballard has written a number of posts this month about how her experiece of Samhain this year has extended into November. And if you peruse these posts carefully, you might a catch a glimpse of her in a new hat (hint: Nov. 14).

Daily Kos: Glad to see that blogger Tara the Antisocial Social Worker has posted another diary in her series on Goddess spirituality and political activism. For a good while the series, "How a Woman Becomes a Goddess," combining myths of various goddesses with socio-political issues, was a regular Wednesday feature. It has now understandably become a sometime thing and I'm grateful when one appears. In her Nov. 4 diary, Tara associates Samhain/Hallowmas and the mythology of the Morrigan with confronting fears, including Tara's fear that in the U. S. "hate is being deliberately stirred" and that this stirring-up "creates monsters in order to have an excuse to attack them." And then she goes into specifics. This and previous diaries in this remarkable series can be found here.

Chess, Goddess and Everything: In a Nov. 31 post, "Beautiful Images of the Center of the Milky Way Galaxy," blogger Jan responds to recent pics of our cosmic neighborhood . With 1 pic and links to more pics and a video.

Evoking the Goddess: In his Nov. 19 post, "Beings are relatives not resources," blogger Paul mulls over the different ways Christianity and Paganism relate to science and nature, and the difficulties of living in ways that are consistent with our ideals. Here’s some of his thinking:

The Goddess spirit has no problem working with nature - accepting, refining and perfecting all she has to offer. This is science at its best. The Goddess spirit cannot accept violence against nature and will always seek to honour and tend our relatives in this world. It will accept with gratitude all that she gives whilst bearing in mind that our children's children will also long for a fair share of natural resources.

Mary Magdalene Within: In a Nov. 15 post, "Goddess was in Her House," Joan Norton writes about an experience she had in HerChurch (a Lutheran church in San Francisco that holds weekly Goddess rosary services), about the relationship of Mary Magdalene and Jesus, and a disconcerting visit to another SF church. (You may have to scroll down what appears to be a blank page to get to the post–at least I did.)

Gorgon Resurfaces Here’s how blogger LaughingMedusa begins her Oct. 31 post, "More to Life":

I woke up with this thought today: There must be more to life than just “purity codes.” Meaning that most patriarchal religions are systems of beliefs that are meant to make your world smaller. Rather than embrace life, these religions constrict it, bind it, put it under rule.

She goes on to tell about the openness that she now seeks in her spiritual path.

Hecate: Blogger Hecate, in her Nov. 21 post, "Merry Fcking Holiday," responds to a Chicago Sun Times article that treats Paganism less then equitably when discussing winter holidays of various religions. With comments on The Gap commercial that includes Pagans. Hecate's Nov. 17 post, "Cherche de l'argent," maintains that a new study suggesting that most women don't need yearly mammograms may have been influenced by insurance companies.

Views from Cyberhenge: PhaedraB is posting updates about Isaac Bonewits’ cancer treatments. The most recent (when I visited) is a Nov. 11 post, "Adventures in Oncology."

Pagan Godspell: Blogger Sara Ruby’s Nov. 12, "Voice and Morning Light," is one of the posts that show this poetic blogger at her best. In it, she tells why she "tries to avoid the news now on a consistent basis," but "cannot avoid it all." She writes:

So I count on two things in the morning.
Music, and the morning light. Music is religion. Spirit, the wind, the sound of water, shout. Music is religion and I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t agree when it came down to brass tacks. And poetry, matched to music and drawn forth by a human voice trained like an instrument, a bell, a trumpet…well, coupled with the morning light and the rush of birds in the trees, I know of no better church

Treat yourself to the rest of this post...

Did we miss an item you think is important? We’d like to know about it, so please leave it as a comment.

Kore Award for Dissertations

The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology is launching the Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Goddess Studies. ASWM will accept applications for the first award from January 1 to March 15, 2010. Dissertations completed in the previous two calendar years are eligible. For more information go to womenandmythology.wordpress.com

Events Coil: Nov. 15 - Dec. 31

As far as we know, all events we list are open functions; but some may be limited to women or to adults and some may require that you notify them that you plan to attend. Please check the websites for group policies. If no country is given, the event is in the USA. All times are local. Events lasting more than 1 day are bolded. When listing events for the same date, we have tried to list those occurring first, taking into account time zone differences. If there is a difference between our listings and the listings on the web page linked to, assume their web page is correct, as it may have changed since we listed from it. Ongoing events are listed after the dated events. The next Events Coil is planned for mid-December and will include events listed here that haven't yet happened, plus new events through early February. If you have an event you want listed, please leave info as a comment. See the end of this Coil for what info we need for listings.

Now-Dec. 24, Exhibit: The Sacred Feminine: Prehistory to Postmodernity, Museum of Art and Archeology, University of Missouri, Columbia MO

Now-April 25 (except Mondays), The Lost World of Old Europe Exhibition, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, NYC NY

Nov. 15, 11 a.m. Goddess Service "The Crones Speak" ; 7 p.m. New Moon Drumming; Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Nov. 15, 7 p.m., Dark Moon Ritual, Temple of the Sacred Arts, Germantown MD

Nov. 15, time tba, New Moon Celebration, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Nov. 17, 7 p.m., "Power and Mystery," talk with Starhawk, San Francisco CA

Nov. 21, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Women's Spirituality Conference, Sister Spirit of Portland, UU Church of Vancouver, Vancouver WA

Nov. 22, 11 a.m. Goddess Service with Lyena Strelkoff, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Nov. 25-Dec. 10, 16 days of ARTivsm for the Healing of Violence Against Women & Girls,(see below for some specific events) mostly San Francisco CA

Nov. 25, Noon, Press Conference; 1-3 p.m. Healing Ceremony led by Chief Luisah Teish; International Day for the Elimination of Violence towards Women and Girls, City Hall, San Francisco CA

Nov.28-Dec.6, Argentina Goddess Conference, with Vicki Noble, Sandra Roman, Kathy Jones, Mike Jones, Sally Pullinger, Monica Gobbin, Nora Araci, Mahi, and many others. Procession through town with Lydia Ruyle's banners on Dec. 5; Templo del la Diosa, Cordoba ARGENTINA

Nov. 28, time tba, Orphans Thanksgiving, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Nov. 28, 6 p.m. Teach-in with Max Dashu; 7 p.m. Altar Offering; 8 p.m. Music & Poetry; Rosas en el Mar: Recovering from Violence against Women, San Francisco CA

Nov. 29, time tba Decorate for Yule with Ava, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Nov. 29, 11 a.m. Goddess Service, "Not Yet Little One," with Ava, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Nov. 30, 7 p.m. Full Moon Drumming, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 1, Registration begins for RCGI/WTI online courses, WORLD WIDE WEB

Dec 1, 7:30 p.m. The Craft Connection, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 2, time tba, Full Moon Celebration, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Dec. 6, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Isis with Melinda Allec, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 12, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. "The Soul Warrior Woman" with Z Budapest, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 13, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Quan Yin and "Yule Offerings," with Ava, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 15, 7 p.m. New Moon Drumming, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 16, 2 p.m. New Moon Healing, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Dec. 16, time tba, New Moon Celebration, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Dec. 18, time tba, Winter Solstice Pageant, Circle Sanctuary, Mt. Oreb WI

Dec. 19, 6 p.m., Summer Solstice Ritual, PaGaian Moon Court, Blue Mountains NSW AUSTRALIA

Dec. 19, 7 p.m. Winter Solstice Public Ritual, Mother Grove Goddess Temple, Asheville NC

Dec. 19, time tba, Community Yule, Circle Sanctuary, Mt. Oreb WI

Dec. 19, 6 p.m.doors open, 7 p.m., ritual begins, 7:15 p.m. doors lock Winter Solstice Ritual with women's group Dragonweyr, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 19, 6:30 p.m. Winter Solstice Ritual, Circle of Aradia, Sherman Oaks CA

Dec. 19, gather 6:30 p.m., ritual 7 p.m. Solstice Ritual, North Bay Reclaiming, Sebastopol CA

Dec. 20, time tba, Winter zonnewende, Nederlandse Godinnen Tempel, Hillgom, NEDERLAND

Dec. 20, gather 11:30 a.m., ritual Noon, Winter Solstice, Connect DC, Washington DC

Dec. 20, 1 p.m., Yule/Winter Solstice, Temple of the Sacred Arts, Germantown MD

Dec. 20, 11 a.m. Goddess Service, Annual Wordless Service with Ava, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 20, time tba, Yule, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Dec. 20, gather 3:30 p.m., ritual 4 p.m. Solstice Ritual-Ocean Beach Bonfire, Reclaiming, San Francisco CA

Dec. 21, gather 6:40 a.m. Sing Up the Sun", Reclaiming, East Bay CA

Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. Winter Solstice Celebration, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Dec. 21, 7 p.m. Yule Ritual, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. , Winter Solstice honoring Poliahu, Hawaiian Snow Goddess, Daughters of the Goddess, San Francisco (East Bay) CA

Dec. 24, 5:30 p.m. "Honoring Mother Mary," led by Ava, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 27, 11 a.m. Goddess Service with Gloria Taylor Brown and artist Jennifer Sarreal, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 31, 7 p.m. Full Moon Ceremony of the Presence of the Lady of Avalon, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Dec. 31, doors open 6:30 p.m., event starts 7 p.m. Full Moon Drum New Years Eve Party, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Dec. 31, gather 7 p.m., ritual 7:30 p.m., Full Moon Ritual, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV


Ongoing

Australia
Perth (White Gum Valley): Mondays, 17:30, Chalice Ceremony, Daughters of Ishtar.

Belgium
Gent, most days 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Goddess Temple open for personal prayers.

Canada
Sudbury: 1st Friday (Sept.-June) 7:30 p.m., Sudbury Women's Circle.
Hamilton: Saturdays, 4-6 p.m. Open Classes ; gather 6:30-7 p.m. Open Circles , Hamilton Temple, Wiccan Church of Canada.

Great Britain
Glastonbury: Priestess/Priest of Avalon Training Program, both in Glastonbury (Avalon) and by correspondence, Glastonbury Goddess Temple.
Glastonbury: Most days except Mondays, Noon-4 p.m. Temple Open for personal prayers; Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. Belly Dancing; Thursdays, 7 p.m. Temple Ritual Dance Class, Glastonbury Goddess Temple.

Sweden
Soderhamn, Gudinne Temple Open weekdays Noon-6 p.m. Mondays, 7-9 p.m., meditation prayer, conversation.

USA
Arlington VA: 3rd Sunday of month, time tba, ritual Moonfire.
Canton CT: Sundays, 10:30 a.m. Services, Women's Temple: In Her Name
Charleston SC: 1st Tuesday of month, Women's Circle, The Sophia Institute
Geyersville CA: Sunday Services 2-4 p.m. Temple of Isis
Houston TX: Sundays, 10 a.m. Magdalene Community, Rothko Chapel; 1st &3rd Fridays at Noon, Group studying Gospel of Mary, Brigid's Place, Christ Church Cathedral.
Irvine CA: Sunday Services, 1st Service at 9:30 a.m. until July 5, then 10 a.m. inward, meditative; 2nd service at 11 a.m., dancing, drumming, singing; see dates for guest speakers. Friday services, gather 6 p.m., service 6:30 p.m. "All Souls in Reverence." Goddess Temple of Orange County
Palenville NY: Saturdays, 5 p.m. training sessions; 1st Saturday of month, 4 p.m. Goddess Meet-Up Group, Matreum of Cybele.
San Francisco CA: Wednesdays, Christian Goddess Rosary, Ebenezer Lutheran Church; 1st Fridays, evenings at various locations, Woman's Spirituality group.
San Francisco CA: New Moon and Full Moon observances, Maa Batakali Cultural Mission.
St. Sandy UT: second Saturday of each month, 4:30 p.m., Isis Devotionals, Iseum of Muth/Lyceum of Auset and Heru em Aakhuti
Washington DC: 2nd Sunday of month; gather Noon, ritual 12:15 p.m., National Arboretum, Becoming DC.
West Concord MA: 1st Monday, 7-9 p.m. Women's Circles; other ongoing groups include Demeter & Persephone's Circle for mothers and daughters; Council of Mother Bears; Menopause As Spiritual Journey; Menarche, for mothers and Daughter, at Women's Well.

World Wide Web
Online, various times, Spiritual Heritages of Ancient Europe, course with Max Dashu.
Online, Wednesdays, 6 p.m. PT "Voices of the Sacred Feminine" interviews with well-known Goddessians and Pagans, hosted by Karen Tate, Blog Talk Radio.
Online, Sundays, 11 a.m. PT, "Creatrix Media Live" roundtable discussions include guests and phone-in audience participation, co-hosted by Jayne DeMent and Anniitra Ravenmoon, Blog Talk Radio.

We'll be happy to add your Goddess and spiritual feminist events (and those you know about that are open to the public) no matter where in the world they are. Leave a comment giving: Name of event, sponsoring organization (if any), town, date, time (if known), and, required: url of website where person can get more info (no pdf pages, no password-protected pages). (Do NOT give street addresses, phone numbers or email addresses. People should go to the website to get that info.) We plan to publish an Events Coil every month.

Online Course: 'Kabbalah, Qabalah, and Goddess'

I'm pleased to share with you that I'll be giving an online course through the Women's Thealogical Institute (WTI) of the Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess, International (RCG-I), on "Kabbalah, Qabalah, and Goddess," The 6-week course is slated to begin the week of Jan. 3, 2010 and is based on several chapters from my award-winning book, Goddess Spirituality for the 21st Century: From Kabbalah to Quantum Physics. You don't have to be a member of RCG-I or WTI to enroll in the course. Here is the course description from WTI:

Jewish Kabbalah and Hermetic (aka Western Esoteric) Qabalah are given as examples of metaphysical systems that include both male & female depictions of divinity. But do these depictions show equality or something else? This course gives a conceptual history of both Jewish Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah (which combines Jewish, Christian, Egyptian and sometimes other symbolism), and traces and re-visions the Tree of Life, which is their central symbol, back to its likely source: the Ancient Near East Goddess Tree of Life.

Other online WTI courses scheduled to begin the week of Jan. 3 include: "Introduction to EFT" with Boye Nagle; "Ritual Tarot Spread" with Bellezza Squillance; "Shamans, Skywatchers and Storytellers" with Sid Reger; "Personal Artwork for the Triple Goddess" with Laura Keefe; "Creating a Magical Home" with Debi Smith; "Nuts & Bolts: Writers Workshop" with Kip Parker, and "Ogham & the Seasons of the Sun" with Bendis. Registration begins Dec. 1. For more information, including how to register, go to this page on the rcgi.org website.