Program
Revealing The Feminine in Christianity:
Many Voices, Many Verses
March 22nd - 25th, 2012
The 10th Revival of the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship to be held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax. Click for the Revival Revival Brochure.
Women were integral in the life and ministry of Jesus. Women were depicted as the first witnesses to the Resurrection, they were leaders in the early church and have been theologians and church leaders throughout the centuries in the varying traditions and communities within the church. It is no surprise that women have provided us with many voices of faithfulness. It is also no surprise that the influence of these women has often been dismissed, downplayed, or disputed through the centuries as well.
This year's Revival focus will not only explore these many voices through history, but we will also celebrate the way that revelational presence of the feminine in Christianity is growing the spirit of the church today. How it is also growing the souls of many, men and women alike, in diverse ways, and while doing so, is changing not only the face of Christianity but the world itself in hospitality, learning, liturgy, and service.
While our three major presentations will present takes on the theme, and some workshops and conversations will also, other topics will be presented for study. In addition, we offer varied and dynamic worship services including: communion, baptism, prayer and healing, daily office prayer time, and more. To go deeper with others in the revival/retreat experience, and to make connections, we offer a small group track during the event itself, hospitality and social time. Our own service project is another highlight of the program.
Featured Presenters
Margaret Starbird
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Mary Magdalene: Woman and Archetype
What if Sacred Partnership was once at the heart of Christianity? What if the earliest Christian heresy was the denial of the Bride? Who was Mary Magdalene? Could she have been the wife and beloved of Jesus? What became of her after the Crucifixion? Why was her story suppressed by the Church Fathers and why must we now retrieve it? With an eye to the “Easter Mysteries” celebrated at the Spring equinox, we will examine the Sacred Partnership revealed at the very heart of the Christian faith. Reclaiming this ancient mystery corrects a tragic “design flaw” in Christian doctrine—the loss of the Holy Bride
Starbird holds BA and MA degrees from the University of Maryland. She later studied theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, TN. Starbird is the widely acclaimed author of works that seek to restore Mary Magdalene to a position of honor denied her for 2000 years by the entrenched hierarchy of the patriarchal system. Starbird gives lectures and workshops worldwide focused on reclaiming the Sacred Feminine in Christianity.
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Amy Oden
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Wide Open Spaces: Women’s voices in Christianity
Throughout history women have called Christianity to more spacious thinking and living. Women’s voices invite and challenge the faithful to the good news of an expansive life. We will listen to their stories, and engage them with our own.
Dr. Amy Oden is Dean and Professor of History of Christianity, Wesley Theological Seminary. Dr. Oden received her B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and her Ph.D. from the Southern Methodist University. Dr. Oden has published such books as In Her Words: Women’s Writings in the History of Christian Thought, And You Welcomed Me: Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity, and the Wesley Study Bible. She has recently finished a book project entitled God's Welcome: Hospitality for a Gospel-Hungry World.
Revival 2012 title:
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Mary E. Hunt
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Dr. Hunt is a feminist theologian who is co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, MD. She lectures and writes on theology and ethics with particular attention to social justice concerns. Dr. Hunt received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She also received the Masters in Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and the Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Her undergraduate degree in Theology and Philosophy is from Marquette University.
Dr. Hunt's presentation will be
Feminist Theologies in Action—Women around the world doing faith-based justice work.
Mary E. Hunt will speak from her experience as the co-director of WATER, the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual, about feminist scholar activism. She will focus on ways in which women from the Christian tradition, especially in the women-church movement, are engaging in new forms of sacrament and solidarity.
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Workshop Presenters
Some of the exciting workshops and special conversations and gatherings we will have during Revival will include:
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Centering and Contemplative Prayer Workshop, Sue Mosher, Universalist National Memorial Church, Washington, D.C.
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The Bible and Women: It's A Man's World, Or Is It?, Rev. Dr. Susan Newman,
All Souls Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C.
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Women, the Image of God and the Universalist Hope, Rev. Scott Wells, Washington, D.C.
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Divine Feminine in Celtic Christianity, Sue Mosher, Universalist National Memorial Church, Washington, D.C.
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Missional Church, Rev. Ron Robinson, Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship, Turley, OK
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UU Christianity 101, Rev. Kristin Grassel Schmidt, King’s Chapel, Boston, MA
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Starting and Nurturing Small Groups of Jesus Followers, Dave Dawson, member of All Souls Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C.
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Symbols of the Feminine Divine, Jennifer Sandberg, Universalist National Memorial Church, Washington, D.C.
- A New Metaphor for UU Christians: From 'saving remnant' to 'hidden wellspring,' Rev. Tom Schade, First Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA
- Praying the Psalms, Rev. Anita Farber-Robertson, Interim Minister, Swampscott, MA
 Rev. Ron Robinson has been Executive Director of the UUCF since 2003 and is a missional church planter in the northside of Tulsa, OK with A Third Place Community, and serves as Director of Ministerial Formation and part time faculty at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa where he received his Masters of Divinity. He has been a hospice chaplain, student minister in Bartlesville, OK, intern minister at All Souls Church in Tulsa, and started the UU Congregation of Tahlequah, OK.
Worship Leaders
- Prayer, Healing and Baptism service - "Hard Sacred Words" by Rev. Kathleen Rolenz
Small Group Sessions
Deepening Spirituality – With a Little Help from My Friends!
A small group exercise designed to guide one to a deeper or greater awareness of one’s spiritual depth.
Table of Contents
The Purpose
To engage small group participants in experiential exercises which will lead them to a deeper understanding of their own spiritual depths. With this knowledge, they will be able to establish or enhance their own spiritual practices. To share with others one’s life experiences around desire for greater spiritual meaning in one’s life.
The Method
Facilitator presents experiential exercises that will allow participants to share personal feelings, thoughts, and responses to words, sensory stimuli, music, and imagery.
Outcome
Participants will, by the end of the small group sessions, have a greater understanding of their ability to pray, contemplate, or meditate. With this newly acquired knowledge, they will be better equipped to establish their own spiritual practices.
Group Size
Small groups should be no larger than five and need to have at least three participants.
Number of Sessions
If possible, the ideal number of times the groups should gather would be a minimum of three times. Soon after the conference begins, once on the second and third days.
Group Facilitator Needs
- Day One – list of words found in appendix.
- Day Two – apple, fragrant flower such as a rose or a lily, smooth stone, small velvet patch of cloth.
- Day Three – a mobile phone or small cd player that can provide meditative music and the written imagery exercise found in appendix.
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All Welcome: Christian or not, Unitarian Universalist or not, believers, skeptics, seekers…gathering in the loving and liberating spirit of Jesus
Keynote Speakers…
workshops…dynamic varied worship…small groups…
service project…community eating…bookstore and more.
Revival Testimonials
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