Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires

2012-01-31T19:13:00.002-05:00

February 23rd, Nourishing Your Heart
with Ani Grosser

“The Heart at rest sees a feast in everything.” Hindi proverb

February’s potluck program celebrates the Heart and Love. Cross-culturally, the Heart is the source of courage, wisdom, and love.

This evening we will joyously nourish our hearts through song, poetry, guided imagery, reflections, and a sharing circle. Ani will share from many years of living and studying the chakra system, cross-cultural healing practices, hatha yoga and Imago relationship therapy.

BIO: Ani Nadler Grosser, LICSW is co-director, with her husband Bill, of the Center for Compassionate Relationships in Lenox, MA. Ani and Bill are completing a book about relationships.

Ani offers counseling to individuals and couples, and facilitates on-going women’s Healing and Empowerment groups. She teaches Restorative Yoga throughout Berkshire County. She served on the Board of Women’s Interfaith Institute from 2008 through 2011.

The Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires is comprised of women of different faiths and diverse backgrounds who practice their religious and spiritual beliefs through dedicated action. The theme for WII's 2011-2012 season is Feeding Body Mind and Soul. WII's monthly potluck programs serve as a platform for exploring diverse faiths and spiritual traditions and deepening conversation with one another.

When: 5:45-8:45pm
Where: Chapel of the Church on the Hill, 55 Main St, Lenox, MA

(The brown building across the street from Nejaime’s)

Please join us and bring a dish to share

$5-10 suggested donation (members are free)

Women's Interfaith Institute,

P.O. Box 443, Lenox, MA 01240.

for more information contact:

Alison Gaines

Administrative Coordinator,

Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires

(413) 442-3604

January 13, Mindful Eating

2011-12-14T07:31:00.002-05:00

Join us for an experience of mindful eating led by Alison Shore Gaines, a nutrition and lifestyle educator who has 25 years’ experience leading personal development workshops. Her approach to experiential learning evolved through training in yoga, holistic nutrition, and Gestalt psychology. www.sacrednourishment.com

The evening program will be preceded by our brief annual meeting.

December 13, Celebration of Light

2011-12-14T07:16:00.005-05:00

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! - John Muir

Though my soul may set in darkess,
It will rise in perfect light,
I have loved the stars too fondly
To be fearful of the night.
- Sarah Williams

'There is a light beyond light and dark.'
Deborah Lord

An ongoing tradition at Women's Interfaith is to celebrate the light during one of the darkest months of the year, December. Bring your poems, short stories, songs, prayers, and meditations ~ the things you use to engage your inner light. Facilitated by Susan Jameson and JoAnne Spies.

Rite of Passage

2011-11-12T08:40:00.005-05:00

Take a look at how Youth Alive's Rite of Passage Program has grown!

Youth Alive Rite of Passage program

Shirley Edgerton and Youth Alive dancers presented the first seed of this program at one of our potluck programs in 2009.
Women's Interfaith is eager to support this initiative as mentors and in other ways that help this program grow.

Youth Alive Step, Dance and Drumline

WII Supports the Monterey Meets Ngalla/People to People Project

2011-11-02T08:46:00.007-04:00

Monterey Meets Ngalla/ People To People Project

Children from the Ngalla Primary School

CPC (Center for Peace through Culture) has established a Sister City relationship between a small town in the western mountains of Massachusetts and a small African city. Monterey, MA and Ngalla, Cameroon, are working together to strengthen human and financial resources to fight the spread of Malaria and HIV/AIDS. The partnership helps people of both communities to share their history and experiences while promoting greater world prosperity and peace. Here's a report on the joyful opening event in Cameroon.

Harvest Gathering Thursday, November 17

2011-11-02T08:34:00.004-04:00

A long-standing tradition of the Women's Interfaith is to gather in the fall of the year to share the blessings of our harvest and to enrich our lives with the power of gratitude.

Please join us as we experience an evening of:

inspiration, connection, ceremony, prayer, and song.

This year we will be focusing on our Spiritual Harvest: gratitude for what has been~what we have received~ what we have learned~ how we have grown~the gifts we have given~ the joy we have known~ the strength we have called upon~ the challenges we have conquered~ the love we are harvesting.

We are living in intense transformational times! This evening will provide the opportunity to join our hearts and our forces to call down a Blessing on the Human Family, our Mother Earth and all life.

Please bring:

~ Simple foods that nourish and delight the body

~ An object for the gratitude altar that represents the blessings of your harvest

~ A short written paragraph about what you are spiritually harvesting

Bio: Satyena Ananda is a holistic educator and spiritual counselor with thirty eight years background and training in designing and implementing programs and experiences for people of all ages. Her work focuses in the areas of healing, personal transformation, holistic living , ceremony and spiritual direction.

Satyena Ananda is co-founder and director of Starseed, an interfaith healing sanctuary and holistic retreat center in the northern Berkshires. Her current focus is on: conscious evolution, feminine spirituality and leadership, earth based healing, conscious co-creation, spiritual community and the creation and stewardship of sacred space.

'Dia de los Muertes" Celebration Tuesday, October 18

2011-09-15T23:07:00.009-04:00

Dia de los Muertos
“Day of the Dead”

Come join Rev. Joni Carron to experience this Mexican tradition of honoring our deceased ancestors. We will discuss the different ingredients and beliefs that make up this colorful, flavorful, and important day in Mexican culture. While experiencing Dia de los Muertos as a group, we will be invited to explore our own beliefs about death and the ways in which we do or do not honor our ancestors.

Please bring a picture of a loved one who has passed over who you would like to honor. All of the photos will be placed on "la ofrenda," our altar. In keeping with the custom of this ritual, we ask that you prepare the favorite food of your loved one to be shared at our potluck dinner. In preparation for “Day of the Dead” bring stories, anecdotes, a favorite song, poem or prayer of your loved one to share with the group.

BIO: Reverend Joni Carron is an Interfaith Minister, ordained in 2009 through One Spirit Interfaith Seminary.Her studies over the past ten years have focused on death/dying, end of life care, spiritual pain/ diagnosing spiritual pain, grief/bereavement, and the history and skills of an Anamcara (soul friend) caring for the dying. She is currently pursuing her life’s calling as a hospice chaplain. As a hospice volunteer Joni has assisted many of her friends and family through the transition of death. She has previously worked as a drug and alcohol counselor for nine years, and currently performs weddings, funerals and various spiritual ceremonies as part of her ministry.

"Feeding Body, Mind and Soul" for those in need

2011-09-15T23:02:00.001-04:00

September 15, 2011
In keeping with our theme this year, "Feeding Body, Mind and Soul," tonight our Women's Interfaith group raised $130. to send to Mercy Corp to help feed people on the Horn of Africa.

The Horn of Africa is withered by drought – and the people who live there are perilously hungry. More than 12 million people are at risk of starvation. The United Nations has called Somalia the “world’s worst humanitarian disaster.”

People in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya are desperate for food and water. Mercy Corp is on the ground helping more than 860,000 people weather the crisis.

Here is the link to learn how to help:

Mercy Corp

It is our intention at Women's Interfaith to raise money each month to help nurture those in need both locally and abroad. Simply passing the basket and adding your $5. makes a tremendous difference! Thank you all.

2011-09-04T15:30:00.003-04:00

Thursday, September 15

Feeding Body Mind and Soul:

"The High Holy Days~
Cleansing the Soul as a Path Toward Peace"

The Jewish calendar reflects not only the physical passage of the seasons but also the journey of the soul through each year. In this program we will discover the Jewish practice of Cheshbon Hanefesh- to take an accounting of the soul.

Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman will guide us through a meditation as a way of connecting to a deeper sense of self and beginning the process of inner cleansing. This practice serves as preparation for entering the High Holy Days- a period of inner cleansing and outer repairing of relationships. As we begin a new year, may we be renewed on our paths towards wholeness and peace.

Bio:

Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman,MSW is one of the founders and leaders of The Berkshire Minyan- a traditional/egalitarian prayer group that meets every Shabbat morning at Hevreh of S. Berkshire. She volunteers as chaplain at Fairview Hospital and is an experienced Jewish Educator. She has taught a variety of classes in Judaic Studies and Hebrew at Sinai Academy of the Berkshires, Congregation K'nesset Israel Synagogue, Hevreh of S. Berkshire, Simon's Rock College and Isabella Freedman Center. Formerly a social worker and Feng Shui consultant, Kaya is currently working on a book entitled, "Between Heaven and Earth- Re-envisioning Synagogue Space."

Come join us for this women's monthly potluck program and bring a friend.

$5-10 Suggested donation
FREE FOR MEMBERS*

Please bring a labeled dish to share.

Optional: You may wish to include traditional Rosh Hashana foods in your recipes such as apples, honey, pomegranates, beets or leeks.

Where: Church on the Hill Chapel
55 Main Street
Lenox, MA

(The brown building is down the street from the main church, and across the street from Nejaime's Wine Cellar. Please use entrance on right side of building.)

When: 5:45 - 8:45pm

5:45 Gathering with food

6:00 Welcome circle

6:15 Potluck supper

7:15 Program

8:45 Closure and clean up

Interesting link about the Days of Awe: Debra Darvick

Interfaith Chant for Peace

2011-08-12T15:06:00.002-04:00

Note from Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman:

Dear Friends,

After the tragic and horrific events in Norway this summer, I have felt ever more provoked to do something to express our spiritual connectedness and unity as one humanity with many diverse and beautiful spiritual voices.

I envision an interfaith group, meeting monthly to share chants and prayers for peace from all traditions.

I have spoken to several local spiritual leaders from different faith traditions and they have enthusiastically agreed to join in this vision. Thus far, Rev. Natalie Shiras from The Church on the Hill, Rev. Yaqin Aubert from the Abode of the Message, Native American Healer Mikka Barkman, the Quaker community and others will be joining me in our first monthly gathering.

Interfaith Chant for Peace
Wednesday, August 31st, 5-6 PM
at The Quaker Meeting House in Great Barrington
280 State Road-Rt. 23.
Please join us as we share the sounds of Peace from all faith traditions.
Everyone is welcome.

B'shalom,
Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman

2011-06-29T17:25:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

The Women's Interfaith

Institute presents . . .

"Journey to the Birthplace of Women's Rights "

The Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires invites you to take part in a journey to Seneca Falls, New York where the first Women's Rights Convention took place in July 1848. Every year this memorable event is celebrated as part of "Convention Days" at the Women's Rights National Historic Park.

In July 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and several other women gathered for tea at a mutual friend's home in the small upstate New York village of Seneca Falls. Elizabeth and Lucretia had met several years before at an anti-slavery convention. At this meeting they determined to bring the disenfranchisement of women to public attention. Within 5 days, and without phones, faxes, twitter or facebook, the group called a convention that drew 300 people! Resolutions were formulated that outlined the rights of women, including the right to vote, and were passed. This year's commemoration is special because the site of the original convention will be re-dedicated.

Ani Nadler Grosser, Board Member of Women's Interfaith, is organizing this trip. She is excited to bring a group of Berkshire women to Seneca Falls. "We stand on the shoulders of these courageous women, many of whom went to jail and sacrificed so that we have rights, including the right to vote" says Grosser. She adds "this is a trip that will ground us in history and be a source of inspiration for today's challenges. It is also a wonderful opportunity to share with daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends. An added bonus is that Seneca Falls, along the Erie Canal, is in the scenic wine country of the Finger Lakes."

Highlights of the trip include:

Attending the re-enactment of a famous lecture with contemporary themes by Anna Howard Shaw, suffragist, clergywoman and physician.

Walk in the Annual Parade from Elizabeth Cady Stanton's home to Women's Rights National Park and witness the ceremony to re-dedicate Convention Hall.

Saturday lunch with Allison Stokes, founder of Women's Interfaith in the Berkshires and Finger Lakes, and historian of women's rights.

Tour of Women's Hall of Fame, Women's Rights National Historic Park, and Seneca Falls Museum

Logistics: We'll leave Lenox at 10 am on Friday, July 15, sharing cars or a van. We have reserved a limited number of non-smoking double rooms at a nearby Holiday Inn. Cost for a shared room is $95. per person. Costs for gas, tolls, and meals are additional. We will return at 8 pm on Saturday evening.

For more information, please contact Ani Grosser at

413-637-2868 or anigrosser@earthlink.net

Link to Susan B. Anthony and other biographies:

women warriors

June 14, 2011

2011-05-25T09:53:00.003-04:00

June 14, 2011

Partnership in Life and Music: If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On

The Women’s Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires will host songwriters and WBCR-lp radio hosts Graham and Barbara Dean perform some of the songs they have written together, and talk about how the process of writing, arranging and singing songs together has its complement in their marriage and life partnership. We will learn about the elements of collaboration and synergy, which Barbara describes as “the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.”

Graham and Barbara Dean have been married for 34 years and have raised 4 children. They met in Sherborne, England in 1975 during a 10-month course in spiritual development, based on the teachings of George Gurdjieff, a Russian mystic. One of the things that attracted Barbara to Graham was his guitar-playing and singing. Barbara started singing with him in the 80's and then started playing the electric bass about 10 years ago. Attending songwriting/music camps together for the past 11 years has stimulated and supported their ability to make music together.

Their CD "Tom Paine's Blues" debuted in 2004 and they host a political/folk music radio show on WBCR-lp on Wednesday nights from 8 to 10 pm.

http://www.commonsensesongs.com/

May 12, 2011

2011-04-18T07:43:00.001-04:00

"An Embodied History of Women"

In this multimedia presentation on Thursday, May 12th, Sylvia Smetana of EnlightenNext will present the evolution of women's consciousness to better understand where we are today.

In the past fifty years, women's range of life choices has changed dramatically. We are now free to create lives that our foremothers could barely have dreamed of. Yet as we try to realize our potential, too often we find ourselves living out of the motivations and patterns of the past.

We don't realize that the past-not just our personal history, but all of the history of women-lives within us.

Sylvia Smetana was born in Austria and studied business administration in Vienna. She met spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen in 1994. Inspired by the integrity, humanity and purposefulness of his teachings, she moved to Germany in 1997 to join the movement. In 2001 she joined EnlightenNext's world center in Lenox, MA as their Finance Director.

For several years she has been working closely with Dr. Elizabeth Debold and other senior teachers to develop a new, spiritual liberation teaching for women with Andrew Cohen, based on Evolutionary Enlightenment..www.andrewcohen.org www.enlightennext.org www.evolvewoman.org

2011-03-28T16:07:00.004-04:00

April 12, 2011

"From Constriction to Freedom -
A Journey to Our Spiritual Home"

The Women’s Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires will host Rev. Cheryl Ann Luft, MSS, Movement Therapist and Educator, for a universal passover experience. Through words, imagery and music, she will guide participants to move and experience the journey of Exodus which is told in the Passover story. Together, the group will travel this journey creating a deeper and more personal understanding of this timeless and relevant path. No previous movement experience is needed and all are welcome to participate.

Rev. Cheryl Ann Luft is Jewish and an ordained ecumenical, interfaith minister, specializing in practical spirituality and worship for special populations. When not donning her robe, she is a movement therapist and educator working with dance in Jewish populations, movement classes for the general public and private work with individuals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WBCR-LP was host to an interview with Jan Hutchinson and JoAnne Spies on Barbara and Graham Dean's show that aired the night before the program.
Thank you, B & G!

2011-03-10T08:39:00.001-05:00

"Poetry as Soul Rescue"

led by poet Jan Hutchinson

Thursday March 17, 2011

I crack my mind

above the page,

and sunny side up

it lies there

looking for God.

As part of the Berkshire Festival of Women Artists, Women's Interfaith Institute will host a poetry reading interwoven with a presentation on how poetry (all art for that matter) can center us, save us, get us beyond ourselves. Jan Hutchinson's poetry is direct, accessible, and quirky. It asks the big questions but dances laughingly away from all dogma and certainty.

Jan Hutchinson studied psychology as an under-graduate and literature and creative writing in graduate school. She has lived in the Berkshires for thirty-five years, working and raising a family. In the last decade, her study, inner life and creative work have coalesced into a focus on how the writing of poetry can be a lifeline, rescuing us, and a buoy helping us to float.

The net of laughter

waiting beneath

the nervous highwire

is Grace.


Come join us for this wome's monthly potluck program and bring a friend. $5-10 Suggested donation (to support our programs) Free for members

2011-02-01T15:37:00.007-05:00

International Women’s Day Conference: Women Write the World
on Mar 5 2011, 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM at Bard College at Simon’s Rock (84 Alford Rd. Great Barrington)

This year’s 10th Annual International Women’s Day Conference will celebrate the power of women’s words, both locally and globally. Established and emerging women authors will be invited to share their insights on how they have used writing as a tool for “righting” the world—in other words, how writing is used by women as a creative outlet and a vehicle for social justice. See full program at Women Write the World.

The event is co-sponsored by Bard College at Simon's Rock and Berkshire Women for Women Worldwide. The Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires is a long-time collaborator in supporting International Women's Day.
Keynote speaker will be acclaimed ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, whose trailblazing book, Living Downstream, makes a lyrical, personal and scientific case for banning poisons now pervasive in our air, our food, and our bodies.
( http://steingraber.com/ ) Readings and discussion by women include Native American poet Deborah Miranda, Chicana novelist Demetria Martinez, and journalist Christina Asquith, on Iraqi and American women in the Iraq War. There will also be a panel of women writers from Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, and Ghana and a special dance choreographed by Anni Crofut on the stories of Berkshire women. Singer/songwriter JoAnne Spies will share her original music.
Registration: $25 paid in advance; $30 at the door; $10 with student ID; Scholarships available.

The International Women's Day conference will be held in the Daniel Arts Center at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, MA. Contact: iwd@simons-rock.edu

Parallel events will be held throughout Berkshire County for the entire month.

Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires will host poet Jan Hutchinson reading and discussing "Poetry as Soul Rescue" at their Thursday, March 17th potluck program.

February 8, 2011 Program

2011-01-28T13:21:00.008-05:00

from "Sounding the River"event photo by Keith Emerling

"An Evening of Connection:

Connecting with the Physical World and with the Divine"

This evening is all about building our sense of connection - our sense of connection with ourselves and the physical world, and our sense of connection with the Divine. Spiritual director and energy healer Rev. Anne O'Neil will lead us in a 6-position grounding meditation and in chanting the names of various manifestations of the Divine - some of whom have incarnated on this planet, some of whom have not.This practice opens us to recognizing differences between spiritual guides and identifying guides with whom we relate.

Rev. AnnE O'Neil is an energy healer and spiritual director with a practice in Great Barrington. Her primary focus is working with people in issues of grief, loss, and transition, although many clients are looking for a more general sense of healing and deepening of their spiritual life. She was ordained in 2003 by One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City and is currently enrolled in their postgraduate Interspiritual Counseling program. She is also a Certified One Light Healing Touch practitioner, as well as a life coach trained by Coach for Life. Her personal mission is to provide healing and inspiration to individuals so they may step more fully into lives of joy, consciousness, and purpose.

2011-01-04T00:51:00.006-05:00

"Creating Harmony in Yourself and the World:
Easy Sound Techniques for Everyday"

Thursday January 13, 2011

Talented group leader and sound healer Eve Schatz will guide participants to focus awareness on feeling the sound of their own voice resonating in their body, which feels like a massage from the inside out. The program will include learning how to find your own tone or the frequency at which you vibrate, and a 'Song of the Soul' group experience which is a comfortable, joyful improvisational lifting of our voices and spirits. 

Eve Schatz earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology and was a graduate student in Expressive Therapies when she discovered the profound effects of Sound Healing as taught by pioneers Sarah Benson and Kay Gardner. She co-founded the first Sound Healing Association in the Boston area and taught sound healing in the West Palm Beach Public School system, massage and Soma schools, privately and in workshops. Her multicultural interest in music and culture brought her to join Agbekor, the Boston based 30 piece Ghanaian Ewe Drum and Dance Troupe, as a drummer, and she co-founded Cambridge Custom Percussion, a multicultural music school, performance and recording venue. She spent three months in Nigeria where she performed African and Western Music with indigenous musicians and where she met indigenous healers while participating in a medical program. Eve joined the women's music ensemble Mother Mountain and recorded music in the pyramids and temples of Egypt.

2010-10-24T20:27:00.045-04:00

"Light Mandala" Women's Interfaith
December 2010 program photo by Elfi Six

Upcoming Programs:

Thursday, January 13: "Sound Healing" led by Eve Schatz

Tuesday, February 8: "An Evening of Connection"

led by Rev. AnnE O'Neil

Thursday, March 17: "Poetry as Soul Rescue"

Berkshire poet Jan Hutchinson

Follow this link for an interesting overview of Women's Interfaith organizations: The Pluralism Project

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November 18, 2010

Annual Harvest Gathering

A Time of Giving Thanks and

Harvesting Our Blessings

In our circle we will share with each other the harvest of our blessings and create an altar of gratitude. This year we will be honoring some of the traditions of our country's First Nation People. They have set before us a powerful example of generosity, gratitude and connection with the "Great Spirit" who resides within all life.

The program will be facilitated by Satyena Ananda, a Rainbow Elder with lineage from the four root races and Mikka Barkman, a member of Sachigo First Nations in Canada (Cree.)

What to Bring:
~ An object for the gratitude altar that represents the good that you are harvesting from this past year
~ An item that represents something that has challenged you as well as blessed you that will be ceremonially given away and buried in the earth * (scroll down for more info)

~A Harvest potluck dish that expresses what you are grateful for

Please join us for our opening circle starting promptly at 6pm.

For further information about this event contact Satyena Ananda at (413) 743-0417.

Mikka Barkman, LMT, ABT is a member of Sachigo Lake First Nations in Canada (Cree.) Mikka comes from a family of healers and over the past twenty years has developed "The Barkman Method," a combination of bodywork and dialogue that helps clients understand their bodies' signals to reveal subconscious belief patterns. She lives in Stockbridge, MA with her two teen-age children and has a private practice in Gt. Barrington.

Satyena Ananda, Co-founder and Director of Starseed Healing Sanctuary and Retreat Center in Savoy MA , is a holistic educator and spiritual counselor who has spent the past 40 years creating and offering programs, retreats and ceremonies that transform and restore body, mind and soul. A certified Polarity Therapist, Satyena has a degree from UMASS in Holistic Education and Spiritual Counseling. She has served on the boards of the Women's Interfaith Institute and The Women's House of Peace. Her work has been presented for 22 years at Rowe Conference Center, for the Whole Earth Expo, for Project Aim, and for many private groups and organizations.

* More Information about the Give Away Ceremony

One highlight of our Harvest Celebration ceremony will be an ancient practice known as "The Native American Give Away." The give-away is always done in the spirit of gratitude, remembering that giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. For this part of the ceremony, we ask that you bring a small item to give away. This item will represent something in your life that has challenged and also blessed you. Near the end of the ceremony, this item will be buried "permanently" in the earth outside the chapel.

In choosing the item you will give away, consider the following:

~ Something belonging to a loved one who has passed on, in gratitude for the release of any negative feelings such as guilt or resentment that you carry/carried from that relationship
~ Something from a previous marriage, in gratitude for the lessons of forgiveness
~ Something from a past career, in gratitude for the abundance discovered in your new business
~Something that represents an illness, or accident that you experienced, in gratitude for the healing that has occurred as a result
~ Something representing a hardship of any kind, in gratitude for the realization that you are stronger than you thought!
~ Something representing your faith, in gratitude for the strength it lends you

In the Spirit of the Four Directions, consider the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual aspects of what you are giving and receiving.

Bring your potluck dish and two altar items: one gratitude item and one give-away item

Consider bringing a prayer or a song ~

2010-10-24T20:10:00.007-04:00

OCTOBER 12, 2010

“Programs for Peace and Cultural Exchange”

Thank you to Gwendolyn Van Sant and BRIDGE for introducing us to PAX.

Our featured guests were scholarship exchange students and Lelia Bruun, a coordinator for PAX (Program Academic Exchange) and YES Programs (Youth Exchange Study, created after 9/11 to promote peace and understanding.) Lelia spoke about PAX and YES and her work with scholarship students from Afghanistan, India, Ghana and Russia.

Students included: Mohammed Adawalai from Ghana, Ramiz Shaikh from India, Jamshid Zafar from Afghanistan, and Lyosha Filippou from Russia. Each student shared stories and faith traditions from home and described the competitive process they went through to be chosen as an exchange student.

A lively discussion followed and we're looking forward to seeing more of our new friends at future potlucks.

Lelia Bruun, a coordinator for PAX works with U.S. State Dept. scholarship exchange students in the YES and FLEX (Future Leaders Of Exchange) programs. Both organizations work with high school students between the ages of 15-18 as a diplomacy initiative designed to build bridges of peace and understanding. Lelia serves as the local coordinator for both the Fresh Air Fund and the Program for Academic Exchange. Her involvement with the Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency providing free summer vacations to inner-city children ages 6-18 in need, began nearly 15 years ago first as a host family followed by her current role as Fund Representative for Berkshire County managing the Williamstown and Great Barrington Friendly Towns.

2010-10-24T19:11:00.007-04:00

Wendalah Rabinowitz and Susan Jameson

September 16, 2010

Sacred Activism: Giving Birth to a New Humanity

Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires' board member Susan Jameson hosted the first potluck program of the year that explored the meaning of sacred activism and some of the profound conscious birthing energies that are transforming humanity.

Through sacred activism, "the marriage of spiritual practice that deeply grounds us in the reality of oneness with effective outer action on behalf of peace and justice," we can participate in and help bring about this birth. We each can take personal responsibility for the conscious development of the human species from adolescence into adulthood.

We explored the connection between spiritual practices and activism and shared an extraordinary evening of learning and connection.

Guests sharing stories included Rev. Natalie Shiras, pastor of Church on the Hill in Lenox, MA who recently returned from leading a youth group in Costa Rica and from a cross cultural exploration of churches in Russia and Ghana, as well as journeying to Turkey, India and Nepal; Julia Balter, a dance therapist whose work facilitates awareness of sacred connection and co-creation with the divine. Julia is fully trained in both Feldenkrais and Alexander Techniques and holds a masters degree in dance therapy. Since the 1980's she has taught her original work at universities, performing art schools and theaters in Germany, the U.S. and Australia; Eve Schatz, founder of the Free Legal Clinic in South Berkshire County, is an attorney and activist who recently began a community organic food project.

Susan Jameson is an initiate candidate of the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in NYC and is currently compiling a book titled, "Heart-Shaped Uterus: Giving Birth to a New Universe-54 Stories from Global Midwives (and Midhusbands)." She is co-founder of Healing Winds, the producer of the Rock, Rattle & Drum Pow Wow, founder and director of Humanity in Concert and on the board of the Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires.

Thank you to Wendalah Rabinowitz for sharing her photos from recent potlucks:

Mateo Senza, Eve and Alianne Schatz

Shirley Paukulis dancing with Harriette Joffe

Beverly Brown and Sheila Donath

Pauline Dongala nd Ani Grosser

Satyena and Tosca

Eileen Lawlor

Sonia Pilcer and Mikka Barkman

Shirley Paukulis and Pauline Dongala

2010-10-24T17:02:00.014-04:00

Anne Barstow, Katharine Houk and Wendalah Rabinowitz

June 8, 2010 ~“WOMEN, the ARTS and the SACRED”

For the second year, former board member, Shirley Paukulis, created an inspirational evening where a panel of women in the written, visual and performing arts shared their explorations and discoveries in the creative process and their personal experiences of discovery of the sacred in everyday life. Socially engaged in their communities and other countries, Wendalah Rabinowitz, JoAnne Spies, Anne Barstow, Gabrielle Senza, June Wink and Katharine Houk told their stories and displayed their art work. The evening opened and closed with a ceremony of light, song, movement and prayer.

Shirley Paukulis and Gabrielle Senza

June Wink displaying artwork

May 6, 2010 ~ Women Weaving Community Together: Sharing Our Gifts
Ani Grosser, psychotherapist and WII board member, and Rosa Zubizarreta, social worker and WII board member co-facilitated the evening's program. Using the Communologue technique, participants explored new ways to bring their own work in the world and discovered commonalities of purpose.

April 13, 2010 Multicultural Women and Their Faith: Catholic and Muslim Women Share Their Faith

Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant, Director of B.R.I.D.G.E, invited women and students from Catholic and Muslim traditions to talk about their faith. Maria Soria spoke about Catholicism and Afua Tweneboah spoke about Islam and Catholic traditions in Spain. Two Muslim students from Egypt and one from Ghana, who were part of the PAX-Program of Academic Exchange at Monument Mountain H.S., shared their prayers and talked about their faith

Maria shares Catholic traditions from Central America while Gwendolyn translates from Spanish to English

Mohammed, an exchange student from Egypt, talks about his Muslim faith

March 11, 2010 ~ Founding Director of Women's Interfaith Institute, Rev. Allison Stokes PhD., Presents Slide Show and Lecture on Women's History

“Unquiet Friend” quilt, by Alice Gant,

that hangs in WII Seneca Falls Church.

It portrays Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas, and Lucretia and John Mott

Rev. Allison Stokes, Ph.D. presented a slide show and talk that recounted the story of our foremothers, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other remarkable women, ordained religious leaders, scholars and teachers. Founding Director of the Women’s Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires and in the Finger Lakes, Rev. Stokes is a scholar-activist focused on ‘the Interfaith Movement.’ While living in the Berkshires, Rev. Stokes served as pastor of the West Stockbridge Congregational Church.

Rev. Allison Stokes (l) and friend stand by Women's Interfaith Institute in Seneca Falls

February 9, 2010 ~ “Awareness of Relationship of Food and Faith”
As the Executive Chef of EnlightenNext, Katherine Miller invited us to explore the connection between our spiritual beliefs and the food we eat. She has been a 19-year student of EnlightenNext’s spiritual founder, Andrew Cohen, and is working to pioneer new ways of understanding health and wellness in the context of conscious evolution and spiritual enlightenment.

January 14, 2010 ~ “Listening Deeply through Communologue”

This month’s program, Communologue, was facilitated by WII Board member Ani Nadler Grosser, LICSW, a relationship therapist in private practice in Lenox and a member of the Imago Peace Project. The program offered an experience of Communologue, a dialogue process for creating safe communication and connection in groups. In Communologue, deep listening is a creative process where all points of view are respected and specific guidelines are followed.

Celebration of the Light

2009-11-23T20:28:00.003-05:00

December 15, 2009

Creative Arts Coach Eileen Mahoney and friends led the group with meditation, music and poetry in a "Ceremony of Light" based on the Universal Worship Service created by Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi Master and Founder of the Sufi Order International. The ceremony drew on readings from major religious traditions and other meaningful expressions on the theme of light.

November 19 - Annual Harvest Celebration led by Satyena Ananda

2009-10-20T23:42:00.000-04:00

Introducing Harvest Dishes

Harvest Altar

Moving words were shared at our annual November meeting to celebrate the Harvest. After a bountiful harvest meal, we gathered around a magical altar. The altar held objects which symbolized the harvest of seeds of our personal aspirations. Each woman showed her symbol and then spoke of its meaning. We listened as women spoke of dreams manifested in publications, a CD, community programs, and of inner qualities of greater self-trust, of belonging, of aliveness and authenticity. I came away enriched and inspired.

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Havest Gathering

During this gathering we will focus on and experience some of the powerful gratitude & manifestation tools and techniques that change lives.

As a community of women of faith, we will create an altar of gratitude.
As a circle of grateful women we will share with each other the harvest of our blessings.

This program is facilitated by Satyena Ananda, Co-founder and Director of Starseed Healing Sanctuary and Retreat Center in Savoy,MA. Satyena is a Holistic Educator and spiritual counselor who has spent the past 38 years creating and offering programs, retreats and ceremonies with women that transform and restore body mind and soul.

What to Bring:
~An object for the gratitude altar that represents the good that you are harvesting from the seed intentions you have planted.

~A Harvest potluck dish that blesses everyone who shares it.

In addition . . . we will continue our FOOD & CLOTHING DRIVE,in collaboration with BRIDGE. (Berkshire Resources For the Integration of Diverse Groups and Education.)To help those in need, we invite you to contribute an article of clothing or non perishable food item.

Rites of Passage

2009-10-20T23:20:00.000-04:00

Youth Alive senior steppers Michelle and Talya at Indashio fashion show

Thank you to Shirley Edgerton and the Youth Alive step team who were the guests at our September 13 Potluck Program. Shirley outlined her vision for a Rites of Passage program for adolescent girls that would include multi-cultural women's studies, health education, support for trauma, and programs that build self-esteem. The Women's Interfaith group would like to be a source of support for this project by becoming mentors or serving on the Advisory Board.
Three talented Youth Alive dancers and choreographers clapped, stomped and danced their original dances for a very appreciative audience.

September Heritage Dishes and BRIDGE

2009-09-17T00:14:00.002-04:00

Two themes resonated for me at last night’s potluck: that we are all leaders, and that no one should be invisible. The first is the mission of Women’s Interfaith in the Berkshires--supporting women’s spiritual leadership; the second is the mission of Multicultural BRIDGE. These themes came together last night and were made manifest as we enjoyed lovingly-prepared heritage dishes, and the songs, words and personal sharing by our presenters about how their faith becomes manifest in their daily lives. It was an enlivening evening of warm connection.
posted by Ani Grosser

Gabrielle Cruz shares a heritage dish

2009-08-05T10:29:00.001-04:00

Save the Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Join us for our first potluck of the year as we celebrate our 2009/2010 theme:
Interfaith Interface: Deepening Connection Through Unity and Collaboration

Our scheduled speaker is Gwendolyn Van Sant, co-founder and executive director of B.R.I.D.G.E. Gwendolyn will share the mission of her organization and has invited four women to speak about their faith and how it drives them. An open discussion will follow.
Presenters:Mikka Barkman,Gabriela Cruz,Shirley Edgerton and Kaya Stern-Kaufman.

Reflection Questions: What does faith mean to you and how does it manifest in your life?
What does WII's theme "Interfaith/Interface: Deepening Connection through Unity and Collaboration mean to you personally and in connection to WII?

Please bring a traditional "heritage dish" to the potluck to share.

Where: Church on the Hill Chapel
55 Main Street
Lenox, MA

(The brown building is down the street from the main church, and across the street from Nejaime's Wine Cellar. Please use entrance on right side of building.)

When: 5:45 - 8:45pm

5:45 Gathering with food

6:00 Welcome circle

6:15 Potluck supper

7:15 Program

8:45 Closure and clean up

From a July 2009 story in the Berkshire Eagle:

Yazuri Santos, 6, helps other students in the BRIDGE summer youth program count to 10

in both English and Spanish on Tuesday. (Photo by Darren Vanden Berge.)

BRIDGE, short for Berkshire Resources for the Integration of Diverse Groups and Education, was co-founded by WII-B board member Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant. As executive director of BRIDGE, Gwen has been providing cultural competency training to town employees that is designed to familiarize personnel with a growing immigrant population.

BRIDGE's new home in Housatonic, MA has enabled the pilot of a summer program on literacy and tolerance for children ages 2 to 12, and their families. After the summer, Gwen hopes the model can be introduced to local youth centers and schools. The program brings in volunteer teachers to introduce age- and ability-appropriate words, books, songs and other activities in both Spanish and English languages. Other activities include guest workshops with Youth Alive step dance troupe, Norman Rockwell Museum, and staff from the Berkshire South Regional Community Center and Housatonic Playground group.

2009-08-04T17:29:00.000-04:00

2009-08-04T16:33:00.000-04:00

Reverend Natalie Shiras of Church-on-the-Hill in Lenox, MA, former WII Board member, shows photo of children in India who benefited from the John A. Sellon Charitable Trust grant and Women's Interfaith Initiative

June 16, 2009

Women's Interfaith Initiatives Cross Borders

with John A. Sellon Charitable Trust

Reverend Natalie Shiras and Pauline Dongala's Faith in Action

Join us on a journey to Ghana and the Congo as Reverend Natalie Shiras and Pauline Dongala share their stories and a slide show about initiatives that were funded through the Women's Interfaith Institute and the John A. Sellon Charitable Trust.

Reverend Natalie Shiras, pastor of Church-on-the-Hill in Lenox, MA, recently traveled building interfaith and cross-cultural bridges in Russia, Turkey, Ghana, Nepal and India. WII funds helped re-build a church roof in Accra, Ghana and funded medical and food supplies for disabled pensioners and their families in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Pauline Dongala, former WII board member, reaches out to the Republic of the Congo with her WII Initiative funded by the John A. Sellon Charitable Trust

Pauline Dongala is supporting two projects in the Republic of the Congo: rebuilding a church and supporting a skills-training center for women in Kinkala, Congo.

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May 14, 2009

The Feminine, Sufism and Islam

Join us for an enlightening talk about the Feminine in Sufism and Islam. Zumurrud Butta from Vienna, Austria, is a Senior Teacher in the Sufi Order, Retreat Guide and European Head of Universal Worship. She will discuss the role of the feminine in the mystical traditions of Sufism and Islam. She is a member of the Ibn'Arabi Society and fluent in Arabic and Urdu. In addition to her many accomplishments, she is a delightful, warm person who is sure to leave us with a deeper appreciation of being women on the spiritual path.

2009-04-20T21:16:00.000-04:00

Eileen Quinn and Ani Grosser greet participants of “WOMEN, the ARTS and the SACRED” at the Church-on-the-Hill Chapel in Lenox, MA

Katharine Houk and June Wink initiate "Women, the Arts and the Sacred" with the lighting of a candle and a prayer

“WOMEN, the ARTS and the SACRED”: A Thank You Note

WII Program March 19, 2009, at Church on the Hill Chapel in Lenox

Thank you for your participation in this inspiring evening, for being a part of the Women’s Interfaith contribution to the First Annual Berkshire Festival of Women in the Arts. Thanks to the artists who presented, women who helped develop the theme of the event and those who carried out important details.

Through the written, visual and performing arts, we experienced the intricacies of personal relationships; the source of dedicated service to others; creative approaches to healing; the beauty and power of our natural environment; the Cosmos revealed through color and form, rhythm and movement.

So many of you shared your intimate personal beliefs and chosen art forms. Presenters and audience often became one being in the showing or performing of a piece. I received many emails from women expressing their appreciation for the entire evening’s experience and highlighting individual moments.

Thank you for bringing your art work, food for the Reception, your promotional material, and for making the arts a “common ground” where we can all meet.

With gratitude and blessings,

Shirley Paukulis, Event Producer

2009-03-09T16:01:00.000-04:00

Shirley Paukulis

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Katharine Houk persenting her artwork

Menorah and sculpture by Harriet Joffe

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For news about the fire at Women's Interfaith Institute in Seneca Falls: www.Seneca Falls fire

2009-02-25T23:00:00.000-05:00

Retreat and Renewal

The Women's Interfaith board spent an inspiring and productive retreat day at Hawkins House in New Lebanon, NY. Thank you to Peggy Hawkins for her hospitality and beautiful 'full circle' home and retreat space.

2009-02-23T22:47:00.000-05:00

Maggie creating her heart

A Path with Heart and a Different Kind of Valentine

were themes for February's WII Potluck/Program. Twenty six women came out on this cold February evening, first for a pot-luck feast, and then together we transformed our three large round dining tables, bedecked with roses and red cloths, into altars. Expressive Art Therapist, Eileen Mahoney guided us with poetry and guided imagery. She placed on each altar-to-be a wide variety of pink/ red and pastel tissue paper and an assortment of paper napkins with roses, and flowers, and other nature images. Her simple instruction: let your hearts become your hands. Voila: within 15 minutes we created collages, and each table indeed became a sacred altar. As one woman said: "we all had the same materials, and each creation was totally unique: tiny hearts, big open hearts, wings with hearts." At my table, before she began to work, Maggie shared that she had heavy and sad heart. She told us that driving to our gathering she heard a report on NPR about a woman who died in the recent Buffalo plane crash. This woman had lost her husband on Sept 11. She was in Buffalo to honor what would have been his 58th birthday. Moreover, she had been a leader among the families who had lost loved ones. As Maggie talked she found herself using the tissue paper to create a heart with wings. Her Creative Source led her hands to create a perfect symbol to honor the woman who died in the crash - a heart with wings. Susan Jameson summed up the evening: "magic was in the air; the divine in our hearts."

"Heart with Wings" by Maggie

Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires co-sponsors "The Power of Women in the Arts" at Bard College at Simon's Rock March 6-7

2009-02-10T08:24:00.000-05:00

The First Annual Berkshire Festival of Women in the Arts http://www.thewomenstimes.com./which will kick off March 1, 2009 and run throughout the entire month, now boasts more than 60 events at 30-plus venues throughout Berkshire County. Presented by The Women’s Times, the festival will feature exhibits, film, music, performance, talk and more, and will include diverse programming that ranges from historical to contemporary, traditional to radical, political to apolitical. Venues run the spectrum from the Berkshires’ most established cultural organizations to new and improvised locations. There are opportunities for festival-goers to examine the role of women in the arts, celebrate the achievements of women artists or simply enjoy a diverse cross-section of artistic work.

Two signature events will mark the Festival: The Power of Women in the Arts, the Eighth Annual International Women’s Day conference will be held on March 6-7 at Bard College at Simon’s Rock College; and She’s Got Moxie!, the First Annual Festival Awards to be presented at a March 13 gala at Shakespeare & Company.

Follow this link to find presentations and performances by Pauline Dongala (Collaterally Damaged, March 7-8), JoAnne Spies (Norman Rockwell Museum, March 10) and others:

http://www.thewomenstimes.com/events.php?event_subCat_id=4

Pauline Dongala will present a talk after "Collaterally Damaged"

Upstairs at the Triplex

Saturday, the 7th at 8:30pm and Sunday, the 8th at 3pm.

March 19

Women, the Arts and the Sacred

Moderated by Shirley Paukulis

Reception: 6 -7pm

Program: 7 – 9pm

Join us for this inspirational event as women in the written, visual and performing arts share their intimate spiritual experiences, how their lives were changed, and the journeys they took to unveil and reveal the sacred through their work.

location: The Church on the Hill Chapel in Lenox, MA

see below for presenters and location info

2008-11-22T06:04:00.000-05:00

former board member Pauline Dongala at "Sounding the River"

at Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center July 2008

photo credit: Paul Paukulis

Harvest Celebration
Last night (November 20) the Women’s Interfaith Institute’s annual Harvest Celebration ended in a crescendo of sound which we offered up to our world and to our own hearts. Starting with the simple sound “ah,” we chimed in with prayers, words of thanks and hope . The chorus of voices continues to resonate within me.
At all of our gatherings, the stories we share and kindnesses we give each other deeply touch me. Last night Rev. Natalie Shiras spoke about her trip to Accra, Ghana where she was to give a sermon and present WII’s gift to a church to build a roof. Natalie was anxious that she was arriving late to give the sermon. She was amazed to be greeted by church members who were just elated that she’d arrived safely, and only wanted to make sure for her and her children’s comfort, insisting that they eat breakfast before any sermon. Natalie spoke of the gratitude of learning to receive. Pauline shared pictures of the group of women in Congo, also recipients of WII assistance, who are starting a sewing cooperative, and spoke of her gratitude in being able to help the women of her country of origin. Reading the first Proclamation of Thanksgiving from just after the American Revolution, Pauline expressed her gratitude and amazement that we live in a country where Thanksgiving is honored and is actually part of our legal system. She helped us all remember something I, for one, have taken for granted. JoAnne created a song with us on the spot: " Gratitude Road," which became a co-creation as we all spontaneously and joyously contributed our personal gratitudes. Many of us spoke of being happy “for life itself. ” Very touchingly, one woman spoke of having always hated her body, and through her serious illness has learned to love it: “ I’ve died and been reborn.” Words of wisdom, honesty and thoughtfulness. I feel tremendous gratitude to be part of our courageous group.
One Woman in Gratitude

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The Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires is comprised of women of different faiths and diverse backgrounds who practice their religious and spiritual beliefs through dedicated action. We provide the impetus for a wide variety of interfaith activities through which women of spirit can express their beliefs and form a community for action. We seek to provide an understanding atmosphere and a forum for women to realize their expanding role in bringing an age of unity.

Potluck Program Dates

May 14
The Feminine, Sufism and Islam
Join us for an enlightening talk about the Feminine in Sufism and Islam. Zumurrud Butta from Vienna, Austria, is a Senior Teacher in the Sufi Order, Retreat Guide and European Head of Universal Worship. She will discuss the role of the feminine in the mystical traditions of Sufism and Islam. She is a member of the Ibn'Arabi Society and fluent in Arabic and Urdu. In addition to her many accomplishments, she is a delightful, warm person who is sure to leave us with a deeper appreciation of being women on the spiritual path.

April 14
LETTERS TO THE WORLD is the first anthology of its kind—a feminist collaboration born from The Discussion of Women’s Poetry Listserv (Wom-po), a vibrant, inclusive electronic community founded in 1997 by Annie Finch. With an introduction by D’Arcy Randall and brief essays by the poets themselves reflecting on the history and spirit of the listserv, the book presents a rich array of viewpoints, and poems ranging fm sonnets to innovative forms. 259 contributors, 19 countries, 5 continents

In this presentation, Berkshire writer and artist Rosemary Starace will share the words of poets from Iran, South Africa, Australia, Europe, and India, as well as work that comes from within the diverse constituencies of the U.S. and Canada.
Here is a link to Rosemary Starace's website that tells about the book she co-edited with two other authors:
letters-to-the-world

March 19
Women, the Arts and the Sacred
Moderated by Shirley Paukulis
Reception: 6 -7pm
Program: 7 – 9pm
Join us for this inspirational event as women in the written, visual and performing arts share their intimate spiritual experiences, how their lives were changed, and the journeys they took to unveil and reveal the sacred through their work.

Saphira Linden is a senior meditation teacher/guide in the Sufi Order International and Artistic Director of Omega Theater, in Boston.
Linda DeHart is an integrative artist whose overall passion is “to create art that carries the viewer beyond the object, to a place of transformation through the power of color."
Belle Fox-Martin is an artist and religious leader in the Berkshires. She is a published playwright, poet and a visual artist--working on canvas with religious themes--and owner of Fox-Martin Fine Art Gallery in Housatonic.

As artists, we study, practice and express our art, until the inner becomes the outer and the heart a swinging door. When we become intimate to an experience, our images have direct connection to the whole. Spirit mysteriously reveals itself when we transcend our individual selves. Both artist and audience experience moments of illumination when present and aware. The arts inspire us to see more clearly, with freshness and depth.

February 17

A Different Kind of Valentine
"A Path With Heart"

Join Eileen Mahoney as we pause to explore our deeper hearts and what it means to live more fully from that place of love.We will use music, chanting and creative visualization to learn about the unfolding of our hearts into the Unity of the heart of hearts.
Eileen Mahoney is an Expressive Arts Therapist whose love of creativity is informed by her love of Sufism. She has been a student of the Sufi path for 15 years and is just completing a 4 year program of Sufi Esoteric Studies.

January 15

Portraits of Peace

Jane Feldman is an award-winning photo-journalist, social activist and author who has created photo portraits of the Dalai Lama, Maya Angelou and Nelson Mandela, among others. She will present a slide show and a talk about art and activism on Thursday, January 15, 2009 as part of the Women's Interfaith Institute of the Berkshires' theme "Women's Visions and Voices for Peace and Understanding.

Where: Church on the Hill Chapel

55 Main Street
Lenox, MA

(The brown building is down the street from the main church, and across the street from Nejaime's Wine Cellar. Please use entrance on right side of building.)

When: 5:45 - 8:45pm

5:45 Gathering with food

6:00 Welcome circle

6:15 Potluck supper

7:15 Program

8:45 Closure and clean up

Save the dates!
Future potluck events:

May 14

June 16

We actively seek input from new members and are excited about fashioning new programs collaboratively with our growing membership and leaders.

Themes for Monthly Programs:
2008-2009 Academic Year:
Women's Voices and Visions for Peace and Understanding
2007-2008 Academic Year: Our Sacred Earth

Some Initiatives Funded by Women's Interfaith in 2008:
Reverend Natalie Shiras, pastor of Church-on-the-Hill in Lenox, MA recently traveled as a "Good Will Emissary" from the US to Russia, Turkey, Ghana and India.
WII funds helped re-build a church roof in Accra, Ghana and funded school supplies and medicine for Trinity United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg.

Pauline Dongala is supporting two projects in the Congo: rebuilding a church and supporting a skills-training center for women in Kinkala Congo.

Photographer/teacher Peggy Reeves and Ann Jon of "Sculpture Now" led a day-long workshop hands-on sculptural experience with Taconic Hills high school students working with natural materials and writing poetry at Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center in Craryville, NY

Continuing Programs:

1. Monthly Meeting Programs

Theme for 2008-2009 Academic Year:

Women's Voices and Visions for Peace and Understanding

2. Conferences, Retreats and Celebrations in Nature, for individuals and groups

North County: Starseed Healing Sanctuary

South County: Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center

3. Programs, sponsorships and collaborations that are becoming traditional

International Women's Day at Bard College at Simon's Rock

International Day of Peace
Annual Native American Pow Wow
Earth Day Celebration in the spring
Harvest Celebration in the fall
Celebration of Light in December

Join a diverse group of spirited and spiritual women, and become a member of the Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires.
Learn about different faith traditions
Strengthen your ties to the community
Explore your own faith in action
Support women's initiatives

Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires
P.O. Box 443
Lenox, MA 01240

If interested in membership please call Ani @ 637 2869
or email us: info@womensinterfaithberkshires.org

annual membership is $35

To add your post send an e-mail to:
spiesart@aol.com

Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires

January 13, Mindful Eating

December 13, Celebration of Light

Rite of Passage

WII Supports the Monterey Meets Ngalla/People to People Project

Harvest Gathering Thursday, November 17

'Dia de los Muertes" Celebration Tuesday, October 18

"Feeding Body, Mind and Soul" for those in need

Interfaith Chant for Peace

June 14, 2011

May 12, 2011

International Women’s Day Conference: Women Write the World on Mar 5 2011, 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM at Bard College at Simon’s Rock (84 Alford Rd. Great Barrington)

February 8, 2011 Program

Celebration of the Light

November 19 - Annual Harvest Celebration led by Satyena Ananda

Rites of Passage

September Heritage Dishes and BRIDGE

Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires co-sponsors "The Power of Women in the Arts" at Bard College at Simon's Rock March 6-7

International Women’s Day Conference: Women Write the World
on Mar 5 2011, 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM at Bard College at Simon’s Rock (84 Alford Rd. Great Barrington)