May 2014 New Growth

altar in progress for Buddha and Mary

Thank you to all who attended our special meeting: former board members, new guests and women of spirit. Special thanks to former board member and group facilitator, Phoebe Williams. Phoebe has the gift of seeing the larger picture and she expertly helped us tap into our group wisdom as we moved into the next phase of Women's Interfaith.

After five years as president of this amazing group, I knew it was time to make way for new leadership that could be shared and that could reflect the dynamic presence of spirit when this group gathers.

Some of the comments and phrases harvested from our World Cafe conversation:
  How has Women's Interfaith been meaningful for you?
    A place like no other where you can share deep conversation.
     A place to 'be,' not do.
   "A place where I could create altars, create programs..."
    Incredible food that is nurturing and created with love.
   I could learn about different faiths and traditions, as well as 'no faith.'
   A place of trust where I could be weak and vulnerable and feel supported.
   Rituals that celebrated the seasons.    
   Singing, dancing, creativity and the arts.
   A place to speak the truth.
   Tribal connection.
   Being mentored, learning from the wisdom of other women.
   Universality, the common thread running through all our separate traditions rising to the fore.
    Strong presence of Spirit when sitting together in a circle.
    Connection.
   
Looking back, here's some highlights of collaborations and outreach:
Seeing 'Heroic Girlz' in an early performance and lending support to this group with fiscal sponsorship.
Nurturing the sprout of 'Youth Alive's' Rite of Passage program.
Hearing PAX foreign exchange students share their traditions.
Supporting International Women's Day and Berkshire Festival of Women Writers.
Initiatives that helped women in the Congo, Turkey and here in the Berkshires.

More inter-generational sharing and new programs wait to be called forth.
I feel great gratitude to Dr. Alison Stokes, founder of this group; to the long line of women who served on the board over the years, to the amazing array of women who presented programs, to all those who came to share their lovingly created food, and their heart and soul. A special thanks to our administrators over the past ten years: Sandra Beer, Eileen Quinn, and Alison Gaines. Volunteer extraordinaire Laighne, thank you, as well as the many women who help greet, set up and make the space new again.

With much excitement I look forward to supporting  the new wave of  shared leadership that arose at our meeting.
Amber Chand explained, 'The threshold is a strong place to be.'
And so we move, from strength to strength.

JoAnne Spies - President  2008-2014

Wednesday, April 16

Tales of Life Beyond Life
with Bonney Rega
 
As a hospice chaplain, Bonney Rega ponders the afterlife in a new short story collection, “Everyday Miracles: Tales of Life Beyond Life.” If you have a fear of dying, this presentation can allay those fears.
Bonney has seen people wrestle with questions that plague all societies: What happens when we die? What’s the transition like? How do lost loved ones reconnect with relatives and friends?

In “Everyday Miracles,” Bonney pulls together several short stories that she has collected from her patients, grieving loved ones and her own experiences. These uplifting tales provide a source of comfort for those dealing with loss while confronting age-old questions about death and life.

“People often ask me if it’s a hard job to work with the dying,” says Rega. “It’s an honor to do this work; I’m a spiritual midwife who helps souls go from a sick body to a healthy one in heavenly realms.”Bonney will share stories from her book and invite a discussion after her talk.

Bio: Bonney Rega serves as the Lexington Hospice Chaplain, ministering to hospice end-of-life care patients. She earned degrees from Bennington College and the University of Massachusetts. In 1987, she became an ordained minister in the Church of All, an inter-religious church that honors all religious traditions. This uniquely qualifies her to minister to hospice patients from a variety of backgrounds.
As a spiritual midwife, Bonney helps patients enter their next birth into the heavenly dimensions. She has also served as a meditation teacher and leader of grief groups, where some of her book’s stories emerged. She additionally has studied the human psyche, stages of grief, archetypes, dream symbolism and metaphysics in art and literature.
Now living in Chicago, Bonney taught art at BCC from 1969-1976 and was active in local theater at Pittsfield Town Players, Berkshire Theater Festival, and Mac-Haydn Theater in Chatham, N.Y

Wednesday, March 19

Celebrating Berkshire Festival of Women Writers

Poetry, Paradox and Prayer 

Reading and workshop with Jan Hutchinson

             Join event on Facebook  

          5:45-8:45 p.m.  

                   Stockbridge Congregational Church 

 4 Main St, Stockbridge   

    

After the Women's Interfaith potluck, Jan will read briefly from her new poetry collection, Raggedy Prayers and Crooked Ladders, then lead a generative poetry workshop.

Please bring paper and pen. We will write from prompts and share our rather spontaneous poems, which will have been written in the spirit of play rather than of perfectionism.

For some, the writing of poetry can be a spiritual practice. It can help us pay sharper attention to particulars, ponder self and world, honor the Great Mysteries, and move toward equanimity. 

BIO:  Jan Hutchinson has focused on poetry, in and out of academic contexts, for more than fifty years. For over a decade, as a practice, she has written at least one poem every morning.

Her collection Poems of Prayer and Heresy came out in 2008. A second collection, Raggedy Prayers and Crooked Ladders, followed in December 2013.

During the past two Aprils, Jan has sent out daily poetry prompts to hundreds of poets in nine states who signed up to write a poem a day during National Poetry Month. 

Women's Interfaith potluck events take place at  The First Congregational Church in Stockbridge. The space is a great size for us, welcoming and easy to get to. Please join us and bring a friend!

$5-10 suggested donation

FREE FOR MEMBERS

(See Membership section below)

 

PLEASE BRING A

LABELED DISH TO SHARE

 

In the interest of simplifying and going green, we ask you to please consider bringing re-usable dinnerware (plates and flatware) for your own use to reduce disposables. We will provide dinnerware for anyone not able to bring their own.

 

WHEN AND WHERE 

 

We meet usually on the
third Wednesday, at the 

First Congregational Church,

4 Main Street, Stockbridge.

Watch emails for any changes.

 

5:45 Gathering with food

6:00 Welcome Circle

6:15 Potluck Supper

7:00 Program

8:45 Closure/clean up

 

Wednesday, February 19

Freeing our Hearts

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future." ~Bernard Meltzer

                                                 

Our roles as women have been changing rapidly in the past several generations. In addition to the opportunities that have opened for us in the world of work, we also want satisfying intimate relationships. We don’t want to sacrifice our autonomy and lose ourselves in our relationships. To navigate the rapidly changing world of relationships, it is helpful to have “heart tools.”

In tonight’s program, Ani will offer us one of the heart tools from the her new book, written with her husband Bill, Heart Tools for Couples: 8 Ways to a Loving Relationship.

           

The Heart Tool we will focus on tonight is Transforming Hurt and Resentment into Forgiveness. Inevitably in relationships we hurt and disappoint each other. This heart tool is a step-by-step process to let go of the weight of resentments, while honoring ourselves and our partner. The workshop features guided reflection and journaling, followed by group discussion.

Ani Nadler Grosser, LICSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Lenox, and co-directs The Center for Compassionate Relationships. A Certified Imago Relationship therapist, she specializes in relationship issues.

Ani facilitates on-going Healing and Empowerment groups for women, which support women to grow in self-awareness, self-responsibility and self-acceptance.

Beginning April 22, Ani will again offer her popular 7 week workshop Manifesting the Love of your Life. This course focuses on learning to love yourself, and preparing yourself for the relationship you yearn for. You can learn more about these offerings at www.compassionaterelationships.com.

First Congregational Church of Stockbridge
4 Main Street     Stockbridge, MA 

5:45 Gathering with food

6:00 Welcome circle

6:15 Potluck Supper
7:00 Program

Annual Meeting and The Female Hero January 22nd

The Female Hero

Jungian analyst and psychotherapist Sarah Jackson will share her overview of the traditional hero, heretofore male, and the contemporary hero, who is not so strictly gendered. This lecture, accompanied by images, and discussion will focus on Sarah's particular interest: the new female heroes who are showing up in contemporary film-- cinema being the medium where our mythology is most visible.  We will explore what these new heroes have to tell us about our own heroism as women.

Sarah Jackson holds a BA from Bennington College, a Master's in Fine Art and a Master’s in Archetypal Psychology from Lesley University. She has studied group dream work with Robert Bosnak, archetypal & alchemical psychology with James Hillman, Sandplay Therapy at the C.G.Jung Institute in Boston, family therapy at the Family Center at BMC in Pittsfield MA,  and Process Work with Arnie Mindell. 

In addition to being a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist, Sarah is a professional visual artist, as well as a writer.  Her paintings, drawings and paperworks have been exhibited widely in the Berkshires, New York City, and elsewhere.

There will be a brief annual meeting @ 7:00.

                                                                         ***

Women's Interfaith is a proud co-sponsor of:

The Second Annual Interfaith Forum on Death, Dying and the Afterlife

Sunday, February 9, 2014 - 1:00pm to 5:00pm

Berkshire South Regional community Center
Great Barrington, MA

In Feb. 2013 Rimon held the first Interfaith Forum on Spiritual Views of Death and the Afterlife.  Upon conclusion of the event there was a resounding request for another opportunity to delve more deeply into this topic.

This 2nd Interfaith  Forum will have two parts.
Part 1 will include Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and Hindu clergy/representatives to present their tradition's views in a question and answer format with a moderator and also in a community conversation.
Part 2 will include smaller break-out discussion groups led by experts in a variety of fields pertaining the following topics:

Topics to be covered will include: spiritual preparation for death,  the journey of the soul, traditions around preparation of the body of the diseased, perspectives on suicide including physician assisted death with dignity, hospice care, grief rituals and support systems for the bereaved, the home funeral movement.

Suggested Donation: $10, to help defray the costs of the forum.

Kwanzaa Celebration at Whitney Art Center January 18th

                                                                     *******
Over the years, Women's Interfaith's focus has been on encouraging and nurturing meaningful conversation.
Here's a link to an interesting article:
the power of conversation

Wednesday, December 18

WII altar with lights December 2011

Annual Celebration of Light 

The season of light is upon us. Now is the time to reconnect to the light within ourselves, which is the essence of our being. How can we each share that light with the world? Join the Women’s Interfaith Institute in what has become a beloved tradition on Wednesday, December 18th for our annual celebration of Light, Spirit and Community. Through sacred music, healing prayer, divine dance and guided meditation we will share the ceremonial illumination of Light as expressed through various faith traditions. Rabbi Kaya Stern Kaufman, Rev. Susan Jameson, Shirley Edgerton, JoAnne Spies and others will guide the evening as we call forth brightness and hope, and set our light-filled intentions as 2013 comes to an end and the New Year approaches.

If so moved, bring an object for the altar that represents what brings forth your light.

THIS MONTH'S QUOTE:

"There is a crack in everything.    That's how the light gets in."   Leonard  Cohen

Wednesday, November 20

Harvest Gathering
with Satyena Ananda

 

Your gratitude is one
of your greatest powers,   

for only when you find gratitude
do you begin to be liberated     

Grace, Gratitude, and Joy

We gather together at this time of Harvest to give thanks for our many blessings and to share with each other the fruits of our lives as well as the gifts we have received. We all know the power and grace that comethrough gratitude. When we imagine a circle of "women of faith," connected and focused on Gratitude and Blessings, we tap into the incredible goodness that we have the power to unleash in the world.

Please join us for our traditional gathering as we share an evening of:

Connection, Inspiration, Ceremony, Gratitude, Prayer, Song

And a Harvest Feast

This year we will be using the power of our voices to acknowledge our appreciation for what we are harvesting: 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,

the action we have been called to take.

Please bring an object for the gratitude altar that represents the blessings of your harvest along with a short written paragraph about the greatest blessing you have given and the greatest blessing you have received. 

There is such Power in collective Prayer and Intention

 Let us take this opportunity
to join our hearts

To call down a Blessing on all life!

Bio:  Satyena Ananda is a holistic educator and spiritual guide with thirty eight years background and training in designing and implementing programs and experiences for people of all ages in the areas of healing, personal transformation, holistic living , ceremony and spiritual direction.  Her work promotes spiritual connection, peace, self-acceptance, love and spirit-empowerment.  She is co-founder and director of Starseed, an interfaith healing sanctuary and holistic retreat center in the northern Berkshires. 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013   

5:45-8:45pm

  First Congregational Church
        4 Main Street, Stockbridge MA   

Maya Angelou

"Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to welcome good into your life."   *~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~ Meaningful conversation has been at the heart of Women Interfaith gatherings. Here's an interview with poet David Whyte about the importance of wholehearted conversation: David Whyte on 'Courageous Conversation'

Wednesday, October 16

Transforming Your Relationship    with One who has Passed with AnnE O'Neil     5:45-8:45pm   First Congregational Church         4 Main Street, Stockbridge MA      Most psychological models of grief focus only on coming to emotional closure. New age practices often look at the ongoing spiritual connection but do not deal with the pain of having lost someone dear to us.   In this evening, we will find the middle road between these paths by looking at the hard realities of mourning while also inviting a new and more open spiritual connection with our loved one's soul. This will be accomplished through writing exercises, one-on-one sharing, and guided meditation. Join us for an evening of healing, sharing, and opening. *  *  *  Rev. AnnE O'Neil, founder of your soul path, is an energy healer, Interfaith minister, and grief counselor. She was ordained by One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in 2008 and is a Certified Instructor and Practitioner with One Light Healing Touch.   Her work is primarily with those who have experienced a significant loss in their life, supporting them through the healing process to a place where they are once again excited by the possibilities of life.   AnnE's recently published memoir, If You Want the Rain, Welcome the Rainbow: A Memoir of Grief and Recovery, recounts her journey with this process and looks at the damage we do when we dismiss and/or diminish our feelings of grief. She also teaches energy healing classes to help people learn to release heavy and foreign energy and raise their own vibration.  For more information, go to www.yoursoulpath.com  Guests are asked to arrive at 5:45 pm and bring a dish to share  for a pot luck dinner which begins at 6 p.m. AnnE''s program begins at 7 pm.  WII’s monthly gatherings meet at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge,  4 Main Street, Stockbridge, MA. All are welcome; suggested donation for non-members is $5-10. For more information, call Alison Gaines at 413-442-3604.

Wednesday, September 18

The Art of Mindful Conversation

What is mindful conversation?    What does it have to do with creating a healthy community? Wendy Krom, a community organizer and student of Shambhala Buddhism, is currently organizing local congregations to form the Berkshire Organizing Sponsoring Committee. The foundation of this congregation-based approach to community organizing is relationship building. As we get to know each other one-on-one  and learn one another's stories in community, issues of concern reveal themselves and leaders naturally emerge.Wendy will lead us in the practices of mindfulness meditation and conversation.  In describing the work of community organizing, the practice of meditation and the study of Shambhala Buddhism, she will help us discern how our relationships with one another form the fabric of enlightened society.

Wendy Krom 

Wendy Krom is Founder and Director of Community Consulting Services, which provides training and technical assistance to non-profit organizations and community groups. www.communityleadership.com

She has extensive experience in community coalition building as a means to prevent alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse and has helped neighborhood groups become organized and young people to form peer education groups in their schools and communities.

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

A Prayer For Our World

Holy One of Blessing,  Source of Life                                                                                                     we offer our prayers for our Great Mother, our world of unspeakable beauty 

and unspeakable tragedy.

May the light of compassion grow in the hearts of all human beings, to transform the darkness of greed into the growing awareness that all life is sacred.

May You guide us with wisdom and strengthen us with courage to make the changes we need to make

to safeguard the future for our children and generations to come.

May You awaken our leaders to the one simple truth that we are all inextricably connected to one another.

At this time of particular danger and struggle in the Middle East we pray for all peoples who long to live under your canopy of peace.

Keep them safe when they are threatened and

protect them from harm.

When they are wounded and bereaved

grant them healing and comfort.

May they find strength and courage in the days ahead.

(this paragraph adapted from Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar)

Dear God, hear our prayers, grant us wisdom, courage

and the holy chutzpah

to continue the work for healing and peace .

Amen


received from Rimon in the Berkshires
Resouce Center for Jewish Spirituality
 http://www.rimonberkshires.org/

Share your prayer for peace.. 

Wednesday, June 19

 Women's Interfaith is honored to host Francesca Margulies as our June program presenter.

Francesca Margulies

Remembering Who We Are Through the Art of Eurythmy                                                                                                                                   presented by Francesca Margulies

 
'I feel myself within myself. Myself and the world are one.'
Rudolph Steiner 

Eurythmy is an art of movement that expands the way we think and feel about ourselves and the world. Developed by Rudolf Steiner, creator of Waldorf world-wide education, Eurythmy is language and music made visible through movement. Eurythmy transforms physical and emotional imbalances, and encourages the body, heart, and mind to come to a state of inner warmth and strength. 
Francesca Margulies came to Eurythmy as a classically trained ballet dancer in the School of American Ballet under George Balanchine, having danced with professional ballet companies in televised productions and on Broadway.  She taught Eurythmy at the Rudolph Steiner school in Great Barrington and will share some of its history as well as lead us in a gentle guided session.  
"I bear within myself  the forces to make me strong." - Rudolph Steiner


Guests are asked to arrive at 5:45 pm and bring a dish to share for a pot luck dinner which begins at 6 p.m.
Francesca's program begins at 7 pm. WII’s monthly gatherings meet at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge, 4 Main Street, Stockbridge, MA.
All are welcome; suggested donation for non-members is $5-10.

For more information, call Alison Gaines at 413-442-3604.

Wednesday, May 22

Our Narratives: Seeking God, Finding Faith
While our culture offers many occasions to share our psychological selves, it is rare and beautiful to have an opportunity to share the stories of our spiritual journeys. Women's Interfaith Institute (WII), in conjunction with facilitators Ani Grosser and Wendy Rabinowitz, will be offering that chance to Berkshire women at our pot luck gathering this month.

The program, "Our Narratives: Seeking God, Finding Faith", will lead you through a reflection on your own spiritual life and invite you to connect with others with their stories and challenges.

We will specifically look at four aspects of one's spiritual evolution: 
1. The Discovery 
2. The Inner Journey and the Struggles 
3. How Your Faith Manifests in your Life and in the World 
4. Going Forth 

Wendy Rabinowitz

 
The program format includes guided meditation, the skills of deep listening from Communologue, and the connectivity offered by The World Cafe model. 
The evening will be facilitated by Ani Grosser, counselor and facilitator of empowerment groups, and Berkshire resident and Wendy A. Rabinowitz, an artist, workshop leader, and spiritual journeyer. 

Both Wendy and Ani are former members of the Board of Directors and dedicated friends of Women's Interfaith Institute. To learn more about these passionate and effective women please see their websites: Wendy's website: Living Threads Judaica 
Ani's website: The Center for Compassionate Relationships 

Ani Nadler Grosser

 




Time and Location:
5:45-8:45pm 
First Congregational Church
4 Main Street, Stockbridge MA 

SRI Kirtan Wednesday, April 17

                                SRI Kirtan
Ishwari - vocals, acoustic guitar; Sruti Ram – Vocals, Harmonium

The April program at Women's Interfaith will focus on the practice of kirtan. Kirtan is a devotional practice that involves singing mantras in a call and response style that leads to a calming of the mind and opening of the heart. 

Women's Interfaith is pleased to host SRI Kirtan for an evening of Bhakti Yoga, yoga of the heart.
With unsuppressed enthusiasm, SRI Kirtan unites their distinctive harmonies in joyful Mantra Music. Sruti Ram & Ishwari are regulars at Bhakti Fest, Omega Ecstatic Chant and travel worldwide chanting joyfully as their offering to their love of the Divine.  Their CD "Live Your Love"on Mantralogy records reached #10 on the Billboard World Music Chart. SRI Kirtan

Guests are asked to arrive at 5:45 pm and bring a dish to share for a pot luck dinner which begins at 6 pm; the kirtan will begin at 7 pm. Consider bringing lighter fare as a potluck dish in preparation for an evening of nurturing sound. Feel free to bring cushions or backjacks to sit on during the chanting should you prefer that over chairs.  WII’s monthly gatherings meet at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge, 4 Main Street, Stockbridge MA. All are welcome; suggested donation for non-members is $5-10. 

The Women's Interfaith Institute in the Berkshires is comprised of women of different faiths, traditions and diverse backgrounds who practice their beliefs through dedicated action. For more information on the Women’s Interfaith Institute of the Berkshires, visit www.womensinterfaithberkshires.org  or call (413) 442-3604.

Illumination: Memoir Writing as a Path to Peace, with Laura Didyk ~ March 20, 2013

Writing about your own life means more than merely reporting on your past. When you bring the perspective of who you are today to bear on stories from your life, not only will the stories shine with new and surprising significance but you, the writer, will be transformed in the process. Approached in the spirit of discovery, memoir writing becomes a vehicle for illumination, insight, and wisdom that can bring the writer a sense of peace while inspiring and changing her readers. Writer and teacher Laura Didyk will lead memoir-writing exercises and give a short reading from her memoir in progress. Following the usual format of Women’s Interfaith events, the potluck dinner starts at 6 p.m., and the program will begin at 7 p.m. Please bring a dish to share.

Laura Didyk, MFA, published writer and former editor in chief of a national literary magazine, has earned a local reputation as an inspiring and inventive teacher. Her work has been published in the Comstock Review, Diagram, Post Road, Fence, the Sun, and New Orleans Review, among others. She has been awarded residencies at Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony, and her work has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes. lauradidyk.com

Guests are asked to arrive at 5:45 pm and bring a dish to share for a pot luck dinner which begins at 6 p.m.; Laura’s program begins at 7 pm. WII’s monthly gatherings meet at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge, 4 Main Street, Stockbridge, MA. All are welcome; suggested donation for non-members is $5-10.

WII event with Laura Didyk on Facebook 

 

Women's Interfaith is a proud supporter of the 
 Berkshire Festival of Women Writers

Facebook Listings for All BFWW events

read Jenny Browdy's article on BFWW in Valley Advocate

Let us know about your event.. 

  Friday, March 22nd at 2:30 pm                       

 at the Norman Rockwell Museum                                

TRUST                                                                                       

a collaborative and interactive performance created by JoAnne Spies, with songs and poems on the theme of trust, in a guided tour of the Rockwell Museum.

  TRUST at Norman Rockwell Museum

 JoAnne Spies TRUST event on Facebook                                                                      

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Wednesday, March 27 
Wind and Rain: Poetry and Song 
Rosemary Starace, JoAnne Spies                                                                                          

The Lichtenstein Center, 28 Renne Avenue, Pittsfield, 7 p.m.
Suggested donation: $5