Revival/Retreat sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship: Welcoming the Feminine in Christianity, and much more worship and workshops

Come experience the power of progressive Christianity and the free religious spirit and participate in our 10th Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship Revival/Retreat. Share this exciting news and event with others.

 

Lectures Theme: Many Voices, Many Verses: Welcoming The Feminine in Christianity

Worship Theme: Hard, Sacred Words

Small Group Theme: Deepening Spirituality: With A Little Help From My Friends

Workshop Themes: Prayer, Bible, Theology, Universalism, Celtic Christianity, Sacred Feminine, New Metaphors, Missional Church, Growing Small Groups of Jesus Followers, UU Christianity 101

Come March 22-25, 2012, UU Congregation of Fairfax, VA. in the Washington, D.C. area.

Come for one day or for full event. We even have single event prices. All worship will be free and open to the public. See www.uuchristian.org/revival for registration and where you can download the revival brochure and more. Check back often for updates. Contact us with questions or to recieve updates at executivedirector@uuchristian.org.

Presenters and Preachers:

Lecturers: Dr. Mary Hunt "Feminist Theologies in Action---Women Around The World Doing Faith-Based Justice Work; Dr. Amy Oden, "Wide Open Spaces: Women's Voices in Christianity", Margaret Starbird: "Mary Magdalene: Woman and Archetype"

Workshop Presenters. Revs. Thomas Schade, Anita Farber-Robertson, Susan Newman, Scott Wells, Ron Robinson, Sue Mosher, Dave Dawson, Jennifer Sandberg, and others to be announced. .

Worship Leaders for Opening, Closing, Taize, Communion, Baptism, Prayer and Healing, Daily Office: Revs. Melanie Morel-Ensminger, Mary Katherine Morn, Kathleen Rolenz, and more to be announced.

Small Groups Coordinator: Rev. Lillie Mae Henley; group facilitators to be announced.

More on The Lecturers:

Dr. Mary 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. 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. She is author of a classic work, Fierce Tenderness: Toward A Feminist Theology of Friendship.

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. She is both a respected scholar and a dynamic speaker.

Dr. Amy Oden's lecture will be: Wide Open Spaces: Women’s voices in Christianity. She writes: '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."

Margaret 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. She writes: 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 Spriing 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."

 

The Workshops:

Some of the exciting workshops and special conversations and gatherings we will have during Revival will include:

Special three-hour Centering and Contemplative Prayer Workshop, Sue Mosher, Universalist National Memorial Church, Washington, D.C.

The Bible and Women: It's A Man's World, Or Is It?, Rev. Dr. Susan Newman, All Souls Unitarian 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

Women, the Image of God and the Universalist Hope, Rev. Scott Wells, Washington, D.C.

Divine Feminine in Celtic Christianity, Sue Mosher, Universalist National Memorial Church, Washington, D.C.

Missional Church, Rev. Ron Robinson, Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship and The Welcome Table Church, Turley, OK,

UU Christianity 101

Starting and Nurturing Small Groups of Jesus Followers, Dave Dawson, member of All Souls Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C.

Symbols of the Feminine Divine, Jennifer Sandberg, Universalist National Memorial Church, Washington, D.C.

The Small Groups: Deepening Spirituality

Three times during the Revival, participants will meet in small groups to "deepen spirituality with a little help from our friends", sharing lives, faith journeys, the revival experience, and more with an intentional program. The purpose is 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. Facilitators present experiential exercises that will allow participants to share personal feelings, thoughts, and responses to words, sensory stimuli, music, and imagery. 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.