More from the Parliament of the World's Religions

Last night I received a message from Meredith Tenney who has been attending the Parliament of the World's Religions, in Melbourne, Australia. She joins Kathe Schaaf [http://www.womenattheparliament.blogspot.com] in highlighting an extraordinary new visibility for the Divine Feminine at the Parliament.

Here are Meredith's words:

Hello All;

For the love of Mother, we came to Melbourne and the Parliament of World Religions to raise awareness of the Sacred Feminine. For the love of Mother, hundreds of women and men around the world helped to hold the intention to uplift her at the Parliament and the end result surpasses my highest hopes.

Kathe, Anne and I hosted 'A Creative Expression of the Sacred Feminine' on Friday evening, December 4th. The event was well attended. The program included:

Valarie Kaur speaking from the Sikh tradition of Kali
Cath Conolly played the Celtic harp honoring the Celtic goddess, Brigid
Ariellashira Lewis offering Jewish blessings to Shekinah
Ninie Syarkin giving readings from the Islamic tradition
Francyl Gawryn, vocalist, and Cristina Seaborn, violinist (from St. Cloud, remember?!) honoring the Universe Mother Spirit from Urantia
Pam McCulkin (sp?) honoring Mary, the mother of Christ from the Catholic faith
Audrey Kitagawa was present to offer readings honoring Kuan Yin from the Buddhist tradition but was called away due to time constraints.

The program ended with Faith Rivera of the Agape International Choir leading the group in singing:

'We all come from the Mother
and to Her we must return,
like a drop of rain,
flowing to the ocean.'

How heart satisfying it was! The most poignant moment of the event was watching the 8 women greeters who lined up outside the door of the event, beaming love and offering welcome to everyone. Each held a beautiful poster sized image of the feminine face of deity: Green Tara, Mary and Child, Lakshmi, Kuan Yin, the Black Madonna, Durga, Kali, the Virgen de Guadalupe and Saraswati. The women's glowing faces shown above the pictures with such warmth that it was easy to see Mother reflected in their faces above the images just as clearly as in the religious pictures below. Entering the hall was like taking a wonderful stroll with Mother through her garden.

The big news, however, is that we have played only a small part in the tidal wave of recognition of the Sacred Feminine that is breaking over the Parliament. Sister Joan Chittister's panel on the Divine Feminine was standing room only. She spoke so articulately of the need for the restoration of the Divine Feminine that when she offered a question and answer session later that afternoon, 500 people showed up and they had to move her to an auditorium.

Men and women have been equally supportive. Yesterday, when an all male panel on 'Global Spiritual Leadership' convened, attendees were in such an uproar about the absence of women on the panel, that the issue effectively monopolized the entire presentation. The standing joke around here is that 'Born Again Pagan' T shirts should be sold in the halls of the Parliament because that's what everyone will be by the end of the session!

I attribute this miraculous awakening of appreciation for the Sacred Feminine to all of you who have prayed and held the space for Mother to rise here. Please know your time, prayers, and intentions have not been in vain, but in fact have precipitated more progress than I hoped to see in many years.

Anne, Kathe and I were indeed blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in the event and we are sincerely grateful for the support all of you have offered. May this be just the beginning of what we can all accomplish together for the love of Mother!

In Her grace,
Mer

What if the Divine Feminine in-formed the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference?

One of the most exciting panels at the Parliament of the World's Religions last week was on the Divine Feminine, and later, Sister Joan Chittester was the catalyst for a question and answer session on the Divine Feminine that drew over 500 people. Sister Joan was then set to travel to the Copenhagen talks on Climate Change. [More detail with Kathe Schaaf at http://www.womenattheparliament.blogspot.com/ .]

My friend and partner Ann Smith (Ways Women Lead, http://www.wayswomenlead.net/ ) writes of Sister Joan: Joan Chittister is known throughout the world as one of the most prophetic voices for today’s times. She is a leader in the global women’s movement. I remember when she spoke at the Women and Power Conference that was held in New York City with 1200 women attending. This was a gathering of spiritual and secular women co-sponsored by Omega Institute and Eve Ensler’s organization. It was the first time that I had experienced a blending of the two intentions. The majority of the women attending were anti-religious. Sister Joan was the only woman speaking as a religious person. She received a standing ovation with cheers to have her run for president of the US. She transformed prejudices that day, and continues to be right on in her message, a message that transcends gender and the divide between secular, religious and spiritual.

"Without the inner freedom it takes to defy the chains of convention, without the self-esteem it takes to trust our own truth, we face our worlds unprepared and unaware.” Joan Chittister

Just think about the two global conferences occurring simultaneously today... people gathered from every religious tradition on one side of the world reaching into spiritual commonalities, while representatives from 192 nations gather on the other side of the world to consider the climatic fate of the planet that rests between the two conferences. Consider Sister Joan, perhaps others, personally bridging these conferences, threading the energies of the Divine Feminine across the world into the secular world...

On the Parliament side, December 1, the Association for Global New Thought (http://www.agnt.org/) , Unity.FM, and the Gaiafield Center for Subtle Activism (http://www.gaiafield.net/; see WiseClimate2009) co-created a global blessing and meditation from the Parliament for both conferences. [Tune into the energy of this subtle activism at www.unity.fm/program/SpecialBroadcast.]

On the Copenhagen side, Sister Joan joins a multi-faith delegation of key religious figures, organized by the Global Peace Initiative of Women, who will be emphasizing the moral and spiritual aspects of the climate change issue, as well as the need for each individual to do their part. Their conference, taking place from Dec 7-13, is entitled: "Addressing Climate Change by Awakening to Oneness", and on Dec 10, Sister Joan will be participating in a panel called "The Divine Feminine: An essential force in addressing climate change." She will be in "East-West" dialogue with Swamini Pramananda Saraswati, Spiritual teacher and educator from India. [See http://www.gpiw.org/ and http://www.gpiw.org/copenhagen.html for more information.]

The overlap of these conferences, the continuity in spiritual intention, the presence of the Divine Feminine, the global convergence of perspectives that each represents... these are deep moments of potential unity for humanity. Are you feeling this?

The Wave at the Parliament of the World's Religions

One of the most exciting and visible crestings of the mounting wave of positive change has come from a global event celebrating the world's many religions in Melbourne, Australia, from December 3-9, 2009. This year's convergence of religious traditions was marked with an abundance of non-traditional perspectives, among them many indigenous groups, interfaith groups, some working through the United Nations, and women's groups, some celebrating the Sacred or Divine Feminine. See http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/ .

Several women from the networks that I follow are represented at the Parliament, including Women's Spirit Council, http://www.womensspiritcouncil.org/, the Association for Global New Thought, http://www.agnt.org/ and Gather the Women Global Matrix, http://www.gatherthewomen.org/ . Kathe Schaaf of Women's Spirit Council shares from the Parliament the good news of the "Feminine Rising" there:

http://http//womenattheparliament.blogspot.com/2009/12/report-from-parliament-feminine-is.html

How are you seeing the Sacred Feminine woven through your religious institutions? Arising in your lives?