2017 Spring Retreat
2017 Spring Conference in Pilgrim Park Illinois
As Above, So Below
Our Presenter was Molly Remer!
Molly has been “gathering the women” to circle, sing, celebrate, and share since 2008. She plans and facilitates women’s circles, seasonal retreats and rituals, mother-daughter circles, family ceremonies, and red tent circles in central Missouri.
She is an ordained priestess who holds MSW, M.Div, and D.Min degrees. She has worked with groups of women since 1996 and teaches college courses in group dynamics and human services. She began creating birth art during her first pregnancy in 2003 and has never stopped, though the medium in which she works has evolved with time, as well as its expression.
Molly is fiery, intense, and driven. Molly is the author of Womanrunes, Earthprayer, and The Red Tent Resource Kit, as well as three social service oriented booklets and a miscarriage memoir. She maintained her popular Talk Birth blog from 2007-2016 and writes about thealogy, nature, practical priestessing, and the goddess at Brigid’s Grove, her Woodspriestess blog, and SageWoman Magazine. She also writes for Feminism and Religion. Read more about Molly at www.brigidsgrove.com
2016 Fall Retreat
Fall Retreat
October 14-16, 2016
DeKoven Retreat Center, Racine, WI
Keynote: Dr. Kayta (Kathleen) Curzie Gajdos, author of Quiet Wisdom in Loud Times: The Rise of the Wounded Feminine.
In the fall of 2015, Kayta took a trip with Carol Christ, to Crete, where she visited many ancient Minoan goddess sites on mountaintops and in deep caves, and reclaimed them for the goddess through song and ritual. She met Karin Janowski and Pat Hyams, also on the trip. Karin and Kayta are intrepid hikers. Kayta and Pat formed "the choir" on the trip and taught chants to the other participants. The trip to Crete is an indelible memory for all of them.
Kayta is a psychologist who works with individuals, couples, and families. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, meditation and mindfulness, grief and trauma, EMDR, ETT, sandplay therapy, and dreamwork. Dr. Gajdos developed a practice in the Pittsburgh area, where she also wrote for the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic's Family Therapy Newsletter.
2016 Spring Retreat
Our 58th Spring Conference
June 3-5, 2016
Pilgrim Park, Illinois
Keynote Speaker: Christine Organ
“Honoring Our Sacred Stories”
Christine Organ is a writer, author, and speaker who seeks to inspire, connect, and celebrate the human condition.
Her book Open Boxes: the Gifts of Living a Full and Connected Life is a collection of stories about grace, wonder, and everyday miracles. Her work has appeared on The New York Times website, Washington Post, and Huffington Post, among several other well-known publications. She frequently speaks at UU congregations on topics related to everyday spirituality, and has led a number of writing workshops.
Christine’s topic was “Honoring Our Sacred Stories.” She will focus on the importance of accepting, honoring, and sharing our stories. Following a quiet reflection on our own stories, women had an opportunity to share their own untold stories.
AIR is the element we honored at our 58th Annual Spring Conference for UU Women’s Connection. We danced to sacred songs, flew some kites, and watched our handmade prayer flags float in the breeze. We drummed and chanted around the bonfire in the evenings, and shared our talents at Open Mic on Saturday night.