Entries by waterstaff

March Women in Theological Education Group Report

April 4, 2012 in /by

WATER’s Women in Theological Education group hosted an evening of “Women and the Arts” on Wednesday, March 28, 2012. Each artist shared a theological witness through the genres of story-telling, dance, song, and pictorial imagery. The audience was moved, and all left feeling inspired to support the many expressions of womanhood.

Lauren Blitz presented her adaptation of the hemorrhaging woman in Luke’s Gospel. She also shared a multimedia presentation focusing on who the hemorrhaging woman could be among us today. She paired a…

April 18 Teleconference with Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza

April 4, 2012 in /by

Join us for our “Feminist Conversations in Religion” teleconference series: Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza will be with us to discuss her new book, Transforming Vision: Explorations in Feminist The*logy, a collection of essays on feminist theology focusing on the use of critical analysis of overlapping oppressions in the work of academic and ecclesiastical theologians.

March 27 WATER Featured on Ms. Blog!

March 27, 2012 in /by

“Despite (or perhaps because of) the patriarchy of many organized religions, feminism and spirituality have long-standing–if not universally-accepted–ties, from ancient goddess worship to contemporary Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Wiccan/Pagan and Muslim feminisms. Today, I want to chronicle just a few of of the diverse intersections of feminism and spirituality in our modern world.

The Women Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) is a great example of how non-denominational religious and spiritual practices can be marshaled for social justice. Founded in 1983 by Mary E. Hunt and Dianne L. Neu, WATER’s programs include spiritual counseling, resources for feminist theologians, work opportunities for people with disabilities and a series of teleconferences on subjects as diverse as queer politics and the intersections of race, class and spirituality. Hunt told the Ms. Blog… ”

Check out Ms. Blog here to read the full posting!

Communion or Disunion?

March 8, 2012 in /by


by Mary E. Hunt

The egregious breach of decency that led a Catholic parish priest to deny Communion to a lesbian woman at her mother’s funeral has received widespread and well-deserved condemnation. Even the Archdiocese of Washington DC admitted that the priest had violated their policy. In a little note, a vicar promised Barbara Johnson and her family that he would celebrate a Mass in memory of her mother.

Ann-Cathrin Jarl: Volunteer in Global Service at WATER

February 16, 2012 in /by

by Mary E. Hunt and Anne Lacher


“Never a dull day at the WATER office!” The frequency of this comment’s appearance here at WATER has increased drastically in the last week or two, and it seems to be directly related to the appearance of Ann-Cathrin Jarl.

Hailing from Uppsala, Sweden, the Rev. Dr. Ann-Cathrin Jarl was the Director of the Diocese Conference Center in Stockholm for four years. She served most recently as Chaplain to the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden [Lutheran] before her retirement in 2011.