Welcome to UU Women and Religion

Welcome!

The Women and Religion Movement is alive and well in the 21st Century. A grassroots project started by lay leaders in the 1970s as an effort to promote examination of religious roots of sexism and patriarchy within the UUA, UU Women and Religion officially began as a task force following the unanimously-passed WOMEN AND RELIGION RESOLUTION at the 1977 UUA General Assembly. Although the Task Force was eventually sunsetted, the movement still exists in UU Districts that hold Women & Religion programs and woman-focused gatherings. It exists at General Assembly, where UUW&R has an annual gathering and a booth in the display area. And it lives in the hearts and lives of women and men who have been touched by the many changes inspired by this movement.

"We do not want a piece of the pie. It is still a patriarchal pie. We want to change the recipe!" -- Rosemary Matson

videos and more about UUW&R

New Items in our Store

Written by Gretchen Ohmann |

There are some new items in our online Store! Rosemary's Matson's Memoirs booklet, a new 13-month Goddess Gatherings guide from Melinda Perrin, some awesome chalice pins, and the Margaret Fuller New England Trail Guide!

5th UN World Conference on Women

Written by Rev Dorothy Emerson |

Support a Fifth World Conference on Women!

The first four World Conferences on Women were sponsored by the United Nations. The last was held in Beijing in 1995 and produced the Beijing Platform for Action, which if fully implemented on a global scale would make the world a safe place for women and children. This will be possible only when violence of all kinds—from domestic to war, is no longer acceptable.

Now at the beginning of the 21st century with the state of the world as it is, it is a crucial time for women to come together to make a difference. This conference would be the first since the Internet made worldwide communication easy and would likely be the largest and most effective gathering of women ever held. It would accelerate reaching a tipping point.

UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meets in Geneva July 2011. A Written Statement was submitted to ECOSOC by Elly Pradervand, president of Women’s World Summit Foundation (Geneva) advocating 5WCW. On short notice before the April 22 submission deadline, the following UN NGO’s signed on as co-sponsors.

Layne Redmond Receives First Brigit Award

Written by Sid Reger |

On March 12, 2011, The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology presented the first Brigit Award for Excellence in the Arts to Layne Redmond at their East Coast Symposium. The goal of the organization is to promote scholarship and arts dealing with aspects of sacred female myths and archetypes.

Layne Redmond is an internationally recognized percussionist known for performances, teaching, and scholarship of the frame drum. As Andy Doerschuk says of her work (Drum! Magazine, Feb. 2000):

"From ancient times and distant civilizations, drumming and chanting have been bundled together as one of the single-most potent ways to reach spiritual transcendence. Few Westerners have studied and refined these practices with the fervor shown by Layne Redmond's work as a performer, ritualist and historian.

Revolutionize and Mutualize People Power

... Our Spring 2011 Theme ...

Our W&R work is in the flow of the worldwide coming together for interdependence and freedom. The human evolution of our going to this partnership level of empowerment makes our W&R movement ever strong.

Cakes For the Queen of Heaven, Isis?

Written by Helen Popenoe, Editor |

Helen’s March 14, 2011 Note: My love letter of concern to all my Japanese IALRW, International Association of Liberal Religious Women, sisters:

A teapot holding tea leaves becomes active with strong essence when the water is added. I see you “in hot water” and being strong in this time of tragedy. Today, it’s so hard to know what the escape of radiation from your quake-damaged nuclear plants really will mean for human health. However what I have witnessed about all of you is the steadfastness of your supportive interdependence and industrious positive energy. I’m sure that “when in hot water” from the earthquake, each one of you is becoming strong enough “to take it” and give what you can to your people’s struggle. This vision I carry inspires me to send, daily, my positive vibrations of concerned love. May you be safe and able to be resilient every step of the way to recovery. History proves you’ve done it before. I hold you in my heart dear sisters.

[Details on IALRW members' aid efforts in Japan are on their Facebook group page.]

Egypt’s weaponless January liberation protest connects to WW II’s A-bomb devastation in Japan.

By Helen Popenoe, (written February 21, 2011, but relevant to Japan’s tragedy, today, in its connection to Michiko Tsuchihashi’s mission, described in this report.)

February Article Introduction (followed by early March responses):

If Jeremiah could have looked at Egypt this beginning of 2011, how would he have interpreted the motivation behind the protestors’ movement? Might they have baked cakes for the Queen of Heaven in their pre-protest communication? In WOMUUNWEB’S fall issue, I started a series based on my reactions to presentations I heard at September’s conference for the International Association of Liberal Religious Women (IALRW.) Now, my second report is an opinion piece about Egypt’s strong protest, one minus the violence of warring with weapons. The weaponless Egyptian January freedom demonstrators’ success ties in with IALRW’s Michiko Tsuchihashi’s unforgettable sharing of her mission in life.

WOMUUNWEB’s last issue’s report was based on a description of Dolma’s peace education. Michiko, in her presentation, acknowledged how Dolma’s good work in India connects with Michiko’s peace work in Japan.