By Susan Osborn
I’m making my shoulders strong
For the young to stand upon,
Stepping lightly on the backs of those
Who hold me up.
It’s a chain of life unending,
Ever new and ever bending.
Grateful is the heart
For the chance to be alive.
I see where I am now
At the table of the harvest.
Before me went the plow
And the trees that grew to forest.
There’s a chain of life behind me
From here to the horizon,
Each generation rising
From the one that went before.
I hear the young ones coming,
Hearts open and hopeful.
Their dreams will be unfolding ,
On the ground we leave behind us.
Take the best of what you’re given,
Make a joyous dance to living,
And somewhere in the spinning,
You, too, will sing this song.
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Women's
Culture Program
 The
women's culture program encourages and supports self-development, helps
us as women of all ages reach a greater connection with our inner source of
feminine strength, celebrates who we are as women, and improves our
relationships with our partners, family members, friends, and self. Come
join us for one or all of our activities!
Women’s Program Dates and Themes 2009-2010
"Self in Community"
In the Goodenough Community, we have found that a carefully planned
cycle of themes helps us utilize our cultures and programs to their
fullest. One well-tested cycle consists of studying first one’s self;
second, relationship; and third, organization or community.
Following on two years of learning about one’s self and one’s self in
relationship, the women’s program will help women look at themselves in
the context of a social organization, especially community.
The women have also over several years deepened their understanding
of the role of archetypes in our individual and cultural (or societal)
psyches, and have paid particular attention to the four womanly
archetypes of Maiden, Mother, Guardian, and Crone. The women who gather
range in age from teen years to their 70s. Together we have explored the
archetypes of Maiden and Mother, learning how each of us, from our youth
through old age, lives with aspects of all of these archetypes.
In this coming programmatic year, the women will ask the archetype of
Guardian to guide their experiences together, knowing that in every
woman—not just women in the middle years—lives the Guardian. A song that
has been important to the women over many years, "Chain of Life," sung
by Susan Osborn, loosely shapes the program (see the song on this page
in the left column).
From September through May, the women’s programs build on each other,
growing out of the lives of the women present. Whenever possible, it is
lovely when a woman can attend all of the programs. Yet the programs are
discrete and it is not at all necessary to attend all of them to enjoy,
understand, and grow. Please feel welcome to come as you can.
Self in Community – Focus on community and the Guardian archetype
Characteristics: Activism, lifeways, and social intelligence
appearing in every woman’s life, at every age.
Cost: We suggest a donation
of $20 for each of the Saturday sessions, and encourage you to gift
according to your means.
Contact: For more information, call (206
399 3219) or email Hollis Guill
Ryan at hollisr@comcast.net.
About Our Leadership
 Our curriculum draws on a body of teaching
developed by John and Colette Hoff over a period of more than 25 years
on such topics as the Living Arts, right relationship, human
development, mental health, and the Perennial Wisdom.
We
are fortunate to have Colette Hoff, M.Ed., as key faculty for the
women’s program. Founder of the program in 1983, Colette is in the Crone
phase of life. She has a special vocation in working with women’s issues
as she supports and encourages women through their life-stage
transitions and on their spiritual journeys.
Hollis Guill Ryan is the focal person for the
women’s culture leadership team, with team members Elizabeth
Jarrett-Jefferson, Irene Perler, Laura Sweany
and Joan Valles. Please contact
us at
(206) 323-4653 or e-mail
goodenough@aboutcommunity.org if you are interested
in attending an event.
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Articles
Why
We Have
a Women’s Culture
Hollis Guill Ryan
The Crone
Archetype
Valuing a Culture
of
Women
Colette Hoff
How to Form a
Women's Culture
Colette Hoff
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