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!
A calendar of dates for our 2011 / 2012 season will be coming soon!
Women’s
Program Dates and Themes 2010-2011
“Friendship Among Women: Self as Friend”
 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 in relationship to an overall
theme.
For the
next three years, this theme is Friendship. As we gather monthly during
the 2010-2011 program year, we are studying “self as friend”—exploring,
for example, what is a friend, how does friendship challenge me, what is
particular about women’s friendships, what kind of friend am I, and how
can I be a better friend? At the same time we are experiencing
friendship.
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. The archetypes represent the developmental stages of
a woman’s life, and from them we learn how each of us, from our youth
through old age, lives with aspects of all of these archetypes.
From
October 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.
Dates and Times
Our next women’s gathering of this program year is on
Saturday, March 19, when we will explore the skills of
Communication in friendship followed by a fun and fund-raising
clothing exchange.
Bring your own cast-offs, and after the women’s meeting,
browse through the collection of clothing for outfits that are brand-new
for you!
Our April gathering will
be the weekend of April 15-17 at Sahale Learning Center on
the theme, Friends Creating Together. For more information about
the 2011 women’s weekend and to register,
download
our flyer.
Our final meeting of the program year will be on May
21 when we will be integrating what we have been learning throughout
the year and enjoying our friendships. All monthly meetings are on
Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Community Center in Seattle.
We suggest
a donation of $20 for the Saturday session, and encourage you to gift
according to your means.
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, Joan Valles, and
Rosemary Buchmeier.
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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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