Returning to the Roots of Healing: 

Walking in the Footsteps of Mary Magdalene and the Myrrhbearers 

Febuary 19- February 21, 2022, 10:00 am -Noon daily

A three day global online conference of  scholars, artists, musicians and spiritual leaders from 4 countries on how to reclaim and bring forth embodied liturgies ffrom the the perspective of the faithful, courageous and compassionate women who accompanied Christ--with a feast of ways that you can deepen your own spiritual practices this Lenten season.

Featured topics include:

- Claiming Mary Magdalene's righful place in the center of Easter liturgies as the faithful witness and Apostle to the Apostles

-The Myrrhbearers in scripture, art and tradition

-The symbolism of sacred oils in the Jewish and Egyptian traditions and how they are being used in rituals with both the living and the dying

- Ancient liturgies for Holy Week re-imagined : rituals of anointing, footwashing, lamentation and vigils

- Creating study groups and liturgies around the Gospel of Mary 

- Art meditation, chanting and poetry as sacred practice for Lent

- Incorporating Ecological consciousness into Holy Week and Good Friday

- Seeds of creative expression and inspiration from Ecumenical and interfaith communities in England, France, the United States, and Iona, Scotland

 Whether you are a spiritual leader, a solitary seeker or a group of women who gather together as a small circle, our hope is that you will leave this conference on fire with ways that you can make the Easter experience more meaningful for yourself --and your community.

This event is offered on a sliding scale, with full scholarships available for those in need. Your donations go directly to underwriting the costs of the event and funding the presenters. For those offering any level of donation ($30+), a video recording will be available to stream if you are not able to attend the conference during the broadcast time. Participants at the Standard ($150), Patron ($220) and Sponsor ($300) levels will also receive an invitation to participate in an online discussion groups with our faculty following each day's events.

Featured presenters include: Kayleen Asbo, Fay Barratt, Lizzie Berne DeGear, Catherine Braslavksy, Apela Colorado, David Curtis, Veronique Flayol , Ruth Cunningham, Harmony Harrison, Anasuya Isaacs,  Mary Jane MIller, Robin O'Brien, Sue Ellen Parkinson, Polly Paton Brown, Lucy Reiger, Ella Rozett, Judith Tripp and Felicity Warner.

Conference Schedule:

Saturday: Returning to the Roots

 Opening Circle of music with Ruth Cunningham

Invocation by Anasuya Isaacs

Poetry by Harmony Harrison

 Lucy Reiger: The Women's Atrium in Magdala, Israel 

 Veronique Flayol:  The Myrrhbearers, Anointing and Sacred Oils

 Lizzie Berne DeGear: Mistranslations and missing pieces in the New Testament

 Fay Barratt: Working with the Myrrhbearers Through Art and Dialogue

 Mary Jane Miller: Reclaiming the Apostle to the Apostles in Byzantine Style Iconography

Closing Litany of  Remembrance for the Myrrhbearers

 

Sunday: Tools for Awakening and Remembering the Good

 Opening Circle with Invocation by Apela Colorado

Kayleen Asbo: The Magdalene Tradition: Anthropos, Embodiment and Wholeness ; Recovering the roots of Aramaic Prayer,  the Gospels of Mary and Gospel of Thomas; Easter Liturgies in early Gnostic and early Franciscan lay communities

Catherine Braslavsky : The Gospel of Mary

 Ella Rozett and David Curtis – Creating Gospel of Mary Study Groups and Interfaith dialogue

 Felicity Warner: The tradition of anointing the dying and the symbolic meaning of spikenard and myrrh- Rituals of Grief and lamentation

Judith Tripp: The Chartres labyrinth and Holy Week

Sue Ellen Parkinson: Visio Divina and Soul Collage :The Art of Dialoguing with Images

 Anasuya Isaacs: Healing the Racial Divide with Mary Magdalene and Mother Mary

 

 Monday: Bringing Ancient Rhythms and New Traditions to the World

 Opening Circle with music by Robin O'Brien

 An Archetypal Overview of Holy Week traditions:

Anointing and Mandate to Love

Betrayal and Suffering

Emptiness/Descent

Resurrection/New Life

 Video: Prologue to the Passion of Mary Magdalene

 Polly Paton Brown: Eco Spiritual Rituals for Holy Week on Iona, Scotland

 Ella Rozett: Bringing Together the Marys as Models of Contemplation

Karen Harris: Creating Interfaith Sophia Circles  and Mary Magdalene Novenas

ClaireSierra: Mary Magdalene osary

Community reports from spiritual directors and lay leaders of diverse denominations in England, New York, Houston, San Francisco, Oregon and Washington about innovative liturgies that situate the Myrrhbearers in a place of prominence for Holy Week.

Ways to spiritually deepen during the Forty Days of Lent, with previews of offerings from our presenters

 

 

Register Now!