items of interest

with contributions from Doug Mandelaro, Susan L. Taylor

"Some Women Want A Deeper Role in their faith communities but face obstacles—the so-called 'stained-glass ceiling.' Some women, wounded in some way along their spiritual journeys, want healing. Others have questions or answers they want to share with other women, want to grow spiritually and network—to find simply that they are not alone. Hoping to be a safe haven and place of sharing for these and others, a new local group of Christian women [launched a program of sessions] in May. The sessions ... [provide] opportunities for prayer, storytelling, and discussions led by Gloria Ulterino, a local Catholic author and storyteller; the Rev. Sandy Arrington, an Episcopal priest; and Judith Stellpflug, a Catholic artist and storyteller. 'It's not a new church, not any kind of competition with existing churches, but it is an opportunity for women whether they are in church someplace—or not—to find an avenue of spiritual growth in a faith environment,' Ulterino said.... The group is called 'New Wineskins,' after the New Testament reference to new wine being poured into new wineskins to give it room to breathe and grow. 'Wherever the women come from and wherever they want to go, this will be a place that will help them stand taller, help them claim their voice and identity, and then do something with it.'"

Doug Mandelaro
"New faith group for women forms"
Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York)
May 6, 2003

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that the purpose of prayer is not to turn God into some cosmic bellhop we ring for whenever we want something. The purpose of prayer is to remind us of our oneness with God, that we are made in God's image, each of us a channel for divine influence, creativity, and power. With practice prayer opens that channel. Prayer is more than praise and petition. It is about more than what we think or want. It's about selflessness, not self. It is not an insistence: 'Listen, Holy Spirit, I am speaking,' but an invocation: 'Speak, Holy Spirit. I am listening.' Often we bargain with God or beg for what we believe we lack. But begging and pleading only affirm spiritual impoverishment and the belief in a God that withholds 'His' grace and parcels it out for praise and flattery....

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