Visit our new site at revgalblogpals.org.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Daughters of Miriam: A RevGals Big Event 2.0



April 16-19, 2009 the RevGals and Guys will meet at The Casa Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Arizona for a Continuing Ed event. Our facilitator will be the wonderful Wil Gafney, Ph. D, an Episcopal Priest and Associate Professor of Hebrew and Hebrew Scripture at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.




In this year's RevGalBlogPal's Continuing Education Event, Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in and Around Ancient Israel, we will spend three days exploring gender in the scriptures, focusing primarily on women in the Hebrew Bible. Each study session will begin with a thirty-minute presentation followed by a thirty-minute small group activity. We will close by regrouping and sharing our learning.

Our journey begins on Day 1 with a study of women prophets in ancient Israel responding to the question, "What makes a person a prophet in the bible?" In this session we will reflect on prophecy in biblical Israel and the traditions of women's prophecy in Jewish and Christian sacred literature. In our small group study, we will read the biblical narratives in which women prophets appear and document their words and deeds.

Continuing on Day 2, we will explore the context for women's prophecy in ancient Israel, answering the question, "What were the neighbors doing?" by examining women's prophecy in the surrounding nations. We will consider women's prophetic activity in relation to other women's professions carried out in professional guilds: musical - especially funeral - and scribal guilds. We will also look briefly at some professional women's guilds in the bible. In our small group study time, we will read a genealogical text looking for women's whose names and stories may not be well known.

Concluding our study on Day 3, we will ask ourselves, "What does it mean to be created in Her image?" We will study together the implications of reading and translating the scriptures as women. In our small group time, we will engage two devotional exercises, "She Verbs" and "Self-Psalm." In the first exercise, we will verbs articulating women's agency in the scriptures from selected passages, creating new versions of old stories. In the second exercise we will read and write ourselves in the Psalms, by name and gender.



The Big Event 2.0 will take place at The Casa (also known as The Franciscan Retreat Center) in Scottsdale, Arizona. We will begin on Thursday evening, April 16, 2009, and conclude on Sunday morning, April 19, 2009. The cost of the retreat will be $385 to share a double room, or $475 for those preferring a single room. A deposit of $100can be made to reserve your room, with the balance due on March 1st, 2009.

Rate includes all meals, a t-shirt and RevGalBlogPals, Inc. membership for 2009— transportation to Phoenix, Arizona, is in addition. Shuttle bus to and from the Phoenix International Airport via “Super Shuttle” will be approximately $16.00 each way. The Rev. Dr. Gafney's book, Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel, will be available for purchase at the retreat. You are encouraged to purchase it and read it ahead of time, through the link on the RevGals sidebar to Amazon.

To request a brochure with more details, or to request a registration form, please send an e-mail to revgalblogpals@gmail.com.

And for those of you who are getting really tired of winter....it is usually really beautiful in Arizona in April, sunny and 80's.

....and as an extra enticement....the Grand Canyon is only a three hour drive north...there is some talk about taking a side trip up there after the BE2.0. Or maybe you want to come in early and and go there with your family....if so, you can get more information here.

21 comments:

  1. I am so excited! I hope a lot of us are able to come and enjoy this event! I plan to be there and will help arrange the post BE2.0 to the Grand Canyon....(and probably even be one of the drivers...)

    ReplyDelete
  2. ooh! i can hardly wait! sunshine will be marvelous!

    count me in for the Grand Canyon trip, i'll be happy to help plan/arrange/whatever i can do to help make it a reality.

    peace!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds wonderful, but neither time no income will allow me to come.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Has anyone begun to schedule their transportation? Are we trying to be there by noon or mid afternoon Thursday, or are some of you going on Wednesday?

    How about the return, for those of us considering the extra trip to the Grand Canyon? Should we plan to stay until Tuesday?

    Soooo looking forward to this!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have family obligations that limit my trip, but I will arrive on Thursday afternoon and stay until Sunday. Can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think we are planning on the event beginning with dinner on Thursday...so try to arrive and be at the center by 5 for dinner at 6....

    And a trip to the Grand Canyon...we can be there late afternoon on Sunday and return to Phoenix late Monday or early Tuesday - to accommodate flights out of town....

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm soooooo excited!!!!

    Yay! See y'all there!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I sadly doubt I'll be able to join you, but just a hint for the Grand Canyon trip - staying in Flagstaff is much cheaper than staying at the Grand Canyon itself, and the drive is a little over an hour - and Flagstaff is a FUN place to hang out - college town, cool brewery downtown. And there's some really cool stuff to see around Flagstaff too - Wupatki, Sunset Crater, and Walnut Canyon are all really beautiful, neat places to go and are very close drives.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I cannot wait!!!! It was -36C here today, so Arizona sounds pretty darn good right now.

    Count me in on the Grand Canyon trip too. If I'm travelling all the way from Canada, I'm not going to miss the Grand Canyon!

    I was also thinking that I might fly into Phoenix on the Wednesday since I'm traveling from so far away. That would give me all of Thursday to explore Phoenix and make my way to Scottsdale. Anyone else arriving early????

    Now - must order the book.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, and a question - I sent my deposit already but have lost the brochure. Where and how do I send the balance?

    ReplyDelete
  11. We need to create another post that includes the following info:

    A reminder of where to send the rest of the money...an email to revgalblogpals@gmail.com. will help with this one....

    The airport Shuttle - who to contact (Super Shuttle's phone number), and how to arrange, and can we coordinate groups of folks to take the shuttle at the same time

    Early arrivals - who is coming early

    The Grand Canyon Trip - who wants to go. Make reservations for Sunday and Monday nights? or a quick trip - just Sunday night - which means early evening flights out of Phoenix on Monday night- or Monday night at The Cas and leave early Tuesday? Coordinate transportation to The Grand Canyon, and back.

    Other questions? Let me know and I'll do another post soon with more info....

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wish I could be there...my finances will not allow this in 2009 ;(
    QP

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'll be in Umbria so can't attend, alas. It sounds like a good program.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am looking forward, too!
    I haven't decided yet when to fly...either Wed, or first flight out on Thursday...
    ..GC sounds like fun, too...I love it there.
    I will look for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Shame about that Sally because this sounds really like YOUR kind of thing.

    flights are so expensive though aren't they -and $400 way beyond the budget for many of us ...happy that so many of the N American Rev Gals can get together for 'further education purposes'(or whatever you call it) and hope that you get generous funding :)

    I KNOW you will all be blessed abundantly :) and look forward to hearing A LOT about it afterwards

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sounds like fun...have a wonderful time.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I would love to stay over and go to the Grand Canyon, but I'd still need to leave Phoenix on Monday...would that be too hectic to give us time to enjoy the canyon? How soon can we settle on the arrangements for the Grand Canyon trip?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Let's bear in mind the fee includes three nights lodging and all meals. The expense is roughly comparable to the expense of the cruise last year, though of course travel expenses will vary. It was our goal to go someplace warm (as requested by members) and to change our location from the previous year.
    And just for the sake of comparison, registration for Festival of Homiletics is $250, and that does not include room or meals. I hope this helps give some perspective. We did our best to keep the expenses reasonable for a small event where you will have personal contact with the facilitator and other attendees.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I gotta talk to a couple of people to find out if I can come still....

    ReplyDelete
  20. I haven't arranged my travel yet, but I'll be there! Can't wait! Unfortunately, I won't be able to stick around for the Grand Canyon.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am completely envious... some day... some day...
    dgv

    ReplyDelete

You don't want to comment here; instead, come visit our new blog, revgalblogpals.org. We'll see you there!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.