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| MEMBERS of the W&R
COMMITTEE |
The Women &
Religion (W&R) Committee is a standing committee of the Central Midwest
District of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Nine women are
chosen from a wide geographic area to represent women in the District for a
three-year term. The W&R Committee sponsors a Winter WomanSpirit conference
each year, along with a Summer WomanSpirit Conference at Camp Ronora in
Michigan. Both events are organized by "local" committees with the help of the
District W&R Committee.
Women who have previously served on the
W&R Committee comprise our “WiseWoman Council.”
If you
would like to serve on the W&R committee, fill out the application form.
You may also e-mail
volunteer@womenandreligion.org
if you have any questions. VOLUNTEER FORM
(PDF)
5/07/07 Three 3-year terms are open now. You will be contacted
promptly when we receive your application. |
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Leslie
Peet 2006-2009
Co-Chair 2007-8
WS2006 Chair |
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Sherry Dearborn
2005-2008
Co-Chair 2006-2008
Ronora 2006 Liaison |
| Leslie is a
Taoist Tai Chi instructor and can often be found giving Reiki treatments to
women at our Summer WomanSpirit conferences. She shares her home with Siamese
cats and is always welcoming committee members over for ice cream. |
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My first
contact with the Unitarian Church was in Cleveland, Ohio, about 25 years ago. I
was excited and relieved to find a church home where I did not have to know the
"correct" answers! Since moving to Peoria after my 1993 marriage to husband,
Bob, I've attended almost all of the Winter WomanSpirit Conferences and two of
the Summer WomanSpirit Conferences at Ronora Lodge. This gathering of women
recharges me, and continues to lift my Spirits on this life journey.
In
2005, I served as the Ambiance Chair on the Winter Committee for the conference
in Springfield, IL. That opportunity to try something I had never attempted
before gave me the courage to contemplate becoming part of the Women and
Religion Committee. As a member, and present co-chair of Women and Religion, I
have experienced that women are amazingly strong, resilient, creative,
collaborative and spiritual beings. We need to gather to support and nurture
each other in a world that is often harsh and divisive and to teach and learn
from each other. We need to spread our words of compassion and love, and to
celebrate our Divinely Feminine abilities! I am extremely grateful to serve
with this group of Women in this Life. |
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Nancy Irons
2006-2009
Secretary 2006-7
WWS2008 Liaison
WS2004 Ambiance
Chair
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Pat Reed
2006-2009
Treasurer 2007-
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I was
introduced to Unitarian Universalism in College at UW- Oshkosh and was active
in the fellowship there and in Student Religious Liberals. When I moved to the
Chicago area I became active in the Unitarian Church of Evanston, teaching
Sunday School, serving on the RE committee and the Board. After 17 years there
I moved and became active at the NorthShore Unitarian church in Deerfield. I
taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, and served as chair of the RE board. I
served on the committee for both Winter Womanspirits that were held at NSUC and
have attended most of the winter Womanspirits and several of the summer ones. I
served a term on the CAUUC board. I regularly attend the fall conference put on
by the Women's Connection and Summer Assembly. The Goddess has called me in
many ways since I began to learn about her at a workshop I took at Summer
Assembly over 20 years ago. I hope that by serving on the W & R committee I
can bring her into the lives of many more women so they can be opened to her
abundance.
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Karen Fisette
2006-2009
Secretary 2007-
Ronora 2007 Liaison
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Renae Rebecchini
2005-2008
Past Chair (Grandmother)
Co-Chair 2006-2007
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Karen is a
member of the Elkhart UU Fellowship, and hangs out with the Serenity
Sisters.
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Renae is
currently Scholarship
Chair, since that is the task of the Past Chair/Grandmother. She is also
hard at work contacting and negotiating with future keynote speakers.
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WISEWOMEN
those who have
served on the W&R Committee in past years
(more to come! If you're a
Wise Woman and your bio is not up here yet, please e-mail it to the
Webweaver!) |
Karin Janowski 2004-2007
Treasurer
2005-2007
Ronora 2000 Committee |
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Jean Pierce 2001-2005
Scholarship
Chair
Past Chair 2003-2004
Sophia Liaison
WS2002 Liaison |
| Karin spent
many years working in international banking. She is currently working in a
flower shop and has been busy working on budgets and passing along the
Treasurer's job to Pat Reed. She was "Winged" as a WiseWoman at our Annual
Meeting in May 2007. She lives in a Chicago suburb with her huband and two
lovely cats. |
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My husband
and I became UU's when our first son was born. This was an easy transition for
me, since I had grown up in the Congregational church. We attend the UU Society
of Geneva, IL. Since I am an educator, we taught every level of RE as our sons
got older. This summer we will chaperone their YRUU group on a Habitat for
Humanity trip to Morristown, Tennessee. My spirit is nourished by opportunities
to interact with women of all ages on their life journeys. |
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Beth Ligouri 2003-2006
Secretary
Ronora 2004 Liaison |
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"Butterfly" Peggy Stevens
2003-2007
Past Chair 2006-2007
Chair 2005-2006
W&R
Treasurer
WS2001 local Treasurer |
I became a
member of Countryside Church in Palatine in 1990 and soon after got involved
with the local women's group. In 1991, a friend and I founded a women's ritual
circle based on the concept of shared leadership that lasted for about five
years. In 2001, we started a new circle, which is going strong today. I
attended my first WomanSpirit conference in Madison in 1993 and have missed
very few winter and summer conferences in the intervening years. I was a
workshop presenter at the second Ronora conference and was a Ronora committee
member for the 3rd annual conference.
I joined the W&R committee in
August of 1998 and helped to organize the January conference at my home church,
Countryside. I regrettably stepped down from the committee shortly after the
winter conference because I did not have the energy to commit my self to the
responsibilities since I was in the midst of building a blended family and in
career transition. Since then I am pleased to report I am happily married with
two teenage stepchildren living in our home. Also, I have moved further along
in my career transition by becoming a certified project manager this
spring.
I am eager to complete my commitment to the W&R committee now
that my life is more settled so that I too can stand as a Grandmother/Wise
Woman to this very meaningful work. I bring back to the committee not only more
years of ritual leadership, but also the professional education and skills I
have acquired in project management. And finally, this presents a unique
opportunity for me to integrate my professional and personal life in service to
the women in our district. Blessed Be! |
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The First
Unitarian Church of Chicago in Hyde Park was my church for more than fifty
years. I met my husband Bill at the Unitarian Sunday School class in about
fifth grade. We were married in 1960 while we both attended the University of
Chicago. Bill went on to law school while I raised our two boys.
When the
kids were grown, I finished my degree in Anthropology at the University of
Chicago. After graduating in 1980 I took up photography full time. I produced
and presented slide shows on a variety of subjects, printed both color and
black and white photographs, and exhibited my work. I taught Spring Wildflowers
and Energy, Population Growth and the Earth: Sustaining a Livable World at
DePaul, and Darkroom Photography at the Hyde Park Art Center for many
years.
Bill and I moved to Lakeside, Michigan in 1997. We live in the woods
close to Lake Michigan. We joined the
First Unitarian
Church in South Bend, Indiana where I soon became involved with the
Women's Spirituality
Group. I was treasurer on the Local Committee of WomanSpirit 2001 which we
hosted in South Bend. I was also very involved with making the CD As the River
We Flow. I enjoy planning and leading rituals with this wonderful group of
women.
Currently I work from my home and studio, writing poetry, family
history, ecology and women's ritual, as well as my art which includes
photography, collage art, jewelry and mixed media. I have had my art exhibited
in various shops in the area. My other interests include astronomy, archeology,
ecology, drumming and women's issues. |
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Patti Ussery 2003-2006
Sophia Editor 2002-2006 |
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Claudia
Dancing
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Susan Zuern
Lending Library Goddess 2002-2004
Wise
Woman (1999-2002)
Past Secretary |
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Misty Sheehan
Wise Woman
(2001-2004)
Continental W&R Liaison 2003-
Secretary 2002-2004
WS2002 Site and Food |
| My first
role with the W&R committee was as co-chair for Womanspirit 98 at my
church, Unitarian Universalist Church West in Brookfield Wisconsin. After that
I worked on the Ronora committee for "Weaving the Women's Web". (I forget what
year that was) I was asked to join the W&R committee in 1999, and finished
my three year term in 2002. While on the committee, I served as secretary,
librarian, and liason to the Ronora committee in 2001. Since my "retirement"
I've kept track of the W&R library, and have worked to organize women's
retreats in my area. I also am an occasional vendor, selling painted chairs,
brooms, hammers, and fabric and herb products. |
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I was glad
to be back in W&R. I was a member of one of the original teams in Michigan
from 1978-1984, then went abroad to discover how other religions and cultures
supported women and their religious needs. I have retired from teaching
philosophy and humanities at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn -- except for a
couple of online classes. To me, the forest is my connection with the
earthmother; kayaking down a stream on a summer's day is my idea of heaven. I
now serve as co-convenor of the re-formed Continental
Women and Religion team and
am working on establishing a Heartland District W&R Committee from my new
home in Northern Michigan. |
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 Carol Hosmer
Roadshow Goddess 2002-2004
Wise Woman
(1998-2002)
Past Treasurer 1999-2000
Past Chair 2000-2001
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 Gretchen OhmannWise Woman
(2001-2004)
Office
Manager
Roadshow Goddess 2004-2008
Webweaver 2001-
Past Treasurer 2001-2002
Ronora
2003 Liaison |
I have been
a member of a Unitarian Universalist church since 1973 when I was searching for
a religious experience that would satisfy both my needs as an inquiring human
being and the religious education of my young sons. My husband is a life long
UU, growing up as the son of a Universalist minister. Having grown up in the
Presbyterian Church, it took me awhile to embrace the freedom of thought
encouraged by the UUs.
I have found that earth-centered spirituality speaks
the most clearly to me, thus since 1993 I have been participating in women's
rituals, conferences and retreats. I took on my first leadership role in 1996
when I chaired the Camp Ronora Committee. I continued as chair in 1997 and in
1998 was asked to join the Women & Religion Committee. I served as liaison
to the local planning committee in Palatine for the 1999 "Tending the Fire"
WomanSpirit. In 2000, I was liaison to the local planning committee in
Milwaukee. I chaired the W & R Committee from 2000-2001.
I served two
years as the Roadshow Goddess, a designation given to me by the
committee.
In my professional life, I was the District Office Manager for
the Central Midwest District, UUA for over 8 years and had the great joy of
being able to communicate with and serve many of the more than 12,000 UUs in
70+ congregations in our five state district.
Now "retired," I live in a
beautiful area of Pennsylvania and look forward to spending more time with
family, including some terrific grandchildren. |
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I grew up
the eldest of three girls in NW Michigan, learning Unity metaphysical teachings
at home along with occasional protestant church attendance. I’ve been a UU
since 1984, participating in my local Fellowship in Southwest Michigan in
several ways — music, RE, board, newsletter. My partner Patrick and I
raised our daughter Megan in the UU church, hoping she’d find her own
spiritual way in the world. She did. Now 29, she’s devoted to her
Christian church and volunteers in an inner-city mission.
Things I enjoy
are: music, guitar, DRUMMING!, circles of women, beads, computer graphics and
databases, and learning about diverse spiritual paths. I've worked as a screen
printer and computer geek in the small t-shirt shop my partner and I owned for
25 years. We retired the shop at the end of 2004 and I'm working at several
part time jobs!
One of those jobs is office manager for W&R. I
maintain the web site, paperwork, photos, archives, and the data and software
tools we need to put on successful conferences. I'm also part-time office
manager for Ronora
Lodge, and communications coordinator for the Central Midwest District. I
design web sites as well (ladyweave.com).
I also volunteer with the
Continental UU Women and
Religion core group, as their secretary. |
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 Elly Wynia
Wise Woman (1999-2003)
Past
Chair 2002-2003
WS2001 Liaison
Past
Secretary
Scholarship Chair 2003-2004 |
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 Sally Gonzalez
Wise Woman (1999-2003)
Past
Chair 2001-2002
Past Treasurer 2000-2001
WS2003 Liaison |
| It was 19
years ago that I found Unitarianism at a fellowship in Lawrence, KS, went on to
churches in the Chicago area, and for the past 11 years have found a home
church in South Bend, IN. I grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the eldest of 5
in an immigrant Calvinistic home. Presently, I share my life with my partner of
22 years, George Trey, our 20 year old Rebekah and our dog and cats. Quilting,
paddling, yoga, hiking, skiing, skating, gardening and writing songs are my
passions which help to sustain balance for my life work. After many years as a
School Social Worker, I am now in private practice. I am very much interested
in helping women grow along spiritual lines.... |
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I was born
in 1954, the first of three children. We lived in Indiana in the mists of the
steel mills until we each went our separate ways after high school. My siblings
and I were very distant up until a few years ago — when we spoke to each
other as adults. I am thrilled that we are close now and truly enjoy each
other’s company. In 1996, a dear friend told me about a Women's Conference
she had attended. She glowed as she related the details of that event and I
knew then that I needed and wanted that same experience. I went to Ronora that
year and have been involved ever since. I am a past chair for Women and
Religion and was the liaison for the 2003 WomanSpirit Conference in Rockford.
Professionally, I was a Chicago Police Officer for 17 years. Now I manage the
Ronora Lodge and Retreat
Center where W&R has held so many of our wonderful summer conferences.
I’m a single parent of a handsome son, Nicholas, now 27. I am a member of
the Church of the Larger Fellowship. |
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Julie Ann
Schleifer
Wise Woman (1997-2000)
Ronora
2004 Chair |
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Mickey Callahan
2001-2005
Past Chair 2004-2005
Past Scholarship Chair
Ronora 2002 Liaison
WS2004 Liaison |
| Julie Ann
has always loved to hug trees. She became involved in the women's spirituality
in the early 1990's while attending Unitarian Universalist Church West in
Brookfield, WI. She started a Women's Spirituality Group at UU-West that
continued for over 5 years. The group, which Julie Ann lovingly refers to as
her "church ladies," still meets 8 times a year, but now at various homes.
Julie Ann is a Women & Religion "wise woman," becoming a member of the
Women & Religion Committee in 1997. Along with Susan Zuern, she co-chaired
the 1998 WomanSpirit Conference in Brookfield, then went on to serve as liaison
to Ronora and to WomanSpirit 2000, and was "book keeper" of the W&R lending
library. She served as Ritual Chair at Ronora 2003 and is chair of Ronora 2004.
Julie Ann lives in the Bay View area of Milwaukee, WI in a 116-year old house
she shares with her diva dog, Gracie. She works as an office coordinator for
the Milwaukee Fire Department (she likes things hot!) and enjoys traveling,
reading, gardening, the arts (both visual and performing) and walking Gracie.
She is looking forward to eventually moving where she never has to see snow
again and hugging lots of palm trees. |
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I could
tell you some facts about myself. I could tell you that, in 1954, I was born
the third child in what grew to be a very large Irish Catholic liberal family,
and was raised in the far south suburbs of Chicago. I could tell you that I've
been married to my best friend for 30 years, and we have four children and one
grand-daughter. I could tell you I've been an active member of my UU church for
over ten years, and my husband and I owned and manage an Ace Hardware store
that his ancestors founded in 1901. These days I enjoy working in a bookstore.
But those facts wouldn't tell you that I feel most at peace in the forest, or
that my favorite color is blue. The facts don't reveal that Bob and I feel our
spiritual life was opened for us during the years of birthing our four children
at home, then finding our church, and how our marriage is both joyful and
mysterious. Finally, I am humbly grateful and always inspired by the women I
meet through W&R. |
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Barbara
Carraway 2006-2007
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Janet Nortrom
1997-2000 |
Summer WS 2007 Committee
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| Karen
Fisette - WR Liaison, Teri Dobson - Registrar, Lori Fozo - Vendors,
Phyllis Panozzo - Chair and Workshops, Karen Books, Amy Babinec |
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Winter WS 2007 Committee
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Amy Byrne
WWS2007 Workshops |
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Lisa Larsen
WWS2007 Vendors |
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Cameron Stamm
WWS2007
Childcare |
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Kim Dunham
WWS2007 Queen Bee
Coffeehouse |
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Faith
Bailey
WWS2007 Ambiance |
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Natalie
Silk
WWS2007 Childcare |
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| Leslie Peet - WS CoChair, W&R Member |
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Nancy Irons
WWS CoChair, W&R Secretary |
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Diane Farmer
WWS2007 Committee
Member |
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Karen Fisette
WWS2007 Liaison, W&R Member |
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| Pat Reed - WS Social Action, W&R Member |
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Barbara Carraway - WS Silent Auction, W&R
Member |
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| Karin Janowski - WS Treasurer, W&R Treasurer |
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Butterfly Peggy Stevens - W&R Grandmother (Past
Chair) |
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| Sherry Dearborn - W&R CoChair |
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Renae Rebechini - W&R CoChair |
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| Gretchen Ohmann - WS Registrar, Office Manager for
W&R, Webweaver W&R Roadshow Maven, Technical support and development,
Keeper of the long-time memory... |
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Summer WS 2008 Committee
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| Karin
Janowski - Chair, Karen Fisette - WR Liaison, Kathryn Vanden Berk - Registrar,
Christina - Vendors, Sandy Russel - Workshops, Phyllis Panozzo - Grandmother,
Karen Books, Toni Vessels - Publicity |
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Winter WS 2008 Committee
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Faith
Bailey
WWS2007 Ambiance |
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 Natalie Silk
WWS2007 Childcare
WWS2008
Maidens |
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Karin Janowski - WWS2007 Treasurer, W&R
Treasurer
WWS2008 Registrar |
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Nancy Irons
WWS2007 CoChair, W&R
Secretary
WWS2008 Liaison, Ambiance, Site/Food |
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Pat Reed - WWS2007 Social Action, W&R Member
WWS2008
Coffeehouse, Treasurer |
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Gretchen Ohmann - WWS2007 Registrar, Office Manager
for W&R
WWS2008 Chair |
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Diana Mendelsohn
WWS2008
Silent Auction |
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 Pat Hyams
WWS2008 Choir,
Rituals |
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 Tracy Burchett
WWS2008 Silent Auction |
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Luanne
LoMonte
WWS2008 Publicity |
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Amy Byrne
WWS2007 Workshops
WWS2008
Food |
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Lisa Larsen
WWS2007 Vendors
WWS2008
Vendors |
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