“Drawing on eyewitness accounts of Joan's comrades-in-arms and the author's own military experience, Richey goes beyond what Joan did in her amazing career, analyzing how she performed her martial feats. The first study in English to dig deeper into the mechanics of Joan's military career, and the first English treatment by a professional soldier with battlefield experience, this vivid account explores Joan's achievements in winning the loyalty of her men. It began with voices—St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret speaking to an ordinary farmer's daughter. Inspired to aid the future King Charles VII, whose right to the throne had been denied by the English in the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc made her journey clad in male attire. Theologians testified to the veracity of her divine claims, and she was furnished with a host of troops. But how did she achieve the military feats that made her a legend? Stephen W. Richey offers a unique look at this remarkable woman. Joan of Arc
rapidly matured into a true battle commander who spoke forcefully in war
councils, made decisions, and gave orders that were obeyed—resulting in a
stunning series of victories for her army. She achieved this feat by virtue of her
unschooled but intuitive genius for war, a charismatic personality that inspired
her soldiers to heroic feats, and her ability to exploit a unique set of lucky
circumstances.”
The Good Fight: The Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War During the Spanish Civil War, thousands of Americans fought to end fascism, only to return home and be unfairly blacklisted as communist supporters. Narrated by Studs Terkel, this documentary tells the forgotten stories of these misunderstood heroes. Newsreel footage, archival photographs and interviews with surviving veterans shed new light on these brave civilian soldiers' amazing struggle for democracy. ~Netflix description
WHY WOMEN ARE THE WORLD'S BEST CLIMATE CHANGE DEFENSE Women must make their voices heard in climate negotiations. The role of women as agents of change in their homes, places of work and communities is often underplayed. Yet their role is critical: Women understand the inter-generational aspects of climate change and sustainable development. We women think in time horizons that span the lives of our children and grandchildren. We need to use this understanding to influence the political process and to inject a much needed sense of urgency into the climate change negotiations. Time is not on our side; report after report has shown this. This is not a trade discussion and we cannot wait until the next meeting or the meeting after that to take action. Time is running out for the planet. 2020 is too late to put a legally binding agreement in place. A legal framework with clear and common rules to which all countries are committed is critically important. It is the only assurance we have that action will be taken to protect the most vulnerable. This COP (U.N. Climate Change Conference in Durban) must agree to initiate negotiations towards this end -- with a view to concluding a new legal instrument by 2015 at the latest. Climate change is a matter of justice. The richest countries caused the problem, but it is the world's poorest who are already suffering from its effects. The international community must commit to righting that wrong. For me, a high point of the Durban Conference was that it demonstrated once again the value of women's leadership in global efforts to deal with climate change. The outgoing COP President who did an excellent job in Cancun last year is a woman, Minister Patricia Espinosa. The COP President at Durban is a woman, Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane from South Africa and the Executive Secretary of the Convention is also a woman, Ms Christiana Figueres. Collectively these and other women leaders are playing a vital role in highlighting the gender dimensions of climate change. Awareness of the differential impacts of climate change on men and women is increasing. We know that in continents like Africa, where women are responsible for 60-80% of food production, unpredictable growing seasons and increased incidence of droughts and floods place women, their families and their livelihoods at risk. All over the world women are adapting to these changes, showing incredible resilience in the face of crop failures, water shortages and increases in environment-related diseases such as malaria. They are growing different crops, planting trees, harvesting rainwater and growing fodder for livestock to minimize the impacts of climate change. We need to continue to support women to be innovative, creative and resilient in a climate-constrained world as we strive to ensure equitable solutions to the climate problem. Investing in climate smart agriculture and capacity building for vulnerable rural communities will not be sustainable without the inclusion of women in the decision-making process. But we also need to see the value of women as drivers of economic growth -- as educators, carers, farmers, entrepreneurs and above all, as leaders. A recent World Bank report found that "women now represent 40% of the global labor force, 43% of the world's agricultural labor force, and more than half the world's university students. Productivity will be raised if their skills and talents are used more fully." The report also found that eliminating the barriers that discriminate against women could increase labor productivity by as much as 25% in some countries. Clearly we need to harness the contribution of women if we want to find our way out of the current economic recession and if we want to embrace inclusive, sustainable green growth. Last month, in remarks made at the International Forum on Women and Sustainable Development in Beijing, Sha Zuhang, Secretary General of the 2012 U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development, said "in many countries women are the champions of the green economy, practicing sustainable agriculture, nurturing our natural resources, and promoting renewable energy." Around the world women are showing leadership and championing change, often due to more progressive policies and a greater social inclusion. Their voice and leadership on climate change can result in a low-carbon revolution for the 21st century that is sustainable and equitable. We can have a future where economic growth is not proportional to greenhouse gas emissions and where, for example, off-grid energy solutions could enable the 1.3 billion people without access to electricity to reach their full potential by providing access to affordable and sustainable energy technologies. At present burning kerosene for light and cooking over open fires damages women's health and limits their ability to engage in other work or education because they spend hours collecting wood. It also costs them a lot of money -- up to 20% of their weekly expenditure. Solar panels, improved cooking stoves and LED lights can transform lives, create jobs and contribute to our collective low-carbon future and are clear examples how intelligent climate change policies do not lead to a gray and dull existence but the opposite: They lead to a brighter future. I encourage all leaders to highlight the importance of gender throughout COP17 and at Rio+20 next year. We need to secure stronger references to the gender dimensions of climate change in the texts, institutions and mechanisms agreed by Parties to the Convention. Leaders informed by the experiences of grassroots women from around the world can and must make a difference. I call on women to speak out and lead the way. We cannot wait, we have to act. Our children's and grandchildren's future is at stake.
THE TRAGEDY OF 9/11 The ancient Greeks who invented drama tell us that tragedy is not just an unhappy ending: it’s the painful and inescapable end—catastrophe—that comes out of a character’s own previous choices. The ruinous end must be preceded by a moment of anagnorisis, “a change from ignorance to knowledge,” when the character “gains the essential knowledge that was previously lacking.”(1) At the end of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the suffering monarch blinds himself and leaves his kingdom forever: the loss of his former happiness is catastrophe. The play is tragedy only because Oedipus has first recognized who he is and what he has done: now he knows he killed his father and married his mother. The tragic irony of 9/11—the misfortune arising from our own choices—is that our government avoided any such self-examination, and went on to multiply the catastrophe. Rather than ask, “How did we bring this on? What do we need to do differently?” the Bush administration declared, They hate us for our freedoms, so everybody go shopping. Rather than, for example, shrinking our military footprint in territories sacred to Islam, our leaders amended the notion of “American exceptionalism” with the “Bush doctrine” of our right to wage “preventive war,”(2) and whisked us into Iraq and Afghanistan for a couple of quick and easy clean-ups. But wait a minute. Another element of Greek tragedy—and the more complex, the better—is the peripeteia, or “reversal of intention,” in which the protagonist takes action, but doesn’t get the intended results. Oedipus asks questions, hoping to resolve the mystery of his origins; but the answers, in taking away his ignorance, undo him.(3) Well, we’ve got that, too. Our military actions in the Middle East— far from bringing a quick resolution—seemed to prove Osama bin Laden’s claim that the West was attacking Islam, and still continue to make enemies for America, while alternatives to violence remain unexplored.(4) “Revolutionary pacifism,” as described by the thinker and social activist A. J. Muste 80 years ago, would have us respond to insurgent violence, not with more violence, but with a hard, honest look at "the violence on which the present system is based, and all the evil—material and spiritual—this entails … throughout the world."(5) The sad truth of 9/11 is that we’re playing out an incomplete tragedy—despite all the catastrophe and unintended consequences—because we’ve refused to learn from it. Until we determine to lose our ignorance of who we are and what we do, we’ll be stuck in our blindness, and our darkness. POETRY CORNER Ignoramus During my first two weeks of service on a Washington, D.C., grand jury, what impressed me was the prosecutors’ thoroughness with every witness and bit of evidence (“Did you hear the defendant say ‘I’m going to kill you’ as he dragged the decedent toward the alley?” And “Exhibit 12, a photograph of blood on the pavement.”), and I got an inkling of how many surveillance cameras in my city supply information for grand-jury deliberations. As my panel heard the mounting evidence against a pair of alleged purse-snatchers and an accused killer, I thought, These little crimes do not pay! Snatch that purse, pull that trigger, and you set the wheels of justice to turning. But what about big crime? What about the bank execs who reached not into one purse for a cellphone and 20 bucks, but into the national economy for trillions(6) and visited misery on millions of people? Remember the savings-and-loan scandal of the 1980s? After that so-far-biggest-ever fraud cost the U.S. $100 billion in bailouts,(7) regulators referred some 10,000 cases to the FBI, whose investigations helped put more than a thousand bankers in jail. Today, according to white-collar criminologist William Black, in the three years since a crisis at least 40 times as costly, the FBI has received no cases to investigate. None.(8) I hear a familiar echo, along those august corridors, coming from the defanged and defunct regulators, from the timid Justice Department, from the entire Obama administration: … Ignoramus! Right Action Consulted Works LACONNEAU SENTIER DE VERMONT Sunday, February 19 - Saturday, February 25, 2012 This February, we will once again offer The Sentier de Vermont, a full residential retreat at the beautiful Fox Creek Inn at Chittenden in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains from Sunday, February 19 to Saturday, February 25. The Inn will be closed to all other guests during the period of our stay. The retreat will focus on meditation and spiritual teaching, along with light hiking and/or snowshoeing in the beautiful surrounding mountains. Each day will start with a wonderful hot breakfast after which the group will then meet for teaching and discussion until midday. Afternoons will be spent simply relaxing in the charming and peaceful atmosphere of the Inn or, for the more energetically inclined, there is the option of hiking, snowshoeing or visiting some of the interesting local sites. Evenings will be spent in the Inn where, after a delicious dinner, there will be group discussion, followed by traditional music and poetry from the Languedoc, the home of Laconneau. Retreat Fee: $1990.00 Accommodation: will be two people sharing. (Limited Single occupancy may be available for a small supplement on a first come basis.) All rooms are fitted with private bathroom and shower. Meals: Dinner and breakfast are included in the fee. All food will be in keeping with Tradition dietary rules. Reservations: Please contact Alex at alexg@laconneau.org. As space is limited to twelve people, a deposit of $500.00 is required at time of booking. All reservations will be on a first come basis. For more information or to reserve your place, contact alexg@laconneau.org.
From October 3 through October 12, 2011, thirteen women from the United
States and Canada participated in the Sentier de Laconneau in southern France.
We started the trip hiking through the highlands of the Massif de la Sainte-
Baume and from there, we traveled westward into the mountain heartland of
southwestern France for the remainder of the trip, hiking between 15 and 35
kilometers at a time.
Participants: Alex Guyol, Anna Berez, Cynthia Bourgeault, Gaisheda Kheawok, Jan Salstrom, Jude Colle, Kathy Spaar, Moira Notargiacomo, Pamela Barton, Rai Crewe d'Honoré, Seoka Salstrom, Renee Grainger and Wendy Johnston What follows are the thoughts of some of the women who participated in the Sentier. Breathing light, heavy, fast, slow; any way it comes. Thankful for each to allow
the next step, sight, sound, whiff, wonder. This place so far from home, yet
feeling like home. There's no woo-woo in this magic. Just peace and quiet.
How does one describe the adventure of a lifetime? The beauty of the countryside, the history, the culture, the food – WOW! Walking the paths of our sisters and brothers invoked self-reflection and an inward journey to yesteryear and tomorrow; all in the present moment. Our Tradition lives on in those quiet and peaceful mountains, "hidden in plain sight." I basked in a sense of belonging and of coming home again. The earth there
recharges the body, mind, heart, soul, and spirit, and I came away with a
renewed feeling of peace, joy, and love. Many thanks to Jehanne and all my
sisters for an unforgettable experience. The Sentier de Laconneau was life changing for me. Very little can surpass the
beauty of the region; exceeding my limits due to the camaraderie and
encouragement of my fellow travelers; learning about history right where it
happened; excellent cuisine and a true spirit of community. I felt a joy beyond
measure and my heart is full of gratitude. I have walked the Sentier de Laconneau with Jehanne three times now and each experience has been full of learning, challenges and great fun. One of the great pleasures of returning to the Languedoc is the warm welcome we all receive from the people in Cucugnan, the village where we stay. We are not only welcomed by our wonderful host and hostess at the auberge, but also by the shopkeepers and townspeople who remember us from year to year. And then there is the fabulous cuisine that is carefully prepared for us each
evening after a full day of hiking and exploring the breathtaking countryside of
the Languedoc. I can't think of a better way than participating in the Sentier de
Laconneau to immerse oneself in the culture of Occitania and discover the roots
of the Tradition. I was: I am: It starts the moment I arrive in the land that was Occitania; it’s not just the
rugged physical beauty of the mountains, the sweetness of the air, the
exhilaration of setting out again on the Sentier de Laconneau, it’s the feeling
that I have come home. Each day is filled with rich experiences. There is the joy
of climbing what seems like the impossible; the deep silence in walking “one
more step”; the pain in the tips of the toes as they hit the front of my boots on the
steep descent; the contentment of exhaustion at the end of the day, and the
wonderful camaraderie during our after dinner discussions. This is what life is
all about! The south of France feels timeless. It is a place where the villages are walled
with stone and the vistas of wide valleys are walled with stone-peaked
mountains. I felt free when hiking from chateau to chateau, laid out in fire
signal distance. I experienced many challenges with new situations calling for
me to dig deep within to find the strength to move forward with honor and
kindness. I felt joy when sitting down to a fresh, French meal prepared by the
family running the auberge where we stay. I experienced camaraderie with my
sisters on the trip. I participate in the Sentier de Laconneau whenever I have a
chance so that I can experience the history, feel the peace and deepen my
learning.
~Jan Salstrom – Greenville, NC Circle
I look forward to the Sentier de Laconneau every year because it is my idea of
the perfect trip. Spending all day outside, hiking through the breathtaking
landscape that awed me every single moment, feeling the wind and sun, forging
stronger bonds with my sisters, and learning about where the Tradition comes
from and still lives. And, somehow, every year the weather is absolutely perfect
for the entire trip.
But most of all, I look forward to the challenges. Every year the Sentier de
Laconneau presents the opportunity to push past the boundaries of what I
thought was possible within myself. The experience is profound and
tremendously freeing.
The lessons I learned through my experience on this trip enable me to remain in
the present moment with increasing frequency in my daily life. The experience
of shattering the illusions of my limits changes everything!
Several members from the Greenville circle participated in the Sentier de Laconneau in Southern France from October 3rd to October 12th. It was a fabulous trip with breathtaking scenery, scrumptious cuisine, lots of laughter, and marvelous singing by our resident troubadours. Besides the personal challenges encountered, the trip gave us a glimpse back in time to what our sisters and brothers before us may have endured to ensure the survival of our Tradition. The Laconneau Autumn Festival was held in Greenville from Friday October 28 through Sunday October 30, 2011. It was a wonderful time for teachings, camaraderie and true sisterhood. We were enthralled by the presentation given by Rai in true troubadour style as she taught the history of Occitania using spoken word and songs that captivated and touched the heart. In January the Greenville circle will host The Gospel of the Beloved Companion Seminar on Saturday, January 14 at 10:00AM. Men and women are invited to attend this remarkable seminar. On Sunday, January 15, the Greenville circle will host a Laconneau Level I Beginner’s Course at 10:00AM. For more information and to register for one or both of these courses, please contact Kathy by email at the.carolinas@laconneau.org, or by phone at 703.819.7986. The Chapelle is open every Friday evening, from 5:30PM to 7:30PM for those who have completed a Laconneau Level I Beginner’s Course. You do not need to contact Artemis House before you come. We would be happy to open the Chapelle to you for meditation at other times. To make arrangements, please contact Kathy at the.carolinas@laconneau.org or by phone at 703.819.7986. The Greenville Circle continues our community outreach by collecting food at all Laconneau events to help stock the food pantry at First Born Community Development Center in Grimesland, NC. Needy families can come to the Center to pick up food, and volunteers deliver food to people who do not have transportation. To continue supporting the First Born Community Development Center and helping the needy in our community, please remember to bring non- perishable food items to Laconneau events. The Greenville circle hosts regularly scheduled film screenings, meditations, day hikes, and community meals. Through these efforts, we continue to build a community of strong women dedicated to changing themselves and the communities in which they live. All women are invited to attend any Laconneau event. Additionally, please welcome friends, family, spouses, and significant others to join us for film screenings, classes and seminars. For more information about Laconneau events in the Carolinas, please contact Kathy by email at the.carolinas@laconneau.org. Georgia News: On Saturday, February 4, 2012 the Georgia circle will sponsor The Gospel of the Beloved Companion Seminar at 10:00AM. The seminar will be held at Amerson House in Atlanta. On Sunday, February 5, 2012 we will host a Level I Beginner’s Course at 10:00AM at 1438 Hampton Glen Court located in Decatur, GA. The Georgia Circle continues to welcome all women who desire to meditate and work together to heal themselves, their communities and the world. Please contact Elaine by email at GA@laconneau.org or by phone at 252.258.0495 for additional information about all Georgia Laconneau events and activities. Pennsylvania News: During the first part of 2012, the Philadelphia circle will focus on continued awareness and action as we head into an election year. We will study effective methods of action to take in addition to working to raise awareness within our sphere of influence and take responsibility for the political direction of our city and country. The first film screening of the New Year will feature Sophie Scholl, the story of a remarkable woman who refused to betray her beliefs and her work, despite the consequences. On Saturday, January 7, 2012 the Philadelphia circle will host a Level I Beginner’s Course at 10:00AM in Philadelphia, PA. All women are invited to attend. For more information and to register for this course, please contact Anna by email at PA@laconneau.org or by phone at 301.275.4054. The Philadelphia circle hosts regularly scheduled meditations, film screenings, discussion evenings and Women’s Circles. All women are welcome. For more information or to attend any Laconneau events or courses in
Philadelphia, please contact Anna by email at PA@laconneau.org or by
phone at 301.275.4054. Several DC-area women traveled to southern France for the hiking, learning, and camaraderie of the Sentier de Laconneau, in early October. In late October the Washington circle attended Laconneau’s Autumn Festival in Greenville, NC. December got off to a busy start, as the DC circle hosted a Gospel of the Beloved Companion Seminar, at the Cleveland Park Congregational Church of Christ. The Seminar was followed the next day by a well-attended Laconneau Level II Intermediate Course, in Bethesda, Maryland. At January’s movie night, in the spirit of understanding and awareness, we’ll view What the Bleep Do We Know?!, a tour through the quantum level of reality, where nothing is as we thought we knew it was. All women are welcome to attend. In addition to our regular Women’s Circles and monthly movie nights, the DC circle looks forward to sending several participants to the Sentier de Vermont in February, and then, in March, hosting The Gospel of the Beloved Companion Seminar on Saturday, March 24, 2012, as well as a Laconneau Level I Beginner’s Course on Sunday, March 25, 2012. The Washington circle welcomes all women to participate in its classes and events. For more information, please email Rebecca at WashingtonDC@laconneau.org.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
To view the upcoming Laconneau classes and seminars by title, please visit: http://www.laconneau.org/CalendarClassTitle.html To view the upcoming Laconneau classes and seminars by location, please visit:
http://www.laconneau.org/CalendarClassLocation.html To view the calendar of Laconneau events in your area, please refer to your regional calendar online. For events in Georgia, visit:
For events in North Carolina, visit: For events in Pennsylvania, visit: For events in South Carolina, visit:
For events in Washington, DC, visit:
In the Carolinas: Kathy - the.carolinas@laconneau.org |
