Welcome to the October 2007 edition of the Laconneau Monthly Newsletter.
Laconneau Newsletter Archive: http://www.laconneau.com/NewsletterArchive.html
IN THIS ISSUE
• Book of the Month
• Upcoming Retreat
• Upcoming Festival
• Upcoming Pilgrimage
• Regional Events & News
• Contact Laconneau
OCTOBER BOOK OF THE MONTH
The Life of Elizabeth I
by Alison Weir
After a lonely and often perilous childhood during which Elizabeth was once imprisoned in the Tower and was nearly executed at the behest of her half sister, Queen Mary, 25-year-old Elizabeth ascended to the throne when Mary died. The prevailing expectation was that she would speedily marry a strong man who would then take over as king: as Elizabeth herself admitted, it was commonly thought that "a woman cannot live unless she is married." Elizabeth did nothing of the kind and, as Weir details, she did quite well for herself manipulating the royal marriage mart of Europe. Weir uses myriad details of dress, correspondence and contemporary accounts to create an almost affectionate portrait of a strong, well-educated ruler loved by her courtiers and people alike.
Visit the Reading Room:
http://www.laconneau.org/readingroom.html
UPCOMING RETREAT
Laconneau Autumn Retreat
Monday, October 22 - Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Artemis House, Greenville, NC
Join us for three days of meditation and teaching in La Chapelle de la Madeleine, as we host our traditional Autumn Retreat in Greenville, North Carolina. The retreat will begin on the morning of Monday, October 22 and end on the evening of Wednesday, October 24, 2007.
The Laconneau Autumn Retreat will lead us into the Autumn Festival, commencing on the evening of Friday, October 26 at the same location. Due to space and accommodation limitations, the retreat is limited to eight women, who are required to have completed the Level I class series. For more information, contact Elaine at Greenville@laconneau.org.
Retreat Fee: $475.00 (Includes lunch, but not accommodation)
Accommodation: $20.00/night payable to your respective hostess
Retreat Online: http://www.laconneau.com/Retreats.html
LACONNEAU AUTUMN FESTIVAL
Laconneau Autumn Festival
Friday, October 26 - Sunday, October 28, 2007
Artemis House, Greenville, NC
The Autumn Festival, known in France in the Breton language as Noz Kala-Goanv, marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year. The Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light season at the Spring Festival beginning May 1st and the dark season at the Autumn Festival beginning November 1st. Some believe that the Autumn Festival was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle and, as the Celtic day began at night, that it may have marked the Celtic New Year. It was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings and the stirrings of seeds below the ground. Whereas the Spring Festival welcomes in the summer with joyous celebrations at dawn, the most spiritually potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st, known today as Halloween. While the Spring Festival, the other great gateway of the Celtic year, initiates us through light and brings sunshine and communion, the Autumn Festival is the yin to the Spring Festival’s yang - the via negativa rather than the via positiva. At the Spring Festival, we learn through relationship; at the Autumn Festival, we learn through separating and allowing to die that which is no longer useful or relevant in our lives. By doing so, we align ourselves with the endless cosmic cycle of death and rebirth.
For the Tradition of Laconneau, the Autumn Festival is a rich and deeply meaningful time. It is a time for remembering our history, which extends from the dimly lit shadows of ancient times through the early Christian era and the difficult, dangerous medieval centuries to this modern age.
In full awareness of the disturbing changes that are taking place on a daily basis in the world around us, never in recent memory has there been a time when it has been more important for strong women to join together in council in an attempt to find a real solution which truly reflects women’s values and their aspirations for the future. This year, we will continue to hold the Autumn Festival in the old way and in full accord with the principals of our Tradition. Come join us in Greenville, North Carolina for this wonderful weekend of comradeship, council discussion, workshops, feminine spirituality and festivities. Lend your voice to the power and love of sisters such as yourself who feel a burning need to see change in this world.
Festival Fee: $275.00
Accommodation: $20/night payable to your hostess
Festival Online: http://www.laconneau.com/FestivalFall1.html
LACONNEAU SPRING PILGRIMAGE
The Magdalene: Mother of France
A Pilgrimage to Southern France
Monday, March 31 – Thursday, April 10, 2008
For centuries, pilgrims have ascended the winding way to the abbey church of the Magdalene crowning the hill at Vezelay, often crawling on their hands and knees in penitence and petition. Construction on the basilica of La Madeleine began in 1096 and it very quickly became the fourth most popular of all sites of Christian pilgrimage, attesting to the enormous sway that the Magdalene still held over the hearts and minds of the population of that time, a thousand years after her death. Based on legends that she and her family had fled to Gaul as refugees before the first orthodox gospels were even written, the fascination and hold that Mary Magdalene held over this ancient land was both powerful and mystifying. What was the fascination that has held a whole nation in its thrall for nearly two millennia? Was Mary really the founder of the Celtic Church? Was there a connection between Mary and the Cathars? If so, has her cult survived to this day in the countryside of Celtic Europe?
After the death of Yeshua, did Mary really flee from Jerusalem to travel to Southern France with her sister Martha, her brother Lazarus, Joseph of Arimithea, and other disciples, to work and preach among the people of Gaul and eventually to found the Celtic Church before supposedly retiring from public life to spend the last thirty years of her life in a hermits cave in the mountains of Ste Baume? Is there any real evidence to support the popular theories and legends behind the life of this mysterious woman?
What, if any, was the connection between Mary and Joan of Arc, the Fifteenth Century teenage heroine and prophetess, who liberated France and crowned her king under her curious battle standard bearing the names IhesusMaria, only then to be condemned as a heretic and to die, abandoned by her king, in the flames of the stake upon the orders of the Roman Church and its Inquisition?
What was it about this mysterious woman that led her followers, Cathar and others like them, to die in their thousands during the holocaust of the Albigensian crusade rather than deny their faith and belief? Join with us as we travel through the magnificent country of Southern France to make a spiritual journey back in time to explore this fascinating legend, and attempt to find answers to some of these questions. Marvel with us as we seek to understand the wondrous power of this extraordinary yet enigmatic woman who left behind such a rich spiritual heritage, and yet with whom history has dealt so harshly, and with such premeditated injustice. Our pilgrimage starts upon your arrival in Marseille on the morning of Monday, March 31, 2008, and ends when we deliver you to Toulouse Airport on the afternoon of Thursday, April 10, 2008. Please note that should you wish to travel earlier, or remain later than the dates above, you are free to do so. As stated above our pilgrimage starts on March 31, and finishes on April 10.
Pilgrimage Online: http://www.laconneau.org/Pilgrimages.html
FRANCE: October Events
September 25 – October 4, 2007
Laconneau Fall Pilgrimage
Northern France
GEORGIA: October Events
Friday, October 12, 2007
Circle 8:00PM
Atlanta, GA
For students who have completed the Level I Course
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Meditation 6:30PM
Atlanta, GA
Sunday. October 21, 2007
Meditation 12:30PM
Gainesville, GA
October 21 - 24, 2007
Laconneau Autumn Retreat
Greenville, NC
For students who have completed the Level I Course
October 26 - 28, 2007
Laconneau Autumn Festival
Greenville, NC
Georgia Calendar Online: http://www.laconneau.com/CalendarAtlantaGA.html
Georgia Region Coordinator: Lorrie - georgia@laconneau.org
THE CAROLINAS: October Events
Saturday, October 14, 2007
Circle 8:30PM
Greenville, NC
For students who have completed the Level I Course
Sunday, October 15, 2007
Meditation & Book Discussion 12:00PM
The Chalice and The Blade by Riane Eisler
Greenville, NC
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Level I Beginner’s Course 10:00AM
Greenville, NC
October 21 - 24, 2007
Laconneau Autumn Retreat
Greenville, NC
For students who have completed the Level I Course
October 26 - 28, 2007
Laconneau Autumn Festival
Greenville, NC
Greenville Calendar Online: http://www.laconneau.com/CalendarGreenvilleNC.html
Greenville Region Coordinator: Elaine - Greenville@laconneau.org
PENNSYLVANIA: October Events
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Film Screening 7:30PM
Warrior Women
Philadelphia, PA
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Circle 8:30PM
Philadelphia, PA
For students who have completed the Level I course.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Dinner & Discussion 7:30PM
Philadelphia, PA
October 21 - 24, 2007
Laconneau Autumn Retreat
Greenville, NC
For students who have completed the Level I Course
October 26 - 28, 2007Laconneau Autumn Festival
Greenville, NC
Philadelphia Calendar Online: http://www.laconneau.com/CalendarPhiladelphiaPA.html
Philadelphia Region Coordinator: Anna - philadelphia@laconneau.org
WASHINGTON, DC: October Events
Friday, October 12, 2007
Circle 7:30PM
Washington, DC
For students who have completed the Level I Course
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Yard Sale 7:00AM
Bethesda, MD
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Dinner & Debate 5:00PM
Is There Room for Spirituality in Politics?
Film Screening
Warrior Queen
Washington, DC
Friday, October 19, 2007
Introduction to Laconneau 7:30PM
Washington, DC
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Level I Beginner’s Course 10:00AM
Washington, DC
October 21 - 24, 2007
Laconneau Autumn Retreat
Greenville, NC
For students who have completed the Level I Course
October 26 - 28, 2007
Laconneau Autumn Festival
Greenville, NC
DC Calendar Online: http://www.laconneau.com/CalendarWashingtonDC.html
DC Region Coordinator: Lorely - dc@laconneau.org
REGIONAL NEWS
France News:
Laconneau is planning to offer a limited opportunity for a small group of Tradition members to complete Le Sentier Cathares in the Languedoc in the autumn of 2008. More details will be available in our November Newsletter.
Georgia News:
The Atlanta Circle welcomed attendees from the Atlanta and North Georgia area for The Magdalene Seminar and Level 1 class held in August. They were also pleased to have visitors from the Asheville and Greenville, North Carolina Circles.
News from the Carolinas:
Laconneau of the Carolinas Weekend: The Carolinas held their first Laconneau weekend for all the Circles in North and South Carolina. The weekend included time for meditation, a discussion on the history of feminism in the U.S. and how it has affected our lives, a viewing of the movie, "Iron Jawed Angels," and a discussion the book, "Manifesta," by Amy Richards. There was also a Women's Circle held for the entire company. The feedback from everyone who attended was that they want to hold these weekends on a quarterly basis. The next weekend will be held in January. Women from outside the Carolinas are welcome to attend.
Laconneau Reunion: There is a gathering planned in January for all the women who have ever attended Laconneau classes in the Carolinas. This will give the women an opportunity to reconnect with each other. Details will follow in upcoming newsletters.
Philadelphia News:
The Philadelphia Circle continues working to build and strengthen their community of women, creating an open environment where they can come together and discuss relevant political and historical issues. Through documentaries, discussions and meditations, their focus remains on the actions they can continue to take to effect positive change, beginning on a personal and local level. There is an understanding of the importance of inner spiritual work as the core and foundation of the greater change.
Washington, DC News:
On September 8, the Washington Circle visited the National Museum of Women in the Arts to see the special exhibit that is celebrating Frida Kahlo’s 100th birthday. Following the tour, the group met at a member's home, where they dined and watched the Film, “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo,” then discussed how women manage to keep their strength and courage in the face of adversity.
The DC Circle is gearing up for their second yard sale of the year on Saturday October 13 to benefit La Chapelle de la Madeleine in Greenville. Sisters who have items to donate or who would like to help are requested to please contact Lorely at dc@laconneau.org.
CONTACT LACONNEAU
Please contact your coordinator with questions or updated regional information.
In France: Jehanne jehanne@laconneau.org
In Georgia: Lorrie georgia@laconneau.org
In the Carolinas: Elaine Greenville@laconneau.org
In Pennsylvania: Anna Philadelphia@laconneau.org
In Washington, DC: Lorely dc@laconneau.org
Contact Information Online: http://www.laconneau.com/Contact.html
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