“I had a major visceral shift after silently witnessing the men and after they reflected after witnessing us. This was potent for me as I began to see the possibilities. I felt effervescent joy over the hope of transformation…”
~ Female Participant, North America
What a year this has been for GERI North America! We are grateful for all our collaborations and partnerships that include: Bioneers, The LGBTQIA+ Center of Southern Nevada, the Girl Child & Her Long Walk to Freedom, Illuman, ManKind Project (MKP), and special projects at Royal Rhodes University, Waterloo University, and other partners.
The year has been brimming with an array of online and in-person workshops and trainings, conference and keynote presentations, 29 podcasts, and conventions, including the Parliament of the World Religions held in Chicago, the UN-CSW NGO Forum in NYC, the YWCA staff summit in Kalamazoo, and the online Engendering Love conference. We also began our 2023/2024 North America GERI Yearlong Professional Immersion and Facilitation Training, which has 33 participants from the USA, Canada, Australia, Austria, Argentina, Costa Rica, India (living in the States) Italy, Mexico (living in the States), South Africa, Venezuela (living in the States). To date, two weeklong in-person modules have been completed (out of four).
Early in 2023, we launched our GERI-Christian program and continued to expand our MeToo to WeTogether courses (in-person and online) throughout the year. In mid December, we offered a GERI workshop for the transgender community in Las Vegas, Nevada, in collaboration with The Center. All of these programs will continue to grow and develop in 2024.
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN-CSW) NGO Forum
This was GERI’s sixth year presenting at the UN-CSW NGO Forum, on March 12th. Hugo Sanchez, GERI Trainer, and Chaya Pamula, GERI Board Member co-presented and facilitated the parallel session, with support from longtime GERI friend, Beth Blissman, NGO UN Representative for the Loretto Community. There were participants from Turkey, Puerto Rico, India, Africa, and North America who joined the GERI presentation.
“The NGO CSW Forum is organized by and for global civil society, non-governmental organizations, and feminists to connect them with the official United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) process. With over 750 events, the NGO CSW Forum informs, engages, and inspires grassroots efforts and gender equality advocacy around the world.” (https://ngocsw68forum.vfairs.com/)
Three Universities in Canada
Vancouver School of Theology at the University of British Columbia
What a joy to join Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan and her students on February 9th for an evening session in their online course titled: Gender in Religious Traditions. We led an introductory two hour GERI program that created a safe forum for students to share parts of their gender stories, in relation to their religious or spiritual beliefs and practices.
The majority of students were Christian, with some who identified as interspiritual or agnostic, and the course readings focused on how religious traditions speak about feminism, homosexuality, and transgender issues.
GERI Trainers for this course were: Myra Kinds, Tristan Johannes, Garrett Evans, William Keepin, and Cynthia Brix.
Waterloo University
Fostering Gender Equality in Religious and Spiritual Communities was one of three introductory GERI programs held at Waterloo University in Ontario (Canada), led by GERI Trainers Myra Kinds and William Keepin, plus GERI intern Thu Nguyen. The three programs were organized in collaboration with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Conrad Grebel University College, March 28 – 29.
The vision for this collaboration has been held by Jennifer Ball since 2018, when she met GERI Co-Founders William Keepin and Cynthia Brix in Toronto at the 2018 Parliament of the World Religions during our introductory GERI session. After that meeting, Jennifer went back to the University of Waterloo where she was an Assistant Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies, and she shared about the GERI work with her colleagues, Sue Baker, the Coordinator of the Certificate in Conflict Management and Rod Friesen, the Restorative Justice Program Coordinator. These three stayed the course through the difficult years of Covid, maintaining their intention to host in-person events until it finally became a reality earlier this year.
The final Waterloo event on March 29 was a community session for the GERI team to meet with invited key church and university leaders, who helped to strategize next steps for offering a full GERI workshop in 2024.
Royal Roads University
We were delighted to be invited by Carollyne Conlinn, Associate Professor at Royal Roads University in Vancouver Island, BC (Canada) for a second year to offer an interactive daylong introductory program on June 22nd, as part of the Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching.
William Keepin, GERI Co-Founder and Alejandra Warden, GERI Facilitator presented on the GERI program and its international community, and they facilitated some of the GERI process with the 17 students, all of whom brought their full hearts and mindful awareness toward healing and reconciliation. The students reported positive impacts on a personal level, within their class cohort, and with respect to the gender-based realities in the greater world.
Bioneers Conference
This was our fifth time to be invited to present at the Bioneers conference, co-founded by Nina Simons and Kenny Ausubel in 1990. Bioneers “acts as a fertile hub of social and scientific innovators with practical and visionary solutions for the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges.” (https://bioneers.org/about/purpose)
At this year’s Bioneers conference, April 6-8, held in Berkeley, California, Alka Arora, GERI facilitator, joined William Keepin and Cynthia Brix, GERI Co-Founders, for two sessions – one presentation and one interactive introductory program. Alka is an Associate Professor in Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), and she presented on Gender Healing and the New Wave of Feminism, as a powerfully complement and support for the GERI presentation titled: Gender Equity & Reconciliation: Thirty Years of Healing the Most Ancient Wound in the Human Family.
Some 80 people of all ages, ethnicities, and genders engaged in the 75-minute interactive session of the GERI process that provided fertile ground for new seeds of hope to be planted in the hearts of us all. Below are a few reflections from attendees:
“Even after years of working on these issues both personally and as a therapist to women escaping domestic violence,” a gender fluid person said, “the activities in this session helped to illuminate new dimensions in my own life and continued healing around gender and sexuality. It’s amazing how quickly and deeply we can go in such a short time together.”
“It’s so unfair. It’s just so incredibly unfair to women,” one male participant in his 70s tearfully said, realizing just how unsafe most women feel walking the streets alone because they are a woman.
“I was worried about attending this session,” another participant in his 30s said. “I identify as a heterosexual man, but I hesitate to publicly admit this, because nowadays, I usually get ridiculed and shamed when I do.” Looking around the group, he softly said, “I really appreciate this session and feeling safe enough with all of you to openly share.”
Engendering Love
GERI was prominently featured at the online conference, Engending Love Summit, May 5 -7. GERI Co-Founders William Keepin and Cynthia Brix were Keynote speakers and panelists, and GERI leaders Desireé English, Tristan Johannes, and Hugo Sanchez were invited on the women’s, men’s, and LGBTQ+ panels respectively.
Engendering Love was founded by Yosi Amram, and its Summit conference focused on Healing Conversations on Femininity, Masculinity, and Fluidity. Other highlighted guest presenters included Alanis Morissette, Michael Meade, Shana James, Andrea Gibson, Pat McCabe, Michaela Boehm, Charles Eisenstein, and Ashlee Marie Preston.
Parliament of the World’s Religions
“Dancing in the streets,” rang out as GERI Trainer Myra Kinds raised her voice in joyful song and dance, motivating several of the other GERI facilitators to join in. Suddenly, the man selling the beautiful Tibetan bowls across the aisle danced his way over to join the playful moment. Such was the spirited energy at the GERI exhibit booth during the Parliament of the World’s Religions, in Chicago, August 14 – 18. There was rarely a dull moment each day as our staff of 14 volunteer GERI facilitators and friends shared about the hopeful work of GERI, and its contribution toward Transforming Patriarchy in Religion: The Promise of Gender Equity and Reconciliation, which was the title gracing the large banner displayed overhead across our booth. Another moving moment was when we gathered in circle with the Three Interfaith Amigos – Imam Jamal Rahman, Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan, and Pastor Don Mackenzie – who led us in sacred chants from their respective traditions. GERI Facilitator Alejandra Warden, and Ed Bastian and Anna Wolfefrom Spiritual Paths Institute joined in, along with Saprhira Rameshfar, Representative for the Baha’i International Community’s UN Office in New York, and Mangesh Pol from the Maher Ashram in India.
On the final day, we facilitated an introductory GERI breakout session to a full breakout room of some 75 spiritual and religious leaders and laity.
We are grateful to the GERI staff for their dedication and service: Michele Breene, Esther and William Diplock, Jorge Rico, Myra Kinds, Tristan Johannes, Desireé English, Ava Brennan, Máire Callan, Alejandra Warden, Mangesh Pol, Julien Devereux, Garrett Evans, Alka Arora, Will Keepin, and Cynthia Brix.
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), Kalamazoo, Michigan
Immediately after the Parliament, on August 18th, a GERI team went to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to present a GERI introductory program to the Annual YWCA Summit conference, for their staff of nearly 50 employees. As one female employee reflected afterwards,
“It was impactful to do the activity where we were asked to stand up if we identified with certain specific experiences. The session helped us to feel connected to our coworkers. I was also able to reflect on some of the struggles that men also face.”
The GERI facilitation team was: Garrett Evans, Myra Kinds, Tristan Johannes, and Desireé English.
The Girl Child & Her Long Walk to Freedom Fellowship Group
October 19, Nov. 2, and Nov. 30
We were delighted to be invited again this year to offer three GERI sessions for the 2023 cohort of Fellows engaged in the The Girl Child & Her Long Walk to Freedom: Putting Faith to Work Through Love to Break Ancient Chains.
The GERI facilitation team – Desireé English, Hugo Sanchez, Garrett Evans, Cynthia Brix, and William Keepin offered presentations and experiential activities to complement and support this diverse group of 17 professionals from Kenya, Uganda, Brazil, Honduras, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Zambia, DRC, Vietnam, and Tanzania.
Co-Founder Emily Nielsen Jones and Project Manager, Kazi Mghendi, co-lead this cohort that meets online bi-weekly for nine months to explore global perspectives and experiences at the intersection of patriarchy and faith.
- Courageous Conversations
On March 23rd, GERI Trainers Silvia Araya-Fischer and Hugo Sanchez conducted a program for Spanish speakers for Courageous Conversations, an online event co-sponsored by the Girl Child & Her Long Walk to Freedom (GCLWF) and Gender Equity and Reconciliation International (GERI). Silvia and Hugo discussed what it is like to grow up as a girl around the world, and reflected on the work that is needed for gender equality on a global level. This session was facilitated by Marie-Rose Romain Murphy, Senior Project Consultant with GCLWF.
Click to read about these two additional North America GERI programs:
Yearlong GERI Immersion & Professional Certified Facilitator Training:
- First module August 2 – 7
- Second module November 28 – December 3
GERI workshop for a LGBTQ+ community in collaboration with The Center in Las Vegas, December 9 – 10.