Participants of Harvard University Pluralism Project's
Women's Interfaith Initiative in the United States Post 911
Our Story, The First 22 Years
22 Years of Women with a Plan
The morning of 911 I woke to the same image the world was seeing, and I heard "Gather Women". With no experience of being with circles of women, let alone lead them, I instinctively sensed that when women come together and discuss the suffering of our community, we will find solutions that consider all.
I did not know if I should send my kids to school that day. Then I wondered about Muslim mothers.
I did not know any Muslim women. I knew nothing about Islam, and very little about my Jewish tradition, but I could not imagine what it must feel like to be a Muslim mother that moment and I wanted to better understand and hear from them what was going on in the hearts of Muslims all around the world.
Central to all we do are women and girls, and what impacts us disproportionately, as well as the power we hold in our womb.
Over the past 18 years we have provided countless initiatives, community gathers, university panels and shown up for our community spontaneously or with well structured programs. All of our programs have a few conditions that we insist on:
1. They address the deep root of patriarchy and systems of domination.
2. They are co-created in shared leadership.
3. They are fun and dynamic, and stretch the boundaries so as to impact change.
4. Agreements for Care and Caregiving to all in the creative and production process is held in a sacred manner to insure all are heard, and held in respect. This includes Circle Principles and Sacred Economy.
5. We are careful that our work does not water down another's and is considerate that we are contributing to an ecosystem of our interdependence and in
At the core of all we do and the sacred nature this organization has been held translates to not only interfaith understanding and community building but global initiatives that improve conditions and advance solutions so women and girls and men and boys thrive in a world that works for everyone.
Thank you for taking the time to look around. You are here because you are curious and curiosity is the threshold to new understandings and new solutions to old problems!
Sande
Prepared presentation for the United Religions Initiative Women's Interfaith Cooperation Circle and
serves as a look at SARAH over 19 years.
We stand on the shoulders of the women who have come before us who fought, struggled, and endangered their lives so that we could realize their dreams. Dorothy Day is one of those women and Suffragist whose poem inspires us to do the work we do in the world...
The OC Human Relations Commissions Award in 2005 and
Why S.A.R.A.H. was relevant then.
The DNA of SARAH Within The Global Woman's Village is in All of Us
S.A.R.A.H. is officially changing our name yet, She has not, nor ever will go away. Not unlike how the person we were yesterday is still alive in us, only changed into who we are today, She too has alchemized into Her next iteration with privilege and responsibility. She is the microcosm of each of us individually, made up of a lifetime of stories, experiences, lessons, growth, progress, heartbreaks, stumbles, successes, relationships, and new discoveries every day. All of those things make up our beautiful parts and permeate our very existence. We simply grow with new discoveries and revelations. Critical to these times is our contribution to that growth.
Listening carefully has always been a critical requirement for S.A.R.A.H. Our clear instructions are to elevate the conversation so we can more effectively and efficiently go to the spaces that are now revealing themselves as our marching orders.
In this evolutionary growth spurt we are in, we can remember we are also participating in its transition, stewardship, and in its alchemizing. We can ask ourselves how we redefine our power, a word worth some love. Rather than our exhaustive efforts to fight to reconstruct and demand to change a system whose time has come, we can bend down to the rootball of all that no longer serves us and carry it like a child for healing into The Global Women's Village.
It is more than a place, it's a container for authentic, collaborative, unobstructed, and loving energy. This environment fosters a condition where our wisdom, passions, and skills can thrive. When women thrive, humanity thrives. This *evolutionary impulse is our catalyst into the unknown place that is calling us. It is our responsibility, our birthright, and our privilege to *inpower ourselves and *repower one another to remember and honor this realization with reverence.
New art, laws, norms, science, insights, knowledge, angst and mental frailness are all signs of cultural evolutionary times at their cusp. A change in our language also reflects our ethos. The following are three words you are invited to adopt and rethink.
*Giving credit to those who bring these words into our narrative as a culture;
*Evolutionary Impulse- Sheila Cash
*RePower- Lis Williams
*InPower-Sande Hart
Also, it's not only the words we say, but those we rethink. It is worth reconsidering this word. Try taking the word "just" out of your narrative. "I just want ..." vs. "I want ..." Unless we are speaking of justice, this little but mighty word reminds us that what we have to share is of little value and so we devalue it in advance of its delivery. We deserve better and it's fair to suggest that most of us have no idea how often we use that word and what we think of our own power.
This simple practice may seem benign yet, it begins to alert us when we discount our agency, our beauty, and our power. It's a small practice that has rippling effects in all aspects of our life, and therefore the world we are co-creating.
Crowd-Sourcing Wisdom is a critical element in feminine leadership, which we will be expanding on greatly in this space of The Women's Village.
Leading Core Values
Compassion | Collaboration | Hospitality | Care | Trust | Community |Generosity | Love
"May God continue to shine down His blessings upon you. May His grace always abound in your life - and show itself sufficient for whatever comes your way. May His best be yours."
Pastor L J Saunders, CEO, RMW Ministries
"My daughter and myself so much enjoyed taking part in the Peace Tapestry at the S.A.R.A.H. booth and the love and caring of its volunteers at the 2004 The Joyful Child's Festival (memory of Samantha Runnion). It was our favorite. Thank you!"
“I love your site. It is so informational. As I find time in our busy life, I go to your site and read different sections. This time your calandar of events and Karen's book selections attracted me. What an excellent Idea to understand each other through our books. This and only this can eliminate the prejudice and get us closer and closer to each other. Thank you Karen.
Much love, Floria (SARAH Sister)"
