Saskatchewan Christian Feminist Network

About Us..

WE Are

..a group of women with Christian roots. Currently, some of us are within and some are outside of the Christian church. We are rural and urban women, women of all ages, with various occupations, educational backgrounds and sexual orientation. Members of the network are not necessarily involved in all the interests and activities noted below, but each of us has an interest and commitment to at least some of them.

We began in 1980 by inviting women to gather and share herstories and identify needs. We committed ourselves to organizational practices that are non-hierarchical. This led to the formation of a consultative Overview Group (as one COG in the Wheel) to encourage gatherings and assure communication within the network. We keep in touch through letters to Network members and a thrice-yearly collection of articles and stories we call "Unbeaten Paths".

We have compiled a "Herstory" for each of the first two decades of the Network. Copies are available for $3.00 each.

WE Affirm

• the right of women to control their own lives (reproductively, occupationally, legally, etc)
• the need for feminist community locally and globally
• the need to seek justice through a process of education, reflection, and action
• the work and dignity of every person

WE Are Committed

• to offering care and creating justice for women
• to sharing and exploring the implications of feminists' relationships with the Christian tradition and the church today, as well as other traditions and emerging spiritualities
• to challenging the church to be accountable in a justice-seeking ministry with women
• to critiquing patriarchal structures and theology in on-going dialogue
• to valuing each woman's story and journey
• to reaching out to women in the continuing process of consciousness raising
• to being a visible feminist presence in Saskatchewan
• to learning from and standing in solidarity with women globally
• to pooling our resources so that no woman is denied access to Network activities - gatherings, newsletters - because of financial restraints
• to taking risks that push the edges of feminist thought, theology and action

WE Gather

• to educate ourselves about justice issues within a feminist context
• to be intentional about supporting, energizing and caring for ourselves and one another. This means being accountable to one another, as we struggle in honest confrontation
• to participate in the evolution of feminist models and methods
• to study women's heritage and unearth herstory

Gatherings are held in various parts of the province throughout the year. Some are evening events, some day-long weekend events. Each fall a four or five day event is held. Currently this event takes place around November 11th.

We Act

• by inviting individual Network members to take specific actions on issues that arise
• by communicating and sometimes acting with other justice-seeking organizations and by strategizing on how we can change societal structures that promote oppression globally

* A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT MONEY

Money is a continuous source of frustration and anxiety in women's groups and in women's lives. In the ebb and flow of our lives, we experience times of abundance, and times of need. If you are in the midst of an abundant time, we welcome your financial contribution for the Network and/ or the Unbeaten Paths Newsletter -- for yourself and/ or other women. If you are in a time of need, we strongly encourage you to ask for what you want. As a feminist group, we are concerned that a lack of money not deter any woman from belonging/being connected/receiving information.