{"id":1079,"date":"2016-01-06T05:32:19","date_gmt":"2016-01-06T09:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/?p=1079"},"modified":"2016-01-06T05:32:19","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T09:32:19","slug":"womens-christmas-2016-home-by-another-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/womens-christmas-2016-home-by-another-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Women’s Christmas 2016: Home By Another Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wise<\/a>
\nImage: Wise Women Also Came<\/em> \u00a9 Jan Richardson<\/p>\n

Happy Epiphany! You might already know that in some parts of the world, Epiphany (January 6, which brings the Christmas season to a close) is also celebrated as Women’s Christmas. Originating in Ireland, where it is known as Nollaig na mBan<\/em>, Women’s Christmas began as a day when the women, who often carried the domestic responsibilities all year, took Epiphany as an occasion to enjoy a bit of respite and celebrate together at the end of the holidays.<\/p>\n

Whether your domestic duties are many or few, Women\u2019s Christmas is a good time to pause and take a break from whatever has kept you busy in the past weeks or months. As the Christmas season ends, this is an occasion both to celebrate with friends and also to spend time in reflection before diving into the responsibilities of this new year.<\/p>\n

It has become a tradition for me to create a retreat that you can use for Women’s Christmas\u2014or anytime you’re in need of a space of reflection. Posting this year’s retreat in the wee hours of Epiphany morning, I’m squeaking in just under the wire; this has not been a season that made it possible to post the retreat farther in advance of the day! But I cannot imagine beginning the year without offering this gift to you, and I hope you will use it whenever it fits for you.<\/p>\n

This year’s retreat is titled “Home By Another Way.” As I continue to find my way in the wake of my husband’s death, I have been doing a lot of thinking about home\u2014what it is, how it happens, where we are called to find it and to share it. This retreat offers an invitation for you to do some reflecting, wondering, and dreaming about what home is for you, in the many senses of this word.<\/p>\n

The retreat is very flexible, easily adaptable to your own purposes. You can do the retreat anytime you wish, by yourself or with friends near or far. It includes an introduction with some thoughts about how you might use these reflections.<\/p>\n

Clicking the link below will take you to a page on this Sanctuary of Women site where you can download the retreat as a PDF file. There’s no cost; think of it as my Women’s Christmas gift to you! You are also welcome to make a donation in support of the retreat; contributions will be shared with the A21 Campaign (thea21campaign.org<\/a>), which is devoted to ending human trafficking and providing sanctuary, healing, and home for those rescued from slavery.<\/p>\n

Download the Women’s Christmas Retreat<\/a><\/h3>\n

You are welcome to make copies of the retreat to share with friends. I would be delighted for you to spread the word about the retreat by sharing this blog post; you can use any of the social media icons at the bottom of this post or simply forward the link to others.<\/p>\n

The retreat opens with a blessing I’ve included for you below. As we celebrate the day and enter into the year ahead, may you find wondrous shelter along the way. Merry Women’s Christmas!<\/p>\n

The Map You Make Yourself<\/strong>
\n A Blessing for Women\u2019s Christmas<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

You have looked
\nat so many doors
\nwith longing,
\nwondering if your life
\nlay on the other side.<\/p>\n

For today,
\nchoose the door
\nthat opens
\nto the inside.<\/p>\n

Travel the most ancient way
\nof all:
\nthe path that leads you
\nto the center
\nof your life.<\/p>\n

No map
\nbut the one
\nyou make yourself.<\/p>\n

No provision
\nbut what you already carry
\nand the grace that comes
\nto those who walk
\nthe pilgrim\u2019s way.<\/p>\n

Speak this blessing
\nas you set out
\nand watch how
\nyour rhythm slows,
\nthe cadence of the road
\ndrawing you into the pace
\nthat is your own.<\/p>\n

Eat when hungry.
\nRest when tired.
\nListen to your dreaming.
\nWelcome detours
\nas doors deeper in.<\/p>\n

Pray for protection.
\nAsk for guidance.
\nOffer gladness
\nfor the gifts that come,
\nand then
\nlet them go.<\/p>\n

Do not expect
\nto return
\nby the same road.
\nHome is always
\nby another way,
\nand you will know it
\nnot by the light
\nthat waits for you<\/p>\n

but by the star
\nthat blazes inside you,
\ntelling you
\nwhere you are
\nis holy
\nand you are welcome
\nhere.<\/p>\n

\u2014Jan Richardson<\/p>\n

[The Wise Women Also Came<\/em> image is \u00a9 Jan Richardson from the book Night Visions<\/em><\/a>. To use this image, please visit this page<\/a> at Jan Richardson Images.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image: Wise Women Also Came \u00a9 Jan Richardson Happy Epiphany! You might already know that in some parts of the world, Epiphany (January 6, which brings the Christmas season to a close) is also celebrated as Women’s Christmas. Originating in Ireland, where it is known as Nollaig na mBan, Women’s Christmas began as a day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blessings","category-christmas","category-sacred-time"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p190Xv-hp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1079"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1085,"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079\/revisions\/1085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanctuaryofwomen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}