Before supper in the upper room,
breakfast in the barn.
Before the Passover Feat, a feeding trough.
And here, the altar of Earth, fair linens of hay and seed.
Before his cry, her cry.
Before his sweat of blood, her bleeding and tears.
Before his offering, hers.
Before the breaking of bread and death,
the breaking of her body in birth.
Before the offering cup,
the offering of her breast.
Before his blood, her blood.
And by her body and blood alone,
his body and blood and whole human being.
The wise ones knelt to hear
the woman’s word in wonder.
Holding up her sacred child,
her spark of God in the form of a babe,
she said: “Receive and let your hearts be healed
and your lives be filled with love, for
This is my body, This is my blood.”
“Bozarth was ordained to the diaconate on September 8, 1971, and served as a deacon for three years, including time as an associate chaplain at Northwestern while completing her doctorate. On July 29, 1974, she became one of the first women to be ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church as one of the “Philadelphia Eleven.” After her ordination, she found herself unemployed and decided that, “as long as I accepted someone else’s definition of me, I had no power in my own life.”
Bozarth founded Wisdom House, a feminist interfaith spirituality center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1974 and incorporated it in 1976. From there, she traveled widely as “a kind of priest-at-large,” conducting feminist theology workshops, giving poetry readings, and lecturing on topics such as women in the church. After her husband’s death in 1985, she returned to Oregon and established Wisdom House West. She ended her active ministry in 1994 due to health reasons, but remains affiliated with Wisdom House as priest-in-charge. During her career, Bozarth published multiple books on faith and grief. She is a successful and beloved poet.“
No comments:
Post a Comment