© 2019 Meredith Tenney, Sharon Porter, Mary Huggins, and Elisabeth Callahan
© 2019 The Urantia Book Fellowship
Our Universe Mother Spirit is gathering the women. She is gathering them at the Parliament of World Religions, where she brought together thousands of people from every faith tradition at the first Women’s Assembly at the Parliament in Salt Lake City in 2016. She is gathering them at the United Nations, where hundreds of women from around the world gather every spring in New York City at the UN Commission on the Status of Women to advocate for a 5th UN Women’s World Conference. Mother is even calling on women to take to the streets. On January 21st, 2017, an estimated 2.6 million women took part in 673 marches around the world with the largest taking place in Washington. Crowds of marching women were so large in some cities that marching was almost impossible. In Chicago, organizers halted the march and rallied at Grant Park instead as crowds swelled to 150,000. In New York City, the number was 400,000; in Boston, media reported more than 100,000 people marching on Boston Common. There were 60,000 in Oakland, Calif., 750,000 in Los Angeles, and another 100,000 in San Francisco. Women responded from around the globe with 10,000 marching in Australia, more than 100,000 in London, 7,000 in Paris and more in Rome. From Ghana to Greece, from Reykjavik to Costa Rica, from Tanzania to Thailand, women answered Mother’s call.
The Women’s March was followed quickly by the #MeToo movement in which many women around the country felt led to finally stand up and confront the long history of sexual harassment and sexual abuse of women. The phrase has become the rallying cry of the anti- sexual harassment movement, has raised awareness of the problem, and has challenged some of the most powerful men in sports, entertainment, and politics.
Women have answered Mother Spirit’s call to step up into leadership so enthusiastically that a historic wave of women is running for public office. A record number of women entered the U.S. House and Senate races in the fall of 2018 - with 54 women running for Senate seats and 394 women running for the House while 56 women vied for office in governor’s races. In 1970, there was just one female Senate candidate. Starting in January 2019 the 116th Congress will have 24 women Senators and 102 women serving in the House of Representatives. The Center for Responsive Politics reports a 67% increase in women running for congressional and gubernatorial seats since 2016!
The recent Senate hearing and controversy over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh is only a microcosm of the struggle for gender equality and women’s rights that is occurring around the globe. The days in which women could be taken advantage of with impunity are rapidly vanishing, and a new prototype of male/female relationship that reflects divine patterns of living is needed.
The ascent of feminine principles, which seek to establish balance between the masculine and feminine forces of our natures, inevitably triggers a proportionate, negative reaction among some men and even some women by challenging deeply held beliefs. It is, perhaps, understandable why some men are reacting with fear and anger toward women at the present time as they witness the rapid social changes resulting from the empowerment of women.
As our world psyche reconnects more fully to the repressed feminine, some men fear they will lose their male identity and be dispossessed of their former [powerful] place in society. And they are right in certain respects because as the collective whole of humanity reunites with the repressed feminine, enormous adjustments will be required and it will take time to achieve a new balance in our planetary consciousness. For a very long time in our Western and world civilizations, the feminine expression of God’s nature in our Western and world civilization - that which is the very source of life and mind in the universe – has been controlled, exploited and objectified by the dominant masculine power structure. This is sometimes referred to as the unacknowledged shadow side of the masculine. It is clearly being exposed, recognized, and named during the current epoch. Gradually it will be more fully exposed and tamed. This may be a scary process for some – not all – men. Therefore, we have a responsibility to educate about this process of psychosocial evolution, to bring light and understanding to the changes, and to disarm fear through compassionate listening and dialogue.
Men and women must go through this process of change together with as much clarity, openness, trust, and courage as possible, that is to say, with the understanding that our gender differences will [UB 84:6.6] “continue to intrigue, stimulate, encourage, and assist each other” even as a greater relationship of mutuality between the genders is being reached as part of the evolutionary plan of progressive perfection.
It could be said that the changes in the social fabric of Western society (and our whole world) that have been underway since the early 20th century are perhaps directly attributable to the remarkable transition in the relationship between our Creator Son Michael and our Creative Mother Spirit that occurred when Michael attained to his status as a Master Son, after completing his seventh and final bestowal mission as Jesus. At that time Michael issued the “Proclamation of Equality” which affirmed the Mother Spirit’s equality with him in all endowments of personality and attributes of divine character. This becomes the transcendent pattern for the family organization and government of even the lowly creatures of the worlds of space. ([UB 33:3.5-8]).
Just as Michael and our Mother Spirit recognize their new fundamentally equal and mutual co-rulership of the universe, so too must men and women move into an entirely new stage of human existence on Urantia whereby each acknowledges and respects the equal rights of the other. We may have different gender traits but we are equal as persons and must be free to express our personalities in society.
In all the mustering of women, Mother Spirit has not overlooked the women in the Urantia movement. She seems to be calling them, too. First, with the surprisingly synchronous, separate yet simultaneous, rising of the West Coast Women’s Corps, the Rocky Mountain Women’s Corps, and the East Coast Women’s Corps ; then, more recently, with two new groups, Sisters in Spirit, and Daughters of God. If you’ve had a chance to listen to the serendipitous stories of the women involved, you will know these groups did not come together by chance, but rather by divine design. Many Urantians of both genders report perceiving our Universe Mother Spirit or experiencing her presence. If you look with the eyes of the spirit, you can see the Divine Feminine moving in the world. It’s as though we are beginning a new dispensation in which women are being called to play a leadership role – a role they were unable to play given the religious and cultural restrictions on women during the times of the Fourth Epochal Revelation.
So why is our Universe Mother Spirit gathering the women? How are Urantians, men and women alike, uniquely positioned to help her? What does she want us to do? As _Urantia Book readers of the Fifth Epochal Revelation, Urantia Book readers have a wealth of knowledge about Mother Spirit and her role in the universe others do not have. We have been given a treasure trove of information about the divine pattern of male/female spiritual partnership, and the relationship between Michael/Jesus and Mother. Consider these quotes:
“Concerning identity, nature, and other attributes of personality, the [Universal Mother] is the full equal, the perfect complement, and the eternal counterpart of the Universal Father.” [UB 6:8.1]
The Father in Heaven treats the Spirit Mother of the children of the universe as one equal to himself. [UB 133:2.2]
Almost no other faith tradition has a theology acknowledging the Divine Feminine as an equal co-partner to the Father in Heaven, and that information is sorely needed in the world. If Adam and Eve had not gone into default, we would have had a role model of the divine pattern for male/female spiritual and social partnership in our Material Son and Daughter that would have helped us to forego the gender imbalance on our planet which has been a root cause of so many problems. As it is, we Urantians have a unique body of knowledge that positions us to be of great assistance to our Mother Spirit in her efforts to uplift our world and move it towards Light and Life. As the true and equal co-creative Mother spirit parent with Michael, our Father spirit parent, this Universe has been created, held and sustained by the co- operative loving effort of both our Mother and Father Spirits.
As we Urantian women sought Mother’s presence to ask how we might help, we contemplated how urgently the world needs a shared vision of her values and goals. Currently, there is a global rising tide of interest in the Divine Feminine, but little knowledge about her, or what she might want. Listing the principles of the Divine Feminine can help all of us come to know her better, and provide a common standard by which the conduct of individuals, businesses, corporations and governments can be guided. Consequently, a group of Urantian women came together to try to articulate the desires of our Universe Mother Spirit. Although we acknowledge that it is not possible to know for certain what Mother Spirit desires, and any list of her principles must necessarily evolve over time as spiritual insight and wisdom grow on the planet, we believe we can be of service to her by drafting our best understanding of her goals, inviting others to participate and sharing that information with them. Just as our Universe has a spiritual Mother and Father, all of life and all of creation is held in the eternal embrace of our loving and supportive spiritual parents on high.
The written word can be very powerful. When America’s founding fathers gathered in Philadelphia in 1776 to promote their desire for a fair and just government, the document they produced, the Declaration of Independence, forever changed global ideas about government, rallied American patriots, and shook our world. Unfortunately, no women were present in Philadelphia, and John Adams apparently ignored the pleas of his wife, Abigail, to “remember the ladies” in her letter urging him and other members of the Continental Congress not to forget the nation’s women when fighting for America’s independence.
Other movements, too, have used a written document to advance their cause. For example, the Earth Charter is a document drafted by multiple environmental groups working together. The Charter outlines four principles that are guidelines for environmentally sustainable living and offer a vision of hope and a call to action. Taken together, the principles create a framework for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. The United Nations, too, used a document to help achieve its aims. The Millennium Development Goals were drafted following the Millennium Summit in 2000, and signed by all 191 member states of the United Nations. The eight goals included the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, universal primary education, the promotion of gender equality, the reduction of child mortality, improvements in maternal health, more environmentally sustainable practices, and the development of global partnerships. The United Nations has since hailed the Millennium Development Goals as “ the most successful anti-poverty movement in history.” The UN Secretary General recently explained that they helped to lift more than one billion people out of extreme poverty, made inroads against hunger, and enabled more girls to attend school than ever before.
At a women’s retreat held in October 2017 in California, Urantian women agreed to work together over several months to attempt to articulate Mother Spirit’s goals. The women sought to raise awareness and appreciation for the principles of the divine feminine, and help restore gender balance. Their work produced the document below:
Women are rising as never before. Around the world, they are gathering by the thousands to march in the streets. They are mobilizing for children’s welfare, gender equality, and social justice. They demand an end to war, care for the environment, equal pay, fair and equal representation in government, and an end to sexual harassment. In this time of great change when our world trembles on the very brink of global transformation, there is a growing interest in the Divine Feminine. For many centuries, the feminine aspects of deity have been ignored and suppressed, leading to a calamitous gender imbalance that is a root cause below many of the global problems we face. To evolve into a more caring and humane world, it is critical that we acknowledge and implement the principles of the Divine Feminine to develop sustainable communities, promote economic justice, restore gender balance, and ultimately cultivate a culture of peace.
The document is meant to be a fluid work that can evolve over time as we grow in our understanding of what Mother Spirit wants. The following women participated in helping to create the “ Principles of the Divine Feminine”:
Susan Cook, Sharon Porter, Kaye Cooper, Elisabeth Callahan, Lucretia Schanfarber, Barb Maier, Mary Huggins, Alanna Tenney, Michelle Klimesh, Conde Freeman, Meredith Tenney, Cecilia Lampley, and Tommie Clendening.
An acknowledgement and celebration of the Divine Feminine is critical for the restoration of gender balance on the planet. As long as deity is perceived as exclusively male, women will always be second class citizens. Mother Spirit’s influence is urgently needed in our world and in drafting the Principles of the Divine Feminine, we sought to articulate what she might want. By bringing forth a declaration of the principles of the Divine Feminine, we can assist in building a shared vision of her values to guide a global transformation that acknowledges and celebrates her. We hope that it will inspire discussion and thought about the goals and desires of our Mother Spirit, our universe parent and partner of our Creator Son, Michael of Nebadon.
We plan to circulate the document widely both within the Urantia movement and beyond and believe it can be used to guide the transition to a more just, sustainable and caring world. When Michael was here on earth as a bestowal son in the form of Jesus, he said, “He who has seen me, has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Mother, however, is omnipresent in Nebadon and will never materialize in human form where she could be seen and acknowledged on our world. Given the loss of our Material Daughter, Eve, our Universe Mother Spirit is dependent on her human sons and daughters to reflect her presence and make her intentions known on Urantia. This is the sacred task and awesome responsibility before us in this planetary stage of evolution. Won’t you assist us by joining in an exploratory conversation about the will of our Universe Mother Spirit, and sharing our best understanding of her vision, goals, and desires with others?
Since the start of the current millennium a growing collective of women in the Urantia movement began to dialogue in regional meetings about the qualities of the Divine Feminine and raising awareness of the reality and presence of Our Universe Mother Spirit. They were responding to the same call of the Spirit as were hundreds of other women’s groups throughout the nations of the world to work for gender equality and the dignity of women and all members of the human family. Several Women’s Corps groups sprung up around the country a decade or more ago, but the new energy of the current movement began at IC '14 in Amherst when a group of women spontaneously arose to serve Mother. At the “Sisters in Spirit” retreat held in October 2017 in California, many Urantian women agreed to work together over several months to attempt to articulate our Mother Spirit’s goals. That meeting was the impetus for this collaborative article by spiritual sisters and authors Meredith Tenney, Sharon Porter, Mary Huggins and Elisabeth Callahan.