Interview on the Divine Feminine on New Dimensions Radio

One of the highlights of the Parliament of the World’s Religions was connecting with Justine Willis Toms, Co-founder and Managing Producer of New Dimensions Radio. At the Parliament Justine and I joined Jean Shinoda Bolen, Ann Landaas Smith, and others with Millionth Circle to present a workshop titled “Deepening Conversation, Finding Common Ground: Circles with a Spiritual Center.” The following morning I had the joy of having breakfast with Justine and getting to know her better. We shared our spiritual journeys and ways we have discovered the power of the Divine Feminine. Justine asked if I would do an interview for New Dimensions Radio. About a month later when I was in San Francisco participating in a festival at Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran, Justine came to do the interview.

You can listen to this interview free of charge through March 8.  After that date it is available for download for $1.99.

Here is Justine’s summary of our conversation along with her listing of topics explored in the interview:

“Jann Aldredge-Clanton doggedly persisted against the tide of the times in order to become a Baptist minister. When she was growing up in the Baptist tradition, only women who were missionaries in other countries were allowed to baptize and preach and perform other ministerial roles. However, in the United States, they were not allowed to preach in churches. She has joined a movement within religion to invite more inclusive language that would include such offerings as prayers to “mother/father” instead of just “father.” She believes that in order to have a more egalitarian society where women are truly equal, where there’s not so much domestic violence and abuse, then we need to change religious institutions. She asserts that bringing the Divine Feminine into religious institutions is not just a cosmetic cure. She says, ‘Words reflect and create reality. Language shapes reality, which drives our actions. What we call the Ultimate Power of the universe is huge. It influences all of these other things such as how women are seen. Until women are imaged as The Holy, then they won’t be given value equal to men and there will continue to be oppression of females and discrimination against them.’ This movement is leading the church to a new day of justice, peace, and equality.”

Topics explored in this dialogue include:

• What was Jann Aldredge-Clanton’s call as a Baptist minister
• What were the challenges of being a Baptist feminist
• How was her “reverse” workshop received when she used only female pronouns
• How the concept of God goes much beyond gender
• What are some of the many mentions of the Divine as female in the Bible
• What was her resistance to signing a fundamentalist inspired document
• Why languaging the Divine Feminine as equal to the Divine Masculine is important
• Why the way we think of God as both feminine and masculine is important to men
• How this movement is leading the church to a new day of peace, justice, and equality

In 1973, Justine co-founded, along with her husband Michael, New Dimensions Media/World Broadcasting Network and New Dimensions Radio, a not-for-profit, educational organization whose primary work is the production and distribution of the award-winning “New Dimensions” radio series heard worldwide. This radio program launches new trends, reveals timeless wisdom, and pushes the boundaries of form, language, and spirit. New Dimensions programming focuses on the importance of wonder and awe in our lives, rekindling a sense of possibility, sacredness, and purpose to support our endeavors as it advances the worldview that recognizes our essential interconnectedness. It celebrates our different perspectives and traditions and beams out inspiration that engenders love and compassion. New Dimensions Radio conducts and disseminates conversations that expand possibilities, both personal and cultural, towards a world that works for everyone. Justine has hosted many radio series including “In Her Company: Deep Dialogues with Women of Wisdom,” and produced many award-winning radio series including “Deep Ecology for the 21st Century,” and “Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature.” She is co-author with Michael Toms of True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do and author of Small Pleasures: Finding Grace in a Chaotic World. She is a founding convener of the Millionth Circle Initiative and has been actively involved in circle work since 1980 including being a founding member of a mixed circle of men and women who have been meeting regularly since 1980.