Mary Magdalen: The Most Provocative Woman in the Gospels

An evening with novelist and interfaith minister Elizabeth Cunningham

Mary Magdalen. She’s always been controversial, and she’s always carried a charge as the woman who was closer to Jesus than any other except his mother. She has been called a demoniac, a prostitute, a disciple, a lover, a secret bride, the true holy grail. She is a canonized saint and some associate her with the Black Madonnas found all over Europe. Yet after two millennia of veneration and speculation, what do we really know?

Author of The Passion of Mary Magdalen, the central novel of The Maeve Chronicles, Elizabeth Cunningham has spent years researching Mary Magdalen and the world of the first century CE. She wanted solid historical ground for her imaginative leap. Her Mary Magdalen is Maeve, a feisty, outspoken Celt and no man’s disciple, whose adventures take her from the British Isles through the heart of the Roman Empire to the terrain of the Gospels and her ultimate—and passionate—encounter with her beloved. 

Join the author for an evening of imaginative, historic, and theological insight into the life and character of this enigmatic woman who has re-emerged as a key archetypal figure for our times.

Shamelessness 101: Embracing the Brazen  Hussy:

In the spirit of Maeve, her wild, red-haired Celtic Mary Magdalen, novelist Elizabeth Cunningham invites us to shed  (if only for a moment) our various cloaks of shame and to catch a glimpse of the shameless beauty we often keep hidden. In safe space, though guided meditation, storytelling, song, and movement, we’ll begin to explore the source of our shame and to imagine what life might be like without it. Feel free to bring drums, rattles, scarves, and all manner of gaudy baubles.

 

Presenter Bio: Elizabeth Cunningham is the author of The Maeve Chronicles, featuring the Celtic Mary Magdalen, aka Maeve, an archetypal brazen hussy. Elizabeth is also a counselor and director of the Center at High Valley where she leads wheel-of the-year celebrations and holds a monthly singing circle. She has co-facilitated a series of weekend retreats on women’s mysteries, and has taught classes at The New Seminary on the Feminine Faces of the Divine.

 

SHAMELESSNESS 101

proposal for a weekend workshop by Elizabeth Cunningham,
author of The Passion of Mary Magdalen

Overview: Since Adam and Eve scrambled to cover their nakedness with fig leaves, most of us have been covered with shame. Often we carry other people’s shame for the harm they’ve done to us. Equally, there may be shame we need to reclaim for the harm we’ve done others, so that we can make amends. Yet we feel so ashamed already, we can’t bear to face ourselves. Most of us, at one time or another, are caught a cycle of suffering/avoiding shame that fuels addiction, depression, and makes life a misery. And for many of us, shame is inherent in having a body, in feeling desire of any kind.  

Offered in the spirit of her narrative character Maeve, the feisty, red-haired Celtic Mary Magdalen, who considers the term brazen hussy a compliment, this workshop creates a safe place for us to shed (if only for a moment!) our various cloak of shame and to catch a glimpse of the shameless beauty we keep hidden, especially from ourselves. Through guided meditation, storytelling, song, and ritual, we’ll explore the sources of our shame and discover techniques for facing and healing that shame.  The workshop will culminate in a shameless--and joyous--celebration of our shamelessness. 

The participants and what specific skills they will learn: The workshop is designed for people who have found their personal, creative, or sexual lives inhibited by shame. That description necessarily includes, but is not restricted to, survivors of abuse, sexual or other. Participants will learn to distinguish between shame they carry for someone else and their own legitimate accountability. They will gain skills in voicing both strengths and weaknesses they may have disowned out of shame. The goal of the workshop is lightness, relief, laughter—and a least a few moments of shameless joy.

Qualifications: The author of four acclaimed novels, Elizabeth is also an interfaith minister and has been in private practice as a counselor since 1997. As the Director of the Center at High Valley, she has created and led rituals for ten years. She have also co-facilitated a series of weekend retreats on women’s mysteries, and she has been a guest lecturer at The New Seminary, teaching classes on The Feminine Face of the Divine.

 

Endorsements: “To rediscover our ancient birthright of shamelessness and feisty inner power there is no better guide than Elizabeth Cunningham, maven of Maeve, the Celtic Mary Magdalen, healer-goddess and equal partner to Jesus. Prepare to be thrilled, inspired, encouraged, and deeply healed by Elizabeth’s special brand of wisdom and sacred play.” –Cait Johnson

 

“Elizabeth Cunningham has guided me through many different sorts of road blocks, from everyday trouble with my best friend to dealing with the ramifications of early childhood abuse.  I would go on any journey of any sort with her, knowing that I would emerge from my experience with her a richer and more balanced person.” –Tigger Bruenn

 

 

 

 

 

           

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