Praise to you, Holy Wisdom, for empowering Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the apostles, the first to proclaim Jesus’ resurrection, and the foundation of women-church. Solo: I found, strength, courage, and wisdom Praise to you, Divine Wisdom, for raising up Miriam to dance your people to promised lands. Let us praise Divine Wisdom for raising up wise ones to bless us during this COVID-19 time and during the struggles for racial justice. Today we know how precious water is! Put rosemary and lavender, symbols of remembrance, around the well to help us remember those marked by COVID-19 to help us remember George Floyd and the calls for racial justice his death has sparked to help us remember that we are called to break silence and work for racial justice. In Celtic spirituality a custom called “well dressing” involved placing plants, flowers, or herbs near a source of water as a way of honoring the precious gift of water from Divine Wisdom. Remember this as you wash your hands during this pandemic as you weep because peaceful protesters were fired at with tear gas and bullets as you pray desperately for an end to racial violence. Many women of the Bible make their entrances by a well, and many commentators have noted the well as a feminine, womb-like symbol, a hidden source of life. Wells throughout the ages were places where the community gathered, welcomed one another, remembered together, blessed one another, and sent each other forth with water for their homes and their communities. During these deplorable and uncertain times of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the unveiling of the systemic violence of racism and white supremacy in our cities, what calls are we hearing? What actions are we taking? She challenges us to proclaim our gifts and to act with wisdom. At birth, baptism, bat mitzvah, and rites of passage, Holy Wisdom calls girls and women to feminist ministry and service. Wisdom calls, and those who hear her gather around her well - to protest, to memorialize, to stand in solidarity, to nourish our spirits. Welcome to Wisdom’s Well! This bowl filled with water represents Divine Wisdom’s Well. Place a bowl of water, a towel, sprigs of rosemary and lavender near you. May Wisdom be in my heart and in my perceiving. Listen to the recording of the ritual here. Neu with Techika Rhodes and Laura Carr-Pries June 2020 WATER ritual Drawing from Wisdom’s Wellīy Diann L.

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