I am a childless woman. I am a woman without a uterus. I have had my belly patted consolingly and been told I am a spiritual mother, but that is not a posture that resonates with me. She Who Is cannot be reduced to a baby-bearing body, a child-rearing body, a ‘wife and mother.’ Pointing to the Sacred Feminine should not reinforce narrow gender binaries or try and locate an ‘essence’ of what is feminine in the maternal.

In this issue, devoted to reflection on the Sacred Feminine, it is fitting that the abundant spiritual legacy of this extraordinary woman be acknowledged. The reflections offered here are personal – just one window on that legacy. Sheila has always been a way finder. Again and again – and this has come home to me powerfully in the last few months – her footprints have marked out the paths we find ourselves following.

A poem featured in the Winter 2025 issue of Refresh - Sacred Feminine. Miriam Jessie Fisher is a poet, textile artist, educator and theologian who lives with joyful extroversion and contemplative wonder in Ōtautahi Christchurch. She works as an interdisciplinary lecturer in Theology and Education at Laidlaw College. Her default setting is Hope.

The Divine Feminine is awakening the world with new hope for peace, respect for other human beings, the rest of life, our beautiful planet and the entire universe. God is manifesting as She chooses! Can the Christian Church respond to the invitation to enrich itself and all its people by giving equal value to the ancient and new feminine images of the Divine, of God? 

Relating to Godde as a feminine figure feels grounding and healing. It shifts my understanding of the divine from fear to connection, compassion, and creativity. I imagine Her as deeply nurturing, powerful in a quiet, steady way, like the earth or the ocean. I see Her in the beauty of the wildflowers and trees and different birds and other symbols. For me it feels like she holds space rather than controls it.

I’m very conscious of the tāonga we have in the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme (SDFP) and the privilege I have of guiding it into new waters after the COVID years. I’m excited to share some of these “new waters" with you!    Read on to learn about some new opportunities we have for you as spiritual directors and alumni of the SDFP.

I think often of my friend and fellow wayfinder Mike Riddell. I especially think of him during Matariki each year. Mike would often say to me, paraphrasing New Zealand poet James K. Baxter, that ‘we Pākehā have to bow the head and learn from our elder brother – Māori –  for then the water may begin to flow in our dry watercourses.’

Christine Kelly lives in Rotorua and practices Christian meditation daily. She writes prayers and blessings and is especially influenced by the work of the poet John Donohue.  Christine values opportunities to join with others for shared spiritual adventure, growth in creativity and wider outreach to hearts nourished by the gentle embrace of words. This poem was first published in the July 2024 issue of Refresh.

As a Māori who grew up rurally,I consider the natural environment my greatest teacher. The changing tides determine when to search for kūtai and pipi, the moon cycle tells you when kaimoana is fat, and a sudden cold gust of wind can tell you how long you have to get home before it rains! Lately, I have learned some great lessons from trees.

When Matariki appeared low on the horizon, I was taken aback by the emotion that welled up within me. It seemed so fragile, a silken cocoon, host to tiny seeds that signified new life. Finally, I understood why the appearance of this constellation is such a significant event in the spirituality of diverse cultures around the globe. And here it was again, celebrated as a new public holiday in Aotearoa.

 Keith Newman is a journalist, poet and author of five New Zealand history books including Ratana the Prophet (Reed 2009 reprint Oratia Books May 2024), Bible & Treaty and Beyond Betrayal (Penguin 2009, 2013). For the past 12-years he has hosted the Bible & Treaty Facebook group.. He lives in Haumoana, Hawke’s Bay with his wife Paula.

This ‘anthology of spiritually-minded poems’ has emerged from a writing group that had its inception in the first decade of the 2000s and still meets on a semi-regular basis. ‘Our spiritual roots are varied… But we share a common sense of a bigger reality. We write about lots of things, but underneath it somewhere is that strong, or faint, sense of mystery.’

Kathryn Fernando and Helen Gray are spiritual directors and pilgrims who are facilitating contemplative pilgrimage opportunities in Wellington. In this blogpost, Kathryn Overall-Cass has a conversation with them about the gifts and fruit of pilgrimage as a spiritual practice and their upcoming pilgrimage retreat from Wairarapa to Island Bay in October 2025.

Iain Gow is a spiritual director, a retired Anglican priest and an author of books that explore the nexus of faith and life - in all of its glorious messiness! He lives in Warkworth with his wife Linda and Nutella, a chocolate brown labradoodle. There he pursues his new vocation as a writer and continues in contemplative postures and practices. In this blogpost, Kathryn Overall-Cass has a conversation with Iain about his third book, and first novel ‘The Priest Who Limped’.