Women & Spirituality Dialogue (W&SD)

1991 – 2001

Women’s Spirituality Celebration (WSC)

2001 – present

The Women & Spirituality Dialogue was founded by a group of Anglican women working, volunteering and studying on the University of British Columbia campus. Feeling a lack of support on campus for their spiritual lives, they wanted to open dialogue on the spiritual in their lives by inviting and supporting other women to gather for dialogue and ecumenical Christian worship. They extended this invitation to women studying and working on campus and living in the lower mainland. The first annual Dialogue was held at the Lutheran Campus Center in March 1991, coinciding with International Women’s Day, and attracted a larger than expected attendance. Keynote speakers where brought in for this inaugural dialogue. The following year they moved the dialogue to the Vancouver School of Theology, where the Chalmers Institute became a co-sponsor of the W&SD.

The dialogue continued to evolve and grow with the guidance and dedication of the group of volunteer organizers.  In 1996 – 97 new members began to join the organizing team with non-Christian spiritual practices and with an expanded multi-faith vision for the dialogue. This seed took root and began to attract other women to the organizing team with a similar vision. In 2001, after a few years of intense and often conflicting theological dialogue at monthly planning meetings between and amongst the women organizers and the Vancouver School of Theology (VST) faculty and staff, the jointly sponsored dialogue officially became a multi-faith celebration. At this point we lost all but one of the original members of the organizing group and officially changed the name and the logo of the event to the Women’s Spirituality Celebration.

The weekend event has continued the tradition, since being housed at the School of Theology, of drawing from local women’s expertise as workshop and large group worship leaders. The workshops and large group worship gatherings are interactive, combining nourishment for the body, spirit, emotions and mind through practices that include the arts, contemplative and embodied spiritual practices, community building and self-inquiry. Each year has focused on a specific theme that is pertinent to women’s spiritual lives. It has remained a women’s only event and has stayed loosely affiliated with International Women’s Day by hosting it on a weekend in March. Attendance for the event has fluctuated over the years from 50 – 200 women. We have kept the cost of the event low, relying on volunteer services, and no women are excluded from the event due to lack of money.

In 2005 we were given the news that the Vancouver School of Theology and Chalmers Institute would no longer co-sponsor the event. The 2007 WSC was the last housed in VST facilities, our 2008 event was held at the Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace in Vancouver.

created in 2006 revised 2008