This year's Priestess Gathering was a treat for me, though I went into it tired from my work on the symposium in Madison. I really enjoyed the rituals, the sacredness, and the playfulness that we all shared over the weekend. Thank you, one and all!

I also want to acknowledge something special that all of us on this list should become aware of. During the Saturday night ritual, two wonderful women stood before us to make their Certain Commitment to the congregation. This is a declaration of continued service which each priestess makes three years after her ordination. The ritual gives us an opportunity to meet them again and to learn something of the nature of their service to our community.

One thing that may get lost in the process is that those two women have put in an average of ten years' learning and service in order to stand before us! The WTI programs take 6 years at a minimum.  Graduation does not automatically lead to ordination; a woman's application for ordination may or may not be accepted.

For those who are accepted, there is another full year between graduation and ordination, during which there is an internship that lasts up to 2 months.  Ordination takes place the next year, and this Certain Commitment is made three years after ordination, when a woman has had the opportunity to offer service to the congregation and decide on her next step.

Whenever you see a woman making her first Commitment, there's about ten years of study and service standing there with her. That's 10 years - in an age when women can go online and become "ordained" in a weekend of study or just by signing a proclamation.  The ritual gives us a chance to appreciate the depth of dedication required in RCG-I. This process is truly remarkable, even within the broader community of women's spirituality. We take our learning and our service seriously. (Though, I will say, very few of us take ourselves seriously.)

I am always in awe of the great work that other priestesses are doing. And I am also in awe of those of you who have not ordained, but are still steady and true in your commitment to providing a vital community for a new generation of women.

• July 1-Founder's Day
• Lynnie Levy and Jade River have birthdays one day apart. (Although Lynnie is several year older than Jade) Lynnie's birthday is July 1st and Jade's is July 2nd. Celebrate your ability to be a part of Goddess religion. Light a candle on your altar for the religious freedom of women everywhere
• July 2-Day to Honor Pregnant Women.
• If you know one, gift her. Drink some milk and invoke Goddess-as-Mother as you think of ways She has nurtured you.
• July 3-Festival of Cerridwen.
• Invoke Her tonight and ask Her for creative solutions to problems and how to manifest those solutions.
• July 4-U.S. Independence Day.
• Celebrate ways you are independent.
• July 5-Sun Dance Festival.
• Go to the beach and make solar mandalas in the sand, or go to a dance.
• July 6-Day of Io, the Cow Goddess.
• Imagination should be fertile today. Practice an art form.
• July 7-Chih Nu, Chinese Festival of the Milky Way.
• Lay out under the stars tonight and feel yourself a part of the spinning galaxy.
• July 8-Day of Dedication to Mother Earth.
• Recycle today. Help with a local park clean up.
• July 9-Nova Scotian Lobster Festival.
• Enjoy seafood for dinner or visit an aquarium. Thank Yemaya for Her gifts.
• July 10-Lady Godiva's Day.
• Go horseback riding. Eat Godiva chocolates. Meditate on Amazon Goddesses associated with horses (e.g. Artemis, Epona).
• July 11-Day of Erzulie.
• Express your sensuality in the way you dress and decorate you surroundings.
• July 12-Day of Old Dances in Tibet
•  Celebrate the underworld Goddesses by dancing or playing dance music.
• July 13-Swaziland Festival of the She-Elephant.
• Feed the elephants at the zoo or place an elephant figurine on you altar.