W O M E N

WOMEN'S ORTHODOX MINISTRIES AND EDUCATION NETWORK

5045 Eldridge Street Golden, Colorado 80403 USA

Womenusa@aol.com www.OrthodoxWomensNetwork.org

“ To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

1 Corinthians 12:7

PRESS RELEASE

April 1, 2006 Contact: Renée Zitzloff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Email: rjzitzloff@yahoo.com

Dr. Valerie Karras To Keynote WOMEN's Leadership Retreat

Women's Orthodox Ministries and Education Network (WOMEN) is offering a leadership retreat

for Orthodox women Friday through Sunday, October 13-15, 2006 on the beautiful grounds of 

Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, Minnesota, approximately one hour from Minneapolis.

The retreat theme is Through the Prayers of Our Holy Foremothers, How Should We Then Serve? 

A Leadership Retreat for Orthodox Christian Women Uniting Wisdom from the Past with the

Challenges of Ministry Today and features as Keynote Speaker Orthodox theologian Dr. Valerie

Karras, Ph.D., Th.D.

The gathering offers an opportunity for pan-Orthodox community and for vibrant discussion of lay

leadership and ministry, structured around a core of Orthodox worship, with excellent speakers and homilists, panels, and group discussions, plus personal time for prayer, reflection, and consultation.

Founded in 1994, WOMEN is an international network of Orthodox Christians who actively

encourage the vitality and enhancement of diverse parish, jurisdictional, social service, community

service, and ecumenical lay ministries. Through its conferences, retreats, and website at www.OrthodoxWomensNetwork.org WOMEN serves as a pan-Orthodox clearinghouse of news

and resources for lay leaders, celebrates the ways women's ministries witness for our Lord, God and

Savior Jesus Christ, and advocates for restoration of both the female and male permanent diaconate.

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All Orthodox Christians who are seeking growth and renewal toward deeper understanding and good stewardship of the varieties of spiritual gifts for life in Christ are invited to this retreat. One need not

hold an official leadership position within the Church to attend; all are called to be leaders in love whatever their setting through “the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (I Cor. 12:7). 

After opening Vespers Friday evening, the program begins with small group discussions of the lives

of several women saints presented in the book Encountering Women of Faith, recently published

by an Orthodox women theologians' group, St. Catherine's Vision. Conversation will explore the

leadership qualities of the sacred women considered in the book, asking such questions as: “What characterizes their Christian leadership? How can we become such leaders today, each in our

own settings? What did these women struggle with as leaders?” Retreatants might peruse this

book before the retreat, but it is not necessary or required, as copies of the book will be on hand.

Saturday morning prayers are followed by Dr. Valerie Karras, Ph.D., Th.D., Keynote Speaker on

the topic “Our Foremothers in Orthodox Worship: A Historical Perspective.” Dr. Karras has earned

Doctoral degrees in Patristic Theology from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece,

and in Church History from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  She also

holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of

Theology, Brookline, Mass.  She is Assistant Professor of Church History at Perkins School of

Theology at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, and is on the Editorial Board of the

St. Nina Quarterly Journal.

Dr. Karras' areas of research interest include women in early and Byzantine Christianity, gender

in early Church theology, and Orthodox Christianity in ecumenical and inter-religious conversation.

She has published articles, translations, and book reviews in scholarly journals such as Church

History , the Journal of Early Christian Studies , and Theological Studies . She is completing revisions

to her new book, Women in the Byzantine Liturgy, to be published by Oxford University Press.

“Growing Spiritually Through Liturgy,” by speaker Teva Regule, M.Div. Candidate at Holy Cross

School of Theology and a WOMEN Board Member, explores the contemporary and future

participation of women in the liturgical life of the Church, including the female diaconate.

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For the past nine years Ms. Regule has served as Managing Editor of the St. Nina Quarterly Journal,

a publication sponsored by WOMEN which is dedicated to exploring women's ministries in the

Orthodox Church and cultivating a deeper understanding of lay ministry in the lives of all Orthodox

Christians. St. Nina Quarterly archives can be viewed at www.stnina.org .

Ms. Regule has chaired two national conferences on the life and ministry of women in the Church,

“Gifts of the Spirit” in Boston, 2000 and “Discerning the Signs of the Times” at St. Vladimir's

Seminary, 2003. She is an Orthodox Advisor to the Women's Desk of the World Council of

Churches (WCC) and most recently attended the 2006 WCC Assembly in Porto Allegre, Brazil.

Saturday also offers a talk titled “Who are the Descendants of Mary Magdalene?” presented by

Renée Zitzloff, Coordinator of the Minnesota Chapter of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship (OPF)

and a WOMEN Board Member. Brief workshop presentations by women involved in Parish

Ministries are also featured, including Prison Ministry by Sandra Anderson, Iconography by

Magdalene Bovis, Seniors' Ministry by Gretchen Faas, Parish Pastoral Care by Aleksandra

Gopsill, and Homeless Ministry by Oksana Sushko. On Sunday after Divine Liturgy these women

will also participate in a plenary-wide discussion on the future of women's ministries.

Registration for the retreat is $220 per person for a single room, or $190 per person for a double

room, includes two nights of housing, five meals, and all program materials. All clergy are invited,

and can request information on clergy discounts. To register contact Retreat Chair Renée Zitzloff

by E-Mail at rjzitzloff@yahoo.com or by phone at 952-474-6946.  Registration and donations to WOMEN, a 501C3 Non-Profit Corporation, are tax deductible.

For more detailed information about the retreat please access the Internet at

http://holyforemothers.blogspot.com  .  This blog is in process and more information will be

added as the retreat approaches.  Information on Christ the King Retreat Center is available

from their website at  www.kingshouse.com .