Welcome to Cakes for the Queen of Heaven blog. Here you will find articles about activities related to the new Cakes for the Queen of Heaven curriculum and its use in Unitarian Universalist congregations.
Please feel free to comment and add your own stories. If you have any questions about the site, please contact the site administrator at info [at] uuwr.org.
Women of Berrien UU Fellowship in St. Joseph, Michigan did a Cakes intensive — 5 classes in 5 nights, with the direction of DRE Teresa LaPlante. On the fifth evening we dressed in Goddess garb. Here’s Teresa as Spring Maiden with flower headdress made from tissue paper. She also made the Easter dragon recipe. We decided that for the egg to be really red, raw beets were probably needed instead of cooked ones. Every session began with a chalice lighting. This one is from the last evening. Teresa brought in some extra video presentations about women’s experiences. including one based on Yoko Ono’s WOMAN POWER.
Sue is dressed as Crone of Winter and Summer with woolen shawl and bright rayon pareo/skirt. Some of our clay creations are placed on the altar. We borrowed a computer slide projector from BUUF’s Membership Chair, Emily. TIP: figure out the setup BEFORE the first class! 
Teresa plans to offer Cakes: Part II in October, with Part I repeating in May 2009 and II in October 2009.
Sixteen members of the Women of Westminster from the Westminster Unitarian Church of East Greenwich, RI recently held our 15th Annual Retreat. We are doing the sessions for “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” during our regular weekly meetings so we were inspired to have a Goddess theme for our retreat.
For an individual activity, women chose a goddess card from The Goddess Tarot deck by Kris Waldherr, read the meaning of the card, and then read about the goddess in The Book of Goddesses by Kris Waldherr.
For a two-hour group session we used Goddesses in Older Women: Archetypes in Women over Fifty by Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD. We focused on Part 1 of the book “Her Name Is Wisdom”. We divided into four groups for Hestia, Hecate, Sophia , and Metis. Each group had access to the meditation on page 70 of the book and a summary of some of the information about the goddess. After 30 minutes to prepare each group presented to the rest of us a role-play or guided meditation exploring the Wisdom offered by their goddess.
We had a lovely ritual with a chakra blessing using a goddess for each area. And of course we sang our favorite goddess songs, including, “Opening Up” found in Circle of Song by Kate Marks, and “Sacred Pleasure” from the CD Goddess Chant: Sacred Pleasure by Shawna Carol.
We had two hands-on activities for the weekend. One was decorating goddess coloring book pages from
wheeloftheyear.org/downloads/colorbooks/goddess.pdf .
The women loved the simple line drawings and glued on colored paper, fabric and ribbon scrapes, etc. to decorate them.
The second project was to create 
goddess sculptures using Crayola Model Magic. This medium is great fun to work with. It is not sticky or messy and does not smell. One to two ounces per person is plenty to make a six-inch long goddess (see photo). Small items (1-2 oz.) held their shape well. Larger upright items (4-8 oz.) had a tendency to sink a bit with gravity as they dried. It is sturdy enough to take home right after making it and air-dries in 24 hours. You can draw on it with markers or paint it.
Model Magic is available in craft stores such as A.C.Moore and Michael’s. The most economical way to purchase it for a large group is the 2-pound tubs (white or natural are good choices). However our group of 16 women enjoyed having the different colors available in the variety half-ounce craft packages. We used 28 half-ounce packages (two boxes with 14 each of different colors) and one two-pound tub. (We used the craft store 50% off coupons to reduce the price!)
Our group has done the Cakes curriculum several times over the years and we feel truly blessed to have entered into the world of the goddess.
Online registration is now ready for facilitator training workshops in the Midwest. http://www.cakesforthequeenofheaven.org/register
(please note: Michigan is on EASTERN TIME)
Facilitators are invited and encouraged to share their experiences and tips on this blog. One Religious Education director I know decided to put together goody bags full of the craft supplies each participant would need. The church charged a $10 fee per person to cover the cost of these materials and copies of the handouts. See the “Comments-How To” button on the top right of this page? That tells you how to post your comments.
Shirley says Part II of the new Cakes curriculum will be titled “On the Threshold,” and will be comprised of the last 6 sessions. It’s due to be released this summer. She gave a talk in February with that same title. It’s HERE.
“What would it have been like to grow up in a world where the divine was imagined as female?” — Rev. Shirley Ranck, PhD
“Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” was credited on its introduction 21 years ago with providing women an opportunity of discovery and empowerment within the UUA goddess movement. Now, this revised, multi-session curriculum by Unitarian Universalist Minister Shirley Ranck will bring the break-out feminist theology curriculum in its updated version to those who wish to teach it in their local congregations to the many young and new UUs who have never experienced it. Or to others who want an injection of inspiration. “Cakes: In Ancient Times” is rising again in UU congregations all over the continent.
Would you like to present this curriculum in your congregation? This is an opportunity to receive facilitator training and purchase the curriculum.
CAKES Train-the-Trainer (T3) workshops include:
• Curriculum presentation by experienced district leaders.
• Experiential and interactive sessions.
• Herstory, music, poetry and thoughtful sharing in one day-long workshop.
• Continental breakfast, lunch and babysitting services.
• Curriculum resource materials and inspiration.
Curriculum can be purchased online at www.uuwr.org.
Trainer workshops offered at a reasonable cost. $30 per person includes continental breakfast and lunch. Curriculum will be available for purchase at $40.
June 14 • St. Joseph, Michigan: Berrien UU Fellowship (please note: Michigan is on EASTERN TIME)
June 21 • Chicago area: Unity Temple UU Congregation in Oak Park
July 26 • St. Louis area: Eliot Chapel
November 15 • Peoria, Illinois: Universalist Unitarian Church of Peoria
November 22 • Milwaukee, WI: The First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, A Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Cakes for the Queen of Heaven Train-the-Trainers workshops are a joint project of
the CMwD Women and Religion Committee and UU Women’s Connection (formerly CMwD-UU Women’s Federation.)
Online registration HERE !
Contact CakesTraining [at] uuwr.org
Cakes: In Ancient Times will be presented by Berrien UU Fellowship, 4340 Lincoln Avenue, St. Joseph Michigan on May 5 through 10. Session 1 will run on Monday the 5th from 7 to 9 pm. We’ll skip Tuesday, then run Wednesday through Friday nights at the same time, and one long session Saturday. Questions please contact Director of Religious Education Teresa LaPlante, DRE [at] buuf2.org. www.buuf2.org