Is God Male or Female?

This lecture honors women on Mother's Day. The holiday came into existence from the work of Julia Ward Howe, a famous poet and reformer during the Civil War, who authored The Battle Hymn of the Republic. She called for a Mother’s Day of Peace dedicated to the eradication of war. In her Proclamation, she felt that mothers should gather to prevent the cruelty of war and the waste of life, since mothers bear and know the cost of their sons.

Weston honors women and their overlooked role in the world and religion. Where did the treatment of women as second class citizens take root? One cause is Biblical teachings, another is how children are raised differently as boys and girls. Recognition is given to single mothers and their children, both deserving of respect. A beautiful reading from the Spiritualist Manual on Love and Wisdom is shared, embodied in the mental and emotional development of women.

Females have been the ones that have kept truth alive all down through history. As women often outlive their male partners, they have sought connection with them in the Spirit World through mediumship. Significant female mediums and the men who studied their mediumship at the turn of the last century are described: Lenore Piper and the psychologist William James, Florence Cook and Sir William Crookes whose inventions led to the television and x-rays, Madam Eva C. and Dr. Charles Richet. Also included is Marjorie Crandon. Her mediumship was significant in women achieving the right to vote in the US.