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ABOUT
LIMINA
The Wildwoman
Cathal Byrne Rich
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Limina is a group of
women from different backgrounds who gather to seek self-understanding and
spirituality based on women’s experience, history, and wisdom.
Limina is a non-profit group based in Oak Park, Illinois,
founded in 1984 to explore, validate and inspirit the lives of women.
The name Limina is the Latin word for thresholds and signifies the
transition points or passages in a woman’s life such as menses,
motherhood and menopause. Limina events celebrate and illuminate
these passages and other aspects of women’s lives. Events are
scheduled and linked thematically with ancient seasonal feasts and myths
to ground them in both nature and history. Limina’s logo is the
triple spiral of Celtic origin and for us symbolizes the continuity of life.
Limina was founded
by three Oak Park women who wanted to examine and celebrate themes which
arise from the life experience of women. Each of these three
talented women brought their gifts to the organization. Tesse
Donnelly came with her understanding of Carl G. Jung’s work, Lil Lewis
with her experience with ritual and stories, and Cathaleen Rich with her
skills as an artist and psychotherapist.
Today the group is
headed by a Council of eight to ten women who are responsible for presenting four
seasonal events each year. Generally they host a
social/benefit to which men are invited and some members-only events.
The events are
centered on a theme. An environment is created to make the theme
visible, and a story and ritual are integrated to enhance the theme.
Events also may include poetry, song, dance, meditation, banners, crafts,
discussion and refreshments. Click on “events” for information
on events coming soon.
LIMINA
COUNCIL
Ann
Doemland
has been involved in feminist spirituality and rituals for many years. She
planned and led events in New York City in the 1980’s and was overjoyed
when she moved to the Chicago area to find Limina, where she continues to
offer her talents as storyteller, poet and leader of ritual.
Ann is a bodyworker and massage therapist and has an abiding
interest in how healing comes about.
Anne
Mueller, M.S.
J.D. is an attorney who devotes her practice to high conflict divorce
cases. She takes from Limina
the desire to illuminate her personal and professional life in the bright
and healing light of the goddess. She
brings to Limina organizational skills, her sense of color and design to
decor, and culinary skills to Limina events.
Connie
Dimopoulos
is mother of three grown children and works as a nurse in
Chicago.
She is on a continuing quest to
incorporate feminine spirituality into all aspects of her life.
Gale
Johansen
is Limina's administrator and has been active on the Council for several years. Gale is a founder of
Keystone
Montessori
School
in
River
Forest
where she also works as a classroom assistant.
Mary
Coen,
M.S. in Psychology, found Limina after taking classes at the Jung
Institute. Later she attended
a workshop on mythic imagination at Pacifica Institute in
California.
She is a wife and mother, has worked as a musician, teacher, and a
therapist, and dreams of finding new ways to facilitate communal sharing
among women of all ages.
Michelle
Gervais,
LCSW is a Therapist practicing in a south suburban
Community
Mental
Health
Center.
She was introduced to the Goddess Within at the former Woman's Place in
New Buffalo, Michigan. It was a serendipitous discovery to learn of her
Aunt Katherine's (Late Council Member) equally enormous interest in the
Goddess. Michelle joined Limina in 2002
Marti
Matthews,
M.A.
has been involved in Limina since 1985, almost its beginning.
She was a founding Board member. She finds it empowering as a woman
to honor the feminine side of The Source of All Creation. She is a
writer and psychotherapist, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, lover
of dance, nature, travel and learning, especially about healing.
Marilyn Hrymak, MA in
Marriage and Family Relations, started attending Limina events in 1985
when she was searching for a feminine approach to spirituality. She
attended less frequently when her daughter was little, but ALWAYS stayed
connected. After her retirement from 30 years of teaching Family and
Consumer Sciences, she now devotes more time to creating fiber art and
being on the Limina Council. She brings an appreciation of the
Limina founding mothers, networking, and enthusiasm to the organization.
SOPHIA’S
CIRCLE
The
members of the Council are supported by women in Sophia’s Circle, an
auxiliary group within Limina. Many of these women advise and help
plan and present programs and events.
Gloria
Perez
is a certified massage therapist who has trained in Hakomi methods for her
body work. She also
assists in training beginners in the method. She was a member of the
Limina Council for many years and was Co-convener for several years
before she moved to
Colorado
.
Joan
Cichon,
M.A., M.L.S., is a retired college librarian currently pursuing a Ph.D. in
Women’s Spirituality from the California Institute of Integral Studies.
She has made pilgrimages to many Goddess sites in Western and
Eastern
Europe
and regularly spends a portion of each year on the
island
of
Crete.
Joan’s special areas of interest are Marija Gimbutas,
archaeomythology and Bronze Age Crete.
Judith
Claire Heikes
has supported and promoted Limina for many years; at one time she was
Convener of the Limina Council. Recently retired from her position as
Executive Director of the Gastrointestinal Research Foundation, she
currently serves as President of the Alumnae Association Board of St.
Scholastica Academy for Girls, and is a member of AAUW.
Kim
Holland Newport,
M.R.E. is currently an in-school suspension supervising teacher at a
junior high and the proud mother of a college-age son. Mid-life she
found the life-affirming voice of Goddess within her soul and daily enjoys
cultivating her relationship with the Great Mother. She enjoys
journaling and writing, especially creating alternative feminine myths.
Marilyn
Stearns,
M.A. in music history and vocal performance, has taught piano and voice
since college and has worked in development for church and music
organizations. While living in Vermont
she ran a cottage industry in grain weaving. She has also written
numerous resource manuals and directed workshops for her development and
grain-weaving work.
Patricia
Monaghan,
Ph.D., is a noted author and one of the early leaders of the contemporary
goddess movement. She is a faculty member of the School for New
Learning at
DePaul
University
and lectures nationally on goddess spirituality. For more
information about her, see her website: www.altogether.com/patricia/
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