PART ONE: REDISCOVERING LILITH
Session 1: WHO IS LILITH?
INTRODUCTION TO GROUP FORMAT & TO EACH OTHER
Leader: Discusses impetus for starting the group & vision for it. Finish with your personal introduction.
Participants: Introduce themselves focusing on “being” rather than “doing” descriptors, including their passions and reasons for interest in the group. Set time limit to help keep the session on track (3 minutes +/- depending on group size and session length).
INTRODUCTORY READING: My Name is Lilith by Monette Chilson & Arna Baartz
This gorgeously illustrated picture book on Lilith is FREE with your group’s purchase of 10+ copies of Original Resistance. This book, written for children but inspiring to all, can be read in less than 15 minutes, and will introduce your group to Lilith via story and imagery.
INVOCATION (open your time together using a sound element—singing bowl, chant, drum, etc.)
OPENING CIRCLE (sit in silence for one minute, palms touching each other’s)
OPENING QUOTE
“If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!” -Sojourner Truth
EXPLORATION: WHO IS LILITH?
This is your group’s jumping off point, where you establish an understanding of who Lilith was and is, in a historical, theological and cultural sense. Members of your group will likely have varying levels of familiarity with Lilith and divergent ideas about her. This session will help level the playing field and allow you all to build a foundation for the work to come.
SUGGESTED READINGS (go around the circle, allowing all participants a chance to read)
Note: These pieces where chosen because they speak to the question, “Who is Lilith?” Participants may read the piece in its entirety (if short) or an excerpt (if longer). The reader can select the passage(s) if excerpting. For images, pass the book around, giving all a chance to soak it in. If time/resources exist, you may also project the image on the screen, making sure you credit the artist.
Foreword—My College Roommate (by Priscilla Warner), p. 1
The Song of Lilith by Liliana Kleiner, Ph.D. (p. 14) + images (pp. 12 & 18)
Dare to Say Her Name by Susan Morgaine (p. 23)
Hear Lilith by Patricia Campagna (p. 48)
Lilith I Am (p. 111) + The Coming of Lilith (image) by Arlene Bailey (p. 112)
The Forgotten First Woman (image) by Arna Baartz (p. 145)
Lilith—Sacred Sovereignty of the Womanspirit by Nuit Moore (p. 146)
WRITING PROMPT
Who is Lilith? Write about your experience with Lilith prior to this group.