God of Our Mothers
Face to Face with Powerful Women of the Old Testament
by M. R. Ritley
  
"I just received this book this week and I am already engrossed with the contents of this exciting book. Mary Ritley is a long time friend and fellow student who has stayed with her path and destiny and has continued to help many people through her long and dedicated career. This isn't another book about biblical characters. Mary is a professional, both at historical documentation and spiritual insight. She is able to go beyond standard academic documentation and reach deep into her own soul for the intuitive qualities necessary to discover the essence of the historical unfoldment and the manifestation of ontological expression. This book belongs on the shelf of any thoughtful truth seeker." ~ Derek Lamar, D.D., Ph.D.
I am very saddened to announce that Mary R. Ritley has suddenly passed away. She died on November 28, 2007, Wednesday, at Summit Hospital in Oakland of heart failure. She was undergoing treatment for heart problems the last year or so. We will all miss her. She had a great sense of humor, a love for many things in life and a desire to reach out to others. As Mary said in her book, showcased here:
"There are two things you must do. Stay alive. And keep moving. If you can do just these two things, you will come to another oasis." ~ M. R. Ritley
Mary will surely still find her oasis now but I am sure she won't sit still and she will be moving on again soon.
Some friends of Mary's, having had dinner with her several months ago, recalled: "...She regaled us for several hours with her memories of past residences in Santa Monica, communal living and learning about getting along with other people." She also told them: "She was having cardiology appointments and had recently let us know about an irregular heart beat that the doctors were trying to control.." Mary had mentioned awhile back that she didn't want to go back to the hospital like she had done a year ago. Mary said: "I want to just go on and pass through the curtain of life to the next adventure." One of these friends said: "I think she was sharing her dharma with us in that comment. I'm glad she was able to act out her divine intention and pass straight through as fast as it occurred."
In death, as in life, Mary Ritley continues to educate those who have had the opportunity to share her life and her insight.

Liner notes: (to order this book from Amazon.com, CLICK HERE.)
A lively, deep, and personal look at some of the Old Testament's most powerful --- and intriguing --- women offers insightful perspectives on our ancient mothers. From Sarah, who was unafraid to nudge God into action; to Hagar, whose courage and passion founded a nation; to Judith, woman and warrior whose faith saved God's people, God of Our Mothers examines the stories of biblical women up close and personal. Read between the lines, and allow these fascinating stories to illuminate your own life.

"No pious platitudes here! These figures are as real and as intriguing as your Aunt Clara, the one you never knew quite what to make of. And it's all right there in the Bible, too, though you may not have noticed it before. Once you've seen, with M. R. Ritley's help, what's really there in the texts, you'll never read the Bible the same way again. In fact, you'll probably never think about God in quite the same way again. And it's all to the good!" -- L. William Countryman, Sherman E. Johnson Professor in Biblical Studies, The Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

"Ritley asks whose stories these are and then, with deft scholarship and wise humor, shows us how to read skillfully, deeply, compellingly. By interlacing the ancient canonical texts with narratives from others of our ancestral mothers, she reminds us how valuable our own experience is for opening the depths of stories. Ritley brings us from certain naiveté through some of the terrain of postmodernity to help us recognize afresh the depths of the biblical narratives and their value for the lives we find ourselves in the midst of." -- Barbara Green, Professor of Biblical Studies, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Graduate Theological Union.

"God of Our Mothers is an engaging book, not least because its author is, herself, deeply engaged with the biblical text and relates it to women's lives today. It is a lively aid for Bible study and a downright good read." -- Alda Marsh Morgan, author of From Ocean's Farthest Coast and contributor to Deeper Joy: Lay Women and Vocation in the 20th Century Episcopal Church.
 
About M. R. Ritley

M. R. Ritley was an Episcopal priest, a teacher, historian and author. Mary had long been a student of truth and an ardent adventurer into the reality behind the myths and misunderstandings within history. In the 1970's she taught a class titled Cultural History in which she was able to bring a spiritual light to the average student and reveal an ontological viewpoint which not only put flesh and bones on the legends and myths of what portended to be religious and historical truths, but revealed the solid understanding of what appeared to be confusing symbology at best.

Mary Ritley's lifelong quest to bring life to the words which could raise the dead in literature became the intention of truth's need to be known that became the energy and spirit that kept Mary engaged in her struggle to share what she has learned. Some of these treasures that she has uncovered can be found in her new book: God of Our Mothers.

One of M. R. Ritley's other books is titled: Gifted By Otherness, Gay and Lesbian Christians In The Church, 2001. Book description: In the past two decades or so the issue of homosexuality has taken center stage at national and regional denominational meetings and in local church communities. The response of the majority of churches ranges from condemnation to toleration of the gay and lesbian community, neither of which offers much hope for homosexual Christians. In Gifted by Otherness L. William Countryman and M. R. Ritley conclude that being gay or lesbian is not actually a problem at all; rather it is a vocation, and, in fact, a gift to today's church.

As "outsiders" gay men and lesbians challenge the church to be inclusive of all God's children-the central message of the gospel. "God has drawn us to this difficult place," they write, "in order to reveal God's grace to us and in us and through us." Basing their book on retreats they have presented to churches and seminaries, Countryman and Ritley explore what it means to affirm, not merely accept, being gay or lesbian, as well as Christian. Written primarily for the lesbigay community, they explore the ways in which the gay and lesbian community can appropriate and re-tell the biblical story, and find confidence in their unique spiritual journey and gifts. This pro-active and self-affirming book provides new hope for those who feel that it is impossible to be gay or lesbian, as well as Christian.
Publishers Weekly had this to say: "Without apology and with an honest chutzpah, Countryman, a New Testament professor, and Ritley, an Episcopal priest, explore the vocation and journey gay Christians have in the church. The writers see themselves as ministering to the church; they clarify that their task is not to justify the presence of gays there. That presence is simply a fact. But they also note that it is normal and healthy for the church to struggle with homosexuality, since the church is not a monolithic entity of likeminded people but a richly textured community of contradictory and diverse individuals. The authors declare that gay Christians have specific gifts to offer the church; they can serve the priesthood of believers as "icons," which the authors describe as windows that show a facet of God. In particular, gays who have experienced "wilderness times" in coming out and living as homosexual Christians can teach others about God's sustaining grace. And while the church is often afraid to face death, the AIDS epidemic has taught the gay community to deal with it as a part of life. On a lighter note, the authors say that the church needs the campiness of gay humor, since Christians forget too often that humor is a gift from God. Ritley and Countryman have written a thoughtful and provocative book for anyone who has struggled with what it means when gays are a part of the church."

Other books include: God's Gay Tribe, Laying The Foundations of Communal Memory by M. R. Ritley, 1994.

Christian Discipleship and Sexuality by Frederick H. Borsch and M. R. Ritley, 1993.

Sexuality, The Sea of Creation (booklet), by Mary Ritley, 1969.
 
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