mnsss445 Diann L. Neu Papers, c1977-2005 (ongoing) Finding Aid Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College Northampton, MA
2008

Sophia Smith Collection. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid exported into EAD from InMagic DB/Textworks 7.01. Encoded by Margaret Jessup. June 17, 2008 Finding aid written in English. Collection Overview Neu, Diann L., 1948- Diann L. Neu Papersc1977-2005 (ongoing) MS 532 5 boxes (5.5 linear ft.) English Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College Northampton, MA
Theologian; Feminist; Psychotherapist. Papers document Neu's education in theology; her work and activism re: articulating and advocating radical new forms of feminist theology, and in re-defining the role of women in the church; her participation in numerous conferences about women in the church; and materials pertaining to her two books, Return Blessings: Ecofeminist Blessings Renewing the Earth (2002) and Women's Rites: Feminist Liturgies for Life's Journeys (2003). Types of material include correspondence, interviews, lecture notes, minutes, sermons, speeches, transcripts, writings, slides, and audiovisual material. Biographical Note

Diann L. Neu was born in 1948. She earned her Masters in Clinical Social Work from The Catholic University of America, her Master of Sacred Theology degree from The Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and her Doctor of Ministry in International Feminist Theology from the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Trained in liturgy and spirituality, she has done extensive work in designing liturgies for national and international conferences as well as for her own women-church base community in the Washington, DC area. In 1983, Neu and her partner, Mary E. Hunt, founded the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, MD. In private practice as a psychotherapist, as well as in her affiliation with WATER, she counsels women and men from widely divergent backgrounds in individual, couple, and group sessions. Neu lectures and conducts workshops throughout the United States, in Latin America and Europe, and has published numerous books of rituals and articles on the subject of feminist approaches to liturgy, spirituality, and therapy. She has received many awards for her work and is the author of two books, Women's Rites: Feminist Liturgies for Life's Journey (2002) and Return Blessings: Ecofeminist Liturgies Renewing the Earth (2003). Her publications from WATERworks Press are Peace Liturgies; Gathered at Sophia's Table: A Feminist Peace Seder; Women-Church Sourcebook; Women of Fire: A Pentecost Event; Women and the Gospel Traditions; Women-Church Celebrations; A Seder of the Sisters of Sarah; Miriam's Sisters Rejoice; and Together at Freedom's Table.

 Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Diann L. Neu Papers consist of information about Neu's education, including her M.A. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation in theology; her work and activism re: articulating and advocating radical new forms of feminist theology, and in re-defining the role of women in the church; materials documenting her participation in numerous conferences about women in the church; and materials pertaining to her two books, Return Blessings: Ecofeminist Blessings Renewing the Earth (2002) and Women's Rites: Feminist Liturgies for Life's Journeys (2003). Neu's efforts to define and promulgate a feminist, woman-oriented perspective in Christian liturgy are particularly well-documented. Types of material include correspondence, email, interviews, lecture notes, agendas, minutes, sermons, speeches, transcripts, writings, and slides. there is also a significant amount of audiovisual material documenting interviews, lectures, and sermons by Neu.

[NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online. Contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like one sent to you.]

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.

This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.

Collection is stored offsite; researchers must give 48 hours advance notice.

Access to audiovisual materials may first require production of research copies.

The material in this collection may be protected by copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights for permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Permission must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

 Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Diann L. Neu Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

Periodic additions to collection are expected and may not be reflected in this record.

The papers were donated to the Sophia Smith Collection by Diann L. Neu in 2005.

Processed by Burd Schlessinger in 2005.

Ecofeminism--Religious aspects Feminist spirituality--History--Sources Feminist theology--History--Sources Lesbianism--Religious aspects--Christianity Lesbians--United States--Biography--Sources Liturgics--United States--History--Sources Religion--Study and teaching--History--Sources Women and religion--History--Sources Women in Christianity Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual Hunt, Mary E., 1951- Neu, Diann L., 1948- Hunt, Mary E., 1951-

Associated material in the Mary E. Hunt Papers and the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual Records, Sophia Smith Collection.