The Witching Hour returns

Thank God it's fall, although San Diego is struggling to let go of our 90 degree weather. I'm so over it; every year around this time the Midwesterner in my heart yearns for cooler temps and leaves crunching underfoot.

Last November a group of us gathered on Zoom around a woman most of us were taught to fear: the medium at Endor in 1 Samuel. A desperate king came to her in the dark when God had gone silent. She told him the truth, and then she fed him. We lit candles, and so many of the attendees brought photos of their grandmothers that it made me cry.

We’re doing it again this year, on All Souls’ Day, the day the church remembers its beloved dead. Last year I offered this as a one-off to help support the launch of my friend Claire's book, but this time it’s the beginning of something. The Witching Hour opens a new monthly offering for my paid subscribers. Each month I'll hold a virtual women’s circle, gathered around a woman from scripture whose story we were never fully told.

The Witching Hour: An All Souls’ Day Women’s Circle
Monday, November 2 · 5 pm PT / 7 pm CT / 8 pm ET · on Zoom
For November, the circle is free and open to everyone. After that, it'll be for paid subscribers only.

My friend Claire McKeever-Burgett, author of In the Beginning Were the Women, is joining us again as our guest facilitator.

Bring a warm drink and a candle, and, if you’d like, a photo or object that honors a woman who has died.

If you’re getting this email, you’re invited (fellas; I love you for being here, but this circle is for women, trans and cis, and nonbinary folks who feel at home in a women’s space). I’ll send the Zoom link closer to the date. If you know someone who’d love this, forward it along. They can save a spot here: https://www.chelseakimlong.com/womens-circle/

Who’s a woman you’d like to bring with you in spirit that night? Hit reply and tell me about her, if you want. I’d love to know.