The purpose of this forum is to facilitate communication and mutual support and edification among those who strive toward gender justice in Churches of Christ. If you would like to join the forum, send an e-mail (including your first and last name) from your primary address to forum@gal328.org.
I wish I could take credit for what I am about to write, but I think it captures the issue for our Catholic sisters, as well as other women called to pastoral ministry and church leadership.
"On the whole, however, the ideal of unity and equality has never been recognized in reality until the inferior group, whether women or slaves or a racial group, has asserted that equality adn compelled the church to translate its principles into practice."
H.Richard Niebuhr. The Social Sources of Denominationalism
:::posted by Irie on 1/31/2006 11:00:00 PM
Jennifer,
Hmmm, when I read that comment I thought it was merely poignant, but now that you mention it, I do see the similarity. What struck me most was the stories of women who came of age in the 1970s full of hope and expectation that their church would call them to serve, as the world was embracing women's rights and Vatican II was opening up new vistas. And they're still waiting.
What about the women who are coming of age in our churches today? Do they have such high hopes and expectations, or are they setting their sights much lower?
:::posted by Christopher on 1/31/2006 06:57:00 PM
The sentence that leaped out at me in this article came at the end:
“The sad part for me,” said Ramerman, “is that as women we love the spirituality of the church but we love it so much that we allow the abuse of women to go on."
Does anyone else hear echoes of the "weaker brother" argument here?
:::posted by Jennifer on 1/31/2006 10:40:00 AM
The National Catholic Reporter (NCRonline.org) for January 27, 2006 carries the following story about Roman Catholic women seeking ordination:
Some women seeking ordination won't wait for church's OK
After 'illicit but valid' ceremony, they find ways to serve
By KRIS BERGGREN
Bishops may wag their fingers and threaten excommunication, but Catholic women called to ordination feel their time has come. In a gentle protest action at the U.S. bishops’ meeting in Washington Nov. 14, members of Women’s Ordination Conference delivered a large bouquet of roses to the bishops, with postcards bearing the names of 80 American women interested in ordination and the name of each one’s bishop. The roses are a symbol of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whose feast day it was, who also felt called to priesthood, said participants...
To read the full story, click here.
:::posted by Christopher on 1/30/2006 11:57:00 AM
Gene Edwards, author of "A Tale of Three Kings", has a new book out, "The Christian Woman ... Set Free". I don't have my hands on a copy - yet.
:::posted by Vicki on 1/25/2006 09:54:00 PM
Chris,
Thanks for your response. My point was not that church service should be all fun and games, but rather that consistancy in theology and practice is needed, especially in regard to the issue of gender justice. Sorry I wasn't more clear about that earlier.
:::posted by TKP on 1/23/2006 12:06:00 AM
In response to TKP, I partly agree and partly disagree. Or maybe I would just put it differently. On the one hand, when you write about "separating the church service from our everyday lives," I would say it is important to set aside a time that is distinct from our everyday lives, a time when we come together as a group, setting aside earthly concerns and seeking after God in a deliberate way. In other words, while we can pray anytime, I would say that what happens in "the church service" should be different from, say, eating pizza with friends or jazzercise or attending a public lecture at a local college. It is different in its focus on things holy rather than things worldly.
On the other hand, when you say you want to "encourage a new perspective that 'church' is not a service, but our lives," if that means that there should be consistency between what we do in our worship assemblies and the way we live our daily lives, then I quite agree. For example, we should not pray for the poor on Sunday and then ignore them on Monday. Nor should we import into our worship assemblies the discriminatory behaviors that pervade the world. So we should not ask African Americans to sit on the back row, and we should not ask women to deposit their God-given gifts in a box at the door before they can join the worship assembly. If women cannot integrate their daily lives with their corporate experience of worship, then something is wrong. If that's what you mean, then I quite agree. If I've misunderstood your point, then please post again to clarify. Thanks for your post.
Meanwhile, in this week's gracEmail, Edward Fudge responds to one of his subscribers, who writes, "Paul said he didn't allow a woman to teach a man (1 Tim. 2:12). What do you think Paul meant?" Fudge's anwer is clear and succint. To read it, click here.
—Christopher Hutson
:::posted by Christopher on 1/15/2006 06:36:00 PM
The more I think about it, the more I believe that the gender issue in churches is part of a much bigger problem of separating the "church service" from our everyday lives. What is acceptable and even praiseworthy for a woman to do right before or after "church" is frowned upon during "church." How are we, then, to encourage a new perspective that "church" is not a service, but our lives? Just a few thoughts from one who has returned to her home church, and finds that as a woman, she is to remain silent.
:::posted by TKP on 1/08/2006 12:10:00 PM
In his New Year's Day edition of gracEmail, Edward Fudge addresses a question from one of his readers who asks whether "church 'boards' should include only elders and deacons, or also chairpersons and ministry leaders." The thrust of this question, according to Fudge, is that, "Elders and deacons only, in his church, would mean an all-male board. He prefers that because he believes it 'God's will that men should run the church,' and because he thinks 'men are more capable of making the decisions without getting too cluttered with our emotions.' "
To read Fudge's thoughtful response to this question, click here.
--Chris Hutson
:::posted by Christopher on 1/01/2006 03:39:00 PM
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