News and resources for women leaders in the church.
It seems strange to me that it took a message from the US to tell me about a conference taking place in Colchester! But such is life.
The conference is called 'Bringing Hope', and aims to help Christians understand more about domestic violence and support those who are experiencing it. It's long amazed me that much of the church seems oblivious of something which affects one in four women during their lifetime - and which is as common inside the church as outside it.
This important subject has long been one of my passions, and after working as a volunteer on Women's Aid's national helpline and researching the subject, I wrote a Grove booklet in 1994, entitled
Home is Where the Hurt is. The booklet went out of print several years ago, but the text is available on CPAS' website
here.
According to the conference literature, Bringing Hope aims to launch a new alliance called Restored. (What it's an alliance
of, I'm not entirely clear.)
Over the last 15 or so years there have been a number of church initiatives, but none seem to have brought this subject to wide attention. The Church of England debate and report were excellent - but probably not widely read. The Baptists and some other denominations are well served with information, yet it does not really appear to impact the agenda of most churches.
Perhaps this will make a difference, to a new generation of Christians.
(0 comments - )
The new book Half the Sky seems to be making waves already.
I have not read it, but I've read about it, and I'm looking forward to August, when the paperback version comes out. In the meantime, it's already caught my attention, and that of many other Christians who are concerned about how women are viewed.
We've often been told that 'women hold up half the sky'. At birth, the male/female ration is close to 50:50. But apparently, when govenments count the relative numbers of males and females later on, some of the women have disappeared. Where have they gone?
Half the Sky, which has become a New York Times bestseller, seeks to explore what it sees as our era's most pervasive human rights violation - the oppression of women. The authors, Nicholas Kristof and Sherl WuDunn (who are married to each other) explore how believing that women are inferior to men is causing women to disappear. It's already created a
movement.
We all know that women are disproportionately impacted by poverty. But the claims are scary. Will they also be the catalyst for greater awareness and action? What I've read so far certainly suggests this.
In different cultures the customs, religious beliefs and prejuduces work diffferently: women are less likely to get medical help, less likely to be educated, and more likely to be trafficked, more likely to be raped and rejected, more likely to be killed because of 'honour'.
The good news story in the book is about organisations around the world which are helping to empower women.
Where is God in all this? The book is not a Christian one, but Christians have cause to be concerned about such abuses. But for some Christians, the disturbing question is: are some Christians actually contributing to such abuses? Are we part of the problem - or part of the answer?
(0 comments - )
I've just been reading a great article by Michele Guinness in the March issue of Christianity Magazine.
It's the cover article, and the subtitle on the cover reads, 'Why women leaders are still trapped.' You can read the opening paragraphs by following the link to the magazine
here.
The article explores the 'mixed picture' in the Christian world: some progress, with young women moving into signficant leadership roles and several women leading large Anglican churches. On the other hand, evangelical Anglican colleges are finding it harder to place women as curates in evangelical churches, and some women find the situation no better, and sometimes worse, than it was 30 years ago. One consequence of all this that women seem to be leaving the church.
Guinness suggests four reasons why women don't feel able to live out their calling: male leadership models, lack of knowledge of women speakers, lack of visible role models, and work and family life. I agree - but behind the first three, there is the influence of particular theologies which overtly exclude women and more subtly sap women's confidence.
The final part of the article looks at what can be done, and suggests some ways forward: all the usual things, such as role models, mentors, acknowledging the problem... Yes, but we know this already, and change is happening only slowly.
I hope this article may be read by those who might be part of the solution, and that women would be increasingly accepted as leaders alongside men. Otherwise, as Jo Saxton, a Methodist minister, concludes: 'We need to ask ourselves what not raising up a generation of women is costing us, and will cost us.'
(0 comments - )
Well, not quite. Actually I do iron. But I started an article on 'Gender, communication and leadership style' with a reflection on the fact that my husband is much better at ironing than I am. He spent his working life in the RAF, so ironing perfect creases came with the territory.
So I was delighted when the latest issue of
Mutuality , containing my article, came winging its way from America. The Winter 09 theme is 'Leadership Development' and as well as my contribution, it includes a fascinating article called 'The View from the Pulpit', addressing various issues women face:
'Some of my parishioners think my leadership style is too 'feminine' while others think it is too 'masculine'. 'My church congregation questions if I can be both a good mother and an effective minister.' There's also an study on Esther, and other briefer articles.
I'm not sure if it's encouraging or discouraging to see that many of our sisters across the pond face similar challenges as women leaders in the Church, but I certainly benefit from the material.
The latest Priscilla Papers, the theological journal of CBE, arrived in the same envelope and also looks like a good read as usual - the best source I know for current theological thinking on biblical equality. There's an article on women in the earliest house churches, and another on Incarnation, Trinity and the ordination of women, among other things.
There's no free access to these articles - though mine will appear on the
CPAS site in due course. But if you are looking for good resources on women's ministry, there's a selection of
free resources to download, or you can buy single magazines and downloads.
It's good to keep thinking, reading and learning...
And what do you think about communication style: do men and women communicate differently, and how does that affect our working together in teams?
(0 comments - )
Why is it that so few women are ordained in their 20s?OK, so the age of ordinands in the Church of England, both men and women, had been going up and up until recently. But there are still more young male ordinands than young female ordinands. And I suspect the pattern is similar in other denominations.
Few women are ordained in their 20s, and not that many in their 30s. The latest (2008) stats for the Church of England show that there are only 15 (women) parochial clergy under the age of 30 (13 of them curates), and only another 167 under the age of 40 (68 incumbent/incumbent status and 99 curates).
This has all sort of implications. The needs of women ordained in their 20s are different from those ordained later. And the dearth of women ordained at this age may partly account for the lack of women in senior posts or leading larger churches. Even if they come to ordination with leadership experience, clergy need a measure of experience within the Church before taking on a more demanding senior post.
I can understand both the issue and the concerns. I was ordained at age 37. It had taken me quite a while to even consider it (confidence was one issue). And then there were those who said that women could not be ordained (or could not be leaders) because the Bible said so; it took me quite a long time to get my head around that, especially in the light of so few resources from an egalitarian perspective.
I wonder what others think (and if you've accessed this through the CPAS website, and can't comment, you can email me direct, or find the blog independently, until we fix the problem!)...
If you're reading this thinking, 'I wonder if God is calling me to be ordained?' there are a variety of events which can help. If you're between the ages of 16-30 you may be interested in
'Step Forward', an event at Cranmer Hall, Durham on 6th February; Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham is speaking and there will be various workshops during the day. If you're over the age of 30, or you can't get to Durham, CPAS run regular
'You and Ministry' weekends; I'm also available to give vocations advice to women.
We all have a part to play in encouraging younger women to think about ordination (or leadership in our own denomination): as role models, as mentors, by giving them opportunities to develop as leaders, or with a tap on the shoulder.
(0 comments - )
