Ok - sorry about that, folks...I posted a link to click so you can see the video. For some reason it's isn't playing within Substack *shakes fist in the air*.
LOL. This is where we are now. There was a brief glitch in the miraculous tools of social media that allow you from where you are to share this from Jerusalem to all us where we are and we get impatient. Also, GOODNESS you write well.
Growing up, my parents loved to tell the story about the day that someone prophesied about my baby brother. I was probably 7 or 8 at the time, and the story was always told with shiny things like "word of wisdom" and "someone at a prayer meeting saw the letters A A and asked if anyone had children whose names begin with A." In this story, my dad piped up and said his kids were named Amanda (that's me) and Aaron (that's my brother who was 2 at the time). And the person with the "word" said that Aaron would be a great minister for the kingdom and that he was anointed or something like that.
I knew enough of what that story was saying: my brother was special and I was not. God cared about my brother enough to tell a perfect stranger something about him. But as the daughter, I wasn't on the list of things God was concerned with.
This planted a deep message to me over time. That I had to work for my messages from God. (And I'm sure a bunch of other weird sibling shit, too.) That I had to tip-toe, follow the letter and always be on alert, lest I miss my moment of mattering.
I read about women preachers, as you shared today, and instinctively become rageful and curious. I wonder if you can belong to Jesus but not to Christianity? What if God has always been just a few steps behind me in this very lonely desert? What if God said my name that day, and not my brother's?
Amanda, you can belong to Jesus and Abba and opt out of the rest. Hang out with the type of people Jesus hung out with (everyone he met) and hear what Abba told Jesus for yourself. "You are the Beloved". That is the game changer. Since before time, you, Amanda, are the Beloved of God. The rest is gravy. Peace.
People in our frail humanity, with our biases and blindspots, can easily mis-interpret a message from God. So it is entirely possible you are the one being called to do something great for Christ in the world!
I grew up in Bible Church, a "non-denominational" denomination. I've sinced learned that mostly means the clergy in my church could pick and choose their doctrine from anywhere. I was blessed with wonderful women who taught me in Sunday School, but never from the pulpit. I remember distinctly the day a woman walked into our sanctuary who was drop-dead gorgeous. I didn't know that women who looked like models and wore glamorous clothes could be Christians. I thought you had to be a frumpy mom-type to follow Jesus. It's not the same as hearing my own voice from the pulpit but something shifted in me that day - there was more than one way to live and still be a Jesus follower.
The two women who owned and ran my beloved summer camp were a couple. Of course, since it was a Christian camp in the 80s, they told everyone they were just good friends who found it easier to live together in a cabin away from the city.... But kids aren't dumb. They were loving and stern and goofy and such an inspiration as Godly women who were living and sharing the Gospel. Once again, they were a window into the beautiful variety of life that was possible under the umbrella of faith. All the counselors at that camp touched my life, but I'll never forget those two.
One of my favorite Sunday School teachers/camp counselors died by suicide when I was in middle school. My mom got the call early on a Sunday and we went to her house to prepare it for the influx of people we knew would arrive when they heard at chuch. I learned that day that you could be broken and still love God. My parents were still pretending they were perfect, and I hadn't seen the cracks in them yet. But when this woman, who loved me and Jesus so deeply, was suddenly gone, I didn't doubt her faith. I knew it was solid, I'd seen it at work. I wondered how she had been so broken and still loved so hard. Now that I'm in my 40s, I understand much more how both can be true.
I like to think all of those women would be proud of my liberal, feminist faith. I'm proud to say I've been a voice from the pulpit once or twice myself. I imagine they're proud of that too.
Nadia, until I heard you preach, online and in your audiobook, I hadn’t heard a woman truly question the patriarchy of Christianity in a way where I felt my voice mattered. Thank you for all your insights - from around the globe. You inspire me to bring the Holy Spirit to my family and my community in a way where I feel validated to do so as a lay person.
I was an English major in college, but didn't care much for classic capital-L Literature. So when I had a chance to take an elective in fantasy & science fiction, I jumped at it... The professor, Dr. Richard Mitchell, was something of an oddball -- one of those people who are basically constructed of foibles. (These were the days when you could still smoke in college classrooms, which Mitchell did; he rolled his own cigarettes while sitting on his desk in the classroom. And he was a favorite guest of Johnny Carson on 'The Tonight Show'; I once heard him say this from Carson's couch: "College freshmen speak no known language." (laughing))
Anyhow, one of the novels Mitchell assigned for us was by a Victorian-era Scottish writer (and Congregationalist minister) named George MacDonald. The book was called 'Lilith,' and a version of that formidable woman indeed appeared in it as a main character... I'd never heard the story of Lilith, so listened, fascinated, as Mitchell sketched it out for us. He explained how Adam's first companion wasn't Eve, fashioned from Adam's rib, but a woman named Lilith -- who was in every respect Adam's equal, except for those respects in which she was his superior. But Adam was a champion first-born whiner, and finally petitioned God to get rid of Lilith and give him a companion who'd be a little less... challenging.
So God gave Adam Eve, at the cost of a rib. But He [sorry, these are biblical pronouns after all] could not bring Himself to do AWAY with Lilith: she was, after all, every bit as perfect/flawed as Adam himself. Instead, God merely banished her to the other side of the world...
"Think about it," Mitchell said. "Over there on the other side of the world, inevitably, Lilith would have eventually given birth to her own daughters, who would beget their daughters, and so on..." Then he whirled, and pointed directly at me. "And YOU, Mr. Simpson -- perhaps YOU have at some time crossed paths with a daughter of Lilith!"
The hair literally stood up on the back of my head. I knew EXACTLY who he was talking about -- I didn't know anything about another professor's -- Mrs. R's -- genealogy, but by gods, if SHE didn't descend from a Lilith as Mitchell described her, then nobody did. Funny, fierce, takes-no-sh!t, my absolute favorite professor ever (and, truth be told, probably the object of a schoolboy crush)...
Up to that moment in Mitchell's class, I think I'd been kind of sleepy-ignorant regarding women. I had (have) two younger sisters, formidable women in their own right, and sure as hell knew others who'd challenged me, made me laugh, etc. But Mitchell pushed me over the edge, into regarding them not as goddesses (and certainly not as whores), but as creatures every bit as remarkable, mysterious, and wholly engaging as any of the guys I knew. (It had nothing to do with their looks, and now that I'm thinking about it maybe it had entirely to do with mitochondrial DNA.) The point: Mitchell (and indirectly, Mrs. R) were my "possibility models" when it came to Vox Femina.
(I really hope I'm not embarrassing myself with all the above. I had a lot of other lessons to learn about women, and don't claim at all that I "get it" even now. But I'm still trying -- and wouldn't be, I think, if it hadn't been for those two remarkable possibility models.)
She joins her early sisters in Christ, the Samaritan woman who had such a marvelous dialogue with Jesus at Jacob’s Well and was the first evangelist in His public ministry and the Apostles to the Apostles, Mary Magdalene. Thanks are ever so due to the Johannine evangelist who recorded and preserved their wonderful stories for all time.
Amen. I sat in a living room with three other people (All Roman Catholic) for Mass yesterday and that was the reading. I found her just as compelling as ever.
Mar 12, 2023·edited Mar 12, 2023Liked by Nadia Bolz-Weber
Maternal Grandmother who defied convention and divorced during the thirties, because she believed in herself and needed to protect her two girls. Lesson: no man is better than a bad one
My Dad's sister who became a Doctor in the early 1950's (one of two females in her class). Sadly, she was also gay but never was able to acknowledge that aspect of who she was (family still won't discuss). Lesson: I could be whatever I was called to be.
Vickie Briercheck: for me it was my Dad's mom - who didn't formally divorce him till after my aunt's wedding (nearly 2 decades later! Wanted the invitation to read 'Mr. AND Mrs.). He was a philandering entrepreneur and she kicked him out in 1931, when she was the paid soprano soloist for Thompkins Congregationalist on 5th Ave., Manhattan, keeper of boarders, and when things were really tough, she moonlighted at Temple Bethel in East Orange, NJ. My 1st career was teaching private lessons and directing church choirs. From my 1st day in Hebrew class at seminary I continually recalled her telling me that if I could 'sing in Hebrew, I could do anything!'
She was the most gentle, strong, gracious, grace-filled, and grace bestowing person I've ever known. She accepted what life gave her and made the very best lemon meringue pies. And NEVER complained! When my beloved husband of 28 years died at 49 froma heart attack, my widowed mother in law's first words to me were 'how will I live? (Quickly amended to 'how will we live'.) I never asked that question. I knew from Grandma exactly how I could and would continue to live, even thrive.
I was reared Catholic but became Protestant in my alate 20s. For the next 15 years I worshipped in every denomination and ended up in a Lutheran congregation shortly after the ELCA was formed. At age 44 my pastor, Jim Munter, and congregation gave me an outer call to go into pastoral ministry. I remember telling my pastor I can’t because I was a woman. I had never seen a female pastor or knew they even existed plus I was a divorced single parent of 2 small children and felt sure that disqualified me. Every excuse was shot down by my pastor so after a lot of prayer I gave in. I met my first female pastor, Kadi Billman, in seminary who became my advisor and mentor. I’m retired now and have never regretted the path I took thanks to my pastor & mentor. Prior to seminary I was the first female VP of a private petrochemical company. My mother was my business role model. She broke the glass ceiling in so many areas including being honored at an International Convention as the first female shopping center developer. I’m so grateful for those role models that invited me to be the best version of myself without restrictions.
Mar 15, 2023·edited Mar 15, 2023Liked by Nadia Bolz-Weber
Great topic and question. My response will pivot it a little. I've never (knowingly) met or seen someone of my sex in church leadership. Or as a leading artist or politician. There was one character in a popular book - Middlesex (written by a guy) I found at 30.
I was born with a body indistinguishable as F or M - but with a chromosome test at birth and surgical conformance surgeries. Medical wisdom and cultural momentum pushed me into a sex I wasn't born to be. It isn't uncommon - I've met intersex people of various stripes over the years - but none of us was told, as was in the Jewish tradition (and others), that we were a separate sex - or at the very least, a biologically different kind of M or F with unique cultural gifts.
My biblical heroes are the Ethiopian eunuch, the woman bleeding for 13 years, Queen Esther's messengers... whoever Jesus meant in the first category when he said, "some are born sarisim, some are made so by men, and some become so for the kingdom."
I'm grateful for women heroes and representation. In ancient times, in the time of Jesus, and more recently. Here to remind folks that there are more of us to bring along... sarisimpapers.substack.com
I am your basic middle-class white guy, so I am not sure this article is aimed at me. On the other hand, we all have opportunity models. For me, it was people who expressed themselves in ways that gave me permission to believe God was calling a sometimes too emotional, not very contemplative, sometimes crass and edgy, all together too human, guy to preach and teach. I needed permission to recognize MY gifts rather than seeking to live into my perceived list of gifts necessary to serve as pastor. I had three very important models in that before I answered God's call. Now, what I thought were shortcomings are actually gifts God uses to reach all together too human people.
Long ago, when I was just starting college, I felt called to ministry. This was right around 1976. I was a member of a baptist church. I spoke of feeling called with an associate pastor. He was an elderly gentleman, and he never made light of my call. But he suggested I go to see the head pastor about it. I did, and I was told I would make a wonderful church secretary. Hmm...that was not what I felt called to, and administration was never one of my true gifts. I struggled to find an identity that fit who I was. I got a business degree, but I really never felt comfortable in business.
I got married, had kids, and got involved in their school as a volunteer. I also became a Sunday School teacher. My husband and friends knew before I did that I had the gift to teach. I went back to school and got my teaching certificate. For the next 20 years, I found ministry. Ministry with my colleagues, my students, their parents, and my administrators. The Lord used me at times when I didn’t even know it. He blessed me with a calling that I loved.
I often wonder what ministry would have looked like for me if I hadn’t been discouraged because I was the daughter of a divorced woman --2 strikes against me. But God never discouraged me from finding ministry. The Spirit came alongside me and found a way for me to minister --without Reverend before my name.
Madonna. She was my first possibility model. Not just her music, but her unapologetic quips to the media when they harassed her about her art and her sexuality--that set me free in a way I didn’t know possible. It took decades to unpack my own shame and it’s a practice to this day, but I aspired to her courage and unwavering commitment to her craft.
This speaks to me. It speaks to me as a girl who grew up in a southern Baptist church in a small town who knew nothing but male leadership in the church (except for women lead children’s activities like Sunday school and the nursery). But it also speaks to me as a mother, still living in a small, more rural area, trying to show my sons that all Gods children not only belong in, but should hold leadership roles in church should they feel led. But when I think about the women who have shaped my religious/ spiritual experience to date, I think of people like Nadia and her books as well as Rachel Held Evans, and her writing while she was alive. I also think of the “everyday” women in my life. Like my friend Catherine. Who’s love for and volunteerism as a health care provider provides me with living examples of what taking care of Gods people looks like and inspires me to do the same.
Nadia, I absolutely love to see Rev. Sally Azar's beautiful feet. Thank you for sharing that. There have been so many times I've burst out singing that phrase in the song. I almost weep when that happens....for reasons that baffle me yet I know it means something so deep inside me. I love her feet and I love your blessed feet as well, Nadia.
I was raised much as you were Nadia. I was in college when I first met a female minister. She was Methodist and head of the conference I believe (might not be the right body). She was an awesome person. It was great to have someone to relate to! (I had run from coC at 16.) Also it was wonderful that in my freshman year I had a female Chaplain. It was an awakening of sorts--because I only heard about men in positions of power.
Ok - sorry about that, folks...I posted a link to click so you can see the video. For some reason it's isn't playing within Substack *shakes fist in the air*.
LOL. This is where we are now. There was a brief glitch in the miraculous tools of social media that allow you from where you are to share this from Jerusalem to all us where we are and we get impatient. Also, GOODNESS you write well.
Growing up, my parents loved to tell the story about the day that someone prophesied about my baby brother. I was probably 7 or 8 at the time, and the story was always told with shiny things like "word of wisdom" and "someone at a prayer meeting saw the letters A A and asked if anyone had children whose names begin with A." In this story, my dad piped up and said his kids were named Amanda (that's me) and Aaron (that's my brother who was 2 at the time). And the person with the "word" said that Aaron would be a great minister for the kingdom and that he was anointed or something like that.
I knew enough of what that story was saying: my brother was special and I was not. God cared about my brother enough to tell a perfect stranger something about him. But as the daughter, I wasn't on the list of things God was concerned with.
This planted a deep message to me over time. That I had to work for my messages from God. (And I'm sure a bunch of other weird sibling shit, too.) That I had to tip-toe, follow the letter and always be on alert, lest I miss my moment of mattering.
I read about women preachers, as you shared today, and instinctively become rageful and curious. I wonder if you can belong to Jesus but not to Christianity? What if God has always been just a few steps behind me in this very lonely desert? What if God said my name that day, and not my brother's?
Amanda, you can belong to Jesus and Abba and opt out of the rest. Hang out with the type of people Jesus hung out with (everyone he met) and hear what Abba told Jesus for yourself. "You are the Beloved". That is the game changer. Since before time, you, Amanda, are the Beloved of God. The rest is gravy. Peace.
People in our frail humanity, with our biases and blindspots, can easily mis-interpret a message from God. So it is entirely possible you are the one being called to do something great for Christ in the world!
I grew up in Bible Church, a "non-denominational" denomination. I've sinced learned that mostly means the clergy in my church could pick and choose their doctrine from anywhere. I was blessed with wonderful women who taught me in Sunday School, but never from the pulpit. I remember distinctly the day a woman walked into our sanctuary who was drop-dead gorgeous. I didn't know that women who looked like models and wore glamorous clothes could be Christians. I thought you had to be a frumpy mom-type to follow Jesus. It's not the same as hearing my own voice from the pulpit but something shifted in me that day - there was more than one way to live and still be a Jesus follower.
The two women who owned and ran my beloved summer camp were a couple. Of course, since it was a Christian camp in the 80s, they told everyone they were just good friends who found it easier to live together in a cabin away from the city.... But kids aren't dumb. They were loving and stern and goofy and such an inspiration as Godly women who were living and sharing the Gospel. Once again, they were a window into the beautiful variety of life that was possible under the umbrella of faith. All the counselors at that camp touched my life, but I'll never forget those two.
One of my favorite Sunday School teachers/camp counselors died by suicide when I was in middle school. My mom got the call early on a Sunday and we went to her house to prepare it for the influx of people we knew would arrive when they heard at chuch. I learned that day that you could be broken and still love God. My parents were still pretending they were perfect, and I hadn't seen the cracks in them yet. But when this woman, who loved me and Jesus so deeply, was suddenly gone, I didn't doubt her faith. I knew it was solid, I'd seen it at work. I wondered how she had been so broken and still loved so hard. Now that I'm in my 40s, I understand much more how both can be true.
I like to think all of those women would be proud of my liberal, feminist faith. I'm proud to say I've been a voice from the pulpit once or twice myself. I imagine they're proud of that too.
Thanks for sharing your stories. xo
Nadia, until I heard you preach, online and in your audiobook, I hadn’t heard a woman truly question the patriarchy of Christianity in a way where I felt my voice mattered. Thank you for all your insights - from around the globe. You inspire me to bring the Holy Spirit to my family and my community in a way where I feel validated to do so as a lay person.
I was an English major in college, but didn't care much for classic capital-L Literature. So when I had a chance to take an elective in fantasy & science fiction, I jumped at it... The professor, Dr. Richard Mitchell, was something of an oddball -- one of those people who are basically constructed of foibles. (These were the days when you could still smoke in college classrooms, which Mitchell did; he rolled his own cigarettes while sitting on his desk in the classroom. And he was a favorite guest of Johnny Carson on 'The Tonight Show'; I once heard him say this from Carson's couch: "College freshmen speak no known language." (laughing))
Anyhow, one of the novels Mitchell assigned for us was by a Victorian-era Scottish writer (and Congregationalist minister) named George MacDonald. The book was called 'Lilith,' and a version of that formidable woman indeed appeared in it as a main character... I'd never heard the story of Lilith, so listened, fascinated, as Mitchell sketched it out for us. He explained how Adam's first companion wasn't Eve, fashioned from Adam's rib, but a woman named Lilith -- who was in every respect Adam's equal, except for those respects in which she was his superior. But Adam was a champion first-born whiner, and finally petitioned God to get rid of Lilith and give him a companion who'd be a little less... challenging.
So God gave Adam Eve, at the cost of a rib. But He [sorry, these are biblical pronouns after all] could not bring Himself to do AWAY with Lilith: she was, after all, every bit as perfect/flawed as Adam himself. Instead, God merely banished her to the other side of the world...
"Think about it," Mitchell said. "Over there on the other side of the world, inevitably, Lilith would have eventually given birth to her own daughters, who would beget their daughters, and so on..." Then he whirled, and pointed directly at me. "And YOU, Mr. Simpson -- perhaps YOU have at some time crossed paths with a daughter of Lilith!"
The hair literally stood up on the back of my head. I knew EXACTLY who he was talking about -- I didn't know anything about another professor's -- Mrs. R's -- genealogy, but by gods, if SHE didn't descend from a Lilith as Mitchell described her, then nobody did. Funny, fierce, takes-no-sh!t, my absolute favorite professor ever (and, truth be told, probably the object of a schoolboy crush)...
Up to that moment in Mitchell's class, I think I'd been kind of sleepy-ignorant regarding women. I had (have) two younger sisters, formidable women in their own right, and sure as hell knew others who'd challenged me, made me laugh, etc. But Mitchell pushed me over the edge, into regarding them not as goddesses (and certainly not as whores), but as creatures every bit as remarkable, mysterious, and wholly engaging as any of the guys I knew. (It had nothing to do with their looks, and now that I'm thinking about it maybe it had entirely to do with mitochondrial DNA.) The point: Mitchell (and indirectly, Mrs. R) were my "possibility models" when it came to Vox Femina.
(I really hope I'm not embarrassing myself with all the above. I had a lot of other lessons to learn about women, and don't claim at all that I "get it" even now. But I'm still trying -- and wouldn't be, I think, if it hadn't been for those two remarkable possibility models.)
and YOU, Mr. Simpson may have crossed paths with a daughter of Lilith. I love that!
What a wonderful story! Thanks so much for sharing. Now, I want to know more about Lilith, for surely I’ve crossed paths with a daughter of Lilith!
She joins her early sisters in Christ, the Samaritan woman who had such a marvelous dialogue with Jesus at Jacob’s Well and was the first evangelist in His public ministry and the Apostles to the Apostles, Mary Magdalene. Thanks are ever so due to the Johannine evangelist who recorded and preserved their wonderful stories for all time.
Amen. I sat in a living room with three other people (All Roman Catholic) for Mass yesterday and that was the reading. I found her just as compelling as ever.
Maternal Grandmother who defied convention and divorced during the thirties, because she believed in herself and needed to protect her two girls. Lesson: no man is better than a bad one
My Dad's sister who became a Doctor in the early 1950's (one of two females in her class). Sadly, she was also gay but never was able to acknowledge that aspect of who she was (family still won't discuss). Lesson: I could be whatever I was called to be.
Vickie Briercheck: for me it was my Dad's mom - who didn't formally divorce him till after my aunt's wedding (nearly 2 decades later! Wanted the invitation to read 'Mr. AND Mrs.). He was a philandering entrepreneur and she kicked him out in 1931, when she was the paid soprano soloist for Thompkins Congregationalist on 5th Ave., Manhattan, keeper of boarders, and when things were really tough, she moonlighted at Temple Bethel in East Orange, NJ. My 1st career was teaching private lessons and directing church choirs. From my 1st day in Hebrew class at seminary I continually recalled her telling me that if I could 'sing in Hebrew, I could do anything!'
She was the most gentle, strong, gracious, grace-filled, and grace bestowing person I've ever known. She accepted what life gave her and made the very best lemon meringue pies. And NEVER complained! When my beloved husband of 28 years died at 49 froma heart attack, my widowed mother in law's first words to me were 'how will I live? (Quickly amended to 'how will we live'.) I never asked that question. I knew from Grandma exactly how I could and would continue to live, even thrive.
I was reared Catholic but became Protestant in my alate 20s. For the next 15 years I worshipped in every denomination and ended up in a Lutheran congregation shortly after the ELCA was formed. At age 44 my pastor, Jim Munter, and congregation gave me an outer call to go into pastoral ministry. I remember telling my pastor I can’t because I was a woman. I had never seen a female pastor or knew they even existed plus I was a divorced single parent of 2 small children and felt sure that disqualified me. Every excuse was shot down by my pastor so after a lot of prayer I gave in. I met my first female pastor, Kadi Billman, in seminary who became my advisor and mentor. I’m retired now and have never regretted the path I took thanks to my pastor & mentor. Prior to seminary I was the first female VP of a private petrochemical company. My mother was my business role model. She broke the glass ceiling in so many areas including being honored at an International Convention as the first female shopping center developer. I’m so grateful for those role models that invited me to be the best version of myself without restrictions.
I bet you were possibility models for many young women along the way too!
Great topic and question. My response will pivot it a little. I've never (knowingly) met or seen someone of my sex in church leadership. Or as a leading artist or politician. There was one character in a popular book - Middlesex (written by a guy) I found at 30.
I was born with a body indistinguishable as F or M - but with a chromosome test at birth and surgical conformance surgeries. Medical wisdom and cultural momentum pushed me into a sex I wasn't born to be. It isn't uncommon - I've met intersex people of various stripes over the years - but none of us was told, as was in the Jewish tradition (and others), that we were a separate sex - or at the very least, a biologically different kind of M or F with unique cultural gifts.
My biblical heroes are the Ethiopian eunuch, the woman bleeding for 13 years, Queen Esther's messengers... whoever Jesus meant in the first category when he said, "some are born sarisim, some are made so by men, and some become so for the kingdom."
I'm grateful for women heroes and representation. In ancient times, in the time of Jesus, and more recently. Here to remind folks that there are more of us to bring along... sarisimpapers.substack.com
I am your basic middle-class white guy, so I am not sure this article is aimed at me. On the other hand, we all have opportunity models. For me, it was people who expressed themselves in ways that gave me permission to believe God was calling a sometimes too emotional, not very contemplative, sometimes crass and edgy, all together too human, guy to preach and teach. I needed permission to recognize MY gifts rather than seeking to live into my perceived list of gifts necessary to serve as pastor. I had three very important models in that before I answered God's call. Now, what I thought were shortcomings are actually gifts God uses to reach all together too human people.
Long ago, when I was just starting college, I felt called to ministry. This was right around 1976. I was a member of a baptist church. I spoke of feeling called with an associate pastor. He was an elderly gentleman, and he never made light of my call. But he suggested I go to see the head pastor about it. I did, and I was told I would make a wonderful church secretary. Hmm...that was not what I felt called to, and administration was never one of my true gifts. I struggled to find an identity that fit who I was. I got a business degree, but I really never felt comfortable in business.
I got married, had kids, and got involved in their school as a volunteer. I also became a Sunday School teacher. My husband and friends knew before I did that I had the gift to teach. I went back to school and got my teaching certificate. For the next 20 years, I found ministry. Ministry with my colleagues, my students, their parents, and my administrators. The Lord used me at times when I didn’t even know it. He blessed me with a calling that I loved.
I often wonder what ministry would have looked like for me if I hadn’t been discouraged because I was the daughter of a divorced woman --2 strikes against me. But God never discouraged me from finding ministry. The Spirit came alongside me and found a way for me to minister --without Reverend before my name.
some of the very best ministers don't have Rev in front of their name for sure!
Madonna. She was my first possibility model. Not just her music, but her unapologetic quips to the media when they harassed her about her art and her sexuality--that set me free in a way I didn’t know possible. It took decades to unpack my own shame and it’s a practice to this day, but I aspired to her courage and unwavering commitment to her craft.
This speaks to me. It speaks to me as a girl who grew up in a southern Baptist church in a small town who knew nothing but male leadership in the church (except for women lead children’s activities like Sunday school and the nursery). But it also speaks to me as a mother, still living in a small, more rural area, trying to show my sons that all Gods children not only belong in, but should hold leadership roles in church should they feel led. But when I think about the women who have shaped my religious/ spiritual experience to date, I think of people like Nadia and her books as well as Rachel Held Evans, and her writing while she was alive. I also think of the “everyday” women in my life. Like my friend Catherine. Who’s love for and volunteerism as a health care provider provides me with living examples of what taking care of Gods people looks like and inspires me to do the same.
Nadia, I absolutely love to see Rev. Sally Azar's beautiful feet. Thank you for sharing that. There have been so many times I've burst out singing that phrase in the song. I almost weep when that happens....for reasons that baffle me yet I know it means something so deep inside me. I love her feet and I love your blessed feet as well, Nadia.
I was raised much as you were Nadia. I was in college when I first met a female minister. She was Methodist and head of the conference I believe (might not be the right body). She was an awesome person. It was great to have someone to relate to! (I had run from coC at 16.) Also it was wonderful that in my freshman year I had a female Chaplain. It was an awakening of sorts--because I only heard about men in positions of power.