Barrington woman is a delegate at annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

From Chicago-

Barrington resident Ellen Birkett Lindeen says she plans to promote women's education opportunities when she arrives in New York this week as a delegate at the 64th annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

"I'm thrilled that (I'm representing) not only the province, not only the diocese of Chicago, but I'm bringing Barrington to the U.N.," said Lindeen, 65, a longtime member at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in the village.

Lindeen will be part of an international contingent for the U.N.'s Commission on the Status of Women running from March 9 to 20. The commission is the main global intergovernmental body dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

This year's session at U.N. headquarters in New York has added significance with the silver anniversary recognition of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing declaration where Hillary Clinton famously said: "Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights."

More here-

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20200302/barrington-woman-is-a-delegate-at-annual-united-nations-commission-on-the-status-of-women

Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori speaks about women in leadership

From Ohio-

On Nov. 11, Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori of the United States Episcopal Church spoke in front of an audience of students and faculty. The event, which was the latest in the year-long Women at Kenyon celebration, took place in the Gund Gallery Community Foundation theater. Following an introduction by Priest-in-charge of Harcourt Parish and College Chaplain Rachel Kessler ’04, Jefferts Schori took the stage to deliver a speech about women, power, and the fight to be recognized.

Jefferts Schori had particular insight into the struggles women in positions of power face: when she was elected as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in 2006, she was the first woman ever to serve as primate in the worldwide Episcopal communion. During her tenure, she shepherded the Episcopal church through a number of changes, one of which was the acceptance of LGBTQ+ members into the church. Prior to her time as bishop, Jefferts Schori taught subjects such as fishery, religious studies and philosophy at Oregon State University, where she holds a Ph.D. in oceanography. 

More here-

https://kenyoncollegian.com/news/2019/11/rev-katharine-jefferts-schori-speaks-about-women-in-leadership/

'Tampon Team' curbs period poverty in Teton County

From Wyoming-

Melinda Binks and Sarah Ferris have worked on providing access to menstruation products in the Himalayas. But both were surprised to find the same problem facing girls and women in Teton County.

“I couldn’t believe it was going on here,” Binks said.

Binks and Ferris joined a small group of mostly women on the southwest corner of Town Square on Saturday to hand out information about “period poverty” and where people could access products.

The educational rally, timed to coincide with National Period Day, was born from the organizers of the Period Project, a collaboration started by St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. John’s Hospital Foundation and the Jackson Cupboard.

The three groups joined forces last spring to purchase and distribute tampons and pads to schools and businesses throughout town. The Tampon Team — the moniker given to the group of volunteers that stock the baskets — have expanded to include Arapahoe Middle School in Fremont County and the Community Resource Center of Teton Valley in Driggs, Idaho.

More here-

https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/jackson_hole_daily/local/tampon-team-curbs-period-poverty-in-teton-county/article_249169aa-65b0-5744-bf40-2639374a1d18.html

Renowned Chelsea church makes history by naming its first female, Asian-American pastor

From NYC-

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Chelsea has announced a new priest-in-charge, who will break barriers as its first ever female pastor and its first Asian American priest.

Rev. Christine Lee will be formally commissioned at St. Peter’s Chelsea, which is at 346 W. 20 St. between Eighth and Ninth Aves., during a service set for this January.

This isn’t Reverend Lee’s first time making history. In 2012, she became the first Korean-American woman ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church.

Lee was recently vicar at All Angels Church on the Upper West Side. She is currently a Doctor of Ministry student at California’s Fuller Theological Seminary, where she focuses on leading organizational and congregational change.

She will bring that focus on change to St. Peter’s Chelsea, starting a new church vitalization program that includes a Sunday School for kids, leadership training and other congregational development programs.

More here-

https://www.thevillager.com/2019/09/renowned-chelsea-church-makes-history-by-naming-its-first-female-asian-american-pastor/?fbclid=IwAR1i3D2ct0ALGdWwiLfZB0zVoX9aHx6tbUHFZ3fKNpk-Gw67cqAR-GGSFRM

The Episcopal Church in Colorado Is Getting a New Bishop

From Colorado-

On May 18, the Reverend Kimberly (Kym) Lucas will become the first female bishop, as well as the first black bishop, in the Episcopal Church in Colorado since its establishment in 1887. While Episcopalians make up only 2 percent of the state’s religious demographics, Lucas’ election is a big deal for a denomination that proclaims progressive values—most notably, their open and affirming stance on LGBTQ people—yet is led by a standing committee (the authoritative board in the diocese) that is exclusively white. 

Lucas will be leading nearly 30,000 active members across 96 worshipping communities throughout the state. While the Episcopal Church in Colorado was unable to supply state-specific data about its demographic makeup, Pew Research Center reports that nationwide, the Episcopal community is about 90 percent white, 4 percent black, and 2 percent Latino.

More here-

https://www.5280.com/2019/05/the-episcopal-church-in-colorado-is-getting-a-new-bishop/ 

and here-

https://denver.cbslocal.com/video/4087249-new-bishop-elect-kimberly-lucas-feels-awe-amazement/

First female, African-American Bishop to lead West TN Episcopal Diocese

From West Tennessee-

The stained-glass ceiling has shattered, as Reverend Phoebe Roaf is poised to step into the shoes of retiring Bishop Don Johnson.

"The fact that in a couple of days I am about to be the fourth bishop of The Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee, that is surreal," Roaf smiled.

The composed, but joyful Pine Bluff native, who insists you call her by her first name, is no stranger to the road less traveled. She sat down exclusively with WMC Action News 5’s Kontji Anthony just days before she becomes the first female and first African-American bishop to be ordained, consecrated and seated by the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee Saturday.

More here-

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2019/05/03/first-female-african-american-bishop-lead-west-tn-episcopal-diocese/

Okoh Urges Women To Lead By Example As Change Agents

From Nigeria-

Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, the Primate Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, on Saturday advised Nigerian women to lead by example to make their families proper change agents.

The cleric, represented by the Church Women Champlain, Venerable Ephraim Akanya, gave the advice while speaking at the 2019 Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Abuja Diocese, mothers’ sports fiesta.

Okoh said if the family was in its proper shape, both spiritual and moral, the tendency of having a good society is guaranteed.

The Anglican leader urged women to exercise themselves regularly to make them fit for their family at homes, even as he expressed concern over the crises rocking so many homes across the nation, which he said, were already taking their tolls on the society.

More here-

https://www.independent.ng/okoh-urges-women-to-lead-by-example-as-change-agents/

Thought for the day: is it time to silence BBC preachers who keep women down?

From The Guardian-

And welcome to the amoral maze, where our dilemma of the week is: just how insufferable does a spiritual leader have to be before he or she becomes unqualified to preach at the general public? Or to put it another way, why should the church have a monopoly on excommunication?

The question is not, emphatically, restricted to the case of the ubiquitous prelate, blogger and speaker, Giles Fraser, although with his recent blog – chastising women who fail to stay near home for the future convenience of incontinent fathers – he has done more than most to focus attention on the sort of qualities that should, ideally, distinguish a Thought for the Day contributor from, say, Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Actually, since the latter Brexit supporter is hardly less ostentatiously devout, is yet more ostentatiously fertile, is also hired by the BBC to troll its audience and believes – conclusive indicator of divine approbation – that women are designed for bottom-wiping, it seems almost unfair that he is not, like Fraser, invited to provide “reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news”.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/02/thought-for-the-day-silence-bbc-preachers-who-keep-women-down-thought-for-the-day

CONVERSATIONS: LIBBY GILCHRIST, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND AUTHOR

From Australia-

One of Australia's first female Anglican priests when she was ordained in 2005, LIBBY GILCHRIST has recently written a book about her "journey to priesthood" The Tapestry: One Woman's Journey to Priesthood. Having retired in 2010 and now an honorary associate priest at Sorrento/Rye Anglican Parish in Melbourne, the 68-year-old, who with husband Stuart has three children and six grandchildren, speaks about why she decided to write it, the challenges she’s faced on her journey and why it’s important to have women in church leadership…
 
Congratulations on the book. What made you decide to write it? 
 
"Initially I felt the need to write simply to come to grips with the different facets of my journey to priesthood, the difficulties as well as the joys. It is not a history so much as the story of my own personal journey."

Why now?  
 
"I began to write when I retired in 2010. It took me over a year to write the basic story, and then several more years to review and edit it. Once at this point I was encouraged by many people to try to have it published so that the present and coming generations of women, and men, within the church might have some understanding about the history of women’s leadership in the church. It was also so that women and men outside the church may gain an insight into a wider perspective of the often different and difficult path that women are faced with in their life’s journeys. The further years of review were important as they allowed for a process of 'composting' - that is, after some years of retirement, to look hard at what I had written and how I had written it, trying to make sure that it expressed what I wanted and needed to say."

More here-

https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/columns/conversations/10949-conversations-libby-gilchrist-anglican-priest-and-author

Worth Talking About: The Episcopate and Women

From The Living Church-

At some point in the last year I received a very kind email asking me to put my name in for bishop. Someone I did not know had nominated me. It was flattering and terrifying. I have been ordained for about 30 minutes (or since 2013). I have never been a rector. I have never handled major conflict in a leadership role. And I do not like hats. So, I emailed back with a polite No, thank you, and I believed that would be the end of it.

Moments later, I received an email back that said, “Well, let us know if you think of anyone.”
And I thought, “That’s what I say when I need to hire a magician for my kid’s birthday party.”

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/11/19/worth-talking-about-the-episcopate-and-women/

Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to make history with first woman bishop

From Kansas-

History will be made Friday in Topeka, when the Episcopal Church in Kansas elects its next bishop from a slate of three candidates, all of whom are women.

According to Episcopal church officials, the vote will mark the first time a woman has been elected to serve as the bishop in Kansas. The Episcopal Diocese in Kansas was founded in 1859.

Beyond that, the vote will mark the first time in the history of the Episcopal Church in the United States that all bishop candidates are women, according to national church leaders.

The vote, which will be carried out by clergy and lay delegates from the Episcopal Church in Kansas, will determine the 10th bishop since the founding of the Kansas diocese 159 years ago.

The three candidates are:

• The Rev. Cathleen Chittenden Bascom, assistant professor of religion at Waldorf University, Forest City, Iowa, in the Diocese of Iowa.

• The Rev. Martha N. Macgill, rector, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Cumberland, Md., in the Diocese of Maryland.

• The Rev. Helen Svoboda-Barber, rector, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Durham, N.C., in the Diocese of North Carolina.

More here-

https://www.cjonline.com/news/20181016/episcopal-diocese-of-kansas-to-make-history-with-first-woman-bishop

For the first time, a woman could lead the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee

From West Tennessee-

For the first time, the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee is slated to have a woman serve as its bishop.

Three candidates have been named as options to succeed the Rt. Rev. Don Johnson, who plans to resign next year.

They are the Rev. Marian Dulaney Fortner, rector of a church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; the Rev. Sarah D. Hollar, rector of a church in Huntersville, North Carolina; and the Rev. Phoebe A. Roaf, rector of a church in Richmond, Virginia.

The Rev. Gary Meade, president of the standing committee that oversees the process of selecting a new bishop, said there was no goal to have three women candidates, but that he is “delighted” it ended up that way.

“Male and female, black and white, gay and straight, healthy or ill, rich or poor, we are all God’s children,” Meade said. “This is just a recognition that the Episcopal Church honors that. We honor the full diversity of God’s people and we see that reflected more and more in our leadership.”

More here-

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/09/25/woman-bishop-episcopal-diocese-west-tennessee/1411951002/

 

Church of England should avoid only calling God 'he', Bishop says

From the Telegraph-

The Church of England should avoid only calling God "he", a bishop has said, as a survey found that young Christians think God is male.

Research by YouGov found that almost half of 18-24 year-old Christians believed God to be male, with just one in three over-65s believing the same.

The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, bishop of Gloucester, the Church of England's first female diocesan bishop, said: "I don't want young girls or young boys to hear us constantly refer to God as he," adding that it was important to be "mindful of our language".

She raised concerns that non-Christians could feel alienated from the Church if its public pronouncements used solely male language to describe God.

More here-

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/16/church-england-should-avoid-calling-god-bishop-says/

English bishops: a quiet and unnoticed scandal

From Christianity Today-

There has been much thankfulness among many Anglican evangelicals about the church's newest bishop.

The announcement that Philip Mounstephen, who currently heads the Church Mission Society (CMS), is to be the next Bishop of Truro has generally been reckoned as good news for evangelicals in the Church of England.

Philip Mounstephen is widely recognised as someone who will do the sorts of things bishops do with godliness, kindness and competence. In a statement accompanying the announcement, he said: 'The Diocese of Truro exists to love and serve the people of Cornwall in word and deed in the name of Jesus Christ and in the power of his Spirit – and my job is to lead the diocese in that calling.' And who could argue with that? Moreover, Anglicanism in Cornwall has sometimes seemed quite hostile to evangelicals, so his appointment can be seen as a bit of a breakthrough for them.

But amid all the rightful praise, an awkward question was posed in one of the online discussion groups of which I am a member. And the query was simply this: 'Is he a complementarian?' It was an astute point. For those of you who don't keep up with theological language, there are basically two views of men's and women's ministries in Anglicanism. The first might be termed 'egalitarian' (men and women are equal and their roles within the church should thus be identical, with both being bishops); the second is 'complementarian' (men and women are equal but different and therefore their church roles should be different; women should not have 'headship' over men in the church).

More here-

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/english-bishops-a-quiet-and-unnoticed-scandal/130335.htm

Sex and Gender on the Christian Campus

From The New York Times-

The Moody Bible Institute in Chicago seems like the last place in which to expect a scandal over Title IX.

Moody is one of the most conservative Christian colleges in the country, and Title IX’s authority is diminished these days. Last year, the White House rescinded the Obama administration’s stricter enforcement of the federal law against sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal financial aid. Moreover, under President Trump, the Justice Department seems disinclined to challenge conservative Christians’ insistence that the First Amendment exempts their institutions from the full force of anti-discrimination laws.

Yet recent events at Moody show that religious freedom does more than protect the dissenting views of minority groups — it encourages members of those groups to fight vigorously among themselves. In January, a former Moody communications instructor named Janay Garrick filed a suit in Federal District Court. She accused Moody of “discrimination and retaliation,” charging that the school fired her for such insubordinate acts as helping female students file Title IX complaints about the pastoral ministry program, which was then restricted to men and still excludes women from some parts of the major. She also counseled lesbian and transgender students and collected the testimonies of female students who reported sexual assaults and harassment, according to court documents. (Moody declined to comment.)

More here-

 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/02/opinion/sunday/sex-gender-christian-campuses.html

A Letter to My Brothers

From Beth Moore-

Then early October 2016 surfaced attitudes among some key Christian leaders that smacked of misogyny, objectification and astonishing disesteem of women and it spread like wildfire. It was just the beginning. I came face to face with one of the most demoralizing realizations of my adult life: Scripture was not the reason for the colossal disregard and disrespect of women among many of these men. It was only the excuse. Sin was the reason. Ungodliness.

This is where I cry foul and not for my own sake. Most of my life is behind me. I do so for sake of my gender, for the sake of our sisters in Christ and for the sake of other female leaders who will be faced with similar challenges. I do so for the sake of my brothers because Christlikeness is at stake and many of you are in positions to foster Christlikeness in your sons and in the men under your influence. The dignity with which Christ treated women in the Gospels is fiercely beautiful and it was not conditional upon their understanding their place.

About a year ago I had an opportunity to meet a theologian I’d long respected. I’d read virtually every book he’d written. I’d looked so forward to getting to share a meal with him and talk theology. The instant I met him, he looked me up and down, smiled approvingly and said, “You are better looking than _________________________________.” He didn’t leave it blank. He filled it in with the name of another woman Bible teacher.

more here-

https://blog.lproof.org/

Patriarchy Has Found A Home In The Pulpit

From Huffington-

From beginning to end, the Bible positions women as leaders, powerful and prolific people who the story literally would not exist without. Women direct armies, defeat prominent enemies, save communities from genocide, give birth to God, fund Jesus’ ministry, sit at his feet as disciples, and are the first witnesses and preachers of the resurrection. They are church founders and leaders, prophets and apostles. Women are co-laborers with God and men, and image bearers of God who are meant to participate in God’s work in the church and the world.

Yet in modern churches where patriarchy has found its way into the pulpit, women are easily interpreted out of relevance in the scripture and stripped of their power to liberate other women in church spaces, to lead and to be heard. The assumed and theologized inferiority of women (and to a much greater extreme, trans women) reduces women to objects for men’s use in a culture that insists on chasteness, humility and purity. Women become submissive sidekicks or to “servants” who are granted participation in the church at the whim of male leaderships but rarely, if ever, power.

The danger of patriarchy in the church is distinct from patriarchy in general. In Christian spaces, patriarchy is not seen as a social phenomenon, but as a God-given directive and order for the flourishing of society. As a result, unquestioned commitments to patriarchy create the context for the objectification, devaluing and ultimate abuse and traumatization of women.

More here-

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-miller-patriarchy-church_us_5ab797a0e4b008c9e5f83c77

The House of Deputies Special Committee on Sexual Harassment and Exploitation: A question.

From Preludium-

The President of the House of Deputies has appointed a Special Committee on Sexual Harassment and Exploitation. This was announced this past week (February 28th). The Committee will work in several sub-committees to draft legislation on sexual harassment and exploitation for consideration by the General Convention meeting this summer.

The committee is quite large - 47 members. It is quite a remarkable list and will serve the church well. It will, I hope, provide important proposals to General Convention.

The committee will work in several sub-committees: on Theology and Language, Structural Equity, Title IV and Training, Truth and Reconciliation, and Social Justice for Women. 

There is no question in my mind that each of these areas of concern needs immediate and deep attention, and each will invite us all into a greater common effort  "so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13)

More here-

https://anglicanfuture.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-house-of-deputies-special-committee.html

Bishop begins bid to change law on marriage registration in England and Wales

From ACNS-

A change in the law to allow the names of couples’ mothers to be included in the official registers of marriages in England and Wales is a step closer after a Church of England bishop successfully steered a Bill through its second reading in the House of Lords – the upper house of the British Parliament. At present, marriage registers include only the name of the couple’s fathers. The Bishop of St Albans, Alan Smith, described this as “a clear and historic injustice” and “an archaic practice and unchanged since Victorian times, when children were seen as a father’s property and little consideration was given to a mother’s role in raising them.”

Bishop Alan is one of 26 Church of England bishops in the House of Lords: The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester are the five senior member of the Bishops’ Benches. The other 21 places are taken by diocesan bishops in order of seniority, with a temporary transitional measure which sees qualifying female bishops placed higher in the succession list. This afternoon, Bishop Alan became the first bishop to steer a Bill – draft legislation – through its second reading stage in more than 30 years. It now progresses to the detailed clause-by-clause committee stage.

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2018/01/bishop-begins-bid-to-change-law-on-marriage-registration-in-england-and-wales.aspx

Episcopal Church in US does penance for failing victims of abuse

From The Church Times-

EPISCOPALIANS in the United States are being urged to spend the 40 days of Lent examining the institutional Church’s record of failure in handling cases of sexual abuse, harassment, and exploitation.

In an open letter to churchgoers, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, the Most Revd Michael Curry, and the President of the House of Deputies, the Revd Gay Jennings, called for Ash Wednesday to be dedicated to examining the ways “in which we in the Church have failed to stand with women and other victims of abuse and harassment”.

The exploitation of women had been endemic in the Church for much longer than in Hollywood or journalism or industry, they wrote.

They asked Christians to make it part of their Lenten discipline to redouble their commitment to “be communities of safety that stand against the spiritual and physical violence of sexual exploitation and abuse”. Reflecting on the biblical story of the rape and exploitation of King David’s daughter Tamar, they described it as a “biblical story devoid of justice”.

The letter acknowledges the effect of widespread abuse scandals across the US — in the government and in the film and music industries, and elsewhere — and the Church’s own “sexism, misogyny, and misuse of power”.

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/2-february/news/world/episcopal-church-in-us-penance-failing-victims-abuse