Women clergy "find voice" in a season of resurrection

By Hope Green

It is one thing to preach the gospel of justice and compassion. Carrying it out is another matter.

How to be an authentic advocate for social change will be a key topic of the 16th annual Women and the Word conference, hosted by the Anna Howard Shaw Center at BU's School of Theology on Thursday and Friday, March 30 and 31. Each spring the two-day event draws a national, ecumenical crowd of women clergy to hear one another preach and reflect on their mission together during the busy Lenten season.

"This is also a chance for theology students to interact with people in the profession," says Margaret Wiborg, STH lecturer and director of the Shaw center, a research and advocacy organization for women in the ministry. Shaw, one of the country's first female Methodist ministers, was active in social causes and lectured internationally on temperance, women's suffrage, and peace.

Entitled Finding Voice, Constructing Theology, Embodying Witness, this year's conference features three members of the faculty at the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in Minneapolis: Christie Neuger, a pastoral counselor and author of The Arts of Ministry; Christine Smith, a liberationist theologian who has written widely on preaching; and Rosetta Ross, a social ethicist and author of the forthcoming book Black Women, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement.

The conference, Wiborg explains, "is about understanding what we believe, being able to talk about it theologically, and being able to live it. There are five preaching workshops, and we have asked the women to preach about resurrection -- not Easter, but experiences of resurrection they have been part of personally, whether it's surviving breast cancer or helping to revive a community."

The event will include some unusual touches. Visitors can partake in the ancient tradition of walking a labyrinth, as one of these designs will be set up in Metcalf Hall. The circular geometric pattern, hand-painted on a canvas 37 feet in diameter, is modeled after the inlaid stone floor pattern of a 13th-century French cathedral. Stepping slowly along this meandering path is intended to quiet the mind and encourage introspection. (See related story in the March 17 B.U. Bridge.)

On Thursday afternoon, Judit Gellerd (STH'01), an internationally known violinist and physician from Transylvania, will lead off a Marsh Chapel service with what Wiborg refers to as a "ballad of yearning." A liturgical dance troupe will also perform, as will Femme M'amie, a women's a cappella singing group from New Hampshire.

In a workshop entitled Finding Voice, Neuger will speak on pastoral counseling. Ross will lead the Embodying Witness discussion with a lecture on famous black feminists and women who were active during the 1960s civil rights era. "I will talk about their origins as religious people, as Christian people, and show how that is reflected in their lives of activism," she says.

And Smith, addressing the challenge of Constructing Theology, will offer a feminist perspective on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. "She will talk about how women stayed right there during the crucifixion as the disciples ran away and hid," Wiborg says. "The women hung in there, yearning and expecting new possibility in the midst of all that chaos."

The lesson from scripture, says Wiborg, has relevance for women clergy confronting social injustice, illness, and other problems in their parishes, and the conference events will continually emphasize that spirit of renewal.

"The challenge for us," she says, "is going to be to have the eyes to see the potential for resurrection and new life in even the worst situations."

Women and the Word 2000: Finding Voice, Constructing Theology, EmbodyingWitness will be held March 30 and 31 at the School of Theology. Christine Smith will lead a preconference session on Wednesday, March 29, entitled Resurrection Theology. The conference is open to the public, and men are welcome to attend. For more information, call 353-3075 or e-mail shawctr@bu.edu.