A woman of Fort Worth, but not a woman in Fort Worth
Barbi Click explains that she had to leave Jack Iker's diocese to follow her vocation:
Groups, bloggers sound off on Glasspool election
The Episcopal Women's Caucus celebrated the results of elections for suffragan bishops yesterday and Friday in the Diocese of Los Angeles.
How religion shapes the narrative of violence against women
Nicholas Kristof looks to Jimmy Carter and The Elders for answers to the question of how religion has helped to create violence in the lives of generations of women.
Human Trafficking Day
Today is the world-wide observance of Human Trafficking day, an attempt to draw attention to the increasing problem of slavery, sexual trafficking and child labor. The Lutherans have some very helpful resources posted that are appropriate for congregational use.
From their site:
International Women's Day today
Washington Post reports on International Women's Day, today, March 8.
Marys need small groups
Penny Long Marler observes,
According to the Faith Communities Today project (2008), 87% of women clergy (as compared to 71% of men) say that they have participated in a small peer group for continuing education and support in the past five years.
"Disappointment": Maggi Dawn reports on reactions to "Mitregate"
Maggi Dawn is a Cambridge based theologian, scholar, College fellow and author. She's the author of a widely read blog in the U.K. She's posted a synopsis of the events of this past week following the news of the experience of the Presiding Bishop during her visit to Southwark Cathedral.
Choose your own bishop: Williams, Sentamu tell anti-female forces
Updated: Thinking Anglicans rounds up the media reports.
Thinking Anglicans has the story about a joint amendment proposed this morning to legislation permitting women to become bishops in the Church of England. The Church of England's General Synod meets July 9-13.The archbishops released a statement that is excerpted below.
The boldness of religious women
Sister Joan Chittister reminds us that nuns and other "religious women" are among the boldest and unmanageable of Christian revolutionaries:
Women's rights and empowerment: a profoundly religious journey
Katherine Marshall of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs and the World Faiths Development Dialogue writes of the spiritual nature of female religious and women's groups to boldly secure peace and work for women's rights.
The future of female clergy in the C of E?
What is the future of female clergy in the Church of England? The General Synod meeting this weekend may give some signs about an answer to the question:
Female bishops decision in the balance
Concessions to traditionalists at General Synod could drive out female clergy, campaigners warn
Are women dangerous?
Spiegel reports on the results of Norway's mandate that private corporate boards have a quota of at least 40 percent women. The law went into effect in 2004 and has is subject of a study by Aagoth Storvik and Mari Teigen of the Institute for Social Research in Oslo:
Depressing news for women this week
Mary Ann Sieghart, comments in The Independent on a depressing week for women:
Celebrating the Philadelphia 11
Today is the anniversary of the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven on July 29, 1974.
We send out a Hip-Hip Hooray to them and to the Church!
Thistle Farms: a ministry among abused women
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly reports on the wonderful work being done at Thistle Farm, an Episcopal ministry in Nashville, Tennessee:
South African primate wants to consecrate women bishops
The Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd. Thabo Makgoba, said yesterday that one of his dreams during his term of office was to consecrate the Church's first woman bishop.
Michelle Obama, PB to speak at The Women's Conference
USA Today reports that Michelle Obama and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will be among the speakers at The Women's Conference:
Presiding Bishop's name appears on 'powerful women' list
Appearing on a Fortune list that includes Oprah, Lady GaGa, Ellen DeGeneres, and Michelle Obama, we find the name of The Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, listed as a powerful female voice in the category of religion.
"Pink Smoke Over the Vatican" highlights the women priest movement
On September 18th, the Women's Ordination Conference had the first showing of the one-hour documentary "Pink Smoke Over the Vatican," a one-hour documentary on the women priest movement:
Women breaking stained glass ceiling?
Women leaders in religious life are emerging in all faiths and denominations according a new book discussed in The Huffington Post. Maureen Fiedler, host of Interfaith Voices and author of Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling writes:
40 years of women deputies at GC
The Diocese of Atlanta will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of women deputies to General Convention with a special presentation for Lueta E. Bailey, given by Dr. Bonnie Anderson, president of the Episcopal Church’s House Deputies. Bailey was one of the first women deputies to General Convention in 1970.
Uruguay votes to leave Southern Cone
From Anglican Communion News Service:
One week after a proposal to allow dioceses to individually permit women's ordination to the priesthood was turned down by the Tenth Synod of the Province of the Southern Cone, the Diocese of Uruguay has voted to seek another jurisdiction with which to share its ministry.
16 days of activism against gender violence
This week begins the internationally observed program of activism against gender violence. The Episcopal Church Women (ECW), the Episcopal Women's Caucus (EWC) and the Anglican Women's Empowerment (AWE) are all partners in this effort.
Elizabeth Kaeton writes of the program:
The UN, the Bible, the Church, 16 Days against gender violence
Prayer for December 1, 2010 - Day
December 1, 2010 - Day 7 of the 16 Days Against Gender Violence.
"Clergy Women: An Uphill Calling"
A group of sociologists associated with Hartford Seminary has published the results of study of clergy women in the Presbyterian Church that revisits a study done in 1993-1994 to see what is now different in their career and career paths.
The conclusions of the most recent study are presented in 5-fold order:
Stained glass ceiling still in place for women
The Committee on the Status of Women has issued a news release noting their concerns about the Called to Serve Survey Report and plan to develop a "Search Toolkit" for women clergy and search committees:
100th Anniversary International Women's Day
According to the United Nations 2011 year marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. T
Moving on, but still on mission
The Society of St. Margaret, an Episcopal religious women's order with a longstanding presence in the Boston area, is involved in a fascinating process of relocation.
Mary Michael Simpson, women's ordination pioneer, remembered
The Rev Canon Mary Michael Simpson, OSH died Wednesday in Augusta GA. She was one of the first women ordained in the Episcopal Church and was the first woman to preach at Westminster Abbey.
Happy Anniversary: ordination of women in the Episcopal Church
The first women were ordained priests in the Episcopal Church on July 29, 1974, though General Convention had not yet passed a resolution. The "Philadelphia 11," Merrill Bittner, Alla Bozarth-Campbell, Alison Cheek, Emily Hewitt, Carter Heyward, Suzanne Hiatt, Marie Moorefield Fleisher, Jeannette Piccard, Betty Bone Schiess, Katrina Martha Swanson, and Nancy Hatch Wittig, were ordained by Bishops Daniel Corrigan, Robert L. DeWitt, Edward R. Welles, assisted by Antonio Ramos.
Losing my religion...
women drop out of church
Barna Group has been conduction tracking surveys on women and men and religion for 20 years. New analysis of that data shows a decline of interest in church by women.
Women and Faith
Get those girls off the altar
This just in from The Arizona Republic:
The girlfriends' clergy companion
When I started seminary and began envisioning myself as a clergyperson, I started looking at the style of women pastors, particularly women head pastors. And I noticed that virtually without exception, they had “The Haircut.” The Don’t-Think-of-Me-as-a-Woman-Think-of-Me-as-a-Pastor haircut.
Harassment and why women are angry
Lauren Ashburn, of the Daily Beast, reports on A Flood of Harassment Horror Stories After the Herman Cain Allegations:
Wives of newly minted Catholic priests be careful
Sara Ritchey of the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, looks at the medieval tradition and the current state of Roman Catholicism and advises the wives of former Anglican clergy who become Roman Catholic priests to be very, very careful. Because underneath the doctrine of mandatory priestly celibacy is an understanding of human nature that fundamentally hostile to women.
