Can We Please Put the Women in Charge?

This week, as the 2007 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women conference ends in New York, the Anglican women delegates responded to the all-but-one-male Anglican archbishops who met in Tanzania and issued a stern ultimatum to the American church and its progressive attitude of gay rights: do it our way, or you will be exiled from our communion. Unlike the men, the women pledged "to remaining always in 'communion' with and for one another" as a model for reconciliation. The report is from the Episcopal  News Service:

In the view of the Anglican women, the Primates' warning is inconsistent with the Christian mission of reconciliation and compassionate ministry, and a decidedly male approach to struggling with difference. All of the Primates are men of power, they note, except for Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

"The women of the Communion have, I believe, moved from bewilderment to outrage at the ways in which a small cabal of leaders have continued to insist that the issues exercising them alone over human sexuality are inevitably to preoccupy us as well," said Jenny Te Paa, an Anglican UNCSW delegate and ahorangi, or dean, of Te Rau Kahikatea, the College of St. John the Evangelist in Auckland, New Zealand.

"The arguments are all a male ancient power play for territory and ownership of space, be it physical or theological," agreed Phoebe Griswold, a UNCSW delegate from the United States. "The women's ways forward have to do with working for the welfare of creation and the full flourishing of humankind."

Griswold is the wife of the just-retired presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold, and she has traveled all  over the world with her husband on Anglican matters; she was a strong and consistent voice for justice for the Palestinian people during her husband's tenure as presiding bishop.  She helped found Anglican Women's Empowerment (AWE), an international grassroots movement which promotes gender equality and women's voices for humanity and justice. AWE was behind the effort to bring women from all provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion to the UNCSW.

What the Primates have failed to realize, Te Paa said, is that "the priority focus for Anglican women always has been the pressing issues of life and death, which are daily facing too many of the women and children of God's world. How can we compare the needless horrific suffering of women and girls being brutally raped when collecting firewood or water with the endless hysteria of male leaders wanting to debate whether gay men have full humanity or not?"

It's interesting to read their statements in light of the earlier, Ash Wednesday reflections here about taking on repentance "for the whole community."

...For the Anglican women, the mission to work together to heal God's world takes precedent over their theological differences. In their statement, they pledge to live out reconciliation for the sake of a suffering world.

"This sisterhood of suffering is at the heart of our theology and our commitment to transforming the whole world through peace with justice," the statement says. "Rebuilding and reconciling the world is central to our faith."

How proud I am to be an Anglican woman in their company.

Comments

[marja-leena]

Wow, I'm proud of these women!! - I kept thinking, before I came to your last statement, Beth. Thanks for sharing such powerful and positive news.

[Dave]

This is very good news. I'm sure it will make a *huge* splash in the mainstream media. :P

[Susan]

Thanks so much for passing this on. I am Roman Catholic and proud to be your cousin, Anglican women.

[peter]

I think the drive to band together and exclude others is hard-wired into humans and one we share with many of our biological cousins, such as the chimpanzees. How aptly named are the primates!