Welcome

In “Remembering Mary Daly,” Alena Amato Ruggerio provides a biblical feminist perspective on the life and work of the late controversial feminist theologian.

In “Tenure Downturn,” Kendra Weddle Irons tells of giving up a university tenure position and asks her readers whether it’s necessarily less feminist for a wife to follow her husband’s career move than it is for a husband to follow his wife’s career move.

Great Women in Church History

An excerpt from a book by Nancy A. Hardesty. (This was our March, 2010 Web Special for Women's History Month.)

In "My Advice to Newly-Minted Feminists/Womanists/Mujeristas," Virginia Ramey Mollenkott has an important message for those who are just awakening to—or beginning to speak out on—gender equality.

Have you ever thought about the ways you think about God? Carolyn Bohler's writings show how metaphors and similes can help strengthen our faith by expanding our concept of God.  Letha Dawson Scanzoni explores Carolyn Bohler's life and ministry in "One God, Many Metaphors."

Becky Kiser reviews Carolyn Bohler's book, God the What?  What Our Metaphors for God Reveal about Our Beliefs in God.

Have you ever looked at the tags on your clothing, noticed the country where they were made, and then wondered about the people who made them?  That's what Kelsey Timmerman did and then wrote about his findings.  Kimberly B. George reviews his book, Where Am I Wearing?

Reta Finger was captivated by a new book of poetic prayers written by Ken Sehested.  She helps us understand why in her review of In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public.

David Nystrom reviews Reta Finger's Roman House Churches for Today: A Practical Guide for Small Groups. The early church met in homes, and New Testament scholar Reta Finger has a way of making readers feel they were there as members of these house groups, eating together, experiencing community, and listening and discussing the Christian message as applied to their life situations.

My Journey to Feminism
Therapist Susan Hall grew up in conservative evangelicalism in the U.S. Midwest but discovered feminist biblical interpretation and feminist theology in graduate school and at San Francisco Theological Seminary under Letty Russell.

Holy Hellion: The Rebellion of a Faith-filled Feminist
Erin Lane Beam grew up Roman Catholic but began questioning certain church teachings at age five. She has been seeking her own answers ever since.

Four Keys that Opened My Way to Consciousness
In the 1970s, Adelaide Woodcook, a pastor’s wife, was a leader of Marabel Morgan’s “Total Woman” seminars—until another book showed her new possibilities for being all she was meant to be. She shares the lessons she learned at various stages of life.

Our Marriage Was Taken from Us
Try to imagine what it would feel like to be happily married in a loving, faithful 35-year relationship and then be notified that the marriage was not legally valid. That’s what happened to Marie Fortune. She tells why attitudes and laws need to be changed and why marriage equality is so important.

Book Review: Woman Spirit Awakening in Nature: Growing into the Fullness of Who You Are
by Nancy Barrett Chickerneo
Reviewer Becky Kiser shows us how Chickerneo’s new book helps us learn more about ourselves and God by experiencing the sacred in the out of doors.

Book Review: A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God Is Good and Faith Isn’t Evil
by David G. Myers
Reviewer Cliff Williams shares his thoughts about this latest book by Dave Myers, written to answer some of the charges skeptics and atheists often level against Christianity.

Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse—as told through music.

Composer Margaret Meier tells the story behind her empowering new cantata, But Joy Comes in the Morning.

CD Review: But Joy Comes in the Morning.

Linda Bieze reviews Margaret Meier’s cantata about healing and hope for childhood sexual abuse survivors, with some additional thoughts from Susan Campbell.

Panel Discussion: What We Need to Know about Childhood Sexual Abuse

Three experts in the fields of mental health and religion respond to the message of the cantata.

Further discussions by each of the experts

In God's Motherly Care for Us, singer-songwriter Kathryn Christian, who composes music for meditation, prayer, and healing, tells why the metaphor of God as Mother has special meaning to her.

Audio: "Gather Me under Thy Wings."
Listen to Kathryn Christian sing, "Gather Me under Thy Wings," a song about God's tender motherly love.

In God's Gift of Motherhood Comes in Different Ways, Melanie Mock tells how God's motherly love took on new meaning when two young boys from across the globe came into her life--and captured her heart. She shares her personal experience and thoughts on international adoption.

In Come to the Table, a sermon delivered at the 2008 EEWC Conference, the Reverend Nancy Wilson, Moderator of the Metropolitan Community Churches, shows us how two dejected disciples' experience of walking, talking, and having a meal with the Risen Christ changed their lives forever and continues to speak to us today.

In Two Paintings of the Supper at Emmaus, Linda Williams calls our attention to two remarkable and often overlooked paintings of the supper at Emmaus. She shows how these representations highlight the inclusiveness of Jesus' message and his welcome to all people.

Presenting three Web Only features:

Slaying the Public Speaking Mastodon: 
How to Vanquish Your Fears of Public Speaking
Communication professor Alena Amato Ruggerio provides ten tips to help you conquer your anxieties about addressing an audience. (Web Exclusive)

Using Our Hands to Find Our Souls
Melanie C. Reuter, D.Min. shows us how our lives can be enriched as we link art and spirituality together. (Web Exclusive)

Book Review:  Poets on the Psalms 
Linda Williams reviews Lynn Domina’s collection of essays by modern poets who examine the ancient poetry of the Psalms. (Web Exclusive)

Two Noteworthy New Books
about Women, God, and Religious Institutions

Book Review: Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism, and the American Girl by Susan Campbell. Reviewed by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott.

Book review: Taking Back God: American Women Rising Up for Religious Equality by Leora Tanenbaum. Reviewed by Alena Amato Ruggerio.

Dr. Alena Amato Ruggerio’s June 27, 2008 plenary presentation, “Theapalooza: The Rhetorical Turn in the Third Wave of Biblical Feminism,” from the 2008 EEWC conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, where the conference theme was “A Place at the Table.”

Also on the audio page, listen to Kathryn Christian sing "Gather Me Under Thy Wings," a song she shared with us to accompany her article about God's motherly care for us.

Virginia Mollenkott's presentation, "Comprehending the Dimensions of God's Love: What Is Our Contribution?" from the July 21, 2006 EEWC Biennial Conference held in Charlotte, North Carolina, is also featured on our audio page.

Feature Articles

Meditation on a Pedicure

Rev. Kathy Pigg talks about her “three-quarter life crisis,” and what she learned from having her first pedicure as she entered her 70th year.

God’s Call

Ken Sehested composed this litany on responding to God’s call – regardless of age, gender, or any of the other artificial categorizations that separate people. “But I am only a . . . ” is no excuse for refusing to answer God’s call to service.

Book Review

The Power of the Word: Scripture and the Rhetoric of Empire by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza.
reviewed by Reta Halteman Finger

“Schuessler Fiorenza has provided a new method of interpretation that has challenged traditional ways of reading the Bible,” writes Dr. Reta Finger in her thoughtful review of this book by the noted Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School.

More Book Reviews

Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Graham
by Patricia Cornwell
reviewed by Nancy Hardesty

Although this book was published several years ago, we’re reviewing it here in memory of Ruth Graham who died this past year. As reviewer Nancy A. Hardesty writes, “In her husband’s crusades, Ruth Bell Graham preferred a seat in the crowd to a place on the podium. . . .But back in the mountains of western North Carolina, Ruth Graham was making her own decisions and crafting her own life.”

Two Reviews of Being Feminist, Being Christian: Essays from Academia by Allyson Jule and Bettina Tate Pedersen.

Review, 2008 paperback edition,
by Melanie Springer Mock
(Web Exclusive, January 2009).

Review, 2006 hardback edition,
by Anne Eggebroten
(from Christian Feminism Today, Summer, 2007).