June 26, 2014
On Monday, Mormon feminist activist Kate Kelly was excommunicated by a disciplinary council convened by the LDS Church. Her excommunication was a direct result of her work calling for the ordination of women. Read her post, “My defense against the charge of ‘apostasy’” here.
Kate Kelly is one of the founders of Ordain Women.
In the wake of this action a website, Strangers in Zion (and associated social media accounts), went live. The website seeks to bring together those who support efforts to change the patriarchal culture of the church.
Feminist and LGBT activists have routinely been excommunicated by disciplinary councils in the LDS Church. Strangers in Zion provides the materials necessary for individual church members who support the call toward great equality inclusiveness to request their own disciplinary council. From the Strangers in Zion website:
“Participants in Strangers In Zion will prepare and send letters requesting a Church disciplinary council to their local leadership. They will create profiles on the Strangers in Zion website where they can provide updates on the status of their disciplinary hearings. If these requests are not honored, it is our firm position that the other pending disciplinary hearings should be canceled. Likewise, if these requests result in Church discipline, it further demonstrates that the Church is not the diverse, inclusive religious community that it pretends to be. “
As we gather in St. Louis to celebrate 40 years of advocating for gender justice in Christianity, the members of EEWC-Christian Feminism Today join people around the world in applauding the efforts of Kate Kelly, Ordain Women, Strangers in Zion, and all the other courageous Mormons advocating for justice.
posted by Marg Herder
