Evangelical fervor is catching. I don't usually hand out pamphlets or cards with the message of salvation, but after this weekend of immersion in the CBE community, I was passing out EEWC-CFT business cards to the strangers next to me on a plane, a woman and a man.
This conference was like a world missions conference. Many of the speakers were head of an organization to help women in Africa or Cambodia or somewhere else. Donating and learning more about their work was clearly an option. Many also said, "Come visit us. We will house you and use your gifts. Tell us what you could do if you came."
Prayers were always in another language, then English. Every other year the conference goes outside US. 10 or so Africans were present as speakers or workshop leaders, 6 or so Asians, maybe 15 African-Americans, 6 Asian-Americans. Lots of men--maybe 30%. Esp. male speakers. One of the staff told me the total registration was 250+ (some just for one day).
And there were so many men at the conference--maye 30%. The plenary speakers were two men, three women. I feel more relaxed in a mostly-women conference. I was pretty invisible at this conference, until I identified myself as being there for EEWC-CFT, but I felt that I had to be on my best behavior.
Today's highlight for me was Bettina Tate Pedersen's workshop, "Reading the Bible, Reading Literature: Becoming a Feminist Christian Reader of the Bible." She discussed the word "biblical" and noted that the Conference on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, CBE, and EEWC-CFT all use the word biblical to describe themselves--but come out at different places. Sigh.
Another similarity between CBE and EEWC-CFT: we are both viewed as dangerous by those on the more conservative end of the spectrum. At one point we were told to turn to the person on each side of us and say, "You are dangerous!" That phrase then came up again in many speeches.
More on Bettina's workshop:
It was in the last block of workshops, Sunday morning 9:15 to 10:15, just before the plenary worship that ended the conference, but the small room was packed with about forty people. She provided a detailed 2-page outline and a glossary of terms used in the talk.
Here are the main points of her outline:
I. Reading: A Personal History (Reading's Importance in my Life)
II. Literature Studies, Bible Interpretation, and Literary Criticism
III. Literary Criticism: Feminist Foundations and Practice
IV. Feminist Reading Practices for Bible Reading and Sermon Listening
V. Reading Suggestions--Feminist Effects and Realities Going Forward (Some Feminist Interpretations of Figures, Language, Messages)
A. Descriptive vs. Prescriptive messages in the Bible
B. Essentialist vs. Constructivist starting positions and how they shape our reading
C. Context sometimes helps / Sometimes doesn't
D. Selective literalism as an interpretive act
E. Tentative/partial nature of language as inescapable (as in Deconstruction/Post-Structuralism)
F. Label of "biblical"--like personalized hermeneutics
G.Jesus' teaching/reading by parable
"Every reader is at the same time an interpreter," Bettina said, because we all bring to the text our own "linguistic reservoir" (a term from Louise Rosenblatt).
"Sometimes what we bring to a text unintentionally leads us astray or causes us to bring in a foreign interpretation," she continued. This consciousness should lead us to humility and tenderness in dealing with a text.
Bettina pointed out that "Words are referential by nature"--we use words to define words, and we use them to refer to real objects such as a rose.
"Indeed, we live in the tentative and slippery world of words all the time."
When you translate, things get more complicated because there may not be an English word that exactly matches or conveys everything in a Greek or Hebrew word.
Then there are two big problems:
1) the context of a passage, methods to figure it out, and
2) what we bring to the text in terms of our view of women and men and whether they are essentially different or just somewhat different as influenced after birth.
In conclusion, quoting Gail A. Yee, Bettina asked: will we accept the Bible as open to multiple interpretations like any other work of art? or will we believe that there is only one interpretation of the Bible?
It depends on "how conscious we are of the multiple and complex task of reading." Thus we come to see "what it means to see through a glass darkly."
I sighed--communication and written communication are so hard!
It was a profoundly moving conclusion, and I had to smile seeing that Bettina herself was close to tears as she ended. That doesn't happen often. I wanted to hug her afterward, but the room was abuzz and she was surrounded. Another day!
Worship service:
First there was a talk by Fatuma Hashi, who has worked as director of gender and development for World Vision since 1999. She is a lawyer and has researched women's legal rights in Sub-Saharan Africa; she's from Somalia.
More devastating statistics: In a survey 64 million girls 20-24 years of age reported that they had been forced to marry before age 18. 12.5% of girls in Africa undergo FGM between ages 12-14 (2 million per year, 6,000 per day). More than 60 million girls are missing (gender selective abortion or infanticide). Girls are 30% less likely to finish primary school.
"These are moral issues--I think this is spiritual warfare," Fatuma said. "Christian organizations have a responsibility to do justice, to witness that men and women are equally in the image of God." We need to end the cultural oppression of women--we need "to honor and empower them."
Churches and pastors are the key. She does gender trainings around the world and uses CBE materials/curriculum. "We are dangerous," she repeated.
Then there was a Kenyan Liturgy for Holy Communion (kind of Anglican) preceded by praise singing of "Lord Most High" with some other praise singing interspersed (many raised hands).
The mixture of super-formal language (Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy...) with simple praise songs (words shown on two screens at each end of the room) was funny. Baptists, Anglicans, charismatics, etc.
After one very Anglican prayer, the response "Alleluia" was prompted on the screen and the room rang with "Hallelujahs!"
The Reverend Tina Lockett gave the homily, followed by communion (wine and gluten-free wafers) at three stations.
At mine were two African male pastors. I walked to them and almost picked up a wafer to dip it instead of waiting with cupped hands for it to be given to me. No moving or dancing in a circle--and I had worn a long skirt expecting something like that.
Afterward I had lunch with my South African friends Xana and Alan Macauley, who have the Hands of Compassion ministry/community of 120 people just south of Johannesburg, supported by the mega-church Rhema. Very intense lunch--they are opposed to abortion, but Xana wanted to hear why I am pro-choice. She said they have pregnant women come to them for help; they give them housing and food until they can place them in a more permanent place. Two women have done abortions on themselves; Xana (pronounced Shawna) thinks perhaps HOC should change its policy to allow taking pregnant girls to a place where they can get a safe abortion if that's what they want. http://www.handsofcompassion.co.za/
All in all, I'm glad I went. It was difficult but valuable.
