Paul on women in the early church

Paul’s own authentic Epistles give us some of the most compelling evidence of Paul’s own support of vocal leadership by women in the churches to which he wrote.

Paul tells us in 1^st Corinthians 12:4 that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are bestowed upon “everyone” and as one of the promised gifts of the Spirit is speaking in tongues, Paul must have known that women would avail themselves of that gift.

Paul, in Galatians 3:28 write that we are “neither male nor female” showing Paul did not differentiate between the genders.

Perhaps one of the most powerful testimonies to Paul’s understanding of the role Women in the Church is the way he addresses many women in his Epistles as his peers and co-workers. Amongst the most relevant are those he acknowledges in or recommends for positions of leadership: In Romans 16:1 Paul recommends Phoebe, the bearer of his message to Rome as a Deacon to the church at Cenchreae, in Romans 16:3 her refers to Prisca/Priscilla and in Philippians 4:2 he references Euodia and Syntyche as his co-worker in Christ, this is a term he uses throughout his Epistles to identify persons engaged in missionary activity. Perhaps most compellingly is his reference in Romans 16:17 to Junia, a prominent Apostle who had found Christ before him.

Much of the material which condemns women to a subservient role is found outside the authentic Pauline texts and as such can be dismissed as pseudonymous and without the ability to give real insight into Paul’s intentions.

There are relatively few verses within authentic texts which may be used as a pretext for silencing women. Ephesians 5:22-24, which may itself be the product of later redactors, refers only to patriarchy within home life in the first century Mediterranean world and not the role of women holding positions of leadership within Christ’s church. 1 Corinthians 11:7-9 and 1 Corinthians 11:3 also limit their reference to household life in the ancient near east.

This leaves us 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 as the only authentic text which specifically refers to the role of vocal ministry amongst women in the early church. It prohibits all talking by women in church. Yet it is in contradiction to verse 11:5 where St. Paul states that women can actively pray and prophesy during services. Which leads us to the obvious conclusion that verses 14:33b to 36 are a later addition. If they are removed, then Verse 33a merges well with Verse 37 in a seamless transition. Since they appear to be a later interpolation, they do not fulfill the basic requirement to be considered as Pauline; therefore we are left without any evidence within the scriptures of Paul’s desire to limit the vocal leadership of women in the early church.

Paul’s writings do not silence women or prohibit leadership in the church. He recognize’s women in positions of authority and the important role they played. References to the contrary cannot be attributed to Paul and must be viewed as non-Pauline.

Explorefaith.org

No matter where we are in life, whether successful in business, happily married or suffering through a career disappointment, divorce or the death of a loved one, we may find ourselves feeling lost and without direction. How many of us have asked, "Is this all there is?" Ironically, as a society we have more than at any time in our past, yet we still feel there is something missing.

It was with this understanding that explorefaith.org was created. "Explorefaith.org is a safe place where individuals can explore the spiritual side of life in a non-judgemental environment," says Palmer Jones, Web site coordinator. "We are a Christian community, linked through the Internet, that offers a great resource for anyone who is interested in spiritual issues. Our sole reason for being is to help people move along their spiritual journey. We do not care if they are agnostic, Anglican, Baptist or Buddhist. If they are searching then explorefaith.org is there as a resource."

The site features articles and comments (in audio as well as text) from some of the leading religious thinkers in the world. Also available is a bulletin board where visitors can express their own ideas and ask questions.

Explorefaith.org deals with tough, real world issues like sexuality, death and the overwhelming demands of our modern-day culture, while presenting a God of grace and acceptance. In addition, it features articles and discussions about the nature of God, the challenges of faith, and what it means to be in a relationship with God. Explorefaith.org does not offer simple answers. Instead, it serves up a variety of provacative opinions from theologians and everyday people.

Interfaith Voices

Interfaith Voices is an independent public radio show providing engaging and informative discussion on the key public issues of our day through the lenses of many different faith perspectives. They seek to foster religious tolerance and educate listeners on the broad diversity of religious traditions and viewpoints in the United States, Canada, and around the world. Their purpose is to promote interfaith understanding through dialogue.

Some of the most creative work in spirituality, theology and ethics is happening at the intersection of belief systems. And in a world where denominational loyalties are often entwined with racial, ethnic or nationality groups, and where religious faith is often used (or misused) in the quest for political and military objectives, interfaith dialogue is essential for peace and racial/ethnic harmony worldwide. Interfaith Voices is integral to work for justice and peace in our world.

In addition, the United States is now the most religiously diverse nation on earth. We now have sizeable groups of Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus side by side with Jews and Christians. In addition, there are hundreds of faith traditions represented in smaller numbers. Our American tradition of religious tolerance requires that we understand and respect such traditions.

Interfaith Voices is an important vehicle for doing just that.

Interfaith Voices provides engaging and informative discussion on the key public issues of our day through the lenses of many different faith perspectives. We foster religious tolerance and educate our listeners on the broad diversity of religious traditions and viewpoints in the United States.

Our purpose is to promote interfaith understanding through dialogue. We do not proselytize.

We deal with a wide range of issues where theology intersects with public policy, including social justice, war and peace, electoral politics, separation of church (synagogue/mosque, etc.) and state, human rights, sexual and reproductive issues, racial/ethnic discrimination, women's rights and many more. We frequently interview authors of significant books, and we often highlight a faith tradition little known in the United States (e.g., Buddhism, Islam, Haitian Vodou, Sikhism, etc.)

What is a Community Minister?

What is a Community Minister?
Unitarians and Universalists have long understood the term ministry to refer to the religious leadership and services that our ordained clergy offer the members of congregations, including worship, pastoral care, administration, and religious education. In recent years, our understanding of ministry has grown to include the religious leadership and service offered by ordained Unitarian Universalist ministers in settings 'beyond the walls' of our local congregations.

Unitarian Universalists use the term Community Ministry to recognize and affirm the work of ordained ministers whose primary locus of ministry is in a community or other extra-congregational setting. Unitarian Universalist Community Ministers often work for and among people who are not and may never be Unitarian Universalists, but who may benefit from ministries that incarnate our Unitarian Universalist principles and values in the larger world.

What do Community Ministers Do?
Unitarian Universalist Community Ministers offer many different kinds of ministries, in many different settings, serving many different populations. Currently, Community Ministers are serving...as chaplains in hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, jails and prisons...as campus ministers and professors of religion in universities, colleges and seminaries...as ministers of music and the arts in the wider community...as pastoral counselors and pastoral psychotherapists in interfaith counseling centers and in private practice...in educational and advocacy programs to further peace and social justice efforts, protect the environment end racism, work for economic justice... in street ministries and other community programs serving poor people, immigrants, people with disabilities, and other marginalized persons in our midst...as military chaplains.

We anticipate other kinds of community ministries will emerge in the future.

How Do Community Ministers Benefit Our Congregations?
In addition to all they bring to our wider communities through their work in ministry, Community Ministers also have a lot to offer our own congregations, as they help us to envision and incarnate ministry in new and exciting ways. They are already bringing their community experience to strengthen our congregations' worship, social justice, pastoral care and religious education programs. They often work closely with their parish-based ministerial colleagues, helping to network programs between local congregations and further district-wide and continental initiatives.

Endorsement is a Way Our Congregations Recognize and Support Community Ministers.
Congregations and Fellowships can recognize and support Community Ministers in many ways. At minimum, however, the Unitarian Universalist Association requires that Community Ministers be formally endorsed by a local Unitarian Universalist congregation or other denominational body in order for the Community Minister to remain in full and active ministerial fellowship with the UUA. Community Ministers must "maintain ties with and receive endorsement by one or more of the following: a UUA member congregation, authorized District Body, UUA Associate Member organization, or the UUA. Endorsement includes a pledge of continuing relationship and support and affirmation that the work is recognized by the endorsing body as a ministry" (MFC rule 18, section 3). The endorsement must be reaffirmed every three years.

What is Meant by ‘Continuing Relationship and Support?
It is up to each Community Minister and endorsing congregation to decide what 'continuing relationship and support! means to them. Some begin with fairly simple, basic agreements, expecting that the relationship will grow and evolve over time to reflect the temperaments, gifts and needs of the particular congregation and Community Minister. Often, these agreements include recognizing the Community Minister by name and title in orders of service, newsletters, and other congregational documents and publications, and offering the Community Minister a chance to share their ministry with the congregation by participating in worship services, writing for the newsletter, offering workshops, and if appropriate including interested congregants in the work of the community ministry.

When the congregation lists the endorsed Community Minister on the Annual Member Society Certification it files with the UUA each winter, the Community Minister can then vote at the annual General Assembly as a ministerial delegate, along with the other ministerial and lay delegates regularly allotted to the congregation.

It is up to each Community Minister and endorsing congregation to decide whether (or when) financial support will be part of their understanding of endorsement. Unlike their ministerial colleagues who are called to serve our congregations as parish ministers or ministers of religious education, many Community Ministers receive their primary financial support from their community ministry (often an institution or agency in the community that employs them).

How Can We Learn More About Endorsement and Community Ministry?
You can contact your District Executive or the MFC Assistant at the Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group to find out which Community Ministers are working in your district/area, and which congregations have endorsement relationships with Community Ministers. Often these more experienced congregations and ministers can serve as exemplars and mentors for congregations new to community ministry and congregational endorsement.

You can also check the UUA Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group's Community Ministry page at www.uua.org/ministry/settlement/commmin.html for more information.

Thanks to the Rev. Patty Fran and the Rev. Leslie Westbrook, who compiled this information for the UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee May 14,2002

Religious Transition Group

The Religious Transition group provides an empowering and nurturing place for discussion about religious change, conflict, or disillusionment. Most of those in our group have either formally or informally left the LDS Church, or else feel stressed in their relationship with the local religious culture. People of varied religious background are welcome. Meetings are open to any sincere person who wants to come and will abide by our group principles, which encourage honesty, respect for the privacy of others, kindness, support for each individual in his or her search for truth and meaning, and seeking ways to use experiences and emotions constructively.

Although as individuals we may have strong feelings, and discussions may be passionate, as a group we do not seek to tear down anyone else’s faith. Rather, we support each other in our individual paths. We are not interested in trying to sway someone who is happy in their religious belief. We invite anyone who is in need of a supportive place to share thoughts, feelings, and challenges. We believe each person has the right to make their own life choices. The honest dialogue in our group is refreshing. There is power in finally speaking our own truth openly, when in the past we may not have dared to do so. With all our wide-ranging and vigorous discussions we also never forget to have a lot of fun.

Participants tell us that they appreciate the support they feel from the sympathetic and knowledgeable listeners in our group. When ready, each participant may present his or her own spiritual autobiography. Meetings at which this vulnerable sharing occurs are great favorites. The discipline of preparing for and listening to these discussions can be enlightening and healing for everyone involved.

The group is sponsored by and meets in the building of South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, at 6876 South 2000 East (or Highland Dr), south of the 2000 East exit from I-215. Meetings are normally held on the first and third Sundays of every month, beginning at 12:30 PM and ending at 2:30 PM. The starting time and dates are subject to change, in the event of holidays or scheduling conflicts.

5 Smooth Stones

The Five Smooth Stones of James Luther Adams

1. Revelation and truth are not closed, but constantly revealed.
2. All relations between persons ought ideally to rest on mutual, free consent and not coercion.
3. Affirmation of the moral obligation to direct one's effort toward the establishment of a just and loving community.
4. Denial of the immaculate conception of virtue and affirmation of the necessity of social incarnation. Good must be consciously given form and power within history.
5. The resources (divine and human) that are available for achievement of meaningful change justify an attitude of ultimate (but not necessarily immediate) optimism. There is hope in the ultimate abundance of the Universe.

Pastoral Care in Response to Domestic and Intimate Violence

Violence within familial systems is an issue which many facets of the “system” are endeavoring to manage. The primary institutions responsible for controlling this problem are secular authorities but religious institutions have their responsibility in handling these problems as well. The reason for this responsibility would be the theological basis through which many of these behaviors are justified. Secular law from it’s earliest know incarnation (Hammurabi’s Code) has allowed male heads of households to treat their family members as little more than chattels, to be disciplined as seemed best in their eyes. Religious tradition supported this understanding over the centuries and in some traditions continues to support such thinking.

Although religious tradition is one contributing factor to the problem it is not the only extant factor. Psychological traumas oftentimes lead to violent reactions and this, when observed by family members or victims of such abuse can lead to inherited aberrant behaviors which can be passed from generation to generation. Alcohol and drug use can contribute to family violence as can stresses and issues outside the home. All of which in turn can cause violent reactions in the abuser within the home.

Pastoral response should be guided first and foremost by the laws of the land. Far to often religious leaders have allowed their congregants to continue violence in the home for reasons that are unjustifiable; the acceptability of such action by the dictates of ones faith, the hope that the situation can resolve itself through prayer or some other form of divine intervention, the misguided desire to keep familial units intact, and other manifestations of the patriarchal paradigm. Secular authority have done much to remedy this horror by limiting ecclesial confidentiality in such matters in hopes of encouraging pastors to report such violence to proper authorities, particularly in situations where children are involved. In many situations the pastor could find him or herself charged as an accomplice if they fail to report the crime to the proper authorities.

Ecclesial response in situations of domestic violence is clear-cut. If children, elders, or the disabled are involved the religious leader should immediately contact the secular authorities, stand aside, and let the legal system respond. In situations where the victim is less vulnerable the pastoral councilor should strongly encourage the victim to contact secular authority, leave their environment for a shelter which specializes in caring for victims of family abuse, and contact a psychological professional.

Family violence is far too dangerous and volatile a situation to allow non-specialists to attempt to resolve, no matter how noble their intentions.

Paul Tillich-Apostle to the Intellectuals

Paul Tillich, a German-born U.S. theologian and philosopher whose discussions of God and faith illuminated and bound together the realms of traditional Christianity and modern culture. Some of Tillich's books, notably The Courage to Be (1952) and Dynamics of Faith (1957), reached a large public audience not usually concerned with religious matters. The three-volume Systematic Theology (1951–63) was the culmination of his rigorous examination of faith.

Paul Tillich was a central figure in the intellectual life of his time both in Germany and the United States. It is generally held that the 20th century has been marked by a widespread breakdown of traditional Christian convictions about God, morality, and the meaning of human existence in general. In assessing Tillich's role in relation to this development, some critics have regarded him as the last major spokesman for a vanishing Christian culture, a systematic thinker who sought to demonstrate the reasonableness of the Christian faith to modern skeptics. Others have viewed him as a forerunner of the contemporary cultural revolution, whose discussions of the meaning of God and faith served themselves to undermine traditional beliefs. Tillich himself believed he was a “boundary man,” standing between the old and the new, between a heritage imbued with a sense of the sacred and the secular orientation of the new age. He asserted that his vocation was to mediate between the concerns voiced by faith and the imperatives of a questioning reason, thus helping to heal the ruptures threatening to destroy Western civilization. Tillich believed that from the beginning life had prepared him for such a role, and his long career as a theologian, educator, and writer was devoted to this task with single-minded energy.

Some Quotes from Tillich:

Anger is a noble infirmity; the generous failing of the just; the one degree that riseth above zeal, asserting the prerogative of virtue.

Astonishment is the root of philosophy.

Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt.

Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.

Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.

Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.

I hope for the day when everyone can speak again of God without embarrassment.

I loved thee beautiful and kind, And plighted an eternal vow; So altered are thy face and mind, t'were perjury to love thee now!

Language... has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.

Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.

Religion is the state of being grasped by an ultimate concern, a concern which qualifies all other concerns as preliminary and which itself contains the answer to the question of a meaning of our life.

The awareness of the ambiguity of one's highest achievements (as well as one's deepest failures) is a definite symptom of maturity.

The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable.

The first duty of love is to listen.

There is no love which does not become help.

We can speak without voice to the trees and the clouds and the waves of the sea. Without words they respond through the rustling of leaves and the moving of clouds and the murmuring of the sea.