Re-Imagining Draws Women for Revival

ST. PAUL (ELCA) - Nearly 1,000 women and men gathered here for the Re-Imagining Revival, a four-day event marking the end of the World Council of Churches' "Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women." Close to 100 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America joined the celebration April 16-19. Participants from at least 21 denominations were present, coming from 42 states and eight countries.
Worship, plenary addresses, small group discussions and workshops on the theme of feminist theology comprised the event. Among the Lutherans addressing the gathering were the Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad and Musimbi Kanyoro.
Lundblad, preacher for "The Protestant Hour" radio program, is associate professor of preaching at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. Kanyoro is the YWCA World General Secretary in Geneva; she previously served as the executive secretary for women in church and society for the Lutheran World Federation. The popular Minneapolis-based musical group Bread for the Journey led the music.
"Re-imagining" took on many meanings in the gathering. Some looked to re-imagining the roles of women in the church. Others re-imagined the roles of women of color in church while still others re-imagined the roles of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people within the church.
Some plenary speakers spoke of deep challenges of re-imagining within existing church structures but the two Lutheran speakers talked of re-imagining a newness that has a foundation in the tradition of the church.
Kanyoro reminded participants that revival can and does happen within the church. To Kanyoro, revival is the ability to be able to hear, teach and speak about how one experiences the Good News in one's life, both individually and in community. "Revival means to tell of God's deeds in our lives and in our community," said Kanyoro. "To name God and acknowledge God so that others may experience the goodness of God."
Kanyoro challenged participants to struggle together with other women, even those who don't know of re-imagining. Revival, she reminded the crowd, requires trust and reliability and people who live honest lives. "How is our credibility?" she asked.
Lundblad, preaching at the event's "revival," called for a "liberatory, evangelical, gospel-bearing revival." Re-imaginers, Lundblad said, must trouble the waters of the church or the waters will become stagnant, even though they don't trouble the waters to cause agony or to make others angry.
Christians are called to be the presence of God in the midst of the world, Lundblad reminded. "If we do not speak, if we don't bear testimony, if we do not engage in actions that light up the world, if we do not trouble the waters, then we grieve the Holy Spirit of God."
The Rev. John L. Backus, St. James Lutheran Church, Kansas City, Missouri, echoed that call to be the presence of God. As a straight, white/Asian male, Backus said, "I know I'm on top. I have the power, privilege, and respect that comes with it." This event, Backus noted, is about fundamentally oppressed people looking for voice. "I think we are entering one of history's important moments," he said. "It's time for the church to realize that we should stop treating our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered brothers and sisters differently. I can't stand by anymore. The church is marginalized in our society on this issue; we are not a leader in this area."
The first Re-Imagining conference, held in 1993 as a mid-Decade event designed as a call to renewal for church women and men, brought much criticism from conservative and neo-conservative factions of many denominations.
"At the first event we were naive, innocent," said the Rev. Cathy E. Rosenholtz, who attended the 1993 Re-Imagining conference as a seminary student. "We didn't realize that women doing theology together would create such a backlash." Rosenholtz serves as pastor at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Jamaica, New York.
"There should be room within our faith to grow with the challenges. I like to think of myself as one of the gentle people of the Spirit who are willing to speak and listen across the boundaries, while still speaking the truth, said Rosenholtz.
That message of the thirty-something pastor was echoed by senior citizen Burnice Fjellman. "This challenges me in my thinking. It has not changed my personal beliefs and convictions," said Fjellman, a member of Grace and St. Paul Lutheran Church, Manhattan. "I am still a Christian. I am still a Lutheran." Fjellman also attended the 1993 Re-Imagining conference.
When denominational caucuses took place Lutheran seminarians, retired pastors, spiritual directors, campus ministry folk, interim pastors, college students, volunteers, a hospital chaplain and other Lutheran lay women and men gathered, representing the geographical and age diversity of the church.
The group's discussion centered on how one "does feminist theology" in one's own ministry and how support for and from each other can be achieved, especially in the isolation of some ministry settings.
Other plenary speakers included Mary Farrell Bednarowski, professor of religious studies at United Theological Seminary in New York City; Brigalia Bam, recently retired General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches; Delores Williams, professor of theology and culture at Union Theological Seminar, New York; and Anne Patrick, professor of religion at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.
Mary Ann Lundy, now deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches, lost her position with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) over her leadership role in the first re-imagining conference. Lundy presented a list of learnings or "re-imaginings" since that first event. Among those learnings was "to stand on the side of change is to be called a troublemaker." Lundy also learned that many church leaders are lazy, avoiding the hard work of empowering people in the pews. Referring to her firing, Lundy learned "that it is a gift to be expelled from the center."
The 1998 event was organized by the Re-Imagining Community, a Minneapolis-based worldwide community of women theologians seeking to keep global feminist voices alive within the Christian church. The community produces a quarterly publication and other resources while also organizing small groups and offering study opportunities.

[*Linda Post Bushkofsky, member of St. Stephen Lutheran Church,
Bloomington, Minn., prepared this report for the ELCA news service. She is
associate synod executive for communication and interpretation in the Synod
of Lakes and Prairies, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)]

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