When I applied to divinity school thirty years ago, I was asked by my interviewer, “Why don’t you just be a good church member and serve the church that way?” That is, I was being advised to continue the traditional role of being a supportive woman to the men doing the “real work” of ministry. Ignoring that advice, I enrolled, and when I graduated and sought a call to ministry, the response was, “We don’t think our congregation is ready for a woman minister.” Times are better now for women seeking calls to ministry, but the lunch line for service continues to be blocked by male church leadership. They stand with locked arms, holding off women from breaking through to many kinds of opportunities for ministry. But, we continue to hold up the model of that woman who broke in line and interrupted the order of the day. We find that Jesus is still there, ready to speak up for us. Now, we too have a voice, advocating parity for women in professional service to the church.

Yet there remain injustices, even apart from the damage to women’s status in the church. Paraphrasing George Orwell in Animal Farm, “all are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

Injustice prevails in attitudes that reflect our social environment as well, where racism, poverty, health care inadequacies, corporate greed, insular thinking, security and other ills still exist. The church has work to do to include everyone in its outreach ministries, its membership rolls, and leadership rosters. The same is true in our civil society. 

During the efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment twenty-five years ago, the N.C. Council of Churches established a committee to work for passage of the Amendment in this state. Women and men together were mutually supportive in advocating for the Amendment through workshops, candlelight vigils, marches, articles, and lobbying our state legislators. Education on the significance and value of such an Amendment took place in Sunday Schools, women’s study groups, and other gatherings. When the Amendment failed, all who had labored so diligently realized that they must find another way to address the still-present need for women’s equality in all aspects of life: religion, education, economics, health, politics, and racial issues. About a dozen women who had been serving on the Equal Rights Amendment Committee decided their work wasn’t over, and the group refocused as the Equal Rights Committee.

These outstanding women, who contributed so much to their churches and communities, remained at the front of advocacy for women’s rights in North Carolina. Several years ago they were collectively honored through interviews conducted with them. A dramatic presentation of their experiences and their opinions, Coffeehouse of the Spirit, was created by the late Sister Evelyn Mattern of the Council staff, who had guided them through their many efforts. This committee acted in the name of Christ to recognize and proclaim the right of women to serve on equal terms with men within and outside of the church.

In viewing the status of women throughout the world, we find an even more disturbing picture of what needs to be accomplished. In 1995, I attended the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing, China.  Women came from all parts of the world to allow their voices to be heard in the forums. An amazing atmosphere of trust developed as we came to realize our common hopes, dreams, and problems. We sought to carry our concerns and demands to the ears of those making the crucial decisions and forming the declarations that would come out of this historic gathering. The truth was out: women across the world in all societies were discriminated against, left out of decision-making processes, and numbered with the poor and the voiceless. Not a place in the world could declare truthfully that women and men were totally at par, recognized fully as equals in every way. Nor could any place say that women were provided equal entry into every government, business, or education endeavor, or into the many faith institutions around the world. Every faith had its bias against women’s leadership.

While it is not the calling of governments to be communities of faith, it is incumbent upon those of us who do belong to such communities to insist upon just treatment of all. Within the church, we can do no less than continue to work for full inclusion of women and all those who have been placed outside the circle. If we are the representatives of Jesus witnessing to his teachings, we must seek to emulate the way that he relates to those who come to him. We can seek to be as accepting, as welcoming, as strong an advocate for God’s justice and peace as the One who is featured in the gospels we read and study. We begin locally, here in North Carolina, but what we do has wider effects beyond our state boundaries. Whether we live in rural or urban settings, small towns or larger communities, we are invited to the lunch counter with Jesus and to be heard.

By Rev. Jean Rodenbough, Presbytery of Salem and President, NC Council of Churches, Greensboro