This International Women’s Day Revd Esther Foss, our Dean of Women’s Ministry, writes:
The theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Accelerate Action’.
According to data from the World Economic Forum, it will take until 2158, roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity. I wonder if this prediction took the Church of England into account – and if not, if it would have made a difference?
Dr Seuss’s character the Lorax says: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Do we care a whole awful lot about gender equality in our churches?
It is not possible to build the Kingdom of God without justice. Yet this essential element can sometimes feel like a corner stone that has been rejected by the builders. We do not have to be construction experts to know what happens when the fundamentals are ignored – just look up Matthew 7:27.
What can we do to make sure we are building on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, in whom there is “no longer east, west, south or north… but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth?”
All of us can use what we have: eyes and ears to see and hear what is going on around us and voices to speak out for what is right. Ignorance is no defence as Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats makes plain (Matthew 25:31-46). As Our Lord teaches on many occasions, we must beware the blasphemy of using our faith as an excuse to do nothing. Remember the harsh words he had for the ‘hypocrites’? (e.g. Matthew 23:13) Heaven forbid we should be among them.
A story of the early church puts it this way:
A monk went to visit a monastery which had a reputation for holiness. When he arrived, he was shocked to see the community working instead of praying. He quickly found the abbot: “You seem to have forgotten the scriptures – ‘Do not labour for the food that perishes. Mary has chosen the good portion.”
The abbot gave the monk a prayer book and directed him to the chapel. The monk wasted no time getting on his knees to pray. But after a few hours his belly began to rumble – and no one had been to get him for the evening meal. He went to find the abbot, who explained that the meal had been eaten. The monk demanded to know why he had not been invited. The abbot replied, “Brother, we are human and need to eat – that is why we work. But you have chosen the good portion and prayed the whole day long. Because you are a spiritual man you obviously do not need physical food as we do.”
The monk blushed in shame and begged the abbot’s forgiveness. The abbot gently responded: “Don’t forget that Mary needs Martha, brother. It is really thanks to Martha that Mary is praised.”
The church needs Mary, Martha and every woman and man that God has created to work with all their might against injustice. Discrimination in terms of gender or anything else is never ok. Let us not wait until 2158 to ensure it has no place in our church.
Esther Foss,
Dean of Women’s Ministry.
