The Faith Lives of Women and Girls by Slee Nicola;Porter Fran;Phillips Anne;

Author:Slee, Nicola;Porter, Fran;Phillips, Anne;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2016-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

This was one of the most inclusive sermons (preached by a man) and the only time that the image of God as male was challenged.

Reflections

Taking the findings as a whole, my research established that women and their experiences were very rarely mentioned in the sermons preached in CoGoP churches and, when they were, they were generally referred to in negative terms. Women were usually included as they related to the male characters (for example, as mothers, wives, or disciples), rather than being regarded as actors in their own right.16 This would make it difficult for women hearers to identify with the sermon. None of the sermons were really emancipatory for women hearers, and thus women were not being empowered to proclaim the gospel from their own perspectives.

16 Marjorie Procter-Smith, ‘Images of Women in the Lectionary’, in Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and Mary Collins (eds), Women – Invisible In Church and Theology (Edinburgh, 1985), p. 57. Nancy Hardesty believes that gender-inclusive language is about justice. Women as well as men form the human race and should be included in preaching as a matter of course.17 The injustices served within the sermons I analysed are quite blatant. Women are at best invisible – and encouraged to remain so – and at worst oppressed and disempowered. The highly exclusive language aids in the lack of self-worth and inferiority in women.

In her study, Cheryl Saunders concluded that women were twice as likely to use inclusive language in their preaching as men.18 This was not borne out in my research, although it must be admitted that the total number of sermons preached by women was so small that it is difficult to generalize from my findings. It was, however, disappointing to find that the women preachers in my study used the same gender-exclusive language as men, appearing to have no awareness that this disempowered themselves as well as other women.19

17 Nancy A Hardesty, Inclusive Language in the Church (Atlanta, GA, 1987), p. 65. 18 Saunders, ‘The Woman As Preacher’, p. 213. 19 Clanton, In Whose Image?, pp. 75, 81. Women were not seen in an authoritative light within these sermons and were generally regarded as appendages to male actors, important in relation to marriage; otherwise they were expendable.20 The nursing child in one sermon was an important person; however, the only good the woman was said to perform was to provide a breast for the child to feed from (‘God … became a babe nursing on a woman’s breast’). Even as a mother, she is not empowered but encouraged to stay in her place. There was no recognition that women create life, or that, as God is the ultimate creator, women could be seen as co-creators. The men, on the other hand, are by and large strong, upright characters and even their faults are generally overlooked. They are allowed to give guidance and set the example to follow.

20 Procter-Smith, ‘Images of Women in the Lectionary’, p. 59.

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