Women, Wisdom and Leadership

Yesterday, at lunch time on day one of the annual Synod / Presbytery meeting of the Uniting Church in SA, I attended a lunch that I had helped to organise. This lunch was for women, and came out of a vision of a friend of mine, Sue, to create space for women to gather for mutual support and encouragement as we engage in ministry in the Uniting Church. 

It was a fabulous event. Such enthusiasm as people entered the room, like they had been waiting for such an opportunity to gather for so long! 

We had invited Liz, Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible lecturer at Uniting College, to lead us in a reflection on Sophia / Lady Wisdom. She appears in Proverbs mostly, and some apocryphal books. It was fantastic to hear Liz's thoughts on what we can find in Lady Wisdom as inspiration for a female approach to leadership. The image of women as leaders in the picture of Lady Wisdom is of relationship, invitation, hospitality. And Liz challenged us to resist accepting the status quo of structures and patterns of organisation in the church, instead bringing the gift of our feminine approach to being and to leading. We were challenged to look for ways to embody the sense of fun and play that Wisdom brings to her engagement with God, humanity and creation. What would it look like to invite a sense of play into the meetings of the church? 

Interestingly, as I shared all this with Mum at dinner last night, it reminded her of the suggestion she made for congregational meetings at Blackwood when she was secretary of the congregation. The congregational meetings happen as part of the morning worship, which is a combined worship when usually there are two worship spaces of a Sunday morning. The meetings go on for some time, it's a big congregation and there is a lot happening in the life of this community, so there is a lot of business. Mum suggested that people bring something to contribute for morning tea - offering hospitality to one another. And there hasn't been a complaint since about the way the congregational meetings are organised. 

And this reminded me of the way the Black Wood Jazz would plan - I resisted calling our planning 'meetings'. Instead, we met for afternoon tea each month, late on a Friday afternoon. We would have beer or glass of wine, milkshake or cup of tea, and there would often be a bowl of wedges on the table. This was as much building relationship as it was planning the Black Wood Jazz spaces we created. 

So it is a natural thing for us as women to offer hospitality, to build relationships, as the way we lead. 

Another thing I noticed was as Liz made mention, on the side, of the hospitality that Wisdom offered - in bread and wine. 

Now, I think I have blogged my less traditional approach to naming and envisaging the Trinity as Creator, Wisdom Spirit? Well, to view the second person of the Trinity as Wisdom not Word, and to see Jesus as the incarnation of this aspect of the Divine, in the light of the picture of Wisdom in Proverbs, is to see some integrity, some continuity in the picture of Wisdom, of Jesus as Wisdom incarnate. Just throwing that out there - love to know what you think! 

I have some more thoughts on hospitality in the light of a book I have just read, Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson. I shall blog those another time. 

But it was interesting to read on Chris McLeod's blog his reflections on women, leadership and community in the story of Ruth. 

Sacred moment on a Friday night

I look up into the mirror

where clouds are brooding

shading the star light

blocking the moon light

feet up

head back

cupping amber in my hands

I look up into the mirror

where the clouds are drifting

shifting to make room

for tiny glimmers of 

starlight

faint hints of moonlight

toes wiggling 

eyes wandering

sipping cool warming liquid

I look at the mirror

where the clouds are moving

my hair is blown a little too

legs stretch 

eyes close

and I breathe in deeply

breathe out slowly

legs stretch

eyes open

I look again into the mirror

looking a question

finding a smile in reply

hold my breath 

blink back a tear

I am here

I am here

through whispy clouds

moonlight and starlight

twinkle

I smile in return

ah, Shakespeare

Shakespeare play Sunday, and it was about time I saw one. This was a film of the National Theatre doing All’s Well that Ends Well at the Old Vic. Stunning production. They embraced the fairy / folk tale element of the story, and it really helped to tell the story. There were segments of ‘slow motion’ when the actors moved slowly … there was use of silhouette to show action that was mostly without dialogue, in order to convey more of the story … so it was also a use of silence, clever, so clever. And music was there, and the staging, they’d have Paris and Rosillion depicted on the stage at the same time, with characters freezing in one place while the action carried on in another. And the use of Gold for the King’s Palace and Silver for Rosillion was really clever, subtle, so subtle. The story itself is less familiar to me than other stories, and has an interesting mix of farce and darkness. Helena is treated quite badly by her husband (who you can actually sympathise with, as a wife not of his choosing is bestowed on him by the King). And you can see themes and language reappearing from other stories Shakespeare told, but reinvented, not just plonked in out of laziness, they’re always changed, adapted, twisted for a new context. And I think in the darkness alongside the farce you see Shakespeare’s concern to tell the story of humanity – he was so perceptive about what it is to be human, the good and the bad. This is a story of a strong intelligent independent woman, who really does carry the story. It’s also got stories of deceit, lust, war, honour and dishonour, power … someone said to me recently that Esther is quite Shakespearean. I think I agree, and perhaps that’s part of what draws me to the story. It is a story about humanity, about the depths of evil we are capable of, the capacity for humans to hurt each other, and the capacity for good, for courage, for selflessness … I think it is the stories that depict humanity honestly and truly that are the stories that last, stories that tell us who we are, offer us hope that we can be better than we are, that help us to laugh and to cry – stories that Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens wrote, stories that ancient Israel and early Christians told, stories that Jesus told …

anticipating ELC's Artist in Residence

I am very much looking forward to attending some of the sessions of the Effective Living Centre's Artist in Residence program this year. Trish Watts will be leading sessions on the theme 'Finding voice, seeking play' - looking at music and movement.

The Effective Living Centre brings fabulous people from around Australia and overseas to be part of its program throughout the year, and I love the way their program effortlessly blends art, spirituality, healing, nurture, to equip and challenge us in the daily living of life connected to the Sacred.

Click here for more information and the brochure to register.

Biblical Storytelling opportunity for those in Melbourne

The Christmas Storytelling Project

"Tell someone a story and they'll be blessed for a day.
Teach someone to storytell and they'll be a blessing to the whole community.”

This year, instead of touring a Christmas storytelling performance, for the first time Melbourne churches have the exciting opportunity to provide someone from their own community to receive professional one-on-one training in the art of Biblical Storytelling. Led by The Backyard Bard's Creative Director &skilled storyteller, Simon Camilleri, all participants will receive over 10 hours of fun & practical coaching in how to prepare a passionate Christmas storytelling for you own church's Christmas event!

BOOK NOW & DON'T MISS OUT!!
Contact Simon on 0425 851 540 or simon@thebackyardbard.com