A sibling, who is also clergy, has recently had some challenges, and they have been grateful for the "brotherhood" of fellow clergy who have helped. I'd like today to give a shoutout to my "sisterhood" of clergy.
They are not all female, I'm using "sisterhood" in the inclusive way that my sibling uses "brotherhood." But I am female, and they recently helped me.
Obligatory sabbatical tie-in: when I finally go in my sabbatical, especially as I visit sites in Israel, Greece and Rome which are largely Roman Catholic or Orthodox, I expect to not be recognized as clergy on a sabbatical, but as a lay pilgrim. Because of my gender.
I have, coming up next Sunday, the story of Jesus' inaugural sermon as my scripture. In my children's bulletin, to make the connection between what Jesus was doing and what they have experienced, I wanted to have a coloring page of a contemporary minister preaching. I searched google images. I used duckduck go search for image. I went to the places I frequently go for images: wikimedia and several pay sites I sometimes use (I won't name them, for obvious reasons.) Nothing. I could find an occasional woman minister, mostly in photographs, but very little clip art, and NONE of a woman at the pulpit, which is what I was looking for.
I posted to a facebook group my dismay. I know, and every female minister knows, that there exists a good deal of misogyny in the church community. All you have to do is be in an interfaith or ecumenical organization of ministers that includes those whose traditions do not allow for female ministers (or to have those ministers conspicuously absent from the organization because YOU are there with your vagina and all) to know this. All you need to do is to look at the larger churches in even the most progressive denominations, even those with women in significant leadership positions, to know this.
But the inability to find coloring pages with a woman minister bothered me. A lot. After all, I already have a male minister preaching in my children's pages for this week (Jesus.)
But this blog post is not about that. This is about the wonderful sisterhood of ministry. Dozens of my fellow ministers posted images of women ministering. Most of them were not exactly what I was looking for but a few people posted exactly that: Black and white clip art or coloring pages of women preaching. Two people went to the trouble to DRAW SOMETHING FOR ME!!! One of those folks, my sister Jonathan, drew his in a variety of clothes: street clothes, Roman collar, robe and stole (I'll be using the latter in my children's bulletin!)
Thank you, thank you, sisterhood of ministers for your support, and for your talent! This one (drawing) is not mine, and I am appreciative. I owe you one. More than one. And I want to share this lovely resource.
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| by Kirianne Elizabeth Weaver |
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| by Jonathan Davis. Thank you, sister! |
