Wind and fire:
Anabaptist Women Doing Theology Conference

WINNIPEG, MAN.

All the senses were engaged at this third conference of Anabaptist women doing theology, which convened May 9-11 at Canadian Mennonite Bible College, Winnipeg. The conference was sponsored by CMBC, Concord College and Mennonite Central Committee. A wind chime hung in the entry to the meeting room and candles burned during the worship times. Listening between the words and the silence allowed the participants to hear and to contemplate. Opportunity was also given to respond--in words, in singing, in dance. The 225 or so attenders came from all parts of Canada, and some from south of the border. They were mainly women who felt the need to engage other women in conversation and discussion in order to define their own understanding of God and the Bible.

Papers by theologians and scholars formed the basis for the discussion, on the general topic of an anabaptist feminist hermeneutic. Respondents to each paper questioned and critiqued what it meant to have an anabaptist feminist hermeneutic, and encouraged the participants to be open to listen to the community.

Interpretation

Nadine Pence Frantz, associate professor of theology at Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Indiana, presented a paper titled "The (Inter) Textuality of Our Lives: An Anabaptist Feminist Hermeneutic". She indicated that a reading of a particular text is shaped by our experience--a text will be read differently each time it is read or written. A danger arises when women feel they must master or reduce the text to one final meaning. Dialogue with others needs to continue in order that a feminist interpretation not become master of the text, just as a patriarchal interpretation has dominated Scripture in the past.

MaryAnn Janzen included in her response an analysis of the poetry of Di Brandt and Sarah Klassen. Janzen stated that Brandt deconstructs in her raw anger with male-oriented Christianity, while Klassen is more positive in her assessment of the interaction of theology and life.

Anger

Ruth Krall, in her paper entitled "Anger and an Anabaptist Feminist Hermeneutic", gave five guiding principles for interpreting anabaptist Christian faith from a feminist perspective. Krall is a professor of religion and psychology at Goshen College, Goshen, IN. She indicated that all humans need to be transformed from selfishness and domination over others. There needs to be an acceptance of ongoing revelation inside history and culture which leads towards transformation. History is important, but only insofar as it provides a bedrock for a constant re-examining of our faith and the paradigms which shape our lives. She reasoned that justice-making and peace-making are at the heart of the biblical texts' messages about human relatedness in the Christ community and that feminist women must commit themselves to making a difference in the lives of people around them.

But what was picked up most from the response to Krall's presentation was the anger present in many women as they shared their stories. They spoke of anger at the church, at the way they were raised, and at the injustices around them. The sense of hermeneutic seemed to be lost because of the anger that was still invading many women's lives.

Language

Veronica Dyck, a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University, challenged the attenders to consider changing their thinking more than just changing their language about God. She stated that Jesus' use of "Father", particularly in the Gospel of John, was not meant to be a description of or a proper name for God; rather, it indicates an intimacy of relationship between Jesus and God. She also indicated that many of the words associated with God in Hebrew are feminine in form: shekinah (God's presence), hokmah (wisdom), ruah (spirit). Vange Thiessen of Abbotsford, B.C. challenged the participants to use both male and female metaphors for God, and to be open to thinking about God's greatness by using many images.

Community

Eleanor Epp-Stobbe also encouraged the women to think of God in new ways within the community. She reasoned that women are not the only ones who feel the exclusivity of the church, but that there needs to be a connectedness within the community. Indivduals long for community at the same time they seek autonomy. Our worship holds great potential for building community in today's society. There needs to be a willingness to change our worship in a way that will include as many people in our community as possible.

Although there was anger expressed during the weekend, there was also joy, joy in women being together and worshipping in ways that felt most comfortable, with symbols, music, dance and sharing of pain. Absent was a recognition of the grace of God in women's lives; the grace to accept; the Gelassenheit, that, according to one participant, has characterized Anabaptist women in the past.

The weekend ended with the premiere presentation of Born Again, a work by three Winnipeg artists. Sarah Klassen's set of poems inspired by Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar's experience aboard the space shuttle were set to music by Linda Schwartz. Soprano Heidi Klassen and an ensemble performed the work for an appreciative audience, receiving a lengthy standing ovation.

sbb