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Suanne Samelson's avatar

Sandra, your books and studies have been an important part of my walk the last few years. I’m now in seminary (at the age of 58!) because I’ve been set free from the patriarchal views of my former denomination. Can’t wait for this series!

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Briane Kearns's avatar

I went to seminary 22 years ago at 52! Congratulations on this life changing journey!

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Emily Curzon's avatar

I am so eager to listen and pass along. Your work has always made me want to dig into Scripture more and more. Thank you for your gifts to the Church!

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Sandra L. Richter's avatar

Thank you for such a strong word of encouragement!

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Kelley Mathews's avatar

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Thrilled that you are addressing this perennial issue that won’t go away. As one of the co-authors of the aforementioned 40 Questions about Women in Ministry, I too, am excited for your contribution to the scholarship.

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Sandra L. Richter's avatar

Thanks, Kelley. This is a topic I have lived in so many different manifestations, as I am sure you have as well. The lecture has been given in the privacy of my particular institutions many times. For the sake of good hermeneutics and good praxis ... it's time to make it a bit more public.

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Federico's avatar

Kelley, your most recent article is also worth mentioning in the context that Sandra has brought up (https://kelleymathews.substack.com/p/phoebe-diakonon-of-cenchreae). I loved the essay you included there, and picked up that book immediately. It's marvelous that there are so many powerful, well-informed voices there to overcome the cultural inertia that pulls in the opposite direction.

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Kelley Mathews's avatar

Federico, your book budget will need a raise soon! :) Mary's book is wonderful. She's got another one coming out next year that is a sort of sequel.

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P.K. Haines's avatar

So… 1 Tim 2 is not a normative command… and to signal that these commands arnt normative Paul grounds his argument in creation order? (1 Tim 2:13).

Interesting

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Sandra L. Richter's avatar

Ah, the idea that this passage is "rooted in creation" is a misnomer. I will deal with the proto-Gnosticism of the Ephesian Church, and its claims that Eve was created first (and was the hero of the creation narrative in that she helped Adam to become enlightened by offering him the fruit) in the lecture. I guess you're just going to have to give it a listen.

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Meredith's avatar

So excited for this, Sandra!

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Dingster1's avatar

As an ordained pastor in the Black church tradition, having women pastors is nothing new for us. Perhaps you could look outside of church traditions that center whiteness as the gold standard for all of Christianity and look at other ethnicities dealing with the exact scripture you posted.

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Sandra L. Richter's avatar

I’m glad to see you in the comments. I’ve actually trained a number of Black women for the pastorate. Particularly during my time as a professor at Wesley Biblical in Jackson MS. And I found those women struggling with the same sort of marginalization described in this essay—even those licensed with the AME Zion. A group I’m sure you know ordains women. But as I’m sure you also know, there are a number of Black denominations that don’t ordain women, or allow them to lead in any capacity. So the call to attend to Scripture in this essay is not targeted simply at white churches, it is targeted at all churches. Churches in which the calling and gifting of women has been diminished due to our culture, not the culture of the Kingdom.

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Ashley Willis's avatar

I’m excited for the video series - I’m reading Sandra Glahn’s Nobody’s Mother - fascinating. BTW- will you be at ETS?

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Sandra L. Richter's avatar

Alas, not ETS, I'm doing a Didasko event up in Oregon. But I'll be there for IBR and SBL.

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Tommy Artmann's avatar

Wow! I’m so excited you are doing this lecture. From my earliest days as a believer, I knew this to be the case, but have always struggled to have the appropriate words to explain it well to those who think otherwise.

Can’t wait to hear it.

I think those who don’t believe the scriptures will also find it enlightening!

Bless you!

Tommy

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Sandra L. Richter's avatar

"the appropriate words"--that is the issue, isn't it? We know our culture has, largely, embraced women as potential leaders, but what about the Scriptures? As Christians, if we can't demonstrate the gifting of women for leadership via our Scriptures, then we shouldn't be doing it. But there is the irony, the Bible is overflowing with narratives and messages about women being called to lead. And yet outside of the revivalist communities, the Church has largely failed to attend to those messages. We've either made our case via cultural norms, or we haven't made a case at all.

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Federico's avatar

Attention caught! I was just reading about these issues in the "40 Questions about Women in Ministry" book last night, and I'll love to see what you'll add to this very interesting conversation in your video lecture. Thanks for this.

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Sandra L. Richter's avatar

Glad to hear it! Let's see what we can do.

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