5.3. Introducing the Women
5.3.4. Gina’s Story
Gina, the fourth participant, is a middle-aged lay woman from the Eastern Cape (she refused to be categorised according to her race). She too, is doing research and she indicated that during her sociology of religion course, she was compelled to shelve much of what she believed about ‘the Church’ – she had been taught many of these things since childhood. She articulated her disenchantment with the Church and indicated that had she not been a Methodist minister’s spouse that she would probably have left the Church.
Gina’s experience relates to that of the revolutionary feminist theologian, Mary Daly. Daly (1985) felt that the Church, with specific regard to its sexist ecclesiological practices, is
129 “The WCC launched a study on “Being Church” at the same time as another on “Overcoming Violence”.
167 beyond reform. The hope that does exist, not only for this participant but for all women, is that the MCSA will in fact support the quest to become a gender inclusive church that operates on non-hierarchical lines.
Gina’s experience of faith and of God in the MCSA has been filled with both high and low points. I quoted the opening paragraph of her story earlier but do so again, as her words are significant.
Excerpt 1
The Story of my Journey within the MCSA
This is something upon which I have pondered for a number of years and has become a major source of pain. I am at present in the process of completing a Masters thesis, much of the content of which is a rejection of the ‘things’ I grew up believing – at least ‘things’ the church taught me (in that I have not rejected God but other ‘stuff’). This in itself has been a painful and difficult process.
Feminist theologians have all traversed this very same road before her – discovering that the practices and beliefs we held dear before, no longer make sense to us. Gina, who is married to a Methodist minister, has struggled to come to terms with church politics in the MCSA. She is dissatisfied with the ongoing gender injustice that marginalises women in the Church – both lay and clergy.
Gina does not find the Bible to be a particularly woman-friendly book and she no longer reads it for pleasure – “especially the Old Testament” – and her studies are supporting her suspicions. The Bible confirms for her that the term ‘brotherly love’ is incongruent with biblical narratives. There are so few stories in the Bible that support the cherished concept of brotherly love. Hence, Gina, who still belongs to the MCSA largely because her spouse is a minister, looks forward to the day when real change will take place in the Church. Her story continues:
Excerpt 2
My mother’s family has a long history in the MCSA – a history of involvement as a Circuit/Society Steward (my grandfather), a Sunday School teacher (my grandmother) [at least these are the roles I recall when coming on holiday and staying with my grandparents] and an uncle who became an ordained minister in the MCSA. The hymns I am meant to sing today were the ones I heard in my mothers womb and much time was later spent counting the lines and verses of hymns - to work out how far we were in singing them and how much was left.
Gina’s family background is steeped in Methodism. She grew up with a grandfather who was, not surprisingly, the leader and a grandmother who was, equally not surprisingly, the
168 Sunday School teacher. Gina’s experience supports the notion that African communities are religious – at least the older people definitely were. “Methodism was born in song”
(see the Preface to The Methodist Hymn-Book 1933:v) and it sounds as though Gina is saying the same thing about herself here. The models of church leaders, firmly embedded in Gina’s childhood experience, are that men are the leaders and women teach the children and sing in the choir. However, she continues with her story:
Excerpt 3
My parents took us to church regularly and my first experience of The Divine was during an Easter Service (aged I would say between 4 and 6). During this service the preacher told the story of Christ on the Cross – in a detail that to this day I recall the image of this person who died for me because – according to the preacher (or at least the way I heard the sermon) - I was so bad; it was me and my sin that had done/caused this thing. I remember going home and crying my eyes out because of what ‘I had done to Jesus’.
Gina, like Dawn, was also subjected to the ‘guilt theology’ as a child. The salvation story is a difficult one to impart to a child without blaming the child for ‘Jesus’ Crucifixion’.
Another question, which Rakoczy (2004:99) poses, is whether a “Male Saviour” can save women. Rakoczy (2004:99) goes on to say that Jesus’ maleness “has been used together with the fatherhood of God to justify patriarchy, the rule of the father over the family and therefore men over women and children”. Gina grappled with these concepts too, as is evident in later excerpts of her story. She was, however, fortunate that both her parents were involved in her early experience of Church and God. Easter remains a constant reminder for Gina of her emotional experience in her early childhood. She reminisces about her Sunday School and Youth days as follows:
Excerpt 4
It would therefore come as no surprise that I excelled at Sunday School and although I don’t remember any teachers I do remember getting all the prizes;
and then one year ‘nogal’130another prize (a Bible) for having got all the others prizes. (In those days very strict marks were kept – one for attendance; one for knowing your Bible verse; one for paying attention, one for having done your homework and another for something else but I can’t remember what). I later became a Sunday School teacher (the youngest ever in that church) got very involved in youth (Wesley) guild, was a group leader and a speaker on youth and confirmation camps while still at school and led the guild for a term in Std 9/10 (Aged 15/16) when the guild leader (a man in his early twenties) was away.
God – and the ways of God – were of prime importance in my life, and the
130 ‘Nogal’ is an Afrikaans exclamation meaning something like ‘remarkably’.
169 MCSA was the place where I learnt what I did and where my devotion found
expression. My relationship with God was that God was my Father – to the point that I recall one day telling my own dad that he was not my father, but that God was.
Gina acquired excellent knowledge of the Bible and was a faithful Sunday School pupil, winning all the prizes each year. When she entered her teens, she attended youth camps and became involved in the Wesley Guild. Gina’s commitment to God and church was complete. However, later in life Denise Ackermann’s (1998:85) insights would ring true for Gina when she asserts that the “cry for healing is inseparable from the need for justice”.
Gina showed leadership potential when she was still very young and had an opportunity to test her skills at an early age. The traditions of the Church were strong and Gina accepted that the male God of the Bible was her ‘Father’. The story continues:
Excerpt 5
Strangely enough the Youth camps was also the place where I met and ‘caught’
the guys. My parents were very strict but I was allowed to go to youth so it became the place for ‘boyfriend’ relationships when I was between the ages of about 14-16. Further than that the church held no significance for the fact that I was a teenager – I was just very involved – often in leadership roles. While in Matric (age 16) I met my husband – after a church service but that is another story - and he became involved with me; later confirmed/transferring his Anglican confirmation to the MCSA in order to teach Sunday School.
Gina enjoyed freedom from her parents at youth meetings and, like other young women too, was able to explore relationships with boys during her teenage years. Church was not significant for her during this time of her life but youth meetings played an important role.
Relationships and a sense of belonging are very important – these features are covered in this part of the story and Gina tells us more:
Excerpt 6
With regard to the Bible: I was pretty good – given all the concentration and input at Sunday School and my own personal discipline of daily devotions etc.
However, the Bible is not a book I enjoy today – especially the Old Testament.
In fact, the IBRA ‘Read the Bible in a year’ programme would have caused me to give up the Christian faith all together if I had persevered through the Old Testament. It has become impossible to believe in the nature of God as recorded (supposedly revealed) in the Old Testament. I am aware that even the New Testament is so tainted that it is a miracle that one can find and believe in a Divine Being who is perfect love and grace. I only have first year Biblical Studies (through UNISA), but an honours from UCT focusing on Christian Theology and am presently struggling through a Masters (with Rhodes) in Sociology of Religion.
170 Gina’s more recent studies, informal as well as formal, have caused much concern for her regarding her faith, God and the Church. African feminist woman theologians, like Rakoczy, Phiri and Nadar, support this kind of discipline, where we study and inform ourselves of new approaches and develop a deeper understanding of theology and the Bible. Gina has recognised that much of what she had learnt as a child has to be unlearnt but even though this process has been an exciting one for her, she has become disillusioned with the hierarchy of the MCSA. Elaine Graham (1997:117) writes that this “set me thinking about the possibilities of subverting these dominant paradigms of ‘clericalism’ and
‘sexism’ via the recovery of marginal traditions of woman-centred support and care” in her article entitled ‘Feminist Theology: Myth, Mystery or Monster?’ Many feminist theologians endeavour to ‘recover woman-centred traditions’ and in Africa this is being done very successfully through the scholarship of the members of The Circle.
Next, Gina shares about her names for God, as these have changed and even as they have stayed the same for her during a crisis:
Excerpt 7
With regard to my image of God I have journeyed from absolute dedication to
‘God as Father’, through God only as a Spirit and now – although I concentrate on God as Mother – I do sometimes recall the image of God as Father; simply because it is a valid image as ‘one among many’. In crisis I still find myself returning to ‘Father’; it is almost as if that image is so ingrained that I have to consciously work at replacing it with less idolatrous, more liberating and more
‘true’ images. [I say ‘true’ because while I recognize that I cannot know absolute truth, not the whole nature of The Divine, the image of Father alone is very ‘untrue’]. In sermons, public prayers, liturgies and talks I only refer to God as ‘God’, and in my Thesis only as ‘The Divine;’ the term with which I am most comfortable but which does not easily facilitate a personal relationship since it is too abstract. The God I have come to love is a God of love, grace and forgiveness, whose only laws are for our own sake. I cannot believe in a God who demands a blood sacrifice or order to forgive, neither in the evil one who is so powerful that God has to ‘buy us out’. As you can imagine, these ideas are – in my experience at least – foreign to the Creeds, hymns, choruses, liturgies and thinking of the church – leaving me in a very, very lonely place. I therefore meet God in those whom I see during the day [being aware that even the most disconcerting person (be they a poor beggar or a rich fraudster) is created in the Image of The Divine and holds somewhere within them something of that Image]. My husband, daughter and son-in-law reflect God’s acceptance of me, while The Divine Within is the source of most peace. For me, God is a panentheistic Being – present in all that has life, involved in the process of life (process theology) and on a journey with humanity. I meet God in my personal life, in those I love and who love me, in the beauty and strength of the sea, in the
171 personality of my pets, and in the fragile strength of foundling birds which I
hand-rear; among other things,. The Church is perhaps the place where I feel the least ‘at one’ with The Divine. “Father’, ‘Lord’. ‘King’, ‘Master’, etc. are all terms which are now foreign to my understanding and when I am forced to hear The Divine addressed in these terms I am unable to participate in corporate worship experience; and realise my aloneness.
Gina’s descriptions of her ‘naming of God’ are helpful and she tries to be completely honest about her emotions and her conscious decisions to relate to God in different ways.
For her, the quest to be in a personal relationship with God is as important to her as is the academic exercise, which both of us are involved in. This is a particularly long excerpt but one that stands on its own as it addresses this one topic.
Gina also raises the issue of women’s isolation in worship when we are expected to sing hymns, participate in liturgies or read Bible passages that exclude women. Rakoczy (2004:214) poses the question: “Why do women stay?” in her discussion on “An Inclusive Ecclesiology” of the Church. She recognises that “many women leave the church and in western countries they have been leaving in appreciable numbers in the last generation.
But African women generally stay within the church” (Rakoczy 2004:214). This phenomenon ties in with the hope Oduyoye (2001:83) expresses when she says:
Women’s solidarity, therefore, is with the Church as they see it through the eyes of Jesus. Women’s solidarity is with the Church that they envision Christ represents. They know the real Church, and its shortcomings as well as its strengths. They remain in the Church because they are called by the Christ to do so.
African women believe in the Church and they hope for a future, in which the Church will be fully inclusive. Gina’s story continues:
Excerpt 8
One of the interesting/amusing things in scripture is that the church always talks about ‘brotherly love’. However, I have been unable to find a single story in the Bible in which brothers have shown a real love and concern for one another. I know the language of the Bible is the result of male translators in patriarchal societies, but the ‘damage’ has been done and it will take a long time to undo it.
Gina’s perception of the stories in the Bible does lead to question this notion of brotherly love. There is more talk about ‘war’ in the Hebrew Scriptures than there is of ‘brotherly love’ and Gina’s challenge is a valid one.
172 This might indeed be why the close relationship that existed between David and Jonathan131 was so extraordinary. The story continues:
Excerpt 9
Being married to a minister my role and experience as a woman in the church may be different to most; also because I have studied and been very involved. I was the first ever lay person to take on ‘District Mission Co-ordinator’; was part of the District Executive; have held a number of roles in Society and Circuit, am a local preacher, have been to a number of Synods and one Conference.
[This is stated simply to show my (former) level of involvement and commitment.] I have – since I can recall – rejected the model of ‘women in the kitchen’ and refused, on principle, to try to make any input via ‘women’s channels’. [This does not mean that I do not serve or do dishes – but then I get the guys involved as well.] While the 40/20/40 suggestion of representation is a good start it is not applied. It is also not always that helpful – often because women need to be empowered, not just represented.
Gina’s position, as a minister’s wife, has not taken on the traditional model. She is a strong individual and has made her mark in the Church. Gina has served in many leadership positions and she has embarked on some innovative experiments. Her sentiments about women’s representation in the Church are echoed by feminist theologians, in that representation is not enough – empowerment and responsibility form part of the package.
In support of the notion that women should not merely be represented, Rakoczy (2004:216) asserts in the section of her book entitled ‘Discipleship of Equals’ that it “is clear from the Gospels that Jesus called both women and men to be disciples.” A disciple learns from the teacher and participates fully. Next Gina shares about her own growth.
Excerpt 10
My growth has come through moving into different contexts. My personal faith journey includes experience of traditional, evangelical, academic, social awareness, charismatic, feminist and contemplative traditions as well as inter- faith dialogue. Some of this has been found in the MCSA, most of it through studies and some through involvement in NGOs, etc.
Gina’s wide experience in the Church and society has stood her in good stead. Her studies have enabled her to identify with some of the aspects of theology and her commitment to ecumenical unity and inter-faith harmony is commendable. Like many other feminist theologians, Gina also discovered that activists and feminists often walk alone. Rakoczy (2004:220) raises the point that women “have been socialised as servants and are praised
131 See the Bible: 1 Samuel 18:1 “When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
173 for the depth of their self-sacrifice” but Jesus made the choice to become a “self-emptying gift” to humanity. Gina’s quest to learn and become fully involved in the Christian faith and in her community, speaks of her hope for an inclusive Church. She alludes to her lonely journey as she begins to move towards her conclusion in this next part of her story:
Excerpt 11
I cannot recall an event in which I have celebrated womanhood in the MCSA;
but then neither can I recall a time when men were offered the same opportunity.
However, I do recognise that the church, and society itself, is generally in favour of men. I am still a Methodist because my husband is in the ministry and because – as a church – it is at least open (in theory) to the empowerment of women. I long to be part of that process, although at times the mountain seems so set in its ways that I don’t know that anyone could have enough faith/endurance to shift it at all. Had I been physically able (health wise) to facilitate the empowerment group at the Mission Congress, and lead the Bible Study, it would have been super. However, even at this Congress, the workshop was entitled ‘Equality (Including women)’. It seems we are so often an after- thought, an ‘add on’, the ‘last chapter’, and not part of the real agenda or the healing power of The Divine as practised in the formal church. No ‘keynote’
speakers were women and only two women were seen on the stage among the
‘leadership’ of the MCSA. The organisers and speaker at the congress did not show any respect for women as can be seen in the accommodation, the state of the ablutions (including graffiti of a pornographic nature), and the lack of attention and/or correction with regard to inclusive language and the exclusion of women in many statements. Responses from the floor of congress also revealed the need for the empowerment of women: about 70% of the responses being from men. At no time were men called on to respect women and to do something about the issues affecting women; especially rape (child rape and rape of the aged being more heinous than can be described)!
Gina and I worked together as co-facilitators of the ‘Inequality Group’ at the Mission Congress and because Gina had not been well during the preparation period, I had the opportunity of preparing for and leading one of the Bible Studies, along with Phumzile (her pseudonym) and a young dynamic woman minister. Gina raises several concerns in this part of her story. Violence against women is a concern that the MCSA is finally speaking out on. The women’s organisations in the Church are addressing this issue and the Women’s Manyano theme this past year (2011) has revolved around abuse and violence against women. The Sixteen Days of Activism Campaign is being promoted and local Methodist Societies are being encouraged by their Bishops to participate in events that raise awareness about this scourge in our society. Gina’s experience resonates with Mary Tororeiy (2005:158-159) when she suggests that women are ‘Present but Unwanted’ and that “the Church has not only been the site, but also the seedbed for the oppression that