What an amazing afternoon! So many names I wasn’t familiar with, such as Thecla, Blandina, Julian of Norwich, Mechthild of Magedeburg, Heidi Baker – and then names I knew, such as Mary of Magdala, Anne Hutchinson, Ann Hibbens, Mary Baker Eddy, and Carrie Judd Montgomery – all names of women throughout history who felt a special calling to follow Jesus. We heard all their voices and others in Shirley Paulson’s presentation this afternoon of “Women Who Followed Jesus.”
It was sometimes very disturbing to hear about the unthinkable hardships they went through because of the strength of their faith. Would I have the same courage to stick with my convictions? It gives one pause to consider.
Especially touching was the presence of Barbara Zeman who is one of the contemporary women Shirley spoke of. She is an ordained Catholic priest who has been excommunicated from the very Church she loves so much, because women are not permitted to be ordained. Though I am not Catholic and don’t understand the details of the priesthood, Barbara’s sincerity and love in wanting to share her spiritual gifts with others moved me deeply.
How grateful I am for the sisters of faith that have gone before me and sacrificed so much to afford me the freedom to follow Jesus!
P.S. For those who wanted to come today and weren’t able to be there, we are producing a video of the presentation and are planning on posting it on this blog – stay tuned!
Resources for Women who followed Jesus Prepared by Shirley Paulson (2011)
Acts of Paul and Thecla. (ancient text that can be found online) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/thecla.html. Thecla
Baker, Heidi. Compelled by Love, (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2008). Heidi Baker
Brock, Ann Graham. : Mary Magdalene, The First ApostleThe Struggle for Authority (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) 2003. Mary Magdalene
Curtis, Heather D. Faith in the Great Physician: Suffering and Divine Healing in American Culture, 1860-1900. (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007). Carrie Judd Montgomery
Gill, Gillian. Mary Baker Eddy, (Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1998). – Mary Baker Eddy
Indiana University News Room http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/14990.html – Recent news story regarding a study of the healing works of Iris Ministries. Heidi Baker
John 4: 4-42 Unnamed woman from Samaria at the well
Julian of Norwich. Transl. Elizabeth Spearing. Revelations of Divine Love. (Penguin Books). Julian of Norwich
King, Karen L. The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle, Polebridge Press, 2003. Mary Magdalene
Lindley, Susan Hill. “You have Stept out of your Place”: A History of Women and Religion in America. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996). Anne Hutchinson, Ann Hibbens
Mark 7:24-30, Matthew 15:21-28. Unnamed woman from Syrophoenicia or Canaan
New Advent. (online source for Genevieve) Genevieve
Ruether, Rosemary Radford. Women and Redemption: A Theological History. (Minneapolis: Augsurg Fortress Press, 1998). Mechthild of Magdeburg
Spiritualityandchristianity.com – website with podcast conversations between Shirley Paulson and Barbara Zeman. Barbara Zeman
Von Fettweiss, Yvonne Cache and Robert T. Warneck. Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer. (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 2009). Mary Baker Eddy
www.wisdomandwordworks.com. Website of Barbara Zeman. Barbara Zeman
Hey! This sounds great and I’m excited to see the replay – audio or video. Will you be posting it soon?
Thanks!
Lindsey
Hi Lindsey! We’re so glad you’re eager to see the video of Shirley’s presentation. We’re eager to get it posted too, but the editing process is just beginning. We’ll send out a special notice when we’ve got it up and running. Thanks for your interest!
I appreciated Shirley’s presentation, greatly. It represented a great deal of the inner strength women so innately and naturally have within them. The presentation touched that part of me, and I felt a closer acquaintance with that life within.
I did have a couple of related questions for Shirley, or any one out there for that matter. The statement that I heard repeatedly in your monologues, “She gave up everything to follow Christ,” sang to me loudly, as I so long to do this. I couldn’t help but wonder what the various things these women, through time, gave up to follow Christ. Also, what “giving up all” looked like, and the burdens others may have had to bear as a result of their giving up all for this following . And finally, how does this resonate with the women of today?
What a profound question to be raising for us, Bonniesue! I heard that question as I researched these women, too. Thecla, for example, gave up all her prestige and privileges, Mary Baker Eddy gave up the security of her family support, and so forth. I think there is a difference between giving up – say, our responsibilities – and giving up our own comforts and cherished things. Heidi Baker’s family all wanted to move to Mozambique in order to forward the mission, but if she had gone alone, I should think it would have caused an unfair burden to her family.
Each of us can probably find things in our own lives that we could surrender in order to “follow Jesus” better. Distractions could be a starter. But I agree with you: I hope others will chime in and share their thoughts about this.
What an amazing program! As each character ‘emerged’, you made us listen and love each and every one. WOW!
I had thought people would give you an ovation for your excellent research and portrayal of these women. I was so surprised when people stood up for Barbara Zeman, the woman Catholic priest, instead. Of course she was and is very courageous.
I’m a little uneasy about building bridges between us and other religions. Are we merging with them? Why would we want to lose our identity and the things that make us unique?
Thanks, Violintuition, for your enthusiasm for the program! Yes, I loved each one of those women also, as I researched their lives and discovered their spiritual strength and courage.
Your question here interests me quite a bit, because actually I find this same type of question raised in every interfaith or ecumenical discussion, not just between Christian Scientists and others, but between everyone else. One of the things that keeps groups apart from each other is the fear and suspicion that we’ll end up watering down who we are and lose the beauty of what we think we are.
I have two points to make in response to this: 1) I’d love to welcome you to a whole blog on just this subject on the christianscience.com website. It’s going to move to a new location on Tuesday. But for now, you can find it at Christianscience.com>Questions>Christian Conversations. Second, I’ve learned through my experience in interfaith and ecumenical discussions that the exact opposite (of your concerns) actually takes place. The more I learn about the spiritual journeys of others, the more I learn to identify and articulate what I cherish most in my own faith life.
Among some very interesting books I’ve read lately on these topics is “The Religious Imagination of American Women,” by Mary Farrell Bednarowski. One of the amazing things I learned from this author is the way women of all faith backgrounds (Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, etc.) have had to deal with their own traditions’ structures. Women are usually both “inside” and “outside.” That is, they are faithful, they love their own faith homes, and they want to be loyal supporters. On the other hand, they have to endure unjust patriarchal systems and even male-oriented concepts of God.
What we all have in common is the desire to give space to spiritual thinking, to genuine purity of love, and to authenticity. By coming together on these issues, we enable each other to bring back greater spiritual strength to our own traditions. No one waters down the essence of what they are, but they bring it out from hiding. We all benefit by hearing the deeper spiritual substance of the other.
I had a wonderful time at the presentation on Woman Who Followed Jesus. I love anything that makes me think and this certainly did that.
The presentation was clever, presenting the stories in each woman’s voice, keeping them united in a following, yet unique in their purpose individually. I especially liked the two “unknown” women from the New Testament. I have read and heard those stories over the years, loved the significance of the healings, yet it never occurred to me, why did they have no names? Stalwart yet still
anonymous, I now cherish them.
I had no idea about the whole movement of women entering the Catholic priesthood and the place of altar girls, as well. Talk about courage and facing opposition! It was wonderful to have Barbara Zeman there to add comments about her experience.l
Thank you for offering this presentation! Keep doing it. You really have something there…