"Called to Question"
Summer 2006 Bible Study

Chapter 18, 19 and 20

"St. Joan of Arc Bible Study is an open and growing group that meets for fellowship and to discuss the Bible and other faith-centered literature. Our informal study group draws from biblical scholarship, historical perspectives, current events and personal reflections. We welcome honor and respect the personal ideas and spiritual journeys of all who join us."

Greetings

We are so grateful to you dedicated folks for your community and what they do and share with our larger community of SJA and beyond.

Maura facilitated a wild bunch and it sounds like you guys were living a dream! Thanks for your notes!

Bob, Clarence, David and I were communing with our four-legged and winged friends in the BWCA - also living a dream. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

Called to Question
Sr. Joan Chittister
Chapters 18, 19 20
Feminist Spirituality: The Coming of a New World

A dozen or so (including two guests that accompanied Audrey - it was great to have more opinions) met in the old country church in the heart of the city to discuss the next section of Called to Question. This section was on Feminist Spirituality and as might be expected engendered lots of comments, many conversational side trips and even a couple opportunities for Marlys to pitch the memorial garden (anything is possible at a St. Joan's Bible study session). The facilitator (yours truly) had her hands full keeping us on track as we discussed the role of women in the church and in society at large. Joan continues to offer us interesting and profound insights.

After opening prayer we dove into the introduction and chapter 18, ending on the stroke of 8 to break for luscious brownies provided by Jane (there were also grapes and crackers but most of us were chomping the chocolate). We finished up chapters 19 and 20 after break, ending with closing prayer, and finishing fairly close to 9 pm, whew. Everyone agrees this has been a challenging in insightful book and we continue to thank Maggie for suggesting it.

Next week we will finish the rest of the book. Everyone is asked to come prepared to discuss a passage or section that is meaningful to them; no one is assigned facilitator (can we do it?). Judith will provide the treat, Audrey opening prayer, Vi closing prayer.

So here's the discussion points, but there was of course, much, much more.

Joan has taken us from meditation and contemplation to action and engagement. I wonder if the book mirrors her life in that she starts out in a quiet life that is largely contained within the walls of her monastery to her current life out in the world, speaking and challenging.

Introduction- "Our society's hope and our planet's survival lie in our capacity to free ourselves from rigid gender roles" This quote leads us into the discussion, what is your reaction, what does Rita Brock mean.

Joan notes that sexism, racism and classism exist to keep the powerful in power. How do we see this our time, how do we participate?

She defines feminist spirituality on pg 151. Feminism brings the feeling side of life into the main, it values feelings and emotions to the same degree as rational thought, humans require both, read top of page 152.

She ends the introduction "Feminist spirituality has as much to do with being a holy man as it does with being a mature woman. It does not divide women from men. On the contrary, it simply closes the gap between the powerful and the powerless, so that both women and men can have fullness of life-a feeling for it as well as a reason for manipulating it- and have it more abundantly."

Chapter 18: Society and Women: The Loss of Soul- Sexism diminishes life for both men and women. Read from page 156. "The major systems of the world have been working with only half the resources of the human race".

Pg 157/158: "The spiritual implications for a society that cuts the feminine out of the center of its political and theological arenas take on a proportion too long ignored." We have become single-minded. We see things only through the male eyes. We know God only through the male mind. We recognize the spirit only in the male model. As a result, we can go to war, and no one at the table will talk about the effect of carpet bombing on the eardrums of babies. We can pass church laws that cut women off from discernment about the very things that we say affect their eternal souls. We can argue in favor of the so-called just war that we know will kill thousands, but condemn birth control outright simply because it averts birth. We can use women to supply the support structure for a society that devalues what women do, but rely on it in order to free men to make money. We live with shriveled souls".

Chapter 19 - Men and Women: The Discovery of the Adult- Both men and women should be free to develop fully in all aspects of there personality.

pg 164: "Women's lives must be seen as more than their biology, and men's lives must not be denied development of the human heart."

pg 165: "Feminist spirituality demands that women become adults" "Conflict is a necessity if women are to build for the future".

166: "I have a notion that we'll know the world has become healthy - has become holy- when we no longer think in terms of either women or men".

167: "There is no room for the newness of the spirit in them. And they call it tradition"..

To suppress half of God's creation in the name of God is a sin against the Holy Spirit for which we have no name"

Chapter 20 - The Church and Women: Speaking in the Name of God

Joan challenges and questions the status quo.

She describes a meeting with a Cardinal in Rome who expresses understanding but asks her (and us) to be silent. Is silence healthy for us or for the church? "...I also knew what he didn't. For the sake of the church, what women wanted had to be said in public because there was nowhere else for a woman to say it".

pg 172- to have been given the image of half a god means that both women and men will be crippled by it

Pg 173 Joan talks of the story of Ruth, having just read studied that last spring what thoughts did it bring up for you.

pg 174 "....there comes a time when you are too tired of trying to be heard in a place like the church..." read this passage and respond.

There is much to think about in these chapters. What does Joan call us to do? What actions have we taken, are we taking now. What is the next step for each of us?

Peace
Maura for ...
Rik Murray
(612) 872-8694