Over the summer I did a series of lessons with a wonderful group of ladies at First Christian Church in Johnson City. Throughout the course of six weeks we studied the lives of different women who have made impacts on the scope of Christian history. I was so blessed to have been able to write the curriculum for this study. It combined my loves of writing, church history, and developing and enriching spiritual practices in our lives. This series brought life to me as I was able to teach and lead, and I also saw it shape the minds and hearts of the women in my group.
As we head into the fall, I will be taking on the task of converting that small group study into a series here on the blog. So for today's post, I simply wanted to begin the conversation about what this series will look like.
The Bible tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Think back, if you will, to those you know of that have gone before you in the faith. There are so, so many people who have made impacts on us as Christians through personal interactions. Even more so do we have people who have gone before us in the faith that we have not met, but have nonetheless made significant impacts on our lives as Christians. Sometimes those impacts are so ingrained into the traditions we grow up in that we don't even know about them. We may know their names, but we still see and feel their influence. In this cloud of witnesses are voices that softly whisper their impacts on our lives, and still other voices that shout it out, refusing to go unheard.
And yet there are voices that have been stilled all together. The voices of women throughout the history of the Church have often been silenced and/or ignored. In this great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us, historically the microphone has been kept from women, pushing them and their impacts into the nosebleed section. And yet there are some women who managed to overcome the patriarchal oppression of the times to join their voices together as heralds of the Kingdom of God.
Throughout this series we will take a look at a few of the faithful females of Church History to discover a little more about what they teach us concerning the Christian life and love for God and neighbor. There are deep roots to discover in our faith. It's time to allow our sisters to be heard.