gender

In Communion recently published a wonderful article by Dr. Demetra Velisarios on women in the church. Here is a snippet, but the whole article is well stated and should be read by all concerned!
[quote=Demetra Jaquet]The walls which most need to be pointed out between men and women are primarily the walls of fear, defensiveness and ego which we have built around ourselves, causing us to harm others on a sliding scale from occasional minor offenses to extreme and chronic paralyzing abuse. From behind those walls emanate arrows of accusation, domination and forced submission which are an affront to God and to God’s spirit and action within us.[/quote]
Read the full article here.

An interesting article from the New York Times Magazine: When Mom and Dad Share It All.

[quote=Lisa Belkin]
On her first day back to work after a four-month maternity leave, Amy Vachon woke at dawn to nurse her daughter, Maia. Then she fixed herself a healthful breakfast, pumped a bottle of breast milk for the baby to drink later in the day, kissed the little girl goodbye and headed for the door.

But before she left, there was one more thing. She reached over to her husband, Marc, who would not be going to work that day in order to be home with Maia, and handed him the List. That’s what they call it now, when they revisit this moment, which they do fairly often. The List. It was nothing extraordinary — in fact it would be familiar to many new moms. A large yellow Post-it on which she had scribbled the “how much,” “how long” and “when” of Maia’s napping and eating.[/quote]

Mother's Day coincided this year with the reading from the conclusion to the gospel of Mark. The Gospel of Mark presents to us the tension of fear versus faith, calling us to step out of our natural fear into a faith grounded in the Resurrection which, as Fr. Paul so beautifully reminded us, makes all things new, all things possible. I was a bit derailed from this message early on ...

I was thinking this morning of the Greek "unity of virtues." Virtually all of the early texts which discuss church order emphasize the importance of virtue, the all presbyters, including the presiding-presbyter are models of virtue.... Any division of male and female into "modes" challenges the essential unity of the virtues in love (the highest of unified Christian virtues), and undermines the ability of women and men to become fully and lovingly human.

Any argument for the ordination of women to the priesthood must address at least two questions. First, what is the Orthodox priesthood? The exclusion of women from this ministry depends on particular claims about the office itself and its gender-specific nature. If an examination of the priestly offices finds that they are not inherently ‘masculine’ ministries, then a second question must be asked, what is the consequence of continuing to exclude women from this office? Is it a harmless practice? How do we measure its possible harm to men and women? Or, is the theological inconsistency of this continued practice enough to provide a compelling reason to change?

In his sermon, Fr. Paul emphasized the Canaanite woman's hope in asking Jesus, a member of an oppressive people, for mercy. Requesting mercy from the member of a group which historically excludes her and her people opens her to the risk of yet another rejection.... So, when do we risk asking for mercy, and when do we not? As a woman in a church whose praxis excludes women, sending them away from the altar much like the disciples ask Jesus to send the woman away at the beginning of the story, what does it mean to ask for mercy?

Luke Timonty Johnson on Engaging 1 Timothy 2:8-15 "Such engagement, however, will also recognize that contemporary assumptions concerning family structures and power relationships are not themselves absolute, but are relative and culturally conditioned in a way not unlike Paul's own assumptions...."

Last month when I was at New Skete, Sr. Rebecca and I got into an interesting conversation about the emphasis on sin in the lenten season. Last night, I led an informal discussion about our experience of sin and the liturgy with the monks and nuns. At one point, Br. Christopher asked if there might be something to a 'liturgical ethic'. I jokingly responded that I certainly hope so, as my dissertation depends on the possibility. I also said that I think we tend to have a great vision for what is happening in the 'eschatological' space of the liturgy, but that as long as one among us is hungry, alone, sick, neglected, then I am not sure that our reality corresponds to our vision.

Fr. Thomas Hopko, in the most recent edition of Women and the Priesthood comments that ordaining a woman is tantamount to ordaining criminals and the disabled, both of which he considers problematic.