Gender and the Church

As many of you know, I have a strong passion for gender equality. This translates into me getting quite frustrated when I hear someone say "mankind," and it frustrates my teammates in the game Taboo when I just can't come up with "mailman" and instead keep saying "postal carrier" and other fun non-gendered synonyms. It affects my life on a daily basis in both interesting and frustrating ways and consistently makes me strive to continue to work for change.

This passion also carries over into my faith and the church. We are members of a Christian Reformed Church, one of the most liberal ones in the nation, if not the most liberal. We have had female pastors for our last four pastors both in Grand Rapids and Chicago. Yet gender still is an issue, more so in the denomination than in our church, but it's definitely there.

Recently, two bloggers who have much more theological training than I do posted about gendered language for God and gender diversity at the seminary/how we can work for better gender equality in the CRC. Please click on these links and read what Meg and Mary have to say. Read the comments on their blogs if you have time, most of them are very useful as well.

Even if you don't agree with my views or theirs, allow yourself to consider them. Think about using the NRSV or TNIV instead of the NIV version of the Bible, use "God" instead of "he" when possible in your prayers and devotions. And think about big and small ways that you as a man or a woman can work for equality in your daily life and in your church.