Lost Ladies of the Lectionary

CMR ^ | July 1, 2008 | Patrick Archbold

[NYer]

I know it is hard to believe but the enduringly disgruntled dames over over at Future Church are, well, disgruntled. Again.

For the uninformed misogynists among you [read regular Catholics], Future Church is a group that openly agitates for the ordination of women. But since this issue is a dead letter, they occasionally need something else to agitate about.

Today, these pant suit wearing damsels in perpetual distress are upset about the short shrift that women get in the Catholic lectionary.

[ICN] "Unfortunately, for centuries, Mary of Magdala's leadership and that of many other biblical women, has been minimized or excised from the official lectionary used in both Catholic and Protestant churches," said Sr Christine Schenk, FutureChurch Executive Director.

"For example, even though all four gospels name Mary of Magdala as the first witness to the Resurrection, Jesus' commission asking her to proclaim it to the male disciples is never read on Sunday, yet we hear about doubting Thomas every single year."

"And Phoebe, an important leader and deacon at the Church of Cenchrae, is completely excised from the lectionary text of Paul's letter to the Romans, as are Lois and Eunice from the letter to Timothy. We want Church officials to correct that," said FutureChurch board member, Barbara Litrell.

This is a scandalous cover up by the Church. What are they hiding by not telling us about the pivotal biblical characters of Lois and Eunice. Let's get to the bottom of this!

2 Timothy 1:5 - "I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."

Uh. Ok. So Paul was writing to Timothy and said your momma and your grandmomma did good. How was I ever to lead a Christian life without that quote? But wait, there is more! From the Future Church website comes this damning evidence of a sexist patriarchal church conspiracy!

As a Catholic midwife, I am sorry to report that I never heard of two Hebrew midwives who were saviors of their people until I came upon them by accident on a retreat one year. I was despairing over ever getting a midwifery educational program off the ground in the face of stiff opposition from local obstetricians. Shiprah and Puah were waiting to console me in the back of my breviary. I couldn't believe that I had never before heard their powerful story .

This excerpt comes from Sr. Christine Schenk's longer article: Celebrating the Inclusive Jesus [no I didn't make that up to be funny!]. Couple of things to note. If sister has never heard the story, perhaps it is because she doesn't read the Bible? She really should read it. Vatican II even says so! Anyway, this heretofore hidden passage is right there in Exodus. Exodus has got to be one of the more popular books of the old testament probably right behind the book with the fig leaves, the snake, and apple. I think there was a woman in that story too come to think of it.

What's more is that sister came across this story in the Breviary. The Breviary. The Liturgy of the Hours. Whoa! Nobody would ever think to look there!

The thing I took away from this story is this. If the Church is going to maintain this vast sexist patriarchal conspiracy, they really should try and do a better job at it.

[NYer]

From CathNews

---

Put biblical women back in lectionary: Call

American Catholics are organising a July appeal to the Vatican and Northern American bishops to have female figures from the New Testament such as Mary of Magdala re-included in lectionary texts from which they have been deleted.

Organisers of the appeal are also inviting female biblical scholars to the International Synod on the Word, to be held in Rome in October, according to a media release by the Future Church group.
 
At over 250 international celebrations of the July 22 Feast of St Mary of Magdala, special prayer services will make visible biblical women leaders whose stories have been omitted or downgraded in lectionary texts.

The group cites a 1996 analysis by Sr Ruth Fox OSB which found a disproportionate number of passages about women had been deleted from the lectionary, a book of biblical passages carefully chosen for church proclamation.

Celebrations will occur in Canada, Great Britain and Australia, the organisers say. They will engage between 30 and 300 people in parishes, convents, Catholic schools, Protestant churches, private homes and small faith communities.
 
"Unfortunately, for centuries, Mary of Magdala’s leadership and that of many other biblical women, has been minimized or excised from the official lectionary used in both Catholic and Protestant churches," said Sr Christine Schenk, FutureChurch Executive Director.   

"For example, even though all four gospels name Mary of Magdala as the first witness to the Resurrection, Jesus’ commission asking her to proclaim it to the male disciples is never read on Sunday, yet we hear about doubting Thomas every single year."

"And Phoebe, an important leader and deacon at the Church of Cenchrae, is completely excised from the lectionary text of Paul’s letter to the Romans, as are Lois and Eunice from the letter to Timothy. We want Church officials to correct that," said FutureChurch board member, Barbara Litrell.
 
Spearheaded by the Cleveland-based FutureChurch, Catholics are also asking synod leaders to devote more pastoral attention to Jesus and St. Paul’s inclusive practice and expand preaching opportunities for qualified women.
 
Mary of Magdala participants will join over 7000 others who have already sent paper and electronic postcards containing the four synod requests to church leaders and are asked to recruit family, friends and fellow church goers to do the same. 

A list of 23 female biblical scholars who are willing to be consultants has been compiled and is being submitted to synod leaders. Over the summer campaign activists are seeking personal meetings with synod Bishop delegates in the US and Canada to elicit their support.
 
FutureChurch director, Sr. Christine Schenk, will be in Rome while the synod is in process. 

"The Church has gotten very restrictive about allowing lay people to preach, even those with degrees in scripture and homiletics," said  Schenk. "This is a great loss to the believing community."

"We think it’s important for women and men to learn the contemporary scholarship about women leaders in the early Church and we are especially happy to have so many celebrations in which women can preside and preach at worship," said Litrell.

SOURCE

Restore Deleted Biblical Women Say Magdalen Celebrators (Future Church, Media Release, 30/6/08)

[Notwithstanding]

To think, they could be spending their money on the poor and oppressed in their own community instead of wasting it on this global Me-too vanity activism.

[Salvation]

Future Church is listed among dissenting organizations on Our Lady's Warriors.

Don't worry about what they think.

FutureChurch

A regional parish-based coalition seeking to address the priest shortage. FutureChurch claims the remedy is the ordination of married men and women. FutureChurch engages in educational presentations to parishes, grass-roots organizations, and the media. Its current project is a nationally-promoted dialogue on an "inclusive priesthood." Member of Catholic Organizations for Renewal.

[lastchance]

I’m starting to think those wonderful words of St. Paul regarding silence of women in Church should be put on poster board and hung from the rafters. Wink, wink.

Honestly why don’t these pathetic harridans take up their goddess shrines, their birkenstocks and their pan flutes and go play at the Church of the Holy Vagina.

[tiki]

I’ve said it ad nauseum on the religion posts but people like this are living through their own ego. It is their egos which must be the foremost thought or they just don’t feel it. sniff, sniff

[tiki]

Do you remember the playground as a child. It was these kind of people in the group who had to be in charge. If they wanted to play Jacks and the rest of the group didn’t, they’d pout and make life miserable for everyone. They wouldn’t just go play Jacks with the people who wanted to play they wanted to use their authority to force everyone else to do their bidding.

These people never grew up. They are ruled by their egos and pride and they could never give up any control to anyone.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Shifrah and Pu`ah were Yokheved and Miryam.

[lastchance]

Which is why our playground had a quicksand box.

These women obviously believe their Ego is the infallible magesterium of the Church. They would be unhappy no matter where they went because the world just keeps turning without consulting their majesties. Empires build, empires die. Tribes increase, tribes decrease. The acorn becomes the oak, the oak becomes a table. All this happens beyond the reach and ken of these ladees. Oh the insult and indignity of that.

But most galling of all. God remains in His heaven and shows no intention of consulting a sensitivity trainer.

[defconw]

"Honestly why don’t these pathetic harridans take up their goddess shrines, their birkenstocks and their pan flutes and go play at the Church of the Holy Vagina."

ROFLOL! We all known "Sisters" like this!