My
uncle, a retired Presbyterian Minister, spoke often and enthusiastically about
the role that women played in his congregation. There are not too many groups
or organizations that don’t swear by the dedication and hard work of the women
working tirelessly behind the scenes to organize food drives, to raise money
and to recruit volunteers.
There
is a good book, She Hath Been Reading, about women who organized and worked in
community projects across the U.S. long before it was fashionable for women to
have jobs. They would organize by meeting in groups, often called “Shakespeare
Clubs”, where they not only discussed literature, but also ways to raise money
and create the first kindergartens, libraries, schools and learning centers in
their communities.
The
role of women in organizing the first churches has been well documented. Jesus
spoke often of the devotion and dedication from the women who followed him as
he traveled and taught. And even Paul, who has been criticized frequently for
some of the passages that have been interpreted as demeaning to women, is shown
in a different light as we look at many of the times in his letters where he
praises and lifts up the women who helped to form the early churches in the
Christian religion.
The
women, with names like Tryphosa, Priscilla, Apphia, Chloe, Phoebe and Junia are
all mentioned in Paul’s letters And their roles were vital in many ways, as
Paul is counseling and encouraging, giving advice and helping to organize these
groups of Christian men and women who met in homes and gathered together to
worship, often in secret, as they were persecuted under Roman occupation.
He
speaks in Philippians of Euodia and Syntyche as women who have ‘struggled
beside me’ in the work of the gospel. He asks the Lord to help them. He speaks
in Romans of Phoebe, who is a deacon of the church in her home town. And he
mentions how hard Mary has worked, and also Priscilla and Aquila who ‘risked
their necks for my life.’ Paul does acquit himself in these passages of simply
talking down to women. It is evident in his letters that these women are vital
cogs in the wheel, and without them, without their daily courage and dedication
to spreading the word, then Christianity would not have been able to endure as
a lasting religion.
That
is the importance of women to the cause. And we give thanks to the many groups,
the ‘women of the church’ who have dedicated themselves from small tasks such
as arranging flowers and handling child care (no small task), to organizing
Sunday School classes and teachers and raising money, as well as visiting the
sick and elderly within the church community. These are the thankless tasks
that have carved out and defined the reality of what the Christian religion has
become. And it would not have been possible without the women who laid the
foundation, the Church’s strong foundation, upon which our faith is built. God
bless the women of the church, and all hard-working and dedicated women who are
struggling each day to raise their families and make the world a better place
for their children.
