Art by Victoria Marie
Words by Others
In Celebration of Women
We
remember praying women like Miriam and Anna; worshiping
women like Eunice and
Lois; women
like Phoebe and Priscilla, who
studied God’s word; women like Martha and the
Samaritan woman at the well, who made the
way for others to come and see Jesus; and
Lois and Eunice, great teachers and mentors
who
passed on the faith. We still need trendsetters for service like Dorcas and
But the
litany is not complete until we have made our own contribution. That
contribution is to call out the names of women from our personal lives
who have
given us a better view of ourselves and have been examples to us—our
grandmothers, mothers, aunts, and sisters, our Sunday school teachers,
friends,
and mentors. Celebrating the lives of women connects us to a circle
that is
complete, yet never ending!
Mary the Wise
While Mary is
venerated as Virgin and as Mother , she is not often held up as a model
Crone.
This is reflective of the fear and hatred of Old Women that has imbued
cultural
consciousness (East and West) for the last 2000 years. Old Women are
Wise
Women, Powerful Women. Today, women are refocusing on Mary as mature
Mother
(rather than pliant Virgin) and are even speculating about her last
years of
life.
