EEWC Conference 2004

Answering Wisdom's Call at Conference 2004

by Linda Bieze

Nearly 150 women and men answered Wisdom's call in a multitude of ways June 17-20 at Scripps College in Claremont, California, at the 30th anniversary conference of the Evangelical & Ecumenical Women's Caucus.

Old friends renewed their bonds, people for whom we had prayed over the past years joined us, and a critical mass of women under thirty -- the third wave of EEWC -- shared their insights and grew in wisdom alongside founding mothers.

Music and intellectual stimulation were two highlights of the conference, speaking to the whole person. EEWC member Margaret Shelton Meier composed the conference theme song, "Wisdom Calls," based on Proverbs 8, and also spoke to many hearts with her performance of her own composition, "Proverbs of Wisdom," on Thursday night. Women's spirituality musician Linda Allen concertized on Friday and also shared her musical tribute to Helga Estby, the subject of Linda Lawrence Hunt's dramatic biography of a forgotten American woman. Colleen Fulmer, a Methodist pastor and singer-songwriter, who was featured in the spring issue of EEWC Update, led the gathering music. And feminist singer and composer Carolyn McDade led the members of Path 1 in "Singing Our Lives -- Our Earth," which was shared with all on Saturday night. (Dancer Lindsey Huddleston, co-leader of Path 6, was so moved by the Path 1 singers on Saturday night that she commented, "They look absolutely angelic and transported" as they sang.)

Wisdom spoke to and opened our minds as well as our hearts at the conference. In addition to the seven Paths from which participants could choose for small-group work, the conference featured plenary addresses by numerous sisters gifted with God's wisdom. Old Testament scholar Phyllis Trible opened the conference with a Thursday evening plenary analysis of texts about Wisdom in Job 28 and Proverbs 1, 8, and 9, while theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether, the Friday evening plenary speaker, helped listeners understand the call of God's people in an age of oppressive globalization.

Two EEWC foremothers, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott and Nancy A. Hardesty, shared, respectively, knowledge of the inner guiding of Woman Wisdom and her hand in leading EEWC over the past 30 years.

Panels of wise women also shared their experience and insights with conference participants at several plenary gatherings. Listeners were introduced to Jewish and Muslim personae of Wisdom by Dvora Weisberg of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, Bridget Blomfield, a doctoral candidate in Women's Studies and Religion at Claremont Graduate University, and Riffat Hassan, Islamic feminist theologian from the University of Louisville. Click here for a summary of this panel's discussion.

A panel of women who live the struggle against injustice in its many forms shared the wisdom of their experiences on Saturday morning. Joyce Ride chairs the Los Angeles area board of Friends Outside, an organization for visiting persons in prison. One of the prisoners she visited and helped was Gloria Killian, who was released from prison in 2002 after serving more than 16 years of a sentence for a crime she did not commit. Gloria now directs a non-profit organization that advocates for humane treatment of women inmates. Pamela Brubaker and Erica Juhn are activists for the rights of workers in the so-called sweatshop industry. Kathleen Schinhofen, C.S.J., has long experience in conflict management and transition mentoring.

On Saturday evening, three representatives of Third Wave Christian Feminism shared their calls to ministry and the struggles they face. E. Joscelyn "Josie" Asencio and Raewyn Hawkins, undergraduates at La Sierra University, shared their experiences as lay preachers in an African country. Sarah Oesch, an M.Div. candidate at Fuller Seminary, told of her struggles attempting to fulfill her calling in her denomination. You'll be able to read more about these women in a future issue of EEWC Update.

Foremothers and -fathers were also recognized on Saturday night, notably biblical scholar David M. Scholer, philanthropist Margo Goldsmith, and authors Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Nancy A. Hardesty, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the publication of their groundbreaking book All We're Meant to Be.

A highlight, as well as the culmination, of the conference was the Sunday worship service, led by liturgist the Rev. Elizabeth Nordquist, associate professor of spirituality at San Francisco Theological Seminary, with the ministry of God's Word led by the Rev. Barbara J. Essex, minister/coordinator of community life at Pacific School of Religion, and ministries of music and liturgical dance presented by groups of EEWC members led by Margaret Meier and Lindsey Huddleston. Colleen Fulmer led congregational singing. Singer Margaret Arighi and flutist Ellen Arthur Eggebroten performed a composition by Margaret Meier, with a visual interpretation by dancer Lindsey Huddleston.

Whether those present at this EEWC conference had been attending for 30 years or if this was their first taste of the EEWC community, all heard and answered Wisdom's call at the gates and set out upon the crossroads, refreshed and renewed.

Linda Bieze, an EEWC coordinator emerita, is a writer and editor living in Grand Rapids, MI.

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