people can agree on.
Pete introduced task force member Dr. Charlotte Gyllenhaal who helped
analyze feedback from focus groups and write the report. She said that the
task force arose from the General Church Strategic Plan as part of the lay
participation initiative. Committee work began last September, wrestling with
the doctrines and how they fit with lived experience.
Although some favored a women’s ordination policy, it was clearly stated
from the start that this process did not seek to address women’s ordination;
rather it was about improving things for women in the church and improving
the life of the church. To hear from more women across a broad range of
viewpoints, focus groups were set up and met in the spring. Although much
of the content of these sessions was difficult to hear, Pete added that he found
people to be affirmative to having this conversation.
Pete then presented the 14 findings of the task force with encouragement to
reflect on them and ask ourselves if these are messages we want to be sending.
Charlotte then presented 10 recommendations that the task force puts before
the church for consideration. [These findings and recommendations, together
with the full report are now available at http://about.newchurch.org/about/
reports]
She said the strategic plan calls for a committee to be appointed to report
on how these recommendations are implemented over the next year. She noted
the report would soon be released and that some would undoubtedly feel the
report goes too far, and others, not far enough. Pete added that he would be
working on a process for getting clergy feedback on the report.
Discussion followed, touching on the mode of implementation and the
extent to which specific recommendations were supported primarily by those
looking for stepping stones to the ordination of women.
After Charlotte was thanked and departed, discussion returned to the
report, with these points coming out: implementation of the recommendations
should await a more meaningful opportunity for clergy response to the report;
some women did not feel that the focus groups were a “safe space” to differ
from those advocating for increasing women’s roles in the church and to
express satisfaction with their roles; there are questions about the doctrinal
basis for some of the recommendations of the report; and that our beautiful
teachings about the uses of wives and mothers are under-represented in the
report. Regarding this last discussion point, it could be valuable for the clergy
to ask why those teachings are not coming across in the ways intended for a
significant portion of our church population.
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