Naming and Reclaiming Power As a Force for Good
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I’VE THE GOT The Women in Leadership Project works to dismantle patriarchal POWER! systems in Mennonite Church USA by empowering women to live out the call of God on their lives, increase their capacities, and contribute their wisdom in congregations, area conferences, agencies and institutions. Naming and reclaiming power as a force for good I’VE GOT THE “Our faith is that in the ongoing intention to live as Christ in the world, God both saves us from destructive dimensions of power and also saves us for the bold exercise of power.” — Jennifer Davis Sensenig “Practicing reverence must be the key in all our interactions and striv- P WER! ing. Out of it we gain access to our creative imagination that provides images and insights that highlight the wonders, wisdom, and beauty Naming and reclaiming power of life.” — Dr. Mary Wade as a force for good “People do divine things every day, but we do not do them alone. We cocreate with God as the Spirit empowers us.” — Erica Lea-Simka Jennifer Castro is coordinator of the Women in Leadership Project of Mennonite Church USA. She’s an Jennifer Castro, editor educator and has worked in community and women’s health, public education, and development. She lives in San Presentations from the Antonio, Texas, with her spouse and their three kids. Women Doing Theology Conference Women in Leadership Project Mennonite Church USA MennoniteUSA.org I’VE GOT THE POWER: NAMING AND RECLAIMING POWER AS A FORCE FOR GOOD © 2018, Women in Leadership Project, Mennonite Church USA, Elkhart, Indiana, 46517 Library of Congress Control Number: ISBN-13: 978-1981245666 International Standard Book Number: ISBN-10: 1981245669 Printed in the United States of America. Copy-editing: June Krehbiel, Jennifer Castro Cover and book design: Ron Tinsley All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owners. Unless otherwise noted, scripture text is quoted, with permission, from the New Revised Standard Version, © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. To order a copy or request information, please call 574-523-3051, or see: MennoniteUSA.org/wlp Printed by CreateSpace, an Amazon.com company. For those who have journeyed this path in power before us, their lives and stories guiding our steps, pointing the way. For those living in power day-in and day-out, minute-by-minute moving wisely in the world, attentive to divine love, light, truth, justice, God. For those on the journey toward awakening, just learning to embrace power, stepping tentatively and slowly gaining confidence. For those who will come after us. May you live with intention—moving in the power you hold—grounded in wisdom and confidence. Contents Introduction ...................................................................................... vii Jennifer Castro 1. Attracted to Power .............................................................................. 1 Jennifer Davis Sensenig 2. Can I Get a Witness? Transforming the Common Shock of Patriarchy ........................................................................................... 9 Sarah Ann Bixler 3. Dare to be a Danielle: Pioneering Women Leaders in the Mennonite Church ............................................................................ 27 Carol Penner 4. Dancing on the Edges of the Denomination Tent .......................... 45 Amy Yoder McGloughlin 5. Sophia at the Crossroads: Dismantling Patriarchy in the Church through the Biblical Goddess .......................................................... 57 Christi Hoover Seidel 6. Mary Magdalene: A Readers Theater for Three Voices ................... 85 Kristy Shellenberger 7. Nonbinary Identity in Ruth and the Restructuring of Power ......... 95 Steph Chandler Burns 8. Inescapable Dream: Hannah Arendt and Theories of Power........109 Catherine Thiel Lee 9. On Earth as in Heaven ....................................................................119 Erica Lea-Simka 10. In the Light of the Moment: Reverence, Imagination, and Justice ........................................................................................129 Dr. Mary L. Wade Endnotes .................................................................................................140 Introduction There was a time in my life where I didn’t recognize that I had much power at all. For a significant portion of my formative years and young adulthood, I couldn’t see value in my experience, body knowledge, sensitivity, or intuition. I didn’t recognize the strength I could convey through my words or the capability of my voice to influence. I believed I was lacking and couldn’t see the power I possessed for what it was. Slowly, though, I began to recognize the systems and messages around me that had stripped me of power—systems in society, in my community, in my congregation, in my family. And I began tapping into the power I hold and using my voice to speak truth. The Women Doing Theology conference hosted by the Women in Leadership Project of Mennonite Church USA flows out of a history of Anabaptist theologians, ministers, teachers, activists, creatives and many others gathering together to do theological work born out of women’s experiences. As Anabaptists, we understand that our theology is most fully realized together, sharing and learning from our unique experiences with God and life. Our theology is enriched and more deeply grounded as we listen, hold space, challenge, come into new awareness, and practice presence together. At the 2016 Women Doing Theology conference, I’ve got the power! Naming and reclaiming power as a force for good, we broke long-held silences by speaking frankly and vulnerably about the power we possess and aspire to hold. The papers included in this collection were among those presented at the conference. They reflect the voices of women doing theology across Mennonite Church USA. They create space for discussion and reflection around power and its potential to work good in the world when we claim it rather than deflect or ignore it. Thank you to the Steering Committee of the Women in Leadership Project: Melissa Florer-Bixler, Maribel Hinojosa, Erica Littlewolf, Chantelle Todman Moore, Linda Gehman Peachey, Regina Shands Stoltzfus, Moniqua Acosta (2012-2016), and Sandra Pérez (2012-2016). Thank you to all our conference presenters—your guidance enriched our experience. Thank you to all who participated in the conference— through our synergy we open up new ways of processing and doing theology together. Thank you, reader of this collection, for continuing to engage, share, and build upon these ideas and this work. —Jennifer Castro, editor vii 1. Attracted to Power Jennifer Davis Sensenig I am attracted to power. The poem Fueled by Marcie Hans that I learned in childhood contrasts the worldly engineered power of a rocket with the mysterious natural power of a seed breaking through soil. What kind of power have we? I am attracted to the power which moves through my life—from a monthly cycle indicating readiness to bear life to the tender and fiery work of the Holy Spirit, from the locally grown food that fuels my body to the human relationships that shape my identity. A less-than-comprehensive definition of power In general I define power as influence. I have power in the congregation I serve because I have influence. My power as a pastor is positional. It is based in my role. The contours of my class, gender, racial and sexual identity, education, marital status, and experience further define my power as do my personality and my particular context—Community Mennonite Church, the Shenandoah Valley, the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the United States of America. One fitting image of power as influence comes from my living room. The sun streaming through a window influences the growth pattern of a houseplant and the tendrils are drawn toward the light. Another image of power as influence comes from a hiking trail strewn with cairns. Movement and changes in any single stone’s position can shift the balance of power in an otherwise stable system. As a pastor I’ve been active in various community organizing efforts over the years, and a couple of years ago with several others, I helped to launch Faith in Action, a multi-faith local justice organization made up of twenty-one congregations, most of them Christian, but also including our local Jewish and Muslim congregations. Through some formal community organizing education I’ve been introduced to another handy definition of power that I appreciate. It is a little equation that says: Jennifer Davis Sensenig n I’VE GOT THE POWER! 1 organizing people + organizing money + organizing purpose = power This collection of essays and the conference in which they first emerged illustrate this kind of power. Although Faith in Action intends to address a variety of justice issues over time, we have focused on local justice for immigrant neighbors in our first year. Having served on the original steering committee and now as president of our executive committee, I have some power in this organization. Perhaps like anyone leading a new venture, I find the complexities of the relationships and responsibilities very challenging. I’m aware of flaws in our fledgling organization and my own weaknesses, especially as a novice in community organizing.