SOUTH AFRICAN ANGLICAN CLERGYWOMEN MERGING MINISTRY AND MOTHERHOOD: EXPLORING PRESENCE, PRAXIS AND POWER by ELIZABETH JANE GETMAN Student Number: 207512632 submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the subject THEOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL Pietermaritzburg SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR SAROJINI NADAR NOVEMBER 2014 DECLARATION Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Graduate Programme in Gender and Religion, School of Religion Philosophy and Classics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. I, Elizabeth Jane Getman, (Student Number 207512632) declare that 1. The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. 2. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. 3. 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Elizabeth Jane Getman Student Name ____________ Signature 14 November 2014 Date Professor Sarojini Nadar Name of Supervisor ____________ Signature i Abstract Until recently, feminist research in the area of women’s leadership within churches has been predominantly based on the inclusion case for the ordination of women or for women in other spaces of authority. This thesis sought to shift this debate beyond the argument for the inclusion of women in positions of religious authority and asks what happens when women are in such leadership roles, and moreover when these women are “mothers of the church.” To what extent are the vocations of motherhood and priesthood reciprocal? What are the activities and relationships that constitute the vocations of motherhood and priesthood? How are these activities and relationships embodied within the praxis of motherhood and priesthood? And finally how are new understandings of power being negotiated by the presence and praxis of clergy mothers? These questions were explored through critical qualitative empirical research within the Anglican Church of South Africa (ACSA). The research was primarily grounded within a feminist theoretical framework. Through narrative interviews with seven clergywomen three major themes related to clergy mothers’ experiences in leadership were explored. The first theme explored the “presence” of the clergy mothers in ministry and sought to understand, drawing on feminist theories of embodiment, how female bodies and perspectives might change church offices, pulpits, altars and beyond. The second theme focused on the “praxis” of clergy mothers in terms of formation and ministry, and a feminist theology of praxis was brought to bear on the women’s experiences. Finally the “power” (and sometimes lack thereof) of clergy mothers was explored through the concept of “natality” as opposed to “mortality” – a focus on our embodied realities first, before the “life hereafter” as a key theme in Christian theology. The thesis concludes that the presence, praxis and power of clergy mothers (with new experiences, insights and wisdom) are transforming the structures and manifestations of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa in multiple ways. Clergy mothers are teaching all priests and the laity about the values of ii sacramental mothering; maternal leadership; and about the importance of making a “preferential option for the children.” These lessons if heeded can certainly be life-transforming for the church. Among the many theological contributions this thesis makes the most significant is the challenge to liberation theological discourse to extend the epistemological privilege of the poor to also including an epistemological privilege to the children. This new option provides the opportunity for liberation theologians to seek understanding through an embodied optic and for the church to practice genuine inclusivity. iii Acknowledgements The countless women of spirit who set (and keep) my feet on this path are many. I mention only a few: Karen Sue Zinsmeister Getman - my own mother who brought me into being through her own body and passed the depth and beauty of the Christian faith and traditions and symbolism on to me. She also taught me to think critically and to appreciate good food. Clara Ethel Mains Getman and Mary “Maxine” Lamb Zinsmeister my firecracker grandmothers - strong women who did the important mothering work of (between them) raising a whole heap of children “righteously up”. Chachi Jane Deren - my wild and faithful Polish Catholic godmother who has always fed me feminist poetry and theology. Ruby C. Gary – my inner city Washington, DC kindergarten (and 2nd grade and 4th grade) teacher who embodied civil rights and encouraged my voice. Susan Mann (Gressinger) Flanders – my first clergywoman mentor – and a mother who showed me what was possible in terms of my own vocations. Maureen Shea - my surrogate mother, mentor and friend who finds all the right books and let me experiment with mothering (through allowing me to babysit) her own son. Verna Dozier – a lay minister and teacher and theologian who made the Bible come alive through contextual preaching and Bible study and mothered many to maturity at St Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC (and beyond). iv Kathleen Roberts Skerrett – a compassionate and integrated theologian who made the discipline relevant, contextual and beautiful for me at McGill University at the start of my academic pilgrimage. Jane Holmes Dixon – the first Episcopalian woman bishop on my radar who helped me to plot a course and make sense of the journey towards ordination and family life. Jennifer Jane Stewart Sistig – my first woman rector who became a sister and a mentor. She insisted that the time was ripe for my own ordination even though my children were still young. She modelled and mirrored motherhood and ministry for and with me and helped to inspire this project. Sarojini Nadar – my supervisor and companion on this long theological, vocational and personal pilgrimage. Our friendship that began through the auspices of the Circle for Concerned African Women Theologians has grown through witnessing and supporting each other in the juggle of mothering and professional and faith commitments. My gratitude for the week in Stellenbosch working together on the draft at STIAS (Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies) is immeasurable. It was a life changing experience as I moved from self-doubt to experiencing the horizon of hope. Sarah Anne Sandeman Burns – my brilliant mother in law extraordinaire, who loves and feeds us and has allowed us to convert her home into an intergenerational family zoo. Annette Brand – my unwavering friend of longstanding and mother of four daughters, who provides a safe and calm harbour in Lüneburg, Germany and got me back on track in terms of taking care of myself when I was struggling with “mother rage” and hopelessness. Pippa Hudson – my dear friend who likes to see me in my collar and helps to keep the boys on track and fed when I am running crazy with ministry and v academic pursuits. She even held my newborn baby while I conducted a funeral. Candice Roberts – my holistic power sharing gynaecologist friend who has assisted with the deliveries of two of my babies and has afforded me the privilege of baptising three of her own. Nokuthula Ngwane Mlaba - who has helped to mother our children and keeps our house and lives from falling into complete chaos. As my mother always says, “everyone needs a wife”. All of my amazing friends who have walked with me and been faithful to me while I disappeared down the rabbit hole of academic pursuit and encouraged me to get this project done. The courageous Anglican clergywomen participants in this study – and all women of spirit within and without the church who choose to walk the way. May we continue to find ways to support each other and create a more welcoming and inclusive community. May we keep the conversation alive so that we can “hear each other into speech.” There are also several faithful men (and four boys) who (deliberately or inadvertently) challenged me to do this study: My father - Tom Getman whose faith and commitment to social justice has helped to ground me, whose own vocation influenced mine, and who changed the course of my life by bringing me to visit South Africa in 1984. My older brother - Andrew Getman who is beautiful, brilliant, sensitive and inspirational. He taught me that men can be feminists and was my first sparring partner in gender politics debates. The books that he has provided vi for this project and my library have nourished my brain and my soul. He has helped me to be a better, smarter and more authentic woman. My younger brother - Tim Getman, captivating storyteller and gentle caring man. He has taught me so much about love and laughter, forgiveness and authenticity. And he