Once upon a time there were two women, who stood up to a King. They were midwives and the king had ordered them to kill any newborn boys that were born to the Israelite women. But they refused and continued to birth the promise. Unlike many other women in the Bible, these women who are celebrated and honored for their courage and skills are named. They are Shiphrah and Puah.
In our time, we have also seen the birthing of a new promise in the church. And now we wish to honor two women in our midst who acted as midwives in the new birth that took place. For years as they were active in leadership in the Presbyterian Church, these women talked about forming a body of believers that wouldn’t be hindered by official ties to church structures, a community that could speak the truth in love without fear of recourse from others who might oppose its message. And every so often they would get together and discuss this dream and say, “Is it time yet?” And they would look at each other and say, “No.”
Then, in the summer of 1994, at the Presbyterian Women’s Gathering in Aimes, IA, eight months after the Re-Imagining Conference, they sat in a room with a few other folks and asked again, “Is it time yet?” And this time the answer was, “Yes.”
But being the good Presbyterians that they are, they wanted to confirm this calling they felt with a larger community, so they sent out a letter to 50 or so people, sharing their dream and asking the question, “Is it time yet?” And along with all the verbal and written responses saying yes! Yes!, money came pouring in from people saying, “You will need this to make this happen.”
And so they organized a gathering in the fall of 1994 – 18 people were able to come to Hopscotch House here in Louisville. Through the course of that weekend the birthing process was officially begun with the guidance of these midwives. A larger gathering in St. Louis followed in April of 1995, and after much, much, much debate, the name Voices of Sophia was claimed. Once again, the midwives were there, offering their support and guidance but allowing others to take the lead as well. At the next General Assembly in Cincinnati, Voices of Sophia presented its birth announcement to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Our own Shiphrah and Puah, were there alongside the rest of the family. Since the birth of this body 6 years ago, Voices of Sophia has grown into its own, and like all good midwives, these women cut the cord and let it go enabling it to become not just “their baby,” but ours.
And so, at this time, we honor these women. They too are named. They are Mary and Sylvia. Let us say thank you to our midwives, Mary Kuhns and Sylvia Thorson-Smith.
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