An Outline of the History of Voices of Sophia
1. Ecumenical Decade: Churches in Solidarity with Women, 1988-1998…Advocacy, Equality
Emily Wigger: The Decade was to provide a long-term framework for actions in solidarity with women and in September 1988 a US Decade Committee was formed. Not long after that a Presbyterian Ecumenical Decade Committee was formed. As the committee began exploring ways of implementing the goals set forth by the World Council the Presbyterian Committee met with a group of women in the Minneapolis area that were planning a theological colloquium. After spending some time hearing about their exciting plans, filled with both joys and frustrations the Presbyterian Decade Committee was convinced that this endeavor certainly met several of the Decade’s goals, particularly the first three.
1.Empowering women to challenge oppressive structures in the global community, their country and their church.
2.Affirming-through shared leadership and decision making, theology and spirituality-the decisive contributions of women in churches and communities.
3.Giving visibility to women’s perspectives and actions in the work and struggle for justice, peace and the integrity of creation.
4.Enabling the churches to free themselves from racism, sexism and classism; from teachings and practices that discriminate against women.
5.Encouraging the churches to take actions in solidarity with women.
Soooo, bicentennial funds were applied for and granted for the purpose of helping fund the event that, by a printer’s misprinting of Re-Imagining, became the now famous and infamous Re-Imagining event.
Scripture: “For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.” Isaiah 42:14
2. Re-Imagining God, Community and the Church, October 1993…A Challenge to the Church
Joan Marshall’s compilation of quotes: We chose to be here together. Most women know the truth because they are forced to life it. A storm means something is wrong. It’s important to be in the middle of trouble. You cannot find the Divine in yourself running. -Sally Hill?
Solidarity means inclusion because marginalization is a corrupt abuse of power. - Rita Nikashima Brock
Community is re-imagined only as those on periphery are brought to the center and out of bondage. - Lois Wilson
To re-imagine is to live as though it already were; to see church as inclusive community left in the hands of women; a partnership. We can only liberate our capacity for re-imagining if we believe there is a Jubilee for all. – Mercy Amba Oduyoye
Move from being liberals to being radicals. Use privilege to change the way things are. Inclusion means we accept differences. Power belongs to community. All of life is spiritual. Embrace a spirituality of difference. Live deeply into our differences. Difference allows a spirituality that is invisible to take form; deepens understanding; becomes visible, empowering. - Joan Martin
Scripture: “Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.” Mark 14:9
3. Presbyterian Women’s Gathering, Ames IA, July 1994…Backlash/ what do we do?
Sylvia Thorson-Smith: So much anger at the power of patriarchal silencing -- those who would deny women's story and naming, those who named ReImagining and women in ways that violated women's own naming and experience. We had been asking "Is it time?" The answer seemed to grow in strength: "Yes, it's time. We must ask the question of others."
Scripture: “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Gen. 28:15
4. Hopscotch House, Louisville KY, Fall 1994…Is it time yet?
Ginny Copenhefer: My road to Hopscotch House began when I grew up in a single parent home - my mom and I against the world. Feminist producing experiences multiplied and all of a sudden I found myself in Minneapolis at a conference called Re-Imagining. I was an excited and energized lay person when I returned to Louisville and witnessed the persecution of my friends and acquaintances, all talented and faithful church professionals being called to task for questioning and studying--things that Presbyterians were "supposed to do."
While they felt constrained and could not speak, My husband and I could speak up and lend whatever we had to see that the church lived out it's statements affirming women. The Hopscotch House meeting looked like the beginning of a way to stop the bullying behavior. I've never been sorry I took the opportunity to act!
Scripture: “Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?” Proverbs 8:1
5. Gathering 1995, St. Louis MO…The Time has Come
Charlene Heaton: I remember
¥ JOY at being invited by women I held in esteem to be part of a new creation
¥ ANTICIPATION of writing the vision and the SATISFACTION of expressing my longing for the church to be "real"
¥ HOW SATISFYING it was to make a contribution AND to do so in partnership with others
¥ At our tables there was such GIVE and TAKE, and in our process such
TRUTH-TELLING:
Strong differences of opinion
To Sophia or Not to Sophia? That was the question!
Boldly stated
Boldly listened to
Eventual consensus.
¥ To be in St. Louis was to be in safe company, to celebrate in that company, to sing and dance in unison and in harmony.
A personal note. At the time of the first gathering, I was living in a rural community, feeling somewhat isolated. I was also a pastor in a presbytery where some found my glowing report about ReImagining offensive. VOS's clear affirmation that women belong in the world of theology whittled away at the ReImagining backlash, whittled it down to its proper size, the size of a pea. The fact that this new community valued women doing theology was life-giving to me!
Scripture: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave.” Song of Solomon 8:6
6. Voices of Sophia is born! Cincinnati OH, General Assembly 1995
Sylvia Thorson-Smith: Incredible energy and excitement -- the birth of something new! With renewed energy, women claimed their voices. Two very special voices were in the chorus. One was Mildred Brown -- longserving wise woman in all the struggles for justice. Like Anna the prophet at the blessing of baby Jesus in the temple, Mildred was overjoyed to participate in announcing the birth of Voices of Sophia, and we were so glad to have her affirmation and witness with us. Another prophet joined our throng -- Maurice McCracken. Rev. McCracken was defrocked in the 1950s for not paying taxes in protest of U.S. militarism. When he saw the VOS gathering, he said he was pleased to pass the torch to a new group of justice-seeking radicals.
While posting the '95 Illuminations, we sang "O Come, Sophia, Come" (to the tune of "Rise Up, O Men of God") and other Sophia songs. Then we processed to a nearby hotel, singing and dancing all the way, where we continued the celebration with an all-out birthday party. Voices of Sophia was officially born. It was a very easy, natural labor at exactly the right time. Women and men who sought God's wisdom, Sophia, were announcing that they would not be silenced in the joyful, bursting forth of life!
Janie Spahr: Voices of Sophia was birthed first by the dream of two women. There was a sense of real urgency following the terrible malignment and misinterpretation of the ReImagining conference. Sylvia and Mary knew more than ever that it was time to make this dream a reality. It is to their friendship and deep commitment that this organization was born.
Voices of Sophia was birthed in song and in the calling out of our 95 illuminations outside the doors of the General Assembly hall in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our colorful door painted by Louisville seminarians months earlier at a coming out service served as a backdrop along with brightly rainbow colored balloons.
Hundreds gathered to cheer us on as they listened intently to the Illuminations being read one after the other-- a cadence of justice rooted in feminist theological principles echoed throughput the hall. We then sang and danced our way to a reception held right across the way in a local hotel where we continued our celebration.
We had reclaimed our voices . The joy and amazing spirit of ReImagining had returned. That Sophia spirit had been reclaimed in and through us. She was alive in and through us. And we knew it. In full voice and fully embodied she and we were back.
Scripture: “Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” John 4:39
7. Gathering 1996, Woodstock IL…
Scripture: “Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy.” 1 Cor 14:1
8. Gathering 1997, Albuquerque NM…Freshness, The Bible and Feminism
Betty Kersting and Janis Adams:
GATHERING 1997, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
Iowa and Kentucky in 1994, Missouri and Ohio in 1995, Illinois in 1996.
In 1997, Voices of Sophia broke out of the Midwest.
With the hospitality and leadership of the local planning team,
we also broke out of a strict Christianity
to embrace some Jewish and Native American sensibilities.
Many of you were there. As you remember our time together, we invite you to think of a word that reminds you of the gathering.
Members shared the following:
Lillith dream catcher Hale Bobb pearls power dancing Eve Gottlieb role play
high mesas midrash beauty snow violets sage
blessing
composing letter on a lap-top signing protest letter to GA moderator
Scripture: “In those days Mary set out and went with hast to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the child leaped in her womb.” Luke 1:39-41.
9. Gathering 1999, Washington DC…Introspection
Mary Jane Patterson, Jeanne MacKenzie: The planning committee for the 1999 Annual Gathering was very intentional about our commitment to inclusiveness. In our early years we have "spoken out" without apology as bold feminists with a bold vision for our church. After putting our words into action through our support and advocacy for lgbt people, it was time to reflect on how to embody in our own organization the vision of full inclusion of all Wisdom's voices. We chose the theme "Embracing Wisdom/Sophia: Celebrating Her Voices."
It was time to confess the sin of racism and to work toward creating communities where each person's voice would be heard and celebrated.
Some participants were disappointed that masculine references to God were used in African story about creation and community as dramatized by Victoria Pratt, of Virginia Union Seminary. Key-note speaker and New Testament professor, Dr. Clarice Martin, led us in study of scripture incorporated the African American perspective as well as affirming feminist biblical interpretation and the Wisdom spirit within VOS.
New to our familiar traditions was a significant amount of time we spent in listening to conversations between Latina, Native American, African American, Asian and Caucasian women. Several of the group had met before the gathering to begin this process. Beverly Harrison, on the occasion of her retirement from Union Theological Seminary in NY, issued us a challenge as she summarized the ethical implications raised by the conversations and our '95 Illuminations.
At its business meeting, VOS rose to the challenge by committing to a more inclusive Central Team. The challenge to truly be inclusive continues.
Scripture: “Wisdom has built her house…she has also set her table…she calls from the highest places in the town, ‘You that are simple, turn in here!…Lay aside immaturity and live, and walk in the way of insight.” Proverbs 9:1-6
10. The Presbyterian Outlook Advertisement, Action
Scripture: “Write the Vision; Make it plain on tablets so that a runner may read it.” Habakkuk 2:2
11. Voices of Sophia Hires Staff…Mieke Vandersall
Emily Wigger: As an organization we were experiencing growth with more activities to plan and execute and as an all-volunteer organization we were finding it harder and harder to keep all the balls in the air. So, at the September 1994 Central Team meeting (I was not there as my Mother was suddenly hospitalized) it was decided to explore the possibility of a Sophia’ Assistant by placing a small notice in the next issue of Illuminations. If interested contact me. Well lo and behold I got a response from Mieke Vandersall wanting more information. After some exchanging of information we finally met for breakfast in St. Louis. At a later date other Central Team members met with her in Louisville and ultimately the recommendation to hire her as Sophia’s Assistant was passed. She was introduced at the St. Louis Birthday Party Gathering
Mieke Vandersall: I opened my Voices of Sophia newsletter and found “the” advertisement-for Sophia’s Assistant. This person would work a few hours a week coordinating the work of Voices. I had been in this place where I was trying to leave the church, trying to work in secular non-profit jobs. I hadn’t been successful. I keep being called back into the church, the harder I fought the stronger I was called. I replied. Emily and I spoke. She told me of the history and dreams of Voices. I had heard of Voices years before when it was founded-indeed the ReImagining Conference had fed me with the exposure of theology from women’s perspectives. And it was my time to help make the Voices vision plain for other women like myself.
Scripture: “Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” 1 Corinthians 12:4
12. Gathering 2000, St. Louis MO…Birthday party!
Scripture: “At the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portal she cries out.” Proverbs 8:2
13. Gathering 2001, Tucson AZ…Expanding Our Horizons
Scripture: “Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young women shall see visions.” Joel 2:28
Beth Beall: It is April, 2001. I am in an airplane, heading from Denver, CO, to Tucson, AZ. From up here, in and above the clouds, I wonder: where does one city end and another begin? Who decides what the boundaries are, and how do they decide…and to what effect? Arriving in Tucson for the Voices of Sophia Gathering, my mind and heart are oriented to the theme of this Gathering: At the crossroads-all of those various and complex borders/boundaries of our lives-Wisdom/Sophia takes her stand. The prophetic and liberatory knowledge/power needed to understand, negotiate, reconfigure, re-form, transgress, and even rupture those borders and boundaries: Wisdom/Sophia stands ready to give to us-as a community-such gifts of knowledge and power.
Under the leadership of Borderlinks, many of us from the group traveled together to the U.S./Mexico border: geographical borders. For those of us scrunched into the back seat of St. Mark’s church van, boundaries of unknowing were permeated by self-introductions and stories of how we had each come to this particular place, to this particular Gathering of faith: interpersonal borders. We arrived at the Border Patrol Center, where uniformed employees and members of our group came together in a preliminary and cursory way to listen to and learn from one another. From our different perspectives, we talked about the efforts involved in upholding laws and policies-political and economic borders-that are grounded in assumptions of separate-ness and “security”.
A very different kind of conversation took place when we entered a border community in Mexico a couple hours later. Language borders were underscored even as we worked our way around and through them: we became lunch guests in the homes of people who communicated to us and with us through smiles, plates of food, and the willingness to share whatever was on hand. Food and hospitality: the presence of Christ, indeed. The effects of both U.S. and Mexican political and economic policies playing themselves out in the lives of our hosts: the present Christ speaks to us still, urging us to live wisely in the way of God’s justice.
Over the remaining days of our Gathering, we learned about some of the theological borders that have been contested and disrupted in the Presbyterian Church USA through the faith-full efforts of feminist liberatory voices. We heard each morning and evening from a variety of such faith-full voices: from those working in congregations, from those working in the academy, from those working in the arts, from those working in their schools and jobs. As we listened, we were encouraged to consider how Sophia/Wisdom is speaking to each of us about the “border work” of our lives.
During each of our days together, we experienced richly varied experiences of worship. Through our loving acts of worship, we crossed some of the conventionally-configured boundaries of what it means to praise and encounter God as faith-full Presbyterians! The Spirit of Sophia who infused and directed the life of Jesus was indeed present in and through our worship.
Tucson: the arena wherein we were called to consider and reflect in transformative ways about the borders and boundaries within which we live and move and have being: borders and boundaries that operate at interpersonal, political, economic, linguistic, theological, and denominational levels. Through such mind- and body- and heart-feeding reflection, we made ourselves available to move more deeply into faith-full lives of compassion, conversion, and courage.
