Reviewed Book: Rhodes, Lynn N. Co-Creating: A Feminist Vision of Ministry. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987

Weigel, Arnold D.

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 15Issue 2 Theology of the Cross: Theory and Practice Article 2111-1-1989Co-Creating: A Feminist Vision of MinistryArnold D. WeigelFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationWeigel, Arnold D. (1989) "Co-Creating: A Feminist Vision of Ministry," Consensus: Vol. 15 : Iss. 2 , Article 21.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol15/iss2/21140 ConsensusCo-Creating: A Feminist Vision of MinistryLynn N. RhodesPhiladelphia: The Westminster Press, 1987132 pp.What do women clergy who are committed to justice for women dowith their feminist vision for ministry? Do present forms of ministry fur-nish them opportunity to express and to practice their feminist vision forministry? Or do they thwart such expression and practice?These questions are central to the research and text of Lynn Rhodesin Co-Creating. As Assistant Professor of Ministry and Field Education atPacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, she hcis a personal, profes-sional and contextual interest in these questions.This book is about feminist ministry and feminist theology. In exam-ining the views of white women clergy (“Two groups who are not includedin this book are particularly significant in the development of feminist the-ory: ordained women of color and laywomen from all ethnic groups.”) andthe reflections of four specific women theologians, namely Letty M. Rus-sell, Beverly Wildung Harrison, Rosemary Radford Ruether and of herself,Lynn Rhodes presents informative, stimulating and challenging insights onthe vital questions of authority, salvation, mission and vocation.By what authority? Rhodes claims that for feminists “authority forministry must be situated in honest and reflective discourse of women abouttheir own experiences-in- relationship.” “What is unique to feminist the-ology, is that it is reflection upon women's experience.” “As women tellthe stories of their own faith experiences and reflect upon them, they dis-cover that the tradition of Christian faith is not just something that comesto them from elsewhere. Rather, they are themselves transforming andchanging the tradition of faith under new conditions.”What is a feminist vision for ministry? In exploring the theme of sal-vation with her dialogue partners, Rhodes claims: “Feminist visions of thepromise of new creation include a world where nobodies are somebodies,where women and men experience mutuality, and where justice is the normof life. God’s intention for us is love and mercy in a relationship of sol-idarity.” To experience such, of course, means to embrace difference anddiversity within the community of faith: “The message of salvation is thepromise of a new creation that is embodied in communities of people whodare to create new possibilities for living out love of self, neighbor, andGod. They tell the story of salvation, not to make others like them but tooffer their own experience of new life.”What is the mission of the church? It is that of “justice” and of“solidarity”—seeking ways to be active partners in the work of justice andlearning to act in solidarity with others “by engaging in experiences thatexpand their consciousness, but which do not perpetuate patronizing andBook Reviews 141colonizing patterns.” “The feminists envisage the Christian concept of ser-vice not as servitude but as the process of empowerment in community.”What is ministry? “Ministry does not refer to the work of clergy butto the activity of all Christians as they live out their sense of vocation.Ministry is what enables people to live their commitments and expresstheir understanding of the source of their identity and meaning.”Rhodes is listening carefully—and has let us enter the process—to whatan experienced and committed group of feminists have learned throughtheir journeys as ordained clergy and parish pastors. For me, the basicstrength and contribution to ministry and theology of this book is thatit is a forthright and deeply reflective discourse by women about theirown experiences-in- relationship as pertains to the four designated themes:authority, salvation, mission and vocation.This text deserves to be on the reading lists of seminary courses inpastoral theology, especially those dealing with contextual ministry. Givenits affirming and challenging style, it is also a book that needs to be read,digested and discussed by clergy and theologians serving in the field ofministry.Arnold D. WeigelWaterloo Lutheran SeminaryDo Justice! The Social Teaching of the CanadianCatholic BishopsEdited by E. F. Sheridan, S.J.Sherbrooke, Quebec: Editions Paulines, 1987459 pp. $15.00Fr. Sheridan’s recently published volume. Do Justice^ is a welcomeedition for those interested in social justice. In this one volume Sheridanhas brought together the social statements of the Canadian Conference ofCatholic Bishops. Together, they provide a perspective of the recent socialvision of Canada’s Roman Catholic Bishops.With the relecLse of the Bishops’ statement, “Ethical Reflections onthe Economic Crisis” in December 1982, many people were surprised thatthe Canadian Roman Catholic hierarchy should be commenting on suchcamplex subjects. What role does religion have in the world of economicsand politics? In fact, there were many who strongly recommended thatthe Bishops stick to more “religious matters”. In Do Justice^ Fr. Sheridaneffectively documents that such a concern for the world of economics andpolitics and the ensuing effect it has upon people is not something “new” forthe Bishops, nor the Roman Catholic community, nor the broader Christiancommunity for that matter.

Co-Creating: A Feminist Vision of Ministry

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Co-Creating: A Feminist Vision of Ministry

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