All Women in the Church: A new site for the PCUSA's Women's Ministry

I have just discovered that Women's Ministry in the PCUSA has changed to All Women in the Church and is offering forums. Many of the articles on the site allow for discussion but one must join to interact.

One article is "Inclusive and expansive language," and once you are signed in you can comment on that thread.

The article begins:

"When writing a prayer or creating liturgy, do you use father to describe God, or do you use additional or other words such as creator or shepherd to describe God? Or maybe you think all of those suggestions are unfamiliar or impractical. Whether expansive, or extensive, language is something you embrace or something that is new to you, the church has often debated its necessity and appropriateness.

In Peace and Justice Links, an online publication of Presbyterian Women, Jean Vietan writes, 'In the church, language about people should reflect the belief that all persons, regardless of gender, race, ability and so on, are made in the image of God. Language about God should reflect our understanding that all names for God are metaphors' (2005, Issue 6). "

Another heading begins "Join the Lenten Book Group." This is a discussion within the forum site.
The introduction on the main site begins:

"Join us in the forum during Lent to explore and discuss the book Proverbs of Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering, and the Search for What Save Us by Rebecca Ann Parker and Rita Nakashima Brock (Beacon Press, 2002, $18). Described by Publishers Weekly as a “deep theological study of suffering and its role in the Christian Faith,” this book alternates essays of the two women’s personal experiences and the way their experiences have developed their theologies. They examine the concept of redemptive suffering and atonement."

I read this book several years ago. Although I finished feeling extremely sorry for the sufferings of these two women, their rejection of the redemption Jesus bought on the cross is much sadder. I wrote a review of this book for Voices of Orthodox Women several years ago. You can find it at, Proverbs of Ashes.

My suggestion to all of this is that those who feel led of the Lord, and you must be women, join the All Women site and contribute to the conversation. Let your love for Jesus Christ and his wonderful atoning work on the cross shine with kindness and care. Simply go here.