Church work with women

Marie Olwell

The Catholic Church limits the participation of women both in its decision-making process and liturgical worship. This research explores how women in the Roman Catholic Church may be enabled to change their understanding and attitudes to claim a unique form of power within the Church's structure through education, discussion and small group interaction.

The method followed in this research took the design of a seminar. The methodology used involved a series of seven two-hour seminar sessions. Each seminar included education on topics related to women's issues in the Church: Women's culture and Spiritual Origins, Scripture and Spirituality, Power, Patriarchy and Sexism and Family of Origin. The format of the sessions included input, discussion, sharing,journaling, experiential activity and ritual. Reading assignments were taken from updated materials written by women researchers, theologians and scripture scholars. Eleven women from the ages of 32 to 65 from a white suburban local Catholic Church participated in the project. Their marital status, education, theology background and family of origin varied. At the initial session, each participant filled out three formulated questionnaires related to (a) Women's status within the Church, (b) self-esteem and (c) feelings regarding power. All these questionnaires were re-administered at the end of the course to evaluate whether any major changes took place. The most powerful instrument for women in this study occurred in the more intimate form of a personal interview where the opportunity of an in-depth sixty to ninety minute conversation with each participant took place three months following the seminar's termination. These interviews focused on seven questions relative to the seminar's objectives: (1) To what extent did the participants exhibit a heightened awareness and enthusiasm? (2) How have the participants' views of empowerment been affected by the seminar? (3) How has the group contributed to the overall process of the seminar?

Donald E. Moyer

Over a million women each year experience a crisis pregnancy. This project's goal is to offer recommendations for local church ministry and insights for pastors as they attempt to minister to persons facing crisis pregnancy decisions and their consequences.

Through an interview process involving forty-six respondents, the project strives to identify the variety of factors perceived to have influenced decisions in response to crisis pregnancies, to describe the nature, and to assess the relative strength of such influences in the woman's experience. The project also formulated recommendations for ministries of support for such women.

Through the networking of community resources with limited church resources and people, a ministry of support is possible to allow women in crisis to choose alternatives to abortion.

Carolyn Vann Jordan

Much attention has been paid to African American men as they reenter society from prison. There is, however, a gap in the literature as it pertains to African American women. This project seeks to study the impact of race, gender, and faith on African American women when they are faced with the reentry process. Primarily, through their narratives, I am motivated to see if faith can be a resource for empowering them to move beyond the systems of inequality of race, and gender when facing reentry. Ultimately, this research project will provide recommendations to faith communities that will help them develop ministries and programming that will equip and empower African American women reentering the community after being incarcerated.

Linda Denise Moore

This major project seeks to address the issues of sexual abuse within the Black Church and to offer pastors and lay leaders’ guidance to assist congregations in breaking the cycle of sexual abuse and silence. In the confounds of the Black Church and the greater African American community, issues of sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, or sexual behaviors have been neglected. To that end, this study aims to provide guidance and validation that the Black Church has a long history in supporting one another; however, sexual abuse and the treatment of Black Women were not given the adequate support. For far too long those issues have been secretly housed within the walls of our families, our civic organizations, and our Black Churches leaving victims without a platform of any kind, in which to express anything related to sex. As a result, men and especially women and children have undergone the effects of shame of not having an outlet or a safe place to unburden themselves of any form of sexual improprieties. In essence, this study is a compilation of personal experiences coupled with academic evidence that the Black Church needs a specific protocol and platform to combat the issues of sexual abuse.

Anson Frances Fullington

The purpose of this project was to equip selected members of Griffith Memorial Baptist Church (GMBC), Jackson, Mississippi, for ministry to widowed members. The project had three phases. First, the project director researched, gathered information, and organized an annotated bibliography that provided knowledge and resources for understanding widowed member ministry. Second, the project director wrote curriculum to equip selected members of GMBC for ministry to widowed members. Third, the project director equipped selected members of GMBC with the understanding of the importance of spiritual gifts in ministry to widowed members, with a concern for the needs of widowed members, and the skills to minister to widowed members.

A pre-test was given to each member before the first session, and a post-test was given after the last session to measure the increased knowledge of participants who minister to widowed members. Six one-hour equipping sessions were conducted on Sunday evenings. After each session, the participants divided into small groups for twenty minutes, to discuss any questions, have time for prayer, and interject roleplay exercises. After the final session the director gave a post-test to the participants to measure what they had learned during the sessions. The director distributed commitment cards to challenge participants to minister to the needs of widowed with their giftedness.

Lisa F. Turner

The purpose of this study was to explore how church directors of women’s ministry (DWM) create intergenerational programs for women. If DWM are equipped to plan intergenerational programs, they will be able to contribute in greater ways to the church’s overall mission.
The study employed a qualitative design using semi-structured interviews with six directors of women’s ministry who lead an intergenerational women’s ministry. Four research questions guided this study: What planning process do DWM use to create intergenerational programs for women? What are the outcomes for which DWM create intergenerational programs for women? What challenges do DWM face in creating intergenerational programs for women? What leadership strategies do DWM employ to navigate the challenges of creating intergenerational programs for women?
The literature review focused on three areas related to the Biblical framework of relationships, intergenerational worldview differences, and leadership agility. The literature, the research questions, and the data are inseparable throughout the study. They are woven together in this exploration of creating intergenerational programs where women of all ages can build meaningful relationships and grow spiritually.
The study found that it is extremely important to have an intergenerational leadership team in order to create an intergenerational ministry. A surprising finding was the criteria some DWM use to measure success. Rather than utilizing attendance as the measure, one used how many women were involved in making the event happen. The study also found three major challenges that DWM must overcome when creating an intergenerational ministry: resistance to change, technology, and competition with other women’s ministries. Another finding was that leadership agility is a necessity for DWM because in today’s world change is inevitable and they must be ready to adapt to the unexpected. The study concluded with practical suggestions and recommendations.

Debra Ann Schout

Rural Bangladesh has been my ministry setting for the past twelve years. The culture is rich and colorful, but also often institutionalizes practices of gender based violence. My desire is to establish experiences of sanctuary in community, offering a safe alternative to the violence and a place where people can encounter the glory of God. After exploring the biblical theology of sanctuary, chaplaincy staff at our mission and I designed a visual model to communicate the concepts. Through Bible studies and discussions with chaplains and adolescent girls, we explored the usefulness of the theology of sanctuary in crisis intervention and in prevention of violence. This information helped to inform continued exploration of what it meant to feel "safe" amid experiences of gender based violence. We interviewed the founders of a shelter for women who were experiencing violence, the women in the shelter, and women who had transitioned from the shelter back into community along with their family members. The findings suggest principles for ministry groups who wish to establish experiences of sanctuary in community for those involved in gender based violence. The principles are standards which can be applied in a variety of ministry settings and give direction for effective practice of sanctuary in community.

Narrative inquiry allowed for hearing the stories of the shelter founders, women, and their family members first hand. Open ended questioning and listening allowed their stories to be told/ heard without over imposing specific direction or bias. Valuing their stories is a first step in valuing the abused for the gifted people they are- already offering a contrast to the objectification they have experienced in the past. It is my hope and belief that the principles can be applied and help inform other ministry groups in providing alternatives to the violence.

Joy Pedrow Skarka D.Ed.Min.

This research project explores how Christian women have experienced sexual shame and how they have experienced freedom. Two surveys were created to explore the research question. The first survey was quantitative and was completed by 1,090 Christian women. Those who were 31–40 years old made up the majority at 30.73 percent, followed by those 23–30 years old who made up 30.46 percent. The second survey was qualitative and was completed by 44 Christian women. Of this number, 38.64 percent were 23–30 years old.

Two surveys designed by the researcher gathered both quantitative and qualitative responses with both closed and open-ended questions. The qualitative survey allowed women’s voices to be heard and their challenges to be known in regard to the sexual shame they have experienced. The quantitative survey provided statistics to prove that women struggle with sexual shame and show how they have found healing. The surveys asked questions about the woman’s life as a Christian, self-worth, and experience with sexual shame. These questions explored correlation of involvement in Christian activities with levels of freedom from shame. The questions also examined what experiences and factors caused women to experience sexual shame and what non-biblical sources and biblical sources led to freedom from sexual shame.

The survey results aligned with the three hypotheses to reveal that Christian women identified understanding the love and grace of God, being known in biblical community, and learning a biblical teaching of sexuality as three contributors to finding freedom from sexual shame.

Maggie Rodriguez D.Ed.Min.

This research project sought to analyze the biblical and social view of evangelical adult Christian women’s worth. A descriptive survey was designed to reveal reasons why evangelical adult Christian women struggle with their sense of self-worth. Hispanic, African American, Asian, and Anglo women provided valuable information regarding each group’s self-worth with respect to their family of origin, cultural background, community variables, and traumatic experiences.

The survey was designed by the researcher and generated a 78% response rate from 604 women. The results of the survey revealed that evangelical adult Christian women struggle with their self-worth and value. The study proved all four of its hypotheses to be true—that an evangelical adult Christian woman’s self-worth can be negatively influenced by her family of origin, culture, community, and past traumatic experiences.

In contrast, research, biblical examples, and survey responses support the truth that God created women in His image and that they reflect the “Imago Dei.”

Kyung Sik Bae

"The purpose of this project is to burgeon women's leadership of Maasai in the ten churches established in Longido district in Tanzania. Women's leadership plays a pivotal role in the evangelization of Maasai. I would refer this model to the Bible Women that is manifested in the history of World Mission, especially in the early days of the Korean Mission era, which has a powerful effect in the mission field. Most women in Africa are reduced in the value of women by the male-dominated cultural patterns. Furthermore, women of Maasai are limited to pregnancy, childbirth, and nurturing by the idiosyncratic social status and role established by traditional culture. Due to this influence of African culture, women's role is reduced even in the church and is regarded as less important than men. Just as the sex ratio of all churches in the world is much more women, Maasai churches in Longido are filled with women, and the women sustain the church. This project uncovers that Maasai women are restoring the image of God through which they are constructing the women's role in the church as well as in the community." -- Leaf [2].