From left: Emmy Ewald (Augustana Synod), Rebecca O. Dahl (Norwegian Synod), Kate Boggs Shaffer (General Synod), Katherine Cronk (United Synod of the South) and Laura Fry (General Council) found solidarity in sisterhood at the 1913 Women’s Missionary Society convention in Toledo, Ohio. All fi ve church bodies were early predeces- sors of the ELCA.
In the second half of the 19th century,
Lutheran women encouraged the church to engage in mission work here and abroad. T e response from the church’s leadership: we have no money for such things. No problem, the women said, we’ll raise
ELCA ARCHIVES
Welcoming women
as leaders
Living into God’s vision in our church, society By Linda Post Bushkofsky
L
eadership is a fairly simple concept. Ordinary people, dubbed “leaders,” guide or direct a group, bringing to a position or situation their inborn leadership styles.
Great leaders understand their leadership style and learn how to use it to motivate and inspire. Depending upon the group or situation, diff erent leadership styles can bring about diff erent or better results. In the abstract, leadership is a fairly simple concept.
Add in race, gender, economic or educational levels, prejudices and issues of power and, suddenly, under- standing leadership becomes downright complicated. Like it or not, in many ways leadership has been
and continues to be viewed as culturally masculine. T e norm against which our church and society has measured eff ective leadership has been established and defi ned by men. T e leadership giſt s of men and women typically have been pitted against each other. Leadership styles more associated with women, col-
laboration and shared vision have frequently been seen as weak and valued less. When women adopted leader- ship styles more oſt en associated with men (involving assertiveness or competitiveness) those styles were oſt en negatively valued as well.
20
www.thelutheran.org
the money to fund mission. And they did. T ey made and auctioned quilts. T ey raised chickens and sold eggs. Soon Lutheran women formed domestic and foreign missionary soci- eties. T ere they funneled their money, coordi- nated their prayers and joined in Bible study. T e Spirit was at work, and some Lutheran women
began discerning their call to mission work. T ey encouraged the church’s leadership to send female teachers and nurses into the mission fi eld. Again church leaders responded: we have no way to educate women or fund their work. No problem, the women said, we’ll create schools
and provide funding for women to serve in the mission fi eld. And they did—all during a time when few women had independent wealth. Lutheran women taking a lead when church lead-
ers said no has been a pattern repeated time and again in congregations across the church. Historically, the church’s leadership has been dominated by a command and control style of leadership carried out primarily by men. While that style was oſt en used to exclude women, it didn’t prevent them from leading the church.
Shared vision Within the organizations they founded, Lutheran women practiced a variety of leadership styles, includ- ing the use of parliamentary procedure in conven- tions. T ey brought care, compassion, humility and self-awareness to their shared vision. T e organizations weren’t burdened by complex systems or rules, so the women could address the shared vision in whatever way brought about the best results at any given moment. T ey grounded their understanding of leadership (some today might use the term “discipleship”) in rigorous Bible study, prayer, stewardship and response. T e women clung to the biblical stories of Dorcas
and Phoebe, Mary and Martha, and countless unnamed women. T ey remembered the historical stories of Katharina von Bora Luther, Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich. T ey recalled the stories of Lutheran
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
