“It’s my prayer for them and what I know about their lives,” Ms. Jones said in the hushed aftermath of the ceremony. “It’s being present, being attentive, letting the spirit speak. It’s just wanting to be a blessing to my friends.”
Ms. Jones meant those words in concrete as well as ineffable ways. As the founder of a group of young black churchwomen, which she named Shepreaches, she aspires to ease the difficult path of African-American women into the pulpit. For the past two years, her signal event has been a Good Friday service with sermons by seven women.
This year’s preachers range in age from late 20s to early 40s. Some are ordained, others still in seminary, and their affiliations range across traditionally black denominations. What they share in common is that none have served as senior pastors in a field still dominated by men. A few had privately doubted their own right to the pulpit until Ms. Jones issued her call.
This is a pretty typical NYT gender issues article. The disturbing thing about it is the women quoted only want to talk about women’s experience. Men are just a nuisance or a problem. And of course, I am still waiting for an article that decries the lack of ordained women in Muslim congregations.
David Keller, I wouldn’t put it past the NYT given its general ignorance about religion, but that would be something, since Muslims have no ordained clergy at all.