Saved from Silence: Finding Women's Voice in Preaching

By Mary Donovan Turner and Mary Lin Hudson

Book Overview

In this postmodern age, women preachers are finding their "voice" a distinctive way of proclamation. This book looks at the metaphor of voice, how women are moving to voice from silence, and how... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1603500448
• ISBN13: 9781603500449
• Release Date: February 2014
• Publisher: Lucas Park Books
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Finding a voice...

The many definitions of voice in the dictionary give an introduction to the variation of meaning behind the word, but, as with most dictionary definitions, leaves one grasping only the thinnest of meanings. It cannot give voice to all the meanings, subtleties, nuances, and uses of words. It speaks with an intentional voice, and in realizing that intention, leaves much out. So it is true with many throughout history, and it is still true even in today's relatively more tolerant pluralistic and diverse society.Turner and Hudson, in this book Saved from Silence: Finding Women's Voice in Preaching, address the question of why and how women should find a voice in preaching in today's church. In so doing, they explore different historical examples, from women mentioned in the Bible to other women in later Christian history. The importance of voice is brought in from the outset, prior to specific examples. What does one mean by voice? '"Voice" as a metaphor corresponds to basic principles in feminist, womanist, and liberationist thought that recognise the issues of power and oppression in relationships.' (p. xii) Their terminology expands beyond the specific task of the recovery of women's voices, and speaks to all humanity. 'If the church recommitted itself to a "voice-centered" theology and mission, the church would be called to take more seriously the systems and structures that stifle the voices in human community.' (p. 139) To a very large, the recovery of women's voices, as one voice that has been explicitly excluded from the greater conversation in the church throughout history, can lead to the recovery of the lost and/or stifled voices of all in the church. This is true in many aspects of the life of the church, not simply preaching. Liturgy and biblical studies often overlooked women (among others). The ignoring of these other voices can have serious consequences. 'It challenges the accuracy of the claim that liturgy is the work of the people when so many of the people are rendered invisible and silent.' (see In Her Own Rite, by Marjorie Procter-Smith, p. 61, which I have also reviewed) The recovery of lost or stifled voices is no easy task. 'The inability of the silent women to find meaning in the words of others is reflected also in their relations with authorities. While they feel passive, reactive, and dependent, they see authorities as being all-powerful, if not overpowering.' (see Women's Ways of Knowing, by Mary Field Belenky, et al., p. 27, which I have also reviewed) There is great pressure, both officially sanctioned and unofficially encouraged, that keeps those silent from speaking out. When the silent do speak out, it is often ignored. 'Our history as a church is blessed, however, with stories of women who, empowered by God's spirit, have courageously chosen to speak rather than to flee. . Yet, in each generation, feminist work is received as it had no historical past.' (p. 89) It is made more complex in that the silence isn't alway