Using actors and power point facilities, the voices of nine women through the history of Israel and the Church were heard. Their stories were interspersed with quotations from 'Fathers of the Church' who believed that women should be seen and not heard. Songs were sung, and a responsive psalm spoken. Those of us who participated in the evening were moved as we heard from the women whose stories inspire us in our own struggling journey of faith in Christ.

The transcript is below.

HULDAH

In 621 BC, the long-neglected Book of the Law was discovered in the temple and brought to King Josiah by the court secretary, Shaphan, who read it aloud to Josiah.

2 Kings 22:22:11-20 reads: When the king heard the book being read, he tore his clothes in dismay, and gave the following order to Hilkiah the priest, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Achbor son of Micaiah, to Shaphan, the court secretary, and to Asaiah, the king's attendant: 'Go and consult the Lord for me and for all the people of Judah about the teachings of this book. The Lord is angry with us because our ancestors have not done what this book says must be done'.

Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to consult a woman named Huldah, a prophet who lived in the newer part of Jerusalem. (Her husband Shallum, the son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas, was in charge of the Temple robes). They described to her what had happened, and she told them to go back to the king and give him the following message from the Lord: 'I am going to punish Jerusalem and all its people, as written in the book that the king has read. They have rejected me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and so have stirred up my anger by all they have done. My anger is aroused against Jerusalem, and it will not die down. As for the king himself, this is what I, the Lord God of Israel, say: You listened to what is written in the book, and you repented and humbled yourself before me, tearing your clothes and weeping when I threatened to punish Jerusalem and its people. I will make it a terrifying sight, a place whose name people will use as a curse. But I have heard your prayer, and the punishment which I am going to bring on Jerusalem will not come until after your death. I will let you die in peace'.

The men returned to Josiah with this message.

(This story is also found in 2 Chronicles 34:19-28)

ARISTOTLE (384-322BC)

Perhaps the greatest of the ancient Greek philosophers, Aristotle was a student of Plato and the teacher of Alexander the Great. He was a universal genius noted for acute reasoning and impartial judgement. Here he speaks about the female sex:

The sun is superior to the earth, the male (representing the sun) superior to the female (the receptive earth). Male semen is the sole contributor to the life of the foetus; the female womb is merely the seedbed that nurtures and waters the seed. Girls are born if the woman's womb fails to nurture the seed correctly. Girls are defective boys; they are not nature's intention; they are misbegotten males.

MARY, JESUS' MOTHER

This story of Mary is found in Luke 1:46-55:

And Mary said:
'My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

MARTHA

This story is found in John 11: 17-27:

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been buried four days before. Bethany was less than three kilometres from Jerusalem, and many Judeans had to come to see Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother's death.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus:
'If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for'.
'Your brother will rise to life,' Jesus told her.
'I know', she replied, 'that he will rise on the last day'.
Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'
'Yes, Lord!' she answered. 'I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world'.

MARTHA'S PSALM

Leader: I waited patiently for you, O God,
But you did not hear me;

All: I prayed earnestly, and you took no heed.

Leader: In time of trouble, you were very absent,

All: And in my desolation, you abandoned me.

Leader: In my anger I cried out against you;
I could not forgive you.

All: For you abandoned your beloved friend,
You gave your brother over to the grip of death.

Leader: His pain consumed him, body and soul,
And you were not there.

All: His blood cried out from the ground.
And you were still unmoved.

Leader: Who are you, O God, that you should not weep?
And what is your power, that you stand idly by?

All: Where is your compassion, that it flows not for the needy,
And your heart, that it is not broken by the pleading of the poor?

Leader: Yet in the midst of my despair you challenged me,
And when I had no hope, you required me to speak.

All: My heart was ashes, and you promised life;
My mouth was full of bitterness,
And you drew forth words of faith.

Leader: For you address the powers of death;
Like a woman in labour, you cry out.

All: At the sound of your voice, even the dead are shaken;
Those forgotten by God are compelled to another birth.

Leader: My brother came forth from the pit;
He could not refuse your voice.

All: Blind in his grave-clothes and terror,
He did not withhold his love.

Leader: But he has come back to be unbound;
He has received resurrection.

All: So I will praise my God who reaches into the grave;
And those who wait on the edge of the dark
Shall open their hearts and sing.

Copywrite Janet Morley, All Desires Known, 1988. Used with permission.

VIBIA PERPETUA

Perpetua was a young, married woman from a good family in Carthage, North Africa. We know little about her life, except that in 202 or 203 AD, while still breast feeding her baby son, Perpetua was arrested and imprisoned on charges of being a Christian. In the account of her martyrdom, we learn that she provided leadership for other Christians in Carthage, offering prayers and inspiring them to courage.

'while I was still with the police authorities, my father, out of love for me, tried to dissuade me from my resolution. "Father, I cannot be called anything else than what I am, a Christian". Enraged by my words, my Father came at me as though to tear out my eyes. He only annoyed me, but he left, overpowered by his diabolical arguments. For a few days my father stayed away. I thanked the Lord and felt relieved because of my father's absence. At this time we were baptised and the Spirit instructed me not to request anything from the baptismal waters except endurance of physical suffering.
A few days later we were imprisoned. I was terrified because never before had I experienced such darkness! What a terrible day! Because of crowded conditions and rough treatment by the soldiers, the heat was unbearable. My condition was aggravated by my anxiety for my baby. Then Tertius and Pomponius, those kind deacons who were taking care of our needs, paid for us to be moved for a few hours to a better part of the prison where we might refresh ourselves. Then I was granted the privilege of having my son remain with me in prison. Being relieved of my anxiety and concern for the infant, I immediately regained my strength. Suddenly the prison became my palace, and I loved being there rather than any other place.

Eventually Perpetua's child was taken into the care of her father, and she was relieved to know that he weaned himself without distress, and that her milk had dried up without pain. She was killed in the arena of wild beasts, not by the beasts, but afterwards, by the sword. This end Perpetua sought, because she had been consoled by a series of visions in which she saw herself and her fellow Christians entering Paradise. Perpetua believed that the day of her death was her day of victory.

TERTULLIAN

In the early third century, Tertullian writes:

'And do you not know that you are (each) an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the devil's gateway: you are the unsealer of that (forbidden) tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law; you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On account of your desert - that is, death ­ even the Son of God had to die.

Extract from 'The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol.4, p8, edited by A Roberts & J Donaldson, Wm B Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1977.

HILDEGARD OF BINGEN

Hildegard was born in 1098 at Bickelheim in the Rhineland. The youngest of ten children, she was tutored by an anchoress at a Benedictine monastery from the age of 8. She grew into an extremely accomplished woman, skilled in the arts of music, poetry, iconography, herbology and medicine. In 1140, Hildegard experienced a spiritual awakening, and began to record her visions. Eleven years later she established her own Benedictine community. Here Hildegard freed her community from the jurisdiction of the local abbot, recognising only the Archbishop of Mainz as her superior. That she considered her defiance of the abbot as a matter of justice, is evident in the following extract from a letter to him:

'I heard a voice speaking against the crimes which members of religious communities as well as lay people commit against justice: O justice, you are without a homeland; you are a foreigner in the city'Father Abbot, I admonish you to be converted to your God, and to be a light to the king'.
Extract from 'Hildegard von Bingen: Brief-wechsel', Salzburg, 1965.

For many years, Hildegard took it upon herself to travel throughout Germanic prinipalities, preaching to clergy, laity, monks, nuns and church officials. Usually she preached in cathedrals such as in Bamber and at Trier before the archbishop, and as far away as Constanz in Switzerland, Tours and Paris. In her sermons, she emphasised the corruption of the church, which she pictured as a weeping mother in pain. Her preaching deeply moved those who heard her, and church leaders asked for the texts of her sermons.
In a letter written late in her life when her monastery was closed down by interdiction, Hildegard developed her theology of music.

'The prophetic spirit orders that God be praised with cymbals of jubilation and with the rest of the musical instrumentsThe Holy Spirit kindles the hearts of humankind. Like tympanum and lyre it plays them, gathering volume in the temple of the soul The marvels of God are not brought forth from one's self. Rather, it is more like a chord, a sound that is played. The tone does not come out of the chord itself, but rather through the touch of the musician. I am, of course, the lyre and harp of God's kindness'.

Extract from 'Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen' bear & Co,
Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1985

THOMAS AQUINAS

Aquinas wrote his great theological works during the 13th century. Here is an extract from his writings about the nature of women:

'We are told that woman was made to help a man. But she would not be fitted to help man except in generation, because another man would have proved a more effective help in anything else'.

JULIAN OF NORWICH

Dame Julian, or Juliana, was an anchoress of Norwich. She was born in 1343, and was 70 years old when she died. She was a visionary, but she was remarkable in her depth of insight and understanding in her writings, now compiled in her book, 'Revelations of Divine Love'.

All this blessedness is ours through mercy and grace....for it is the way of God to set good against evil. So Jesus Christ, who sets good against evil, is our real Mother: we owe our being to him ­ this is the essence of motherhood! ­ and all the loving, delightful protection which ever follows. God is as truly our Mother as he is our Father. He showed this throughout, and particularly when he said that sweet word, 'It is I'. In other words, 'It is I who am the strength and goodness of Fatherhood; I who am the wisdom of Motherhood; I who am light and grace and blessed love; I who am Trinity; I who am Unity; I who am the sovereign goodness of every single thing; I who enable you to love; I who enable you to long. It is I, the eternal satisfaction of every genuine desire'. (#59)

After this the Lord brought to mind the longing towards him that I had felt before. And I saw that nothing hindered me but sin. And this I saw to be true in general of us all and thought, 'If there had been no sin, we would all be clean and like our Lord as when we were made' But Jesus, who in this vision informed me of all that I needed to know, said, ' Sin was necessary, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well'. (#27)

From the time these things were first revealed I had often wanted to know what was our Lord's meaning. It was more than fifteen years afterwards that I was answered in my spirit's understanding. 'You want to know our Lord's meaning in this thing? Know it well: love was His meaning. Who showed it to you? Love. What did He show you? Love. Why did He show it? For love. Hold onto this and you will know and understand love more and more. You will not know or learn anything else ­ ever!'
So it was that I learned that Love was our Lord's meaning.
And I saw for certain, both here and elsewhere, that before God made us, God loved us; a love which never faltered, nor ever will. In this love all God's works have been done; in this love He has done everything for our benefit; in this love our life is everlasting. Our beginning was when we were made, but the love in which he made us never had a beginning.
All this we shall see in God forever. May Jesus grant this. Amen. (# 86)

Extracts from 'Revelations of Divine Love' Penguin Classics, Harmondsworth,
Middlesex, England, 1966.

KRAMER & SPRENGER

The 'Malleus Maleficarum' was published in 1486 by the German inquisitors Heinrich Kraemer and Jacob Sprenger. It was a treatise on witchcraft which carried great authority because it was prefaced by a papal bull from Innocent VIII.
This exerpt discusses the nature of women.

'For as regards intellect, or the understanding of spiritual things, (women) seem to be of a different nature from men; a fact which is vouched for by the logic of the authorities, backed by various examples from the Scriptures. Terence says: Women are intellectually like children. And Lactantius says: No woman understood philosophy, except Temeste. And Proverbs 6, as it were describing a woman, says:
As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman who is without discretion.
But the natural reason is that she is more carnal than a man, as is clear from her many carnal abominations. And it should be noted that there was a defect in the formation of the first woman, since she was formed from a bent rib, that is, a rib of the breast, which is as bent as it were in a contrary direction to a man. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she always deceives. For Cato says: When a woman weeps she weaves snares
Women also have weak memories; and it is a natural vice in them not to be disciplined, but to follow their own impulses without any sense of what is due
He that pleases God shall escape from her; but he that is a sinner shall be caught by herAnd when it is said that her heart is a net, it speaks of the inscrutable malice which reigns in (women's) hearts
Therefore a wicked woman is by her nature quicker to waver in her faith, and consequently quicker to abjure the faith, which is the root of witchcraft.

ARGULA VON GRUMBACH

Argula von Grumbach, born Argula von Stauff in 1492 in Bavaria, was the Protestant Reformation's first woman theologian and author. A convert to Luther's teachings, Argula met with and conducted an extensive correspondence with Luther, Osiander, and many other leading reformers
In 1523, in one of the most astonishing events in the history of the Reformation, Argula challenged the Catholic theologians concerning their treatment of Arsacius Seehofer,a young student at the University of Ingolstadt who had publicly supported the teachings of Luther. In order to escape death at the stake, Seehofer was forced to revoke his teachings with a public confession.

The following is an extract from Argula's lengthy letter to the faculty of the university ­ a letter which never received a reply from the recipients:

How in God's name can you and your university expect to prevail, when you deploy such foolish violence against the word of God; when you force someone to hold the holy Gospel in their hands for the very purpose of denying it, as you did in the case of Arsacius Seehofer? When you confront him with an oath and declaration such as this, and use imprisonment and even the threat of the stake to force him to deny Christ and his word?

Yes, when I reflect on this my heart and all my limbs tremble, What do Luther or Melanchthon teach you but the word of God? You condemn them without having refuted them. Did Christ teach you so, or his apostles, prophets, or evangelists? Show me where this is written! You lofty experts, nowhere in the Bible do I find that Christ, or his apostles, or his prophets put people in prison, burnt or murdered them, or sent them into exile.For my part I have to confess, in the name of God and by my soul's salvation, that if I were to deny Luther and Melanchthon's writing I would be denying God and his word.

I had to listen for ages to your Canon Law preacher crying out in the church of Our Lady: Ketzer! Ketzer!, Heretic, heretic! Poor Latin that! I could say as much myself, no doubt; and I have never been to universityI always meant to write to him, to ask him to show me which heretical articles that the loyal worker for the gospel, Martin Luther, is supposed to have taught.

However, I suppressed my inclinations; heavy of heart, I did nothing. Because Paul says in 1 Timothy 2: The women should keep silence, and should not speak in church. But now that I cannot see any man who is up to it, who is either willing or able to speak, I am constrained by the saying: Whoever confesses me on earth, I will confess, and whoever denies me, I will deny (Matt 10; Luke 9).

My heart goes out to our princes, whom you have seduced and betrayed so deplorably. For I realise that they are ill informed about divine ScriptureI am prepared to write to them in this vein, since, because of other business, they have no leisure to sit down and read for themselves. Athough there is nothing more needful than the word of God as the Lord says in Luke 10: That is the best part ­ to listen to the word of God.

I beseech you for the sake of God, and exhort you by God's judgement and righteousness, to tell me in writing which of the articles written by Martin or Melanchthon you consider heretical. In German not a single one seems heretical to me. And the fact is that a great deal has been published in German, and I've read it all. Spalatin sent me a list of all the titles. I have always wanted to find out the truthI do not flinch from appearing before you, from listening to you, from discussing with you.I send you not a woman's ranting, but the Word of God. I write as a member of the church of Christ against which the gates of hell shall not prevail, as they will against the Church of Rome. God give us his grace, that we all may be saved, and may (God) rule us according to his will. Now may his grace carry the day'.

Extract from 'Women of the Reformation in Germany and Italy' by Roland Bainton, Augsburg Fortress, 1971.

MARTIN LUTHER

In the 16th century, Luther writes:

'Because Satan sees that Adam is more excellent, he does not dare to assail him; for he fears that his attempt may turn out to be useless. And I, too, believe that if he had tempted Adam first, the victory would have been Adam's. He would have crushed the serpent with his foot and would have said: "Shut up! The Lord's command was different!"'

SOLEDAD PUEBLA VENEGAS

Soledad Venegas is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile, and is based in Santiago. In 1991, Soledad was elected as the LWF Women's Desk Regional Coordinator, and in 1995, was interviewed as a 'Woman of Significance' at the LWF's International Consultation on Women in Geneva.

I grew up in Santiago, in Chile, during the period of the Pinochet dictatorship. At 15 years of age, I worked in Santiago with different groups active in seeking social justice. Because of my activities, my life was in danger. I left home, not knowing where I would go, or what would become of me. The spirit of God led me to the home of a Lutheran pastor, who gave me a job. For the first time in my life I was treated as an equal. This experience made such an impact on me that it has remained with me for the rest of my life.

While I lived in the home of the pastor and his wife, I saw the power that my hosts received from reading the Bible. Their witness brought me into the church. At last I had a sense of having a home. I had found a God who was concerned about every aspect of my life ­ not just my spirit, but also concerned about my body and my mind.

I have no formal education; no highschool, no degrees. But through the women of the church I learned so much. In 1991, in Curitibia, I was elected as a regional coordinator of the Lutheran World Federation's Office of Women in Church and Society. I was afraid. But what I have learned is that what Paul said in his letter to the Galatians is true: 'In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus'.

If you asked me now to describe myself in one word, I would say, 'luchadora'. It is difficult to translate from the Spanish, but it means ' fighter', a fighter without the violence. It describes a person who, from a position of strength, struggles for justice for others. May all of us who have been given power become 'luchadora' for Christ.

ANGELINA IGWO

Angelina Igwo is a leader in the Kenyan Evangelical Lutheran Church, based in Mombasa. Like Soledad, Angelina was invited to attend the LWF International Conference on Women in 1995. Angelina was responsible for the report on the status of women in the Kenyan Lutheran Church, and was interviewed for this story during the 'We Are Witnesses' conference session.

'I live in Mombasa, Kenya, and I was raised in a Roman Catholic family, attended a convent school, and chose teaching as my profession. When I married I joined my husband as a member of the Lutheran Church.

I always wanted to serve God, so I asked, 'God, what do you want me to do?' The answer came when I was asked by the government to start a new school. There was no building, no land on which to place a building, no finances. But I got my courage by leaving everything to God.

I began classes with many students sitting around me on the ground eager to be taught. I very much wanted the children to have desks. They would feel I was offering them a real school; one they could attend regularly. Desks are important to me ­ a symbol of permanence. So I went to a company which imports cars, and begged them for the packing crates. Then I had to go to the parents and plead with them for enough money to pay for a carpenter to build the desks. I spent many hours convincing others that the project was necessary. The joy came when I saw the children at desks ­ not all ­ but at least there were desks for some.

This Mombasa community has not yet found land on which to build a permanent school, but I believe that will come one day. Now the important thing for me is to keep the children coming to classes. This too is difficult as there is much poverty and the parents have to pay for everything connected with school needs. Often this is impossible to do. I try to make some kind of arrangement, such as spreading the payments out over time ­ anything to keep the children coming. I have found that if the children are taken out of school for even a month, it is hard to get them back and they are lost to the streets.

Women of Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church are engaged in an important project: looking after street children. In Nairobi, there are about 40 girls we are trying to help by feeding, clothing and teaching them about different things, including the Bible. These are children who have lost parental love, so we are trying to give them a little of what they have lost. The illiteracy rate among women and girls in Kenya is very high; the goal is to educate them, and to bring them closer to Jesus Christ.

MERNA THAMM

Finally, we introduce Merna Ruth Anna Thamm, a well known and well loved courageous woman of the Lutheran Church of Australia. Merna grew up in Dalby, Queensland, attended Concordia College and Seminary in Adelaide (on this very piece of land where we are meeting tonight) and graduated as a deaconess in 1953.
In 1955, Merna accepted a call to the recently opened mission in Menyama, Papua New Guinea. There she pioneered school programs for girls and young women, often in the face of hostility from some in the local community.
Merna spent almost forty years teaching in Papua New Guinea, training women to be leaders in their church communities, and eventually lecturing at the Lutheran seminary in Lae for 11 years. In retirement, Merna continues to serve as editor of 'Lutheran Women', religious education teacher in state schools and leader of Bible study workshops in Australia. Merna was the first recipient of the LCA's Luther Seminary Servant of Christ Award.

My voice has never been a voice in isolation. I have been privileged to listen to many voices along the way and I would like to acknowledge these.

There is the voice of God who challenged me to do many things I thought beyond my capacity, and then gave me the help to come through those challenges. He has been my constant guide and companion and challenger extraordinaire.

There had been the voice of my parents who took me to be baptised and who continued to see that we as a family were brought up in the faith. Their voice and the example of their living faith, but particularly my father's, who lost his wife when I was still a child, was a great influence in my life. Through all his struggles and difficulties he implicitly believed in the goodness of God. He had nothing to give his children but the legacy of his faith and love, but what a valuable legacy that has been.

The voices of my siblings were always encouraging me to follow the path that God had shown me.

Many were the voices of my mentors: pastors, professors and leaders in the church who taught and counselled. There were also voices raised in protest. Why train young women as deaconesses? They will only get married and our money will be wasted. But, thank God there were those even then
who believed in the service of women. What the congregations in Australia passed over, the mission fields took.

My colleagues both in Australia and Papua New Guinea have also been voices of support and encouragement. Many Papua New Guinean women and also men have been my teachers as they voiced their wisdom and direction. It was important to listen to them so that they would be ready to listen to my
voice, particularly when I was working in a culture not my own. Before we raise our voices, we must be ready to listen. When we are prepared to listen, people are prepared to listen to our voices.

I remember the voice of my pastor at my confirmation: Commit your way unto the Lord, trust also in him and he will bring it to pass. The word 'trust' - how often have I had to hang on to that word in times of disappointments and frustrations, and how wonderfully God guides if only we trust him. God continues to teach me this lesson: 'Trust me'. For a person who likes to move forward to new challenges, 'Wait' is another important word. God has had to continually remind me that his time is the right time.

For me, the most important message is from Philippians 2:5ff: think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all: when the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death _ the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion. (The Message: Eugene Peterson)

The blessings flow back far beyond what we expect. It is exciting and humbling to hear what women in the ELCPNG are doing. And I could never have imagined that a small boy, Wesley, whom I taught when I first went to the Mission field, would eventually receive his Dr of Theology from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Wesley became my boss, but also a close personal friend and brother. He is presently the Bishop of the Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea.

My voice to you is this: Keep God in your sights. Service is cruciform, first reaching up to God in gratitude for his goodness and then out to other people.