Mutuality | Blog + Magazine | Autumn 2006
The print + digital magazine of CBE International
Mutuality offers articles from diverse writers who share egalitarian theology and explore its intersection with everyday life.
Blog + Magazine ArticlesThe opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of CBE International or its members.
Autumn 2006
Volume: 13 | Number: 3
Widows & Orphans
This issue features examples of people who care for widows and orphans in ways that break cycles of dependence and lead to lasting change.
Contents
On July 6, 2003, Jane Randall Hess Clark, my wife of 46 years, died of a brain tumor, eleven months after diagnosis. She received the best medical treatment and home care therapies available.
Adoption was our first choice for bringing children into our family. The decision to adopt our daughter Hannah from China was strongly influenced by John’s experience as a missionary in China as well as China’s reputation for having a stable adoption process.
The ups and downs of being a woman in ministry continue. Not many people want a woman to teach homiletics, despite the fact that my students love my classes. I am beginning to do more teaching and writing on the equality of women and men in Asia.
I can see so clearly the contrast between the Islamic theological stance, which is totally legal and which categorizes a range of people, and the Biblical stance, which is one of relationships. Men and women are empowered equally by God’s Holy Spirit such that if the church maximizes the use of these gifts the [...]
My prayer for all adopted children and their parents is that they would come to rest in the knowledge of God’s care in their lives, even in the times when it isn’t immediately apparent. It does not come early or easily…but it is worth it.
As we see from the examples of Ruth and Naomi, God works through widows in unexpected and redemptive ways. Like Boaz and the people of Bethlehem, may we stand out in history for welcoming them and working with them, respecting and learning from their broken but hopeful hearts.
The reality is that human birthfather stories are messy, complicated tales that contain elements of both good and evil. Should your next encounter with adoption stories find us absent, I invite you to welcome us in all of our complexity; it seems that the scriptures do.
Without the work of a generous widow, millions of people may have gone without a good translation of the Bible for centuries. This woman had a profound hunger for the word of God, boundless care for the needy, courage to cross cultural boundaries based on gender, ethnicity, and class, and gospel vision to put the [...]
As men and women, we serve God not as distinct and separate groups, but as unique members of Christ’s body—created in God’s image—gifted through the Holy Spirit, obedient to God’s Word, and called to Christian service.
