The Methodist Movement has fostered some great advances for women.  Mary Bosanquet and Sarah Crosby, who had been leading Methodist class meetings and speaking to crowds of hundreds, convinced John Wesley that “some [women] have an extraordinary call to [preaching], and woe be to them if they obey it not.” Because of their insistence, they became the first female lay preachers authorized by Wesley in 1771.  In American Methodism, black women such as Jarena Lee and Sojourner Truth insisted on the humanity of black women, and their equality in preaching alongside men.  Sojourner Truth insisted that salvation in Christ was not possible for one who denied equality and abolition of slavery, for how could someone truly follow Christ yet deny their brother and sister in Christ?  Fanny Crosby was a blind Methodist women who challenged stereotypes and created some of the most popular hymns we still sing today.  Frances Willard spearheaded the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, using the slogan “Do Everything” to insist on women’s right to vote.  Willard pushed for women’s right to ride bicycles, which might seem small today, but provided independent mobility for women to travel greater distances on her own.

For each of these women, their theology was rooted in a Wesleyan understanding of salvation and holiness, and that theology led them to transform society.  The spiritual salvation of the soul cannot be separated from the incarnation of Christ, who came to redeem both soul and body.  I am thankful to belong to a tradition within Christianity that has produced the women of faith that shaped me to respect God’s love for all people.  These women have always known struggle, have always pressed against privilege to say, God is neither male nor female, God has redeemed us all through Christ, and it is a denial of the work of the Holy Spirit to silence voices whom God has called to speak.

What I have difficulty understanding is the insistence that there is no such thing as privilege, or that Christians have no place standing up for or speaking out for the least of these in our midst.  Protestant Liberalism has been embraced by both liberals and conservatives who would make the gospel something only spiritual, with no repercussions in the real world God made.  I do not believe it is possible to preach the Gospel of Christ without proclaiming liberty for the captives in a way that makes a real difference in this world.  Please do not silence the voices of those who have experienced the liberty of Christ and expect society to catch up.

Recently, The United Methodist Church failed to approve amendments to our Discipline affirming the equal humanity of women and girls.  This failure was met with grief by the Council of Bishops and by women and men across the denomination.  It’s unclear what political motivations led to anyone voting against these amendments, and the Bishops have affirmed our commitment to women’s equality.  Can a few words of policy change the deeds of people? Of course not.  However amendments can provide greater liberty for people who wish to uphold the discipline as well as feel protected by it. The feeling of sadness for many is not necessarily that an amendment to the discipline failed to pass, so much as the sense that we are so divided that we cannot reaffirm our commitment to value women and girls. Many of us stand today, recommitting our efforts to work even more diligently for the sake of women and girls everywhere as the church moves onward to perfection, crying with the Suffragettes of old, “Deeds, not words!” Let love be demonstrated in persistent action and in fullness of truth.

Learn more about the amendments that failed and what can be done.

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