THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010436
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 167 lines
In the beginning, Letha Dawson Scanzoni played the trombone in churches in central Pennsylvania, and that was OK with the 1950s patriarchy.
But when some ministers invited her to preach or lead Bible study along with her music programs, conservative religious leaders told her women should be silent and not have power over men.
That was the genesis of her Biblical feminism, which begat a national organization in 1974, which begat a conference to be held this week at Old Dominion University.
``People either think of faith without feminism, or feminism without faith. People think they're incompatible,'' Scanzoni said. ``The Bible, fully understood, fully supports the equality of the sexes.''
That is the focus of ``Walking on Water and Making Waves,'' the 12th conference of the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus, held every two years. This year's conference will be held today through Sunday, with most events taking place at ODU's Webb Center on 49th Street. About 150 people are expected to take part.
Scanzoni, a Norfolk writer, helped found the caucus in 1974 after co-authoring a book titled ``All We're Meant To Be,'' now in its third edition. The book argues, among other things, that poor translations from Hebrew have given the Bible its masculine slant, beginning with ``adam'' (Hebrew for human being, Scanzoni says).
She could not have caused more uproar had she taken her trombone and blared it in the middle of a sermon.
Her book was symbolically burned. Organizations of conservative women denounced her and co-author Nancy Hardesty for organizing a movement against the church and its traditional male hierarchy.
Scanzoni didn't retreat. Christian feminism is not a movement, she said, it is a state of mind - looking at oneself the way Christ looked on everyone as equal, whether rich or poor, male or female, Jew or Gentile.
``At first, they thought we were just a bunch of heretics who would go away,'' Scanzoni said. ``The thing that empowers us is just really caring about Christian women, knowing that God is not a God who expects them to be less than they could be or second in a hierarchy, whether it be in home or church or society, but to use their gifts to serve God and humankind.
``To me, that seems so obvious, but to some it's totally radical.''
The group does not take a hard-line stance on anything. Scanzoni calls the organization open-minded, with an open view of God. The main emphasis is on the ``evangel'' part of the name, she said, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.
The group has no stance on abortion - its ranks include people from all sides. It welcomes gays and lesbians, nuns and priests. Although historically it has been largely white, the organization is seeking to attract other races.
``We're such an open organization. We're totally inclusive,'' Scanzoni said. ``We believe that gender for God is really a metaphor. God is neither or both. God is spirit.''
The group isn't leery of tackling religious movements that it views as endorsing patriarchy. A conference speaker will discuss the men-only Promise Keepers movement on Saturday morning in a talk titled ``Servanthood or Soft Patriarchy''; at exactly the same time, a local group of Promise Keepers will rally at CBN.
Promise Keepers, founded by former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney, operates mainly by holding massive prayer rallies exclusively for men in stadiums across the country.
To those who say Scripture anoints man as dominant because he was created before Eve, Scanzoni replies that animals were formed before man. To the Orthodox Jewish male prayer thanking God for not creating him a heathen, a slave or a woman, Scanzoni quotes Galatians: ``. . . there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.''
To those who quote the apostle Peter's letter telling men to honor women as the weaker sex, Scanzoni says the admonition refers to the social and political weakness of women in that culture.
``We've got so much to offer, why are we letting people say that the Bible says we should be held back?'' Scanzoni said. ``We just want to be open to share God's love and to show women they can be all they were meant to be.'' <<<< <<<<
NORFOLK - In the beginning, Letha Dawson Scanzoni played the trombone in churches in central Pennsylvania, and that was OK with the 1950s patriarchy.
But when some ministers invited her to preach or lead Bible study along with her music programs, conservative religious leaders told her women should be silent and not have power over men.
That was the genesis of her Biblical feminism, which begat a national organization in 1974, which begat a conference to be held this week at Old Dominion University.
``People either think of faith without feminism, or feminism without faith. People think they're incompatible,'' Scanzoni said. ``The Bible, fully understood, fully supports the equality of the sexes.''
That is the focus of ``Walking on Water and Making Waves,'' the 12th conference of the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus, held every two years. This year's conference will be held today through Sunday, with most events taking place at ODU's Webb Center on 49th Street. About 150 people are expected to take part.
Scanzoni, a Norfolk writer, helped found the caucus in 1974 after co-authoring a book titled ``All We're Meant To Be,'' now in its third edition. The book argues, among other things, that poor translations from Hebrew have given the Bible its masculine slant, beginning with ``adam'' (Hebrew for human being, Scanzoni says).
She could not have caused more uproar had she taken her trombone and blared it in the middle of a sermon. Her book was symbolically burned. Organizations of conservative women denounced her and co-author Nancy Hardesty for organizing a movement against the church and its traditional male hierarchy.
Scanzoni didn't retreat. Christian feminism is not a movement, she said, it is a state of mind - looking at oneself the way Christ looked on everyone as equal, whether rich or poor, male or female, Jew or Gentile. ``At first, they thought we were just a bunch of heretics who would go away,'' Scanzoni said. ``The thing that empowers us is just really caring about Christian women, knowing that God is not a God who expects them to be less than they could be or second in a hierarchy, whether it be in home or church or society, but to use their gifts to serve God and humankind.
``To me, that seems so obvious, but to some it's totally radical.''
The group does not take a hard-line stance on anything. Scanzoni calls the organization open-minded, with an open view of God. The main emphasis is on the ``evangel'' part of the name, she said, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.
The group has no stance on abortion - its ranks include people from all sides. It welcomes gays and lesbians, nuns and priests. Although historically it has been largely white, the organization is seeking to attract other races.
The group isn't leery of tackling religious movements that it views as endorsing patriarchy. A conference speaker will discuss the men-only Promise Keepers movement on Saturday morning in a talk titled ``Servanthood or Soft Patriarchy''; at the same time, a local group of Promise Keepers will rally at CBN.
Promise Keepers, founded by former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney, operates mainly by holding massive prayer rallies exclusively for men in stadiums across the country.
To those who say Scripture anoints man as dominant because he was created before Eve, Scanzoni replies that animals were formed before man. To the Orthodox Jewish male prayer thanking God for not creating him a heathen, a slave or a woman, Scanzoni quotes Galatians: ``. . . there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.''
To those who quote the apostle Peter's letter telling men to honor women as the weaker sex, Scanzoni says the admonition refers to the social and political weakness of women in that culture. ``We've got so much to offer, why are we letting people say that the Bible says we should be held back?'' she said. ``We just want to be open to share God's love and to show women they can be all they were meant to be.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photob by LAWRENCE JACKSON\The Virginian-Pilot
Letha Dawson Scanzoni helped to found the Evangelical and Ecumenical
Women's Caucus, which begins its conference today on the ODU campus.
Women's Caucus
``Walking on Water and Making Waves,'' the 12th biennial
conference of the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus, will be
held today through Sunday at Old Dominion University. Walk-up
registration will be accepted at Webb Center on 49th Street. Costs
range from $150 for the full conference to $50 for single days or
$15 for single sessions.
Speakers will include Edwina Gateley, who founded the Genesis
House ministry for prostitutes in Chicago; Marchiene Rienstra author
of ``Swallow's Nest: A Feminine Reading of the Psalms'' and pastor
of First Congregational Church in Saugatuck, Mich.; and Virginia
Ramey Mollenkott, professor of English at William Patterson College
of New Jersey.
Workshops will include gender and the Bible, eating disorders,
prayer and community, midlife losses, homosexuality, violence toward
women and clown ministry.
Two courses will be offered for continuing education credit.
Kristin Lems, founder of the National Women's Music Festival, will
be in concert at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15 at the door of
Mills Godwin Life Science Building, Room 102.
For more information, call conference headquarters at 451-8553.
KEYWORDS: BIBLICAL FEMINISTS CONFERENCE
by CNB