Consultation on the Office for Women ReportNovember 2009R-74 (MGS 2009, p. 324-325)
To direct the General Synod Council to develop a plan for a future Office for Women that would not be charged with raising its own support, enabling the RCA to live out its stated commitment to the full inclusion of women at all levels of the church's leadership and ministry; and further,
to have a staff member in place by January 2010 or as soon as possible thereafter.
On September 24 to 26, 2009, a group of 33 RCA women and men met in Grand Rapids to pray, think, and dream about the possibilities for a new incarnation of the RCA's Office for Women. The meeting was hosted on behalf of the General Synod Council by GSC moderator Carol Bechtel and RCA general secretary Wes Granberg-Michaelson and facilitated by Ann McKnight, a member of Hope Church in Holland, Michigan.
Participants represented a wide variety of constituencies and were chosen from a pool of more than 100 nominees. Consultation participants were Carol Bechtel, Christina Labbé, Claudette Reid, Denise Kingdom-Grier, Dustyn Keepers, Frances Nelson, Gregg Mast, Helen Konetzka, Ina Montoya, Jessica Kast-Keat, Jessica Bratt, Jessica Joseph, Karla Ter Haar, Kate Klemp, Kathleen Barker, Ken Eriks, Kendra Van Houten, Kirsten Shepler-Ross, Leanne Van Dyk, Leonor Cabellero, Lorri Owsley, Marijke Strong, Mark Bush, Miriam Bush, Michelle Chahine, Ock Kee Byun, Sally Vis, Stacy Midge, Tim TenClay, Vicky Menning, Wayne Van Regenmorter, Wes Granberg-Michaelson, and Ann McKnight.
Our guiding statement and question
At several points during the consultation, the group revisited a guiding statement and question. These served as touchstones for our work together.
Guiding statement: Following Christ in mission together, led by the Holy Spirit, we believe that God is calling the RCA to empower women and men for fruitful and faithful ministries for the glory of God.
Question: What are the most effective ways for the RCA to intentionally pursue a future in which women are equipped and empowered to fully exercise their gifts in the life, ministry, and mission of the church?
A process of prayer and reflection
Our time together was punctuated by worship and fellowship, which set the tone for our work. The story of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1 seemed to galvanize the group around a "birthing" metaphor. What new entity, we wondered, would God bring to birth out of our labor?
During our five main work sessions, facilitator Ann McKnight led the group through a deeply introspective process in which we shared both our yearnings and our pain around the issue at hand. Finally, we asked, "What reality would best embody our yearnings for women in the RCA?"
A consensus around structure
Somewhat to our surprise, a strong consensus began to emerge around one of the structural options that came out of our work together. The essence of this option would be to configure the Office for Women around multiple experiential learning communities across the RCA. These experiential learning communities would:
- Sometimes be local or geographical in nature, but would also allow for women to come together around common interests, pilgrimages, or projects that transcend local limits.
- Be less programmatic and more transformational in nature.
- Create spaces throughout the RCA for women to appreciate and support each other as well as hold each other accountable.
While the group did not specify how these experiential learning communities would be coordinated, several participants favored linking this idea with a structure that would rely on a central person or persons who then would work with teams in each of the eight regional synods. Some concern was voiced that we would need to make sure that funding for the communities themselves is not diluted by too much investment in elaborate staffing structures.
Form plus focus
While most of our energy went toward defining the form and structure of the newly configured Office for Women, many ideas also emerged around the focus for the office:
- Provide excellent resources for Bible study and theological materials (innovative, engaging studies with strong, clear RCA theological basis).
- Provide excellent opportunities for service (Sister Share is a great example; let's keep it!).
- Provide excellent opportunities to network (give women the chance, both in person and online, to support and empower one another).
- Foster a strong sense of loyalty and identity among the women of the RCA, both by nurturing newly-formed communities and by encouraging and supporting those groups that are already meeting.
- Focus on leadership issues, including nurturing young women in leadership as well as leadership issues that arise for both ordained and non-ordained women in the RCA.
Summary and recommendation
By the end of our time together, a response to our guiding question emerged. Here, once again, is the question:
What are the most effective ways for the RCA to intentionally pursue a future in which women are equipped and empowered to fully exercise their gifts in the life, ministry, and mission of the church?
Our response--and our recommendation to the General Synod Council--is this:
We believe that one of the most effective ways for the RCA to intentionally pursue a future in which women are equipped and empowered to fully exercise their gifts in the life, ministry, and mission of the church is to empower the Office for Women to gather women together in experiential learning communities. While some of these communities would be local, others would transcend geographical and cultural boundaries--and all would share a common goal of helping us to grow in grace. These communities would include elements of learning, service, and support, and would encourage RCA women on their journeys inward, outward, and toward community. Finally, we pray that by doing a new thing in a new way for a new generation, our grace-filled communities will begin, by God's grace, to transform the whole church.
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