Welcome to Wading in the Waters of the Word™ with A Women’s Lectionary
Gentle Readers, Followers, Preachers, Pray-ers, Thinkers and Visitors, Welcome!
Welcome to this space where you can share your worship – liturgy and preaching – preparations – using A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. We begin in Advent 2021 with Year W, a single, standalone Lectionary volume that includes readings from all four Gospels. (We will continue with Year A in Advent 2022 to align with the broader Church.) In advance of each week, I will start the conversation and set the space for you all. I will come through time to time, but this is your space. Welcome!
Media Resources
A Women’s Lectionary For The Whole Church
Session 1, October 16, 2021
Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD at Myers Park Baptist Church
Plenary 1 | Translating Women Back Into Scripture for A #WomensLectionary
This session introduces participants to frequently unexamined aspects of biblical translation in commonly available bibles and the intentional choices made in “A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church.”
A Women’s Lectionary For The Whole Church
Session 2, October 16, 2021
Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD at Myers Park Baptist Church
Plenary 2 | Reading Women in Scripture for Preaching, Study, and Devotion
This session provides an overview of “A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church,” its genesis, production, and content. There is also an in-depth exploration of specific passages appointed for specific days including time for public and private reading and discussion.
Lectionary Lectio
Click the Comment links to add to the conversation
Epiphany 5
The story of Jesus manifesting his divinity at the wedding in Cana is paired with nontraditional readings this week. They are a celebration of love and marriage and by inference, a celebration of human sexuality. These readings begin with the lusciousness of the Song of Songs. The psalm is a royal wedding psalm for a bride who will be remembered very differently, but in these verses she is resplendent. The apostle critiques those who would use the call to ministry to deny those who minister the fundamental right to love and partnership, expressed in the cultural idiom of the world of the text as marriage. Jesus and his mother are having a delightful time at a wedding. When the wine runs out they have a playful conversation. Ultimately, it is Mary the Mother of God who calls Jesus to reveal himself and gives the best discipling teaching in the canon, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”
Feast of the Presentation 2 Feb
The Feast of the Presentation is a reminder of the Jewishness of Jesus and, the Jewishness of his mother Mary and her husband Joseph. It is important for Christians to take seriously that they are Jews raising their child as a Jew. This is especially important as the feast comes on the heels of Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January. Though not a Principal Feast with the highest expectation of observance, the presentation or the Sunday closest, provide, an opportunity for Christians to address anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism in the history of the church and, in the history of biblical interpretation which includes that found in the New Testament itself from the pulpit. The specifics of the ritual and its vocabulary are unfamiliar and for many readers uncomfortable and alienating. They are part of a religious and cultural world that Christians do not share and one that has evolved significantly in Judaism. Respecting the integrity of first century Judaism and its ancient Israelite antecedent is the first step in nurturing a healthy respect for the integrity of contemporary Judaism.