A Monologue

So, it has been a while again. I decided to share a monologue I wrote for a special celebration of women in ordained ministry and those who support them for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. It is something I wrote to perform as Louisa Woosley, the first woman ordained in any Presbyterian body. November marks the 120th anniversary of that ordination. Hope you enjoy!

Louisa Woosley Speaks

on the occasion of the 120^th anniversary

of her ordination in

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church

 

I knew I was called to preach when I was 12 years old. So, I joined the church and I kept my mouth shut! I honestly do not know how such a thing got into my head. It had to have been God! I could not have come up with such a notion on my own, not now and not at 12 years old!

I had never heard of a woman preacher and here I was being called by God to be one. So, I did what anyone in her right mind would do. I pretended it wasn’t happening! I decided instead that what I could do to make God happy was to be a good little preacher’s wife. The only problem is that my husband refused to be a preacher too!

I ran. I ran from what I knew God was calling me to. I became a mother, a good mother, and I felt that is where I should be devoting my time and energy. And, I studied. From the fall of 1882 to the summer of 1883, I read the Bible cover to cover. I was convinced that I would find exactly what I needed in order to justify my continual denial of this call to preach. Wouldn’t you know it? Instead, God made it abundantly clear to me in those holy words that women are in fact called by God to preach just the same as men. Still, I ran.

After more years of struggle including bouts with depression, I finally did as I should have done at age 12, I answered that persistent ringing in my ears.

With no role models and plenty of people who would hate me for it, I agreed with God that I would be a preacher. I can still remember the feeling of relief. I felt better immediately. And, almost as immediately, an opportunity arose for me to fill in for the preacher as he was away from the pulpit. I don’t know what the congregation expected that day. I imagine they expected me to deliver a nice little speech about being a good mother, but instead, I preached! I wrote this in my Bible about that moment, that first time preaching:

“My skin was without a cloud, so happy was I in the discharge of duty. I felt the days of darkness were past, and that God’s approval rested upon my labors.”

It was glorious!

The days that followed were not always so glorious. No one where I grew up had ever heard a woman declare her right to be a vessel for the Word of God. Many of them felt I was going against the very God I claimed to follow. They didn’t know my struggles. They didn’t know the years of running. They didn’t know God would no longer allow me to deny my call. They didn’t know.

But I knew. God called me and I answered – eventually. And, eventually, my presbytery answered too.

That is why I am here tonight. November of this year marks 120 years since Nolin Presbytery took that bold step and ordained me. Kentucky Synod was not happy. And, so there were more years of struggle. The incredible thing is that 50 years after that Synod refused to recognize my ordination, that very body elected me as their moderator!

It wasn’t an easy life, but it was good. Some say that I was responsible for saving 100,000 souls across 20 states during the first 25 years of my ministry. I don’t know. All I know is that God worked wonders through me and proved to many that women and men are equal in the eyes of God.

I know that I could have refused to follow. I know that God loves me so much that I have freedom to choose. I know that God would have raised up another woman for this important work had I continued to run from my call to preach. But, I sure am glad that I chose this instead.

That is why you are here tonight. I look at you and I feel that I am a sort of a mother to you all. God is responsible for your calls to ordained ministry, but I like to believe God used me to blaze the trail for you, to give you signs to follow along your way.

Believe me, I know that each of you here tonight is continuing to blaze trails. 120 years since I was ordained and still we have churches that won’t allow women in their pulpits! It is shameful!

My prayer for you is that you will keep marching forward, blaze new trails, do not let opposition get in the way of doing what God called you to do. I would never have believed that I would be moderator of Kentucky Synod!

My daughters, may patience be yours as you continue to follow where God leads you. May righteous indignation be yours when it is needed. May the Word of God flow through your minds, bodies, and spirits so that Logos reaches the whole world.

For all of you, clergy women, and those who support them, it may not be an easy life, but it will be good. When you feel like giving up, remember what I preached once standing in the pulpit as the only woman in the room,

“For right is right, and God is God, and God and right will win. To falter would be cowardice, to doubt would be a sin.”

© 2009 Rev. Tiffany Hall McClung

Any person is hereby authorized to view, copy, print, and distribute the information contained in this document subject to the following conditions: 1. The document may be used for non-commercial purposes only; 2. Any copy of this document or portion thereof must include this copyright notice.

Sources used for this monologue were:

Woosley, Mrs. Louisa M. Shall Woman Preach? or The Question Answered. Memphis, TN: Frontier Press, 1891.

Hudson, Dr. Mary Lin. “‘Shall Woman Preach?’ Louisa Woosley and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.” American Presbyterians 68:4 (Winter, 1990): 221-230.

Praying in Color

I learned about this book, “Praying in Color,” at a Women’s Conference I attended this weekend. Sybil Macbeth wrote it and without knowing too much about it, my take on it is that you can turn your doodles into prayers. You can check it out at www.prayingincolor.com. I found myself doing this today at a meeting. I’m not sure this is THE spiritual discipline for me, but it beat drawing pictures of Kilroy all over the page! I wrote the name of the group who was meeting, drew a triangle around it, wrote “Jesus,” “God,” and “Holy Spirit” around that and then just drew lines and shapes as I was led while I listened to the business at hand. I hate those kinds of meetings, so if nothing else, practicing this kept my brain from exploding because of boredom. But, in some small way, I did feel like I was lifting each one of those people up to God at the same time.

This women’s conference was about all different kinds of spiritual disciplines we can explore. In addition to praying through our doodles, there were workshops on centering prayer, music and spirituality, walking a labyrinth, and practicing Lectio Divina. There were plenary sessions that had us up on our feet and down on our knees practicing different prayer postures. I’m afraid for this to be publicized, but we actually danced in the sanctuary too! The women I encountered, mostly older, were open and welcoming of new ideas and practices. It was a joy to see!

I have come to believe that when Jesus said that in order to enter into the Kingdom of God, we must become child-like that what he was most referring to is the “teachability” of children. My almost three year old daughter drives me crazy asking, “Why?” So much so that I sometimes reply, “Why not?” which in turn drives her crazy. But, she asks this because she wants to learn. If we use a word that my almost six year old boy doesn’t understand, he wants to know what it means. The conversation must come to a complete stop until he understands. He wants to be taught. Children are open and accepting of new things to learn. I have come to believe (thanks to Eugene Peterson) that this is what Jesus expects of all of us.

I’m incredibly thankful to have spent the weekend with women, young and old, who were willing to learn something new in order to experience the Kingdom of God more fully.