Introduction
What difference has women’s ministry made to the Church in the last century? We now take it for granted in many parts of the Church that women can lead churches and do it well. Ordained women – fictional ones like the Vicar of Dibley or real life women vicars – convey a warm, human face of ministry and faith. As a result, we may assume that the Church has a long history of recognising people’s gifts, rather than focussing on their gender. However, that is far from the case. Just a century ago things looked very different – which is why 17 September 2017 is important.
Context
One hundred years ago, on 17 September 1917, Constance Todd was ordained as a Congregational minister at the King’s Weigh House, an interesting and unusual Congregational Church just off Oxford Street in London. She and her fiancé, Claud Coltman, became ministers side-by-side at a special service that Monday evening. London, at the time, was not an easy or pleasant city in which to live. Many families were experiencing personal bereavement and loss as a result of World War One. The Battle of Passchendaele was being waged, unsuccessfully, on the Western Front in Belgium. London was subject to daytime German air raids. There were shortages of fuel and food. Sources of hope would have been few and far between. Against this backdrop the sight of a young couple, entering Christian ministry side by side, would have been a source of light and comfort for those who longed to see a fairer, more peaceful, less divided world in the future.
Constance Coltman, as she became the next morning on her marriage to Claud, was a pacifist, which took a special sort of courage at that time. She was also in favour of votes for women, though not someone who had supported the suffragettes and their controversial methods. She was a feminist too – someone who believed that all God’s children matter. In the five churches she and Claud would go on to serve, she always had a special pastoral care interest in and concern for women.
More information about the life of Constance Coltman can be found on the website of the United Reformed Church and the Congregational Federation, along with details of forthcoming short film giving some of her story, ‘Constance’.
Reflection
Forgiveness is a strong component of today’s Gospel and Old Testament readings. Joseph has forgiven his brothers their past sins. He maintains this view now, even after their father has died, when he might have had second thoughts. Joseph recognises how God has worked through his brothers’ scheming to transform the entire course of his life and those of many others, his siblings included. They had sold him into bondage in Egypt, pocketing the silver and allowing their father to believe Joseph had been killed. Joseph tells them that even their malice and jealousy were transformed into good by God’s alchemy (Genesis 50.20).
- ‘How many times must we forgive one another?’ is the question Peter poses to Jesus. The answer is off the scale in generosity – ‘seventy-seven times’, says Jesus (Matthew 18.21).
- It could be argued that forgiveness needs to be a major part of the unfolding story of women and men in the Church, though naturally the way you see things depends on where you stand.
- Why have we done such damage to one another, over the years, discussing these issues as Christians?
- How good are we at forgiving one another and starting again, time after time, in an effort to build dialogue and a new community based on kingdom values?
- What about the sin of modern slavery, which continues to run rampant in a world where the exploitation of desperate people for profit is an easy way for the ruthless to make money.?
- In many parts of the Church worldwide the conversations about women in ministry have hardly even begun yet. Women and children continue to suffer violence of all kinds and are particular targets of violence and oppression.
As we celebrate Constance Coltman and the other pioneers of women in the Church there is need for plenty of fresh energy and courage to tackle the persistent problems of our world, just as she engaged with the darkness she faced a hundred years ago.
Prayer
This prayer could be used in worship or a meeting or other church gathering this week.
God of the burning bush and the still small voice,
we thank you that you call women and men
to serve you within the life of your Church,
and to witness to you in the world.
We celebrate the courage and strength of Constance Coltman
and the pioneering women who have followed her in ministry around the world.
May you continue to grow and enrich our ideas,
helping your Church to widen its welcome,
to re-pitch its tent, to lighten its heart
and renew its energy,
to your praise and glory.
Amen.
Questions
- Explore whether some parts of your church life are ‘women only’ or ‘men only’ and discuss the pros and cons of this.
- What would Jesus see and say about the roles of women and men if he visited your church?
- Are women in ordained ministry helping to change society’s views about the Church and if so how?
Action
- Find out and share all you can about the ‘foremothers’ of your church – the first women members, first women on committees, first women leaders - even names on a foundation stone or pictures in old photographs matter.
- Find a special way to say ‘thank you’ to the women in your church now for all they do.
Young People
Ask the young people to bring a picture of their mother or grandmothers and tell one another in turn what is special about them. This can be done informally or made into a more prayerful occasion. You might suggest they lay the pictures on a table and place the Bible alongside them.
The Revd Dr Kirsty Thorpe, former Moderator of General Assembly and Minister of Wilmslow United Reformed Church.
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