In protestant theological institutions: a critical appraisal of contextual challenges in kerala, india jessy jaison b b s., M d
Men’s Views on the Possible Ministries of Women
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Men’s Views on the Possible Ministries of Women
According to men students, women can contribute to Sunday school, Women’s Fellowships, Personal Evangelism, Counselling other women and Prayer. A student who ministered in a church for four years said, “Church never encourages women’s active participation in its internal affairs and Sunday services. Men are there to do it. In order to give them some opportunity to work, we are giving Sunday school and Women’s Fellowships. Prayer, Counselling and Evangelism are options for them to help other women, but not always initiated by the church.” Mission work, educational service and nursing are accessible to women outside of the church. 75% of respondents mentioned ‘pastors’ wives’ as a ministry for women. A young man from NES(b) developing as a preacher and pastor said, “I’ll only marry someone who is willing to support my ministry. I don’t want to be known in the name of my wife. When I come home after my ministry, it is her ministry to serve me. The roles cannot be the other way round.” All who suggested ‘pastor’s wife’ as a ministry for women emphasised that the ultimate contribution a woman can make in ministry is to assist her husband. But two of the interviewees believed women can take up any role in church. Comment of one of them from ES(a) was, “Assigning women the responsibilities of Sunday school and prayer is not a sign of approving them in the ministry of the church; rather it is another way of alienating them from the main stream of the church. Churches have prioritized various ministries in which women would be at the bottom, doing what men are usually unwilling to do.” Men students often mentioned that none of the above ministries is seriously assigned to women; they are either segregating them or downgrading them to a convenient profession such as nursing, paid mission work, educational services which can also be called ministries. TABLE 8 Men’s Assessment of the Current Status of Women in Seminaries
According to men students, when compared with churches, seminaries do a better job in raising the status of women. When churches turn their faces against women, seminaries offer them admission and, with limitations, do their best in developing them, was a common view of men interviewees. Also, on campus, staff and men students seem to help women to develop in certain areas as the Table-8 shows. While these comments were picked out from the long talks, they need to be authenticated with other observations they made. According to the above table, NES(c) and NES(d) respondents spoke of more active support to women in their seminaries in comparison with the other two categories of institutions. Table-9 below displays responses relating to the perceptions and perspectives of men on ‘a virtuous woman’. There were repetitions in the responses as some of the respondents emphasized certain definitions over again. TABLE 9 Men Students’ Definitions of a Virtuous Woman
A woman, who lives a gentle life style of supporting and serving others, is honoured. She is most approved in roles behind the scene, projecting the significance of her husband or other members in the family. Family is the most important field of service for a woman and therefore, with more exposure into other spheres of life, she is likely to be criticized. A husband among the interviewees from NES(c) said, for instance, “My wife is an employed woman, earning a good salary. But I want my wife to seek my permission before she spends money or makes decisions. It is not to control her in anyway, but to keep our relationship strong in the family.” A young man from NES(d) said, “I am getting married next month. I will not send my wife to work outside. With more freedom, women will become aggressive and be otherwise, good stewards of families.” All the interviewees, however, did not think the same way. Five of the respondents expressed their desire to have their wives educated enough to be with them in a socially respectable manner. Those who made the comments recorded in Table-9 spoke out many times in support of women being more confident to make their contributions to the society. But when talking about their own personal views and families, they preferred those with a very submissive nature. The reason for such inconsistency could be cultural, though it is not possible to draw definite conclusions at this stage. According to these students, there are various reasons that prompt more women to join seminaries in Kerala. Table-10 shows the factors they identified: TABLE 10 Factors Motivating Women to Join Theological Education According to Men Students
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