In protestant theological institutions: a critical appraisal of contextual challenges in kerala, india jessy jaison b b s., M d
TABLE – 20 Women Students’ Comments on Church’s Attitude
Yüklə 1,36 Mb.
|
TABLE – 20 Women Students’ Comments on Church’s Attitude
Irrespective of denominational differences, students identified that churches are downgrading women to a very insignificant role in ministry. Women are not in the decision making bodies and men do not think women should be there. A student said, In most churches women are the great majority. But on topics relating to leadership or committee formation, women have no voice at all. A less qualified and committed man is preferred over a more qualified and committed woman- just because he is a man. A student in the final year Bachelor of Divinity course spoke with the same emphasis, “I think the case is more of fear than of any theological constraints. Presence of women in key roles of the church may be a threat to men in the church in many respects. Their intuition is to prevent it from happening.” A student from ES(a) had a different experience-of a priest accepting her ministry of the Word on a Sunday but the members of the church discarding her. I was sent to a parish ministry by the seminary. I did my part in leading some sessions, in prayer and in preaching of the word as my church has theologically approved such participation of women. But later on I heard from the leadership that the church people said they don’t promote such ministry of women and that was the end of my enthusiasm in parish ministry. She added that if the seminary or that parish leadership could have stood strongly to support her, things might have changed but that she had no more anticipation. From NES(c) a student said, “We are strictly told in our church not to try to get into men’s areas of discussions. Women are given ‘womanly duties’ to assist the church, which we should consider as our ministry. I think this is too much a distortion of the teaching of the Bible and may be hypocrisy.” Another observation was made by a student from NES(b) about how her qualifications and ministry experiences are ignored by her church thus, My Bachelors or Masters Degree or my long-term experiences in the mission field do not matter to a church. In church, I have no place; I cannot even make a suggestion for the ministry of the church. In my church, even ladies meetings are led by men saying, ‘women are not permitted to lead, they can only learn silently.’ There were fourteen responses stating that the rules and regulations of their church do not approve women on leadership committees. A student described, “Some denominations boldly stated the disapproval of women in leadership; others more boldly practise it. For us everything is of the same effect.” Alienating women from the main stream of the church is not a strange thing; it is socially and religiously approved by the community, as women saw it. According to an interviewee from NES(d), “This alienation of women is normal and expected in this community. A different approach would be questioned and churches and seminaries will be held answerable. That’s why they don’t try anything different.” There was an observation from one of the NES(b) seminaries that had strong ties with its church, “If seminaries need students, they should be guardians of the traditions which churches hold on to. Otherwise, the very survival of seminaries will be at stake.” From ES(a) a respondent shared her experience, Church does not let a woman to join in the ministry of scripture reading at the central part of the Sunday service. We cannot kneel down with men to receive Holy Communion. We are left at the mercy of men in worship much as everywhere else. This makes me think about the meaning of my own redemption in Christ. There was another comment from ES(a) that women workers are discriminated against with respect to salary when given jobs in the diocese. “Suppose a man is offered a salary of Rs.2, 500, a woman has to work for Rs.1, 500 per month which will usually stay the same for a long time. When the church places men and women in the same responsibility, it is quite unfair to do so.” The following table lists the responses that show some of the culture-based expressions, by which they behave or respond as they do. Number of responses is given alongside. TABLE -21 Culture Related Responses by Women Students
Responses in this category show that women find their culture too restrictive. Two of the respondents who lived a few years in Mumbai and Bangalore before joining the current theological course expressed their cultural shocks in various ways. One of them was from ES(a) and said, From my few years of experience in another state and city of India, I think the culture here is deeply suspicious of women. In my previous experience, men gave preference to women in queues, women were recognized well in corporate meetings and women’s contributions were identified in public. Here I know women are muted and underestimated. I find myself unfit now to continue in Kerala. The student from NES(b) who did her previous theological study in a seminary in Bangalore compared both situations and said, “In both situations women are given freedom to respond, talk and become involved in various activities. But while there was no further banter or criticism on our actions in the seminary in Bangalore, here we are roughly criticised and negatively judged for every single word and action. That’s what troubles me.” It is worth noting that 13 out of 18 respondents said they do not talk in the class. One such response was from NES(b) saying, “Not talking in the class is only a small concern to others. But if I talk I have to face more criticisms and it is therefore better to keep silent in classes. From my experience I would say that encouragement cannot be taken at face value. I need to decide what to do and what not to do for my own sake.” Women students made comments on the key role of marriage in controlling the life of women. One student said, As far as a girl is concerned, every decision in her life will have to be made in the light of achieving a decent marriage. Anything that could spoil her future will soon be done away with even if it is of great financial or social value. But now-a-days in towns things are changing. But women who join theological education are mostly from middle-class settings which uphold such practices strictly. A response from NES(c) about the control of parents over their female children was this, Parents might choose for me a spouse with much wealth or someone who has no concern for ministry. But because of the huge financial constraints involved in a marriage, I would have no voice. Therefore decisions about taking up a theological training, getting married and getting involved in a specific ministry all are in fact the decision of parents. Responses showed that there were many things that kept a woman under fear. A student from NES(d) said, I have lost confidence in talking to men whether they are students or staff. At any time criticism may form and that will affect my studies and my future. We are held responsible for any wrong on campus. That’s why many seminaries have stopped or reduced admission to women while adding men in large numbers. A student from NES(c) explained what she meant by the term ‘restrictions’ thus, I know the difficult fact that the eyes of others follow me wherever I go and in whatever I do. We are told not to walk with men students to the library, not to pick up books from the shelves while men are around. We are sometimes told to wait outside the dining room until men have had their evening meal. She continued asking, “Why should we be victimized if someone in the past had misused their freedom?” Another student from NES(d) also spoke about this, “A girl can be dismissed if she is found chatting with a male student. The prospectus of the seminary insists on such segregation and there is no forgiveness when it is violated.” This respondent spoke supportively of the position of the seminary as she felt otherwise there will be more disorder in the system. While another student from the same sample category said “I feel this can only produce handicapped persons whether in life or in ministry. We must learn through interactions. But the culture doesn’t approve this.” TABLE -22 Personal Concerns of Women Students
From the beginning to the end of the interview, all women students consistently mentioned their future concerns. While talking, they put ministry-placements and church’s attitudes together. The student from ES(a) who was assigned to lead a parish ministry on a Sunday (mentioned in description after Table-20) said that the seminary leader who sent her responded later to her like this, “Everyone in the parish testified about your excellent service that day. But people in the church said they cannot promote it any further. So what can I do?” After their theological education neither the seminary nor the church supports these women in their placements. A student from NES(b) explained the situation thus, My only option is to try with some mission agencies and go to a mission field somewhere else in India. That is the only place where workers are needed. But parents will never let me go until I am married. If I am married to someone who has no such mission concerns, my life turns to a completely different direction thereafter. Regarding the decision of a girl for mission field work, a student from NES(d) said, If I go to a mission field from my own choice, nobody else will be responsible for my decision including my parents. Many mission agencies pay very little to their workers in our country. When it comes to women, it is further reduced as many mission agencies find themselves not answerable to anyone in such matters. Therefore, I must be very careful in deciding to go to the mission field. From NES(c) came these words of disappointment, Seminary will not do anything for us after our studies. Men will find place in some form of ministry. But we can only wait for what is going to happen. I will be more than grateful to end up in a marriage with a Christian worker. But for such a life and ministry assisting my husband, I could have benefited more by some practical ministry related topics instead of this systematic, in-depth study of many subjects. Students seemed to be much confused about the theological position on their role in Christian ministry. Seven out of 18 informants said that they think women have no restriction in ministry and they can do all that men are doing. Another four students felt that their role is more of submissive nature- to assist the activities of the church. The rest of the respondents strongly held on to their view that there is a need for transformation in the current practices. According to them, churches and seminaries fear the culture and somehow have acquiesced to the demands, not judging whether it is right or wrong. Two women students confessed that they find the Biblical material on women contributed much to this ambiguity. A student from NES(b) talked about society’s attitude towards young women who choose to stay unmarried for a few years for the sake of ministry, “I would disturb my community by delaying any plan to get married. There will be questions, concerns, blame on my parents, and rumours on the way I conduct my life. The general thinking on a girl’s marriage is ‘the earlier, the better’. To get rid of related issues, parents are forced to make their own decision.” From ES(a), an interviewee affirmed her decision, “Going to Christian work is a low status job in society. But this is my commitment and my conviction, even though I am not fully accepted here.” See the following suggestions of the respondents to seminaries. FIGURE 4 Women Students’ Suggestions to Seminaries to Improve their Status in Training 
Regarding how the situation of women can be improved in seminaries, an interviewee from NES(d) said, The main answer is in our own hands. We need to rise above our limitations; we should take up every single opportunity to speak out and to get involved in various activities. If there is none to defend against criticisms and fears, this situation will never change. Women are willingly yielding to the cultural restraints and that should change. Women students spoke about the immediate need to have more women on faculty and at least a few women in leadership roles in seminaries. “In order to uphold the dignity and significance of women there should be a representative in the leadership team of the seminary. Not someone for name’s sake; but one with competence and commitment to serve women and the seminary.” A comment was made from NES(c) on the negligence of seminaries in appointing qualified women from outside of the institution. She said, Hundreds of women are graduating every year with B D or M Th from all different courses. But seminaries will appoint only the wives of men who are already working there. There may be financial benefits to the seminary by doing so; but many times there is a compromise with providing quality training. A response from NES(b) was, “Chapel services can influence people very much. If there is at least one woman preacher, writer or a missionary invited to speak in a month, I believe that can make a great impact on men in our community. Prejudices on the inability of women in ministry will definitely change.” Another suggestion was for weekend ministry for women in local churches, which should be initiated and directed by the seminary. Students believed that seminaries should strengthen their relationship with the local churches so that their attitudes and practices can gradually change. “For this initiative seminaries should have enough funding and there should be an active ministry department functioning and periodically evaluated with the help of the churches”, said a student from NES(d). She also felt that seminaries should trust their women students that they would remain committed and they would uphold the values of the institution. Another major area of suggestion was on the need for more discussions on women issues. Women respondents thought that open talks can contribute greatly to work on the negative attitudes. They also expressed their desire to have seminaries follow up their ministry even after their graduation for a few years. For instance, these were the words of a student from NES(c), “My parents will not send me away with a mission organization; but they may release me for a few years before my marriage if the seminary is responsible for my placement.” 5.3.2 Summary Observations Data from women students revealed that they often feel unwanted and insignificant in theological education. Their passion to be part of the ministry of the church was expressed throughout the interviews. But they had more pain than excitement about being part of a theological seminary. Although they identified discriminatory practices in social life in the seminary, they spoke about the members of faculty who affirm women and their involvement in ministry. Women students made a number of comments on their men colleagues who are individually good but keep on influencing others with their anti-woman philosophies and theologies. Many respondents had a concern about the uncertainty of seminaries and churches on their theological and biblical position on women’s role in ministry. Women students felt the immediate need to work this out so that they can aim for what is vocationally feasible to them. When the theological position on women’s ministry differs from person to person and seminary to seminary, women students argued that they can never find fulfilment in their theological education. They want the seminaries to take up the challenge of supporting women in their ministry, for which they may need to work on more funding, closer working association with churches and mission organizations, conduct more seminars and discussions and bring in experienced women teachers, writers and missionaries on campus. Women interviewees expressed their hope that this can provide them with the spiritual and administrational care they need. Students also confessed that they are not being as courageous as they thought they ought to be. The ideas of appointing experienced women from outside the seminary community and having more women preachers and missionaries to visit seminaries especially deserve further discussion. 5.4 Data Gathered from Focus Groups Yüklə 1,36 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|