8 T H E P R IS CIL L A & A Q U I L A CE N T R E
The Priscilla & Aquila Centre’s Writing Award Jane M Tooher / Director, Priscilla & Aquila Centre
MO O R E M AT T E R S A U T U M N 2 0 2 2
GOD HAS GIF TED CHRISTIAN WOMEN IN MAN Y AND A V RIOUS WAYS. HE HAS DONE THIS SO THAT WOMEN MAY SERVE CHRIST ’S CHURCH, THE CHURCH WILL BE BUIT L , AND THE LOST WILL HEAR ABOUT THE S AVIG N GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.
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ne of the a w ys many Christian o w men are gifted is through their rw iting ability. oT day e w have the privilege of reading h w at our female co-o w rkers in the gospel have rw itten throughout 200 years of church history. h T eir contributions cover dierent genres and include, amongst other things, prayers, eulogies, hymns, letters, poems, and books. Countless examples can be seen in even a brief look at history. Continental e R former Katharina Zell’s character, courage, and clear understanding of the e R formation faith repeatedly come out in her letters, the hymn book she edited, and her husband’s eulogy. Lady a J ne rG ey’s writing shows God’s sovereignty in his evident gifting of someone so young, and in how much good writing she produced in such a short time. Puritan Anne Bradstreet’s poems describe a range of human emotions, h w ich help Christians to understand their own experiences and feelings through the ups and downs of life this side of eternity. e H r poems also act brilliantly as a reality check, since there is a common theme of holding loose to this world. In the 180s, a J ne Barker wrote letters from Sydney to her sister
back in England. They reveal the privilege, necessity, and sacrifices of mission work so that other people will hear about Jesus. And they show the importance of good deeds, good preaching, suitable clergy, and the danger of heresy. More recently, Dr Erica Sainsbury, who served on Moore’s Academic Board until her death on Christmas Eve 2021, wrote several hymns. Like her sisters before her, Erica’s writings reveal her theology. An example of this is seen in the third verse of her 1991 hymn ‘God Almighty, Great Creator’. Raised again to heaven in triumph, Now he sits at God’s right hand, Making priestly intercession For his own from every land. He will come to judge the nations, Hosts of angels in his train, His new kingdom to establish, Over all forever reign. Although we have access to numerous things written by women over the last 2000 years, the number
of their contributions is dwarfed in comparison to those of men. This has been mainly due to females not being members of the clergy or in vocational ministry for most of that time. (It is also true that lay men didn’t write as much as male clergy.) It is only in more recent decades that the contribution of female Christians has significantly increased in the form of things such as articles and books. And then, with the coming of the digital age, Christian women’s writings exponentially increased. Ease of access, affordability, flexibility in when and what to write, and distribution have all helped women of different backgrounds, ages, and gifting serve the church across the globe through their writing. What one woman writes in Uganda can benefit someone in Slovenia. At no other time in history have more Christian women written than right now. Many women are very keen to write! And we want to keep encouraging women with good theology to write, as writing
