REFLECT AND RESPOND

Which women in your life have inspired and supported you? Thank God for them.

Are you listening to diverse female voices, for example through books or podcasts?

Prayerfully consider our international positional statement on sexism: salvationist.org.uk/ positionalstatements and a founding member of UK Black Pride. She campaigns for the appropriate support of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and refugees. While my proactive listening needs to extend beyond a Google search, the BBC’s list has already inspired me to follow new people on social media.

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12–31. How will you embrace equity in your home, corps or workplace?

In Scripture, we read that equity isn’t just about individuals thriving. The body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12:12–31) is made up of individual parts that are different yet interdependent. When one suffers, all suffer; when one thrives, all thrive. Equity is good news for everyone – all gender identities.

I can see this in my marriage. Thanks to those who have gone before me, who have fought for women’s rights, I am liberated to be the woman and wife I am called to be. I am not confined to a stereotype. This in turn liberates my husband, Alex, to be the man and husband he is called to be. We can have open and honest conversations – for example, about household tasks, careers or parenthood – that might have been a lot harder for our parents or grandparents. But it’s not enough to settle for fullness of life with Jesus for the Bethany’s, Jacinda’s and Nicola’s of this world –that vision must embrace the whosoever.

International Women’s Day

Learn about and celebrate women in The Salvation Army and the wider world

1 When was International Women’s Day first marked by the United Nations?

2 How many Generals of The Salvation Army have been women?

3 In which year did the Equal Franchise Act give women equal voting rights to men?

4 Which country first made a pay gap between men and women illegal?

5 When did Catherine Booth begin preaching?

6 Who was sent to open the Army in Coventry in 1878?

7 Who was appointed to the Order of the Founder for having ‘pioneered almost alone and often unaided, amidst considerable difficulties the Army’s work among the Chinese in the East End of London’?

8 Nancy Astor was the first what?

9 How many Grand Slams has Serena Williams won?

10 Marie Curie was the first woman to win what?

11 Who is currently the richest woman in the world?

12 In which year did the inaugural European Competition for Women’s Football begin?

13 Formed in 1894, Dick Kerr’s Ladies were what?

13. An early women’s football team