This frustrates me
I read about this on Dan Kimball's website There are some interesting comments related to this article I just find it really frustrating and sad
Sunday school teacher dumped for being female
WATERTOWN, New York (AP) -- The minister of a church that dismissed a female Sunday School teacher after adopting what it called a literal interpretation of the Bible says a woman can perform any job -- outside of the church.
The First Baptist Church dismissed Mary Lambert on August 9 with a letter explaining that the church had adopted an interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught there for 54 years.
The letter quoted the first epistle to Timothy: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent." (Watch Church Lady say her dismissal came without warning -- 1:43)
The Rev. Timothy LaBouf, who also serves on the Watertown City Council, issued a statement saying his stance against women teaching men in Sunday school would not affect his decisions as a city leader in Watertown, where all five members of the council are men but the city manager who runs the city's day-to-day operations is a woman.
"I believe that a woman can perform any job and fulfill any responsibility that she desires to" outside of the church, LaBouf wrote Saturday.
Mayor Jeffrey Graham, however, was bothered by the reasons given for Lambert's dismissal.
"If what's said in that letter reflects the councilman's views, those are disturbing remarks in this day and age," Graham said. "Maybe they wouldn't have been disturbing 500 years ago, but they are now."
Lambert has publicly criticized the decision, but the church did not publicly address the matter until Saturday, a day after its board met.
In a statement, the board said other issues were behind Lambert's dismissal, but it did not say what they were.
Sunday school teacher dumped for being female
WATERTOWN, New York (AP) -- The minister of a church that dismissed a female Sunday School teacher after adopting what it called a literal interpretation of the Bible says a woman can perform any job -- outside of the church.
The First Baptist Church dismissed Mary Lambert on August 9 with a letter explaining that the church had adopted an interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught there for 54 years.
The letter quoted the first epistle to Timothy: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent." (Watch Church Lady say her dismissal came without warning -- 1:43)
The Rev. Timothy LaBouf, who also serves on the Watertown City Council, issued a statement saying his stance against women teaching men in Sunday school would not affect his decisions as a city leader in Watertown, where all five members of the council are men but the city manager who runs the city's day-to-day operations is a woman.
"I believe that a woman can perform any job and fulfill any responsibility that she desires to" outside of the church, LaBouf wrote Saturday.
Mayor Jeffrey Graham, however, was bothered by the reasons given for Lambert's dismissal.
"If what's said in that letter reflects the councilman's views, those are disturbing remarks in this day and age," Graham said. "Maybe they wouldn't have been disturbing 500 years ago, but they are now."
Lambert has publicly criticized the decision, but the church did not publicly address the matter until Saturday, a day after its board met.
In a statement, the board said other issues were behind Lambert's dismissal, but it did not say what they were.
posted by Rochelle @ 6:55 PM
3 Comments:
At 8:53 AM,
darker than silence said…
It is a sad thing when we take ancient documents, strip them of culturual background, and decide that they say and mean the exact same thing to us in our culture 2000 years later.
At 9:39 AM,
Adam said…
Don't get me started on this one. This kind of crap makes me madder than you would believe.
In preparation for Element, I found this really cool explanation of what Pentecost was all about - this is probably a good time to share it (I think I'll share it on my blog as well) -
-----
So, being Pentecost, I now need to trust the Spirit.
I throw away my sermon.
And because I no longer need sermon notes, I ask for the lights to remain dark.
And we sit in darkness, lit only by a flaming pumice rock, and the rotating mirror ball, little red lights move all over people in the church.
What is Pentecost?
Well in the Old Testament, only special people had the Spirit. Only special people could, as it were, lit the pumice rock.
People like Bezalel and Oholiab, who receive the gift of the Spirit to craft the Tabernacle.
People like Saul, in 1 Samuel, who after being anointed king, receives the Spirit and prophesies.
But only unique and special people.
And at the end of the OT, a prophet named Joel has a dream. That one day every person, old and young, men and woman, can have the Spirit.
And at Pentecost, the dream of Joel becomes real. The spirit falls on everyone in the church.
No longer do just special people get to lit the pumice rock. Now the red light of the mirrorball falls on everyone. Everyone has the Spirit.
What is Pentecost? How spirit-filled are our churches?
I suspect that in our church culture today we need another Pentecost.
We have our celebrities and our hot worship leaders. We have our special speakers who, like pumice, are guaranteed to draw a crowd. We still have mostly men preaching. We are offered CEO, visionary leadership models as the way to grow healthy churches.
And all the time the mirrorball of the Spirit of God is rotating.
Falling on everyone, young and old, men and woman.
Calling to create church communities in which everyone is empowered.
What is Pentecost?
It is the challenge to move from spectacular, special, one-off, stars, to the mirrorball of God, rotating, falling on everyone, young and old, men and woman.
At 10:47 AM,
tenahawkins said…
You all know what I think about this!
UGH!!!!!!!
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