My Feminism (Continued)
by Emilie Rommel
 

But while we enjoy the spoils of battles past, others are on the horizon. Our degrees may be the same, but women still earn less money than men in the same fields. In 2000, the average yearly difference in salaries for men and women in all professions, trades, and levels of education was approximately $10,700 (NCES, 2003). And let’s not forget that much-talked-about recent comment by Harvard President Lawrence Summers that the innate differences between the sexes might explain why fewer women reach the pinnacle of success in science and math. Yep, we still have a few battles of our own to fight.

Though women today have certain advantages our mothers didn’t have, that doesn’t mean those gains can’t be taken away. While lawmakers continue to bat around the issue of reproductive rights, 22 million single women who were eligible to vote in the 2000 presidential elections didn’t bother (Women’s Voices, Women Vote). Fortunately, the numbers were better in 2004 when unmarried women made up 22.4 percent of the voters. That’s an increase of 7.5 million over the 19 percent reported in 2000 (Women's Voices, Women Vote 2004).  But I wonder how many of those non-voting women, ages 18 – 60, didn’t realize the impact they could have on the legislative process and women’s rights.

Equal value = equal rights = equal responsibilities
"Equal value = equal rights" is the basic tenet behind every mission statement for every human rights organization. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” That sounds like a feminist, humanitarian view to me.

The ELCA’s social statement (“For Peace in God’s World”)
calls the church — that’s us — to be a “disturbing, reconciling, and serving presence” in the world. As Christians, we understand about being reconciling and serving. But what do we know about being a “disturbing presence”?

“The church is a disturbing presence when it refuses to be silent and instead speaks the truth in times when people shout out, ‘Peace, peace, when there is no peace’ (Jeremiah 6:14)". That global ELCA statement refers to relationships between nations and cultures, but I think it fits perfectly with my definition of a feminist as people who struggle to create a more equal world, for all genders and races.

Young women always have more to see, hear, say, and do to promote feminism. As Christians, we should understand the call for bold, compassionate activism and take action in every area of our lives — at home, at work, at church, and in our communities. The responsibility to make a better world for our daughters and granddaughters falls on us, now. Speak up. Act boldly. Let’s give future generations more victories to celebrate.

Emilie Rommel is 23 years old and working as a writer, waitress, and editorial intern in Seattle, Wash. During an internship with Lutheran Woman Today magazine, she helped develop the content for CAFE.

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If feminism is the radical notion that women are fully people, the gospel is the radical reality that all people are fully children of God. The Apostle Paul’s authentic and attributed writings are riddled with contradictions on women’s status before God and the community of believers, yet he is also the most eloquent voice for what it means that Jesus is our Christ. His proclamation in Galatians is the liberating moral and redemptive equalizer for all people. It is the core of feminist theology, and it is representative of the “lens” through which Lutheran Christians read the Scriptures. I cannot imagine one without the other. Paul wrote the churches in Galatia in the midst of strife and conflict over who was a legitimate Christian: was it based in ethnic heritage, adherence to the law, or the ritual of circumcision? To such questions, Paul gave a resounding No! In Christ Jesus we are all one. In Christ Jesus, class, gender, and ethnic differences have no power.

Whenever I read Paul’s words, a pre-baptismal formula for that first generation of believers, I grasp the redeeming power of God-in-Jesus. I sense the radical and transformative promise of God. And I bemoan the fear and brokenness that continued to grip the earliest Christians as they re-instituted patriarchal and legalistic ways of life and expressions of faith. Feminist theology takes this seriously, too, and speaks honestly but hopefully for the continuing promise of God-in-Christ to heal injustice and inequality that continues in the name of God throughout this world.

Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger serves as Pastor for Youth and Family at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dearborn, Mich. Before this first call, she spent four years in Cairo, Egypt, working and worshipping at St. Andrew's United Church. She and her husband, Stewart, are parents to Catherine and Daniel, who are now four and two.