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Women of Color Scholars Program celebrates past, looks ahead
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A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert
The Rev. Karen Collier says she hopes women continue to make contributions in theological education.
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| The
Rev. Karen Collier, assistant professor of the Religious and
Philosophical Studies Department at Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.,
speaks at the Women of Color consultation/celebration, held Aug. 11-13
in Chicago. The event was sponsored by the United Methodist Board of
Higher Education and Ministry. A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert. Photo
#06869. Accompanies UMNS story #479. 8/14/06 |
Aug. 14, 2006
By Linda Green*
CHICAGO (UMNS) — When the idea for the Women of Color Scholars Program
was born, only one ordained clergywoman of color in the United Methodist
Church had a doctorate degree.
The Rev. Karen Collier, assistant professor of the religious and
philosophical studies department at Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.,
had received her degree in 1974 and was asked to help design the
program. Today, 18 years later, she applauds the 40 women who have
participated in it and the 22 graduates who have their advanced degrees
in religious studies as a result.
“I was mentored by men,” she said, “because there was no one in the church to mentor me.”
Collier spoke at an Aug. 11-13 celebration and consultation of the
Women of Color Scholars program, held by the United Methodist Board of
Higher Education. The event featured academic leaders from throughout
the denomination, as well as graduate scholars and current participants
in the program.
Looking ahead, Collier expressed hope that the program continues
promoting women in theological education, and that its doctoral
candidates and graduates make contributions to theological discourse to
make the church and the world more welcoming.
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A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert
The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino addresses participants at the Women of Color consultation's opening session.
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| The
Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, top executive of the United Methodist Board
of Higher Education and Ministry, addresses participants at the opening
session of the Women of Color consultation/celebration, held Aug. 11-13
in Chicago. The event was sponsored by the board. A UMNS photo by Kathy
L. Gilbert. Photo #06868. Accompanies UMNS story #479. 8/14/06 |
The Rev. Jerome King del Pino, the top executive at the United Methodist
Board of Higher Education and Ministry, assured the Women of Color
scholars that the agency will do all that it can to ensure that the
program continues. A plan is in the works to endow the scholars program,
and an offering was received during the consultation’s closing worship
service to begin the endowment.
The ministry of the Women of Color Scholars Program “is unparalleled to any Protestant denomination” today, he said.
Raising up a generation
The program emerged from a concern raised by professional women at
United Methodist seminaries about the lack of women of color on the
faculties as teachers and researchers.
“The Women of Color Scholars Program has raised up a generation of women who will succeed in the academy,” Collier said.
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A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert
The Rev. Kathy Sage takes part in the closing worship service.
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| The
Rev. Kathy Sage, former member of the United Methodist Board of Higher
Education and Ministry, participates in the closing worship service of
the Women of Color consultation/celebration, held Aug. 11-13 in Chicago.
The event was sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher
Education and Ministry. A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert. Photo #06870.
Accompanies UMNS story #479. 8/14/06 |
Before the program’s creation in 1988, the Rev. Kathy Sage, a former
staff member of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and
Ministry, said a series of “listening” meetings occurred in the church,
and clergywomen of color clergy were asked if they would be interested
in pursing doctorate degrees. Next, organizers considered how to support
and mentor the women.
“Ten thousand dollars was a significant amount back then,” she said.
Today, the Women of Color Scholars Program continues to offer that
amount of support.
The program’s goals are to place women of color in faculty positions at
all United Methodist-related theological schools; to increase the number
who teach, lecture, write and research at the doctoral level in
seminaries; to increase the church’s awareness of the need for women of
color in theological education and encourage vocations in religious
education; and to sponsor a network of support for those in doctorate
programs.
The Rev. Linda Thomas, a professor of anthropology and theology at
Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, was in that “trailblazing” group
of women who entered the scholars program.
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A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert
Bishop Linda Dobbins Lee gives the sermon as the event draws to a close with worship.
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| Bishop
Linda Dobbins Lee, who leads the United Methodist Church's Wisconsin
Annual (regional) Conference, preaches on "Anointing" at the closing
worship service of the Women of Color consultation/celebration, held
Aug. 11-13 in Chicago. The event was sponsored by the United Methodist
Board of Higher Education and Ministry. A UMNS photo by Kathy L.
Gilbert. Photo #06871. Accompanies UMNS story #479. 8/14/06 |
“To be called a trailblazer is both humbling and awesome,” she said. She
remembered the women in the church — clergy and lay — who encouraged
her to pursue a doctorate degree. “They saw things in me that I did not
know were possible,” she said. “I knew I wanted to do Ph.D. work, and
the biggest challenge in many ways was myself. When those women said,
‘You can do it,’ I said, ‘Give me the support and I will do it.’”
Challenges ahead
The program’s work so far, with 40 participants, “is an immense and
stunning achievement,” Thomas said, “and we have a long way to go.”
Next, it must address why there is an absence of Native American
clergywomen scholars and low numbers of Hispanic clergywomen scholars.
Another round of “listening” sessions is needed to find out what types
of support are needed for women in those groups, she said.
She said the program’s strength is in the plethora of African-American and Asian women who have earned their doctorates.
The challenge, she said, lies in whether United Methodist seminaries and
schools related to universities understand that qualified candidates
are ready for faculty positions.
“I don’t see our scholars placed in United Methodist seminaries. It is
not because the women would not go there,” she said. “I think it is
because boards of trustees and boards of governors are not actively
telling presidents and deans to pursue these women.”
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A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert
Worshipers raise their hands in praise at the closing worship service.
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| Worshipers
raise their hands in praise at the closing service of the Women of
Color consultation/celebration, held Aug. 11-13 in Chicago. The event
was sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and
Ministry. A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert. Photo #06872. Accompanies
UMNS story #479. 8/14/06 |
Many of the scholars are serving institutions outside the United
Methodist Church, she said, using herself as an example, since she is a
senior professor at a Lutheran school.
“When are our boards of trustees and governors and deans going to say,
‘We want a woman of color to lead our seminaries,’” she asked. “I think
there is a glass-ceiling because when I look at our seminaries, I see
white men.
“Women of color teaching in our seminaries is important because they
bring to the classroom not only knowledge but the life experience that
many students would not have,” she said. She added that throughout her
academic career — undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate — she never
had a woman of color as a professor.
“I know that the types of courses I teach, the books that I require for
reading and the history that I tell is a vastly different history and
theology than I what got,” she said. “It is debunking the myth that
Eurocentrism dominates. … Part of my tooling of my students, be they
black or white, is to introduce them to this new world that right-sizes
and prepares folks for the world we live in and the conflicts that we
face globally.”
Other highlights
In other action at the consultation, participants:
- Viewed the premier of the DVD “Following the Path,” which shares the stories of the women participating in the scholars program.
- Paid tribute to Angella Current-Felder, the administrator of the Women of Color Scholars Program.
- Awarded certificates to the 2006-07 class of scholars.
- Recognized the program’s original design team and first graduates.
- Attended workshops on technology; people on the margins; pluralism;
crises; and women in the New Testament from the Two-Thirds World
Perspective.
In the closing worship service, Bishop Linda Lee told participants to “keep doing what you are doing; Jesus has your back.”
“When you teach, preach, write papers … you are pouring out the oil of the anointed one.”
*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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