Personal Experience

In last weeks class it was very interesting to hear the different stories of the four women who participated in the panel discussion. They each had such a unique experience and life story from each other and it was cool to see how they participated in the church despite the constrictions of gender roles in churches. Hearing the stories of hardships that the women each had to go through in order to follow what their calling was made me question what it would have looked like if they had been a part of my home church. I remember growing up in my little hometown church and never really seeing a women preach except when we went to children's church or if the one women pastor was speaking at the town Christmas service. Looking back on this experience now I am very curious if it was just the situation or circumstances or that they were intentionally keeping women from being in pastoral roles. I have absolutely no idea which is was or why, but it has lead me to ask many questions of my church's denomination as a whole and has also begun a great discussion within my own family. My parents have been attending this church for twenty years now and are very involved so hearing their perspective is also really interesting and eye opening. I enjoyed this panel so much because it really stirred thinking in me about what my church experience was like growing up and what I wanted my future church to look like when I have a family of my own.