Women Interview!

I had a conversation with a family friend Janette Woodard. She has been my best friend’s mom for all of his life (☺) so I have known her for many years. She has been a Christian for a large majority of her life and as long as I have known her. She mentioned that her parents have been Christian her whole life, but she considers that she started her walk with Christ around nine years old, once she was able to comprehend. Her church background consists of her attending a small-medium sized church (200ish people) her whole life in Salem, Oregon. It’s an Assembly of God denomination outside of the city.
She described her faith as a roller coast journey, one that doesn’t bring you back to the start, yet gives you plenty of opportunities to get off, but really only remembering the high points. It’s a dualistic ride, one that is extremely fast yet in the moment it’s like watching a slug. Specifics weren’t discussed in our time, but she briefly mentioned high points that caused her to view God in ways she never imagined, yet with low points that specific thoughts have been forgotten yet the lessons have stuck with her.
I was interested in her journey with Christ, but to be honest I was more interested in her journey with the Church, as she is a women and this class is about women. So that is what we discussed for a large part of our conversation. Janette knows that God doesn’t ‘view’ men any different then women, besides the differences that God created between them on a completely equal way, but she has noticed that over time the Church has viewed women differently. Her experience has been that her church has had men be in charge of the major decisions, while the women have been the ones making everything go. It’s the women that have been involved in child care, it’s the women who have been involved in the cooking for potlucks, and it’s been the women who have put together the music for the congregation. Her experienced has showed the men are the ones that do the spiritual teaching when it comes to the congregation as a whole, whether it be the Sunday Services or the small group Bible studies. The only teaching women have done is the small group women Bible studies, which meets every Thursday morning, as a woman leads that group.
Her perspective about this is that this happens because you sure don’t want the men taking care of the kids or cooking the food because then no one would enjoy themselves! She was joking, but I caught a bit of truth in her joke. It has been common for a long time that men don’t know how to cook or properly take care of children, where women have for a long time. On a serious note, she mentioned she doesn’t necessarily feel limited, because she doesn’t need a stage to teach, she can communicate with others in a variety of other ways, but it is interesting to her that there hasn’t been a woman leader in her experience. She argued that just because men have had the microphone doesn’t mean that women aren’t heard. It is common for people in her church to reach out to women for help, as they are known for the listening ability as well as their wisdom. She has had a large number of people come up to her for advice and she has been able to ‘preach’ to them in that manner. I asked her if she would want a microphone and she said no, she doesn’t want her persona to be one of power and influence, more of the natural influence that she has now. She mentioned that she could imagine there being women though wanting the microphone, feeling the calling to be on stage and preach in that manner. That possibility is completely alright with her and she encourages though who feel that passion, yet knows that it is a big issue in the Church.
There was a lot we discussed, too much to include in this paper, but the general sense I had from the conversation is that she is perfectly content in her role in her church, yet recognizes other women may not be as content as she is. She recognizes male dominance in the Church, but in a way laughs at them as she thinks the real influence is what happens outside of a service, through personal communication and worship together. That is where she feels the important stuff happens.