|
VOW |
Voices
of Orthodox
Women
You Can’t Have it Both Ways:
[NOTE: This opinion piece first appeared in the September issue of VOW’s newsletter. Since then, I have received several requests to place it on our web page. I have elected to do so because the issue is timely; it is being considered, right now, by presbyteries all across our denomination.] I was interested to find a supplemental insert in the latest edition of Horizons magazine. It is titled "The Price of Voice and Vote," and it focuses on what has been a long-standing goal of Presbyterian Women – voice and vote for PW moderators at every level of governance in the church. An example of what they are after is General Assembly Council’s recent affirmative vote that the national PW Moderator be given voice and vote on its Executive Committee. She has had voice and vote in the GAC plenary since 1996 – and she doesn’t have to be an ordained elder. General Assembly concurred. At first glance, PW’s ambitious objective sounds kind of harmless – just one vote in each of those governing bodies. But, in fact, it presents at least two major problems. First, it is an example of “special pleading.” Special pleading is a fallacy of logic in which a person applies standards, principles, rules, etc. to others while taking herself (or those she has a special interest in) to be exempt – without providing adequate justification for the exemption. In this particular case, PW is asking for an extraordinary privilege that is not granted, for example, to Presbyterian Men, to the National Network of Presbyterian College Women, or to any of the racial/ethnic advisory groups. This kind of special treatment is not only inequitable; it tends to erect walls of division at the very same time that we are supposed to be tearing them down. In The Price of Voice and Vote, PW argues that the privilege is appropriate because, every year, PW gives a healthy sum of undesignated money to the church’s mission budget. But, the implication of that line of reasoning is that voice and vote are up for sale. Certainly PW doesn’t think that. Or, do they? And, what about their parallel contention that they are due the privilege because they have an award-winning Bible study? Using that as the standard, representatives of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation should also be given voice and vote in every governing body of the church. And what about Certified Christian Educators? Special privileges have no place in our system of Presbyterian governance. By definition they are unfair and, even worse, they create resentment and animosity among the “underprivileged.” Second, giving PW voice and vote at all levels creates an awkward relationship – if not a real conflict of interests. The Covenant between GAC and Presbyterian Women states that PW is an “autonomous organization, self-determining in its leadership, budget and program.” The covenant also grants “editorial autonomy for all PW publications, including Horizons magazine and the annual Bible study.” Over the years, Voices of Orthodox Women has criticized certain articles and columns that have appeared in Horizons Magazine – pieces that have ignored or opposed the constitutional and confessional standards of the church. VOW has also criticized some of PW’s Bible studies for the very same reason. In almost every case, the response from PW has included a reminder that PW exists “arm’s length” from the church. In other words, the same standards don’t apply to them. They are independent. There is the conflict of interest – an organization denying any accountability to the church demanding that it be allowed to participate in the governance of the church. How smart is that? How helpful? It seems to me that integrity demands the following conclusion – that until PW is willing to be accountable in all of its programs and resources to the governing bodies of our church, and until every constituency within the church is given the same privilege, PW should abandon its goal of “voice and vote” in the church’s governance. Leah Ellison Bradley, associate editor for Presbyterian Women, concludes "The Price of Voice and Vote" by reminding “women at all levels of the church not to assume that women will always enjoy the privileges we possess today.” That is yet one more place to demur. Rather than use scare tactics, I would hope that our leaders would begin to remind us that we live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and that because we do, we need never fear the future. After all,“ All things work together for good …” On a more practical note, could Leah Bradley be right? Might the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) change its mind about the equality of women? About women’s ordination? I would suggest that no one hold his or her breath! I would like to know what you think about this issue. After all, PW
belongs to the women of the PC(USA). Your opinion counts.
|