NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Christian women are looking to the Virgin Mary for inspiration as they move to expand their leadership within the church, says a Vanderbilt University theologian who has organized a Mary conference on April 13 and 14.
“My bookshelf is bending under the pressure, and I have only half the books on Mary that have come out in the past 10 years,” said Robin Jensen, Luce Chancellor‘s Professor of the History of Christian Art and Worship at Vanderbilt University Divinity School.
“We‘ve moved away from Mary as the feminine face of the church, to Mary as a model of Christian discipleship. This creates a way for women to see themselves in leadership positions in churches.”
Jensen teaches a popular course on Mary and believes that books like The Da Vinci Code and writings by Pope John Paul II have helped stoke interest in Mary as a feminine icon of Christianity.
“If you look at what Mary says in Luke 1, it‘s quite astonishingly powerful, independent-minded and prophetic,” Jensen said. “It‘s hardly the words of someone who is submissive.”
Mary, quoted in Luke 1, says: “He‘s shown strength with His arm and scattered the proud and the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lonely. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”
The conference, titled “The Virgin Mary in Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Traditions,” will be held at Vanderbilt University Divinity School and two Nashville churches.
Three distinguished experts on Mary will speak: Vasiliki Limberis, associate professor of ancient Christianity at Temple University; Anne L. Clark, associate professor of religion at the University of Vermont; and Beverly Roberts Gaventa, the Helen H.P. Manson Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary.
All events are free and open to the public, with the exception of a community breakfast costing $10 and requiring reservations.
“The Virgin Mary in Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Traditions” conference is sponsored by the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender and Sexuality at Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt Office of the University Chaplain and Vanderbilt‘s Center for the Study of Religion and Culture.
The agenda:
* 7:15 p.m., Wednesday, April 13, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 4905 Franklin Pike. Keynote address by Vasiliki Limberis, “Hymns in Color: Byzantine Liturgical Traditions of the Theotokos.” A reception will precede the lecture from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., following the Liturgy of the Presancitified.
* 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., Thursday, April 14, at the refectory of Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Community Breakfast with lecture by Beverly Gaventa, “Why Bother with Mary? Some Possibilities for Protestant Reflection.” The cost is $10, and reservations must be made by April 11 by calling 615-343-3994 or by clicking on “Events” online at www.vanderbilt.edu/divinity.
* 4:10 p.m. p.m., Thursday, April 14, in Room G-23 of Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Lecture by Anne L. Clark, “Venerating Mary in the Middle Ages: Seeing, Pleading, Loving.” A reception follows in Tillett Lounge.
* 7:15 p.m., Thursday, April 14, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3900 West End Ave. Lecture by Beverly Gaventa, “From Conspiracy to Scandal: A Reflection on Mary in Scripture.” A reception at the church follows the lecture.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu