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Daybook -- Today is Tuesday, March 13, 2007, in Lent.
* Today in Scripture: Daily Office meditation: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm * Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm * Today in History: On this day in 1989, the Eames Commission, the Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission on Communion and Women in the Episcopate, met with Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning at the George Mercer, Jr. Memorial School of Theology. http://www.episcopalarchives.com/cgi-bin/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_numb er=89056
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Teaching: First Joanna Dewey Scholars Lecture set for March 27 at Episcopal Divinity School
[ENS] The inaugural Joanna Dewey Scholars Lecture, created as a tribute to Dr. Joanna Dewey, Harvey Guthrie, Jr. professor Emerita and former academic dean at Episcopal Divinity School (EDS,) will be held March 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, seminary.
Dr. Bernadette Brooten, director of Brandeis University's Feminist Sexual Ethics Project and professor of Christian and Women's Studies, will be the keynote speaker. The theme of her message, "Beyond Slavery: Overcoming its Sexual Legacy," will address the intersection of slavery, religion, women, and sexuality.
"The Joanna Dewey Lecture is an opportunity for us to bring innovative and challenging scholars from across the country to the EDS community," said the Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, academic dean at EDS. "We are delighted that the first lecturer will be Bernadette Brooten - a person suggested by Joanna for this honor - and someone whose work is so in tune with the mission of the school."
Brooten's lecture will reflect her current work. She is writing a book on early Christian women who were enslaved or who were slave-holding, and editing a volume on slavery's long shadow over the lives of girls and women. She is the author of "Women Leaders in the Ancient Synagogue: Inscriptional Evidence" and "Background Issues and Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism." In addition, she has published articles on Paul and the Jewish Law, Jewish epigraphy, papyrological, and literary evidence for Jewish women's power to initiate divorce in antiquity, and on various topics of ancient Jewish and early Christian women's history.
The Joanna Dewey Scholars Lecture is made possible through an endowed fund founded by former students to honor the life and scholarship of Dewey.
The lecture is free but pre-registration is requested. To register, visit http://www.eds.edu. For more information, email Penny Kohn at pkohn@eds.edu or call 617-682-1525. _ _ _
Catalyst: "The Desert Mothers -- Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness" from Morehouse Publishing, by Mary C. Earle, 89 pages, paperback, 2007, $13.95
[Source: Morehouse Publishing] -- In the same format as Holy Companions and the forthcoming Praying with the Anglican Saints books, this book includes summaries of the thoughts and spiritual approaches of the Desert Mothers, along with spiritual practices based on their writings. Scholars have paid attention to the Desert Mothers, but in general lay audiences have only had access to writings by the Desert Fathers. Unlike most of the scholarly books on the market, this book popularizes the writings and the thinking of the Desert Mothers of the early church, and applies them to contemporary life.
"Mary Earle introduces us to these remarkable fourth-century women, and invites us to join them on their journey. Weaving together scholarship, story-telling, and shrewd insight, The Desert Mothers can lead us to see our daily lives as 'the very habitat of God,' and show us 'ways of becoming new.'" -Deborah Smith Douglas, spiritual director and retreat leader, author of The Praying Life: Seeking God in All Things
"Mary Earle is a modern-day Desert Mother, and we are fortunate, indeed, for her introduction to the Desert Amma's ancient wisdom, and for her gentle guidance on ways to incorporate that wisdom into contemporary spiritual practices." -Debra K. Farrington, author of Hearing with the Heart: A Gentle Guide to Discerning God's Will for Your Life
To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at http://www.episcopalbookstore.org or call 800.903.5544.
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