On February 28, close to 200 women of all ages (and some men too!) gathered online, in watch parties at churches, and in-person at Wycliffe College, to learn how women of faith through the ages have approached the Psalms.
Keynote speaker Dr Marion Taylor began her presentation recognizing the pioneering ministry and leadership of the late Rev. Dr Thora Wade Rowe. Dr Rowe became ordained 30 years after she received her Licentiate in Theology from Wycliffe, and almost 20 years after becoming the first woman to earn an MDiv at Wycliffe in 1977.
“Thora lived her calling before there was a clear path for her to follow,” says Taylor.
Taylor then considered how the Psalms provided clear paths of language and of prayer for women throughout history to follow. From the Desert Mothers to medieval nuns who prayed through the entire Psalter weekly, women lived the Psalms. “These women teach us that we can let Scripture give us language for both praise and pain.”
With a deft touch, Taylor highlighted how 19th century women handled the Psalms in ways that deepened their faith. They read, prayed, taught the Psalms to their children, wrote and published books, catechisms and guides. They offered sophisticated analysis, interpretations and translations.
Lively table discussions focused on applying the threefold approach to reading and praying the Psalms developed by Charlotte Yonge, a 19th century writer. At each table, women read Psalm 3 considering its historical context, how the psalm pointed to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and how praying it could be applied to situations in their own lives or the lives of others.
How to pray the Psalms was the key question during Q&A time. Dr Taylor offered several suggestions. Choose a psalm and personalize it as you pray. Practice morning and evening prayer. Make the psalm your own- journal, write and/or speak it out. “What do we do when we a pray a psalm we don’t feel?” she was asked. “You can pray it on behalf of others,” she replied. “Read some global commentaries on the Psalms.”
Drawing on the words of Caroline Fry, another 19th century writer, Taylor encouraged attendees to read the Psalms “with the heart awake.” Indeed, in a life marked by a love to God who had called her to ordained ministry “in the quiet of lonely, early years,” Rev. Dr Thora Wade Rowe had done just that-writing poems on all the psalms!
“When we look back across the centuries…we see a beautiful, unbroken, line of faithful women shaped by the Psalms,” Taylor says. Their examples invite us to “…join the great company of women who prayed these same words before us.”
Women’s Breakfasts help sustain that unbroken “line of faithful women” who are called to graduate theological education. Two current Wycliffe women students shared about their journeys to Wycliffe, affirming the need for spaces like Wycliffe in which women can be supported in their calling, and in their biblical scholarship. Bursaries for women students offer more than much-needed financial help. They offer tangible encouragement from the “great company” of witnesses that surrounds them.
