She Lives!: Sophia Wisdom Works in the World

by Jann Aldredge-Clanton

Meet the ministers and laypeople driving foundational Christian theological change restoring sacred value to women and girls in pursuit of just and equal faith communities. In a world filled with injustice and violence, we long for a new sacred symbolism to inspire transformation. This yearning includes a widespread hunger for female images of Deity Wisdom, Divine Feminine, Mother Hen, Mother Eagle, God-She, and more in church life and worship to restore gender-balance and finally achieve just, equal, and inclusive faith communities.

She Lives! presents fascinating narratives of clergy and laypeople who are changing the institutional church and society by restoring biblical female Divine names and images to Christian theology, worship symbolism, and liturgical language.

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

Jann Aldredge-Clanton is an ordained minister, author, teacher, and chaplain. She currently serves as adjunct professor at Perkins School of Theology and Richland Community College, Dallas, Texas. A native of Louisiana, Jann received the B.A. degree from Louisiana Polytechnic University, the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Texas Christian University, and the M.Div. from Southwestern Theological Seminary.

She is the author of Changing Church: Stories of Liberating Ministers (Cascade Books, 2011); Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice (Eakin Press, 2011); Seeking Wisdom: Inclusive Blessings and Prayers for Public Occasions (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2010); Inclusive Hymns for Liberating Christians (Eakin Press, 2006); Breaking Free: The Story of a Feminist Baptist Minister (Eakin Press, 2002); In Search of the Christ-Sophia: An Inclusive Christology for Liberating Christians (Twenty-Third Publications, 1995; Eakin Press, 2004); Imagine God! A Children's Musical Exploring and Expressing Images of God (Choristers Guild, 2004); In Whose Image? God and Gender (Crossroad, 1990, 2001); Praying with Christ-Sophia: Services for Healing and Renewal (Twenty-Third Publications, 1996; Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007); Counseling People with Cancer (Westminster John Knox, 1998); God, A Word for Girls and Boys (Glad River, 1993; Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007). She has also published articles in The Journal of Pastoral Care, The Christian Ministry, and elsewhere.

Her lectures include The School of Theology for the Laity, Perkins School of Theology Women's Week, Texas Christian University Women's Week, United Methodist Fall University, Baptist Women in Ministry Annual Conference, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Annual Conference, Alliance of Baptists Annual Conference, American Association of Pastoral Counselors Conference, The Hymn Society Annual Conference, and Faith and Feminism/Womanist/Mujerista Annual Conference. Her diverse career includes serving as consultant in the internship programs at Perkins School of Theology and Brite Divinity School; Associate Pastor, St. John's United Methodist Church, Waco, Texas; Executive Director, Waco Conference of Christians and Jews; Pastoral Counselor, Samaritan Counseling Center of Central Texas; Chaplain, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Chaplain, Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, Waco, Texas; English professor, Dallas Baptist University.

Reviews

[Angélique (Angel)]

Thought-provoking but redundant and reductive. This book may have proven more beneficial for me had I been exposed to it in the early stages of my wrestling with the idea of God's gender. At this stage of my life, however, I felt it offered a narrow viewpoint that sought to replace one form of Christian-based gender essentialism with another. For those who grew up in Christian settings where women were routinely denied power and agency to fully live out the image of God in themselves, this collection may be healing. That being said, I'd caution anyone who finds healing in this book to consider the fact there are those who are marginalized by society that are still denied power and agency to fully live out the image of God in themselves when one exclusively uses stereotypically feminine imagery for God, as many interviewed for this collection do.