FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH REVIEW
Gabrielle Thomas, assistant professor of Early Christianity and Anglican Studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, writes about the work of women in receptive ecumenism within her native context of England, with the hope that this narrative may both illuminate and pave the way for women’s further work in the ecumenical project. Thomas’ insightful and practical book highlights facets of the continued ecumenical movement, situates receptive ecumenism within this endeavor, and argues convincingly for the need to prioritize women’s voices in this unfolding work. Receptive ecumenism, as she defines it, is akin to hosting a collective tea party at which — rather than hiding their flaws and putting forth their most appealing dishes as one would at high tea — various Christian traditions “are invited to lay out broken and chipped crockery for the other[s] to examine. With this brokenness in sight, one tradition asks another whether God has given to them any gifts that could help heal the brokenness.” (1) Thomas draws upon her own research of women’s experiences in England in order to reflect on themes of hospitality, vocation, leadership and power, and their place within women’s work in receptive ecumenism.
Part one of the book lays the groundwork for Thomas’ research by exploring the historical and theological underpinnings of receptive ecumenism, then disclosing some of the findings of her study, which introduce the themes to be explored in part two. Particularly of note in Thomas’ biblical and theological treatment of the topic of receptive ecumenism are her emphases that God, the Giver of all good gifts, has distributed many complementary gifts to various Christian traditions, which ought to be shared, and that the Holy Spirit’s role in speaking and guiding believers should inform the church’s posture towards one another. Jesus’ prayers for unity among believers to reflect his unity with God the Father are an important and common referent for ecumenical conversation; Thomas’ articulation of receptive ecumenism builds upon this. Moreover, Thomas’ work goes further than oft-repeated calls for unity in offering fresh insights as to the importance of an ecumenism in which Christian traditions actively seek to name their own weaknesses and receive what others have to offer.
Thomas underscores the importance of women’s roles in this movement of receptive ecumenism, precisely because women have often been neglected in ecumenical conversations due to their lack of agency in the church and have even been “depicted as a ‘stumbling block’ to Christian unity especially when questions arise concerning leadership and vocation…” (2) Thomas’ relation of responses to her research from women leaders engaged in this beginning work of receptive ecumenism were quite moving. Among these were a woman who disclosed past abuse within her church for the first time, another who was given the opportunity to preach by another woman in the group after never having been able to do so in her own tradition, and a woman of color who shared that she had never before felt respected or heard by white Christian leaders. Flowing from these research responses, Thomas then explores some of the gifts that various traditions can offer each other, the ways in which these traditions contain “wounds” which can be addressed through receptive ecumenism, and the themes that will color the remainder of the book. Some discoveries from the research were less surprising than others: for instance, women who’d been sidelined or abused in facets of their denominations found it harder to identify positive values that their traditions could offer. Among the more newsworthy revelations of her research were that women’s experiences of having their vocations discouraged was not limited to certain traditions, nor were traditions that ordain women exempt from passing over or discouraging women’s callings.
Part two of the book further fleshes out the themes of hospitality, leadership, vocation, and power as they have emerged from and intersect with women’s roles in receptive ecumenism. Thomas plays on the notion of “gift” in these chapters: gifts from God, gifts given to and through women, gifts which the church can benefit from, if only they will, through the Spirit, open themselves to doing so. The chapter on hospitality is especially thought-provoking, as Thomas explores various aspects of a Christian theology of hospitality and concludes with a plea for women themselves to be recognized as a gift from God and for their gifts to be welcomed by the church. Additionally, the chapter on vocation, which Thomas explores via conversation with Gregory of Nazianzus, examines the ways in which a vocation to ministry itself is another gift from God, rather than a right – it is a gift which is rooted in “the vocation of all the baptized.” (3)
All in all, Thomas’ book is a refreshing, pastorally sensitive, nuanced, deeply practical, factual, and hopeful work. As a woman myself, who has worked in various forms of both lay and ordained ministry within a few Christian traditions, and who has been involved in academic theology for some years, much of this book resonated with me. Women who have had their gifts overlooked within the church may find encouragement as well as guidance in these pages. It is also a book which has much to offer Christians of every gender, no matter their ministry involvement or theological knowledge, and which I hope many will read. Its challenge to examine both the wounds received within our own faith traditions, the flaws of our traditions, and the gifts which both our and other traditions can offer is a timeless one, which Christians would do well to keep in view. Though grounded in her deep knowledge of historical theology and in her research, Thomas’ book is also an accessible and fairly quick read. Perhaps due to its laser-focus on the aforementioned themes that emerged from Thomas’ research, I found myself wishing that certain theological claims quickly addressed in the first chapter could have been dwelt on at a bit more length (for example, Thomas’ brief reflections on the church as a whole within the first pages of chapter 1 — a more expansive ecclesiology would have been helpful in undergirding the rest of the work). However, I believe Thomas accomplishes, quite deftly, what she sets out to in this book — as the reader, I was left convinced of the need for a receptive ecumenism which, among other things, champions the gifts that the Spirit of God has bestowed to and through women. In a time in which attacks on women’s place in both the church and the home are being perpetuated under the guise of Trinitarian theology, this book offers a refreshing counterbalance by pointing out the ways in which the Spirit of God is at work through women and encouraging us to follow the Spirit’s lead.
Gabrielle Thomas, For the Good of the Church (London: SCM Press, 2021), 2–3.
Thomas, 40.
Thomas, 119.
