Shawna Atteberry

Baker, Writer, Teacher

Happy Halloween!

Here are the pics from the annual Halloween party!

I went as ghost with a nametag that said "The Evil Clown Did It"

The Evil Clown making balloon animals

Chip

Costume contest

Victoria and I

This unintentional blog hiatus

Has been brought to you by Shawna feeling lousy. Shawna is sorry for not blogging this week, but believe me when I tell you it was not her idea (it turns out brain chemistry is a really funny thing when you go off the birth control pill then one of your antidepressants is the wrong dose). She is on the mend now and plans to be blogging next week (and putting in a call to her shrink to get back on the right dosage of the anti-depressant).

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Love,
Shawna’s Blog

Two women leaders in the early church: Dorcas and Lydia

Today is the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. In Acts, he tell of two women religious leaders that you probably never learned about in Sunday School: Dorcas and Lydia.

Dorcas

Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord (Acts 9:37-42).

You almost miss Dorcas’ story. After all most of Acts 9 is taken up with Saul’s conversion (later to become the apostle Paul) to Christianity after leading the persecution against the early church. So after Godde literally threw Saul off his ass (sorry I just cannot resist that one), he went blind, was healed and started preaching, the focus of the story quietly changes to Dorcas. By the time we meet her, she has died. This is a great lost to her community because she took such good care of them. And she took very good care of those who were considered the least of these: widows. Woman without a husband had no social standing at this time. They were normally destitute women who were forced to beg or to become prostitutes to support themselves and their children. If a woman did not have family at this time, she was in a very precarious place. Dorcas made sure these women had clothes.

When the story tells us Dorcas made the clothes, it meant a little bit more than she cut some material and sewed it. First she would have to spin the fiber into thread then weave it on her loom for the tunics and clothing she made. This was truly a labor of love on her part to make sure those in her community were at least dressed. She may have also weaved pieces for local merchants to sell in order to support herself (there is no mention of a husband). As long as a woman had a loom and access to wool or flax, she could make a living. Apparently not all the widows Dorcas knew had their own looms to make their own clothes or clothing to sell. Dorcas made sure they had the clothing they needed to survive.

Her illness and death was a big loss to the community, so they sent messengers to a nearby town because they heard Peter was there. Peter came, and the widows showed him the clothing Dorcas made for them. Peter responded to their grief. After sending everyone outside, he prayed and then said to her, “Tabitha get up.” She rose from the dead and was restored to her community. News spread. More people believed in Godde.

Lydia

We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us (Acts 16:11-15).

Paul and his traveling companions arrived in Philippi. But there was no synagogue for them to worship at, so they decided to go to the river on the Sabbath where there was a place of prayer. Lydia was at the river. She was “a worshiper of God,” and listened to Paul’s teachings. In fact, we are told “the Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.” In the next verse she and her household were baptized, and she urged Paul and his travelers to stay in her house. Lydia was the first convert to Christianity in Europe.

Lydia was a businesswoman, “a dealer of purple cloth” from Thyatira. Purple dye was a symbol of power and honor in the ancient world, and it was the most expensive and sought after dye in the Roman world. Thyatira was the capitol of the industry and renowned for its purple dyes. One had to have plenty of capital to deal in purple dye and the making of purple garments for sale. Lydia was a career woman, rich, the head of her household, and Acts 16:40 implies that by the end of Paul’s stay in Philippi, a new church was meeting in Lydia’s home. All of this could mean that Lydia was the overseer or pastor of the first church plant in Europe.

Small steps to break the guilt-avoidance-depression-apathy mode

Julia Chernikova/PhotoExpress

It’s been a few days since I posted. After I said that through the month of October I was going to post everyday Monday-Saturday. It’s been almost a week. Tuesday I started going into guilt and avoidance mode. Then that started alternating with the hurry-worry mode of “OK I need to do this, this and this NOW” which of course led to the overwhelmed mode, which circled back to guilt and avoidance mode. It’s a vicious cycle, and the cycle tends to make the clinical depression start waving it’s head and it’s cycles of apathy, vegging out in front of the TV, and lethargy. I realized what was going on yesterday and said enough.

Part of the problem is I am not taking care of myself. I’m not exercising nor am I eating right (or all that healthy). So today I decided to make time for exercise (instead of seeing if I had time), and being more mindful about what I eat. I walked today, and I’ve been making sure to get my fruit and veggies in. I’m making sure I say my daily prayers, and I need to start meditating again. Not to mention getting enough sleep. I’m looking at the minimum self-care routines I need to stay healthy, happy, and functional. Earlier this week I had my first meeting with a spiritual director I really like. That was a step in the right direction too, and one I’ve been putting off for far too long.

That also means getting back to blogging. Yes I fell off the horse. But it’s time to admit that I did, and get back up. It’s time to say I’m sorry for not doing what I would say I would do. And it’s time to start doing it. I took little steps today. But they were important. It broke the hold apathy had started to have, and it also bit into the depression that was beginning to cloud my mind. Tomorrow I will take more little steps: I will go to yoga class, be mindful about eating again, and write another blog post. I will also start planning out my next vlog. I will get back on track.

Stay tuned for more things about the women in the Bible you didn’t know. And yes, I am still releasing my first product at the end of this month.

What do you do when you notice yourself falling into unhealthy cycles? What little steps do you take that make a big difference?

The Woman Who Began the Canonization of Scripture: Huldah

Photo by Arnie/PhotoXpress

Did you know that the first person to declare written words as Scripture was a woman?

Her name was Huldah, and she was a prophet in Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah. Her story is found in 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34. During Josiah’s reign he tried to bring the people of Judah back to the worship of Yahweh, the one true Godde. He had idols thrown out of the temple then he authorized repairs to the temple. During the renovations a scroll was found and brought to the high priest and king. Neither one knew if it was Godde’s word. Josiah ordered the high priest to take the scroll to a prophet. Although there were noteworthy male prophets in Jerusalem at the time–Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Nahum–Josiah sent the high priest to inquire of a female prophet, Huldah. Huldah verified the scroll was the word of Godde, and that it’s prophecies would happen. The scroll said that if Israel did not worship only Yahweh as Godde, they would lose their land and be sent into exile. Death and destruction would be the result of their disobedience. Huldah verified the Jewish people had passed the point of no return: both Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed. But Josiah would be spared war and exile since his heart was grieved over the sin of his people. Huldah’s prophecy did happen within 35 years of this event. After Josiah heard her words, he stepped up his reforms and led the people in celebrating the first Passover that included all of the people since before the time of the judges (2 Kings 23:22).

Huldah was the first person to declare written words to be the word of Godde–Scripture. She was the first whose “words of judgment are centered on a written document as no others have been before her” (Claudia V. Camp, “1 and 2 Kings” in Women’s Bible Commentary, 115). She was the first to authenticate Scripture. Manuscripts had accumulated for years, if not centuries, but for the first time a prophet proclaimed the written word to be Godde’s word, and this prophet was a woman–the last female prophet before Judah falls to the Babylonians. Huldah started the process that would eventually give us canonized Scripture.

Efforts to marginalize Huldah’s leadership role claim her authority came from her husband. Huldah was married to Shallum who was the “keeper of the wardrobe” (2 Kings 22:14)–a royal position. But when the high priest and his entourage came to her home, they did not ask for her husband. According to Scripture these men were not embarrassed asking a woman about Godde’s will for their country. The high priest did not have an issue with a woman prophet. In fact, her gender was irrelevant in the text as was her marital status. Huldah was a religious leader in Jerusalem at that time, and the high priest had no problem going to her to confirm Godde’s word.

Poetry Party 47: Companion

It’s Poetry Party over at Abbey of the Arts. This week’s theme “Ode to Animal Wisdom” is in honor of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which was on Monday. Many churches (including mine) have pet blessings on the Sunday closest to Francis’ feast. This week’s picture is of the paws of Christine’s doggie, Abbess Petunia.

“Companion”

I hear the soft pad of paws
on the hard wood floor
And know I’m not alone.

©2010 Shawna R. B. Atteberry

Here is a picture of me and my companion, Victoria, doing our favorite Sunday afternoon activity:

Career Women of the Bible Sneak Peak: The Woman Who Wasn't Deceived

“Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (2 Timothy 2:14). For two millenia this verse has been used as an excuse to keep women out of leadership positions in the church and under the rule of men.  Even today fundamental groups use this verse to proof text their belief that women are more easily deceived than man and therefore, can’t be trusted to be leaders or even make decisions in their own homes about their own families. But three books after this verse in 1 Timothy, we meet a woman who was entrusted to make sure that the church she was the pastor of was not deceived by those touting false doctrine. Here is another sneak peak from Career Women of the Bible about a woman you never learned about in Sunday School or sermons: The Elect Lady of 2 John.

Church Overseers: The Elect Lady

She fell more than sat on the cushions after sending yet another charlatan out of her house. This one yelling that she was betraying the Messiah and would burn in hell forever for not accepting the stranger and his perverted version of the Gospel. She had the impression he was more disappointed in losing the luxuries her house could provide than losing the opportunity to teach. When she first opened her house for the church, there were not that many false preachers or people in it just to see what they could mooch off of her. Most of the itinerant preachers and evangelists were good honest people who really did want to tell the simple truth of Jesus Christ the Messiah. How he loved us all and loved to the point of death. How God in love raised Jesus back from the dead, and how Jesus’ followers were now to share that same love with everyone they met. She also missed the missionary couples who used to be more frequent visitors at her door. More and more the itinerant preachers were men who were single. And more and more of them were preaching against marriage because of the imminent return of Jesus. A servant came into the room with a young man who looked like he had just gotten off the road. She sighed. Another one. She rose to her feet, and said, “What can I do for you?” The man handed her a letter. “This is from the Elder,” the man said, “he told me to get it here as quickly as I could.” Her face lit up in a smile. Another believer, and better than that one from the Elder. She told her servant to get refreshments for the young man then bade the man to sit and tell her all about her old friend.

In John’s second epistle we meet another woman who is a church overseer, the elect lady: “The elder to the elect lady* and her children, whom I love in the truth,” (2 John 1). John wrote the elect lady to continue doing what she learned so long ago: “I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning–you must walk in it” (2 John 5-6). But he also warned her of deceivers that were trying to convince people Jesus never had a physical body, and not to let them into her house to deceive the church that met there. She was the one who safeguarded the flock of Jesus in her city, and the Elder trusted her to discern the deceivers from true followers of Christ and not let them confuse or lead astray any who meet in her house.

The phrase “elect lady” is an interesting one. “Lady” is used to translate the Greek word kuria, and this is the only time it appears in the New Testament (vv. 1, 5). Its male counterpart is kurios, which is translated as “lord” or “master.” The male form refers to the head of the household, a guardian, or trustee (See Galatians 4:1 where Paul used the word to describe someone who owned an estate and was a guardian or overseer). People who owned and oversaw slaves were also called kurios. Not only is this woman a lady with authority but she is eklektos: she has been called or chosen for her position of authority. In Beyond the Curse, Aida Besançon Spencer gives “elect lady” an alternate translation: “the woman chosen to be master” (p. 109). This woman is called “master” and “chosen,” and she is given instructions to safeguard the church against false teachings.

For centuries the church has told women that we are much easier to deceive than men because of one verse in Bible: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (2 Timothy 2:14). It doesn’t matter that the writer of this epistle was giving instructions to a problematic congregation that was having trouble figuring out what being a Christian met, let alone living like one. It doesn’t matter that this verse is only one verse in the entire Bible, and that the Bible has quite a bit to say about wise women who made better decisions than the men in their lives did. Oh no this verse is in the Bible and therefore has to be taken literally for all time, amen.

But two books after 1 Timothy in 2 John we find a letter addressed to a woman encouraging her not to let false doctrine infiltrate the church meeting in her home. From the beginning of the church women guarded the church from those who would deceive the church, like the Elect Lady and Priscilla. Women today are called to do the same thing in their churches.

* There is a debate about who the elect lady is. Is she the overseer of the church or is “elect lady” a metaphor for the church? It would be redundant to address the church twice as “elect lady and her children.” In both 1 and 2 John, “the elder” uses “children” to designate the church he is writing to (1 Jn. 2:1). “Elect lady” is singular and “children” are plural also pointing to different set(s) of people. In 3 John the almost identical greeting is given as 2 John: “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth” (v. 1). Given the uniformity of John’s writing the elect lady then would be the overseer of a church that met in her house.

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Career Women of the Bible: Church Overseers, Ministers and Patrons