Last year saw the passing of a number of remarkable women, something that Gayle had alerted me to that would take place through the year. Of course it depends where one is positioned as to whether such a series of events were seen as notable: for us, both in terms of the wider circle of world events and the more personal aspect of those that we have journeyed with, it was very impacting. For some while I have been focused on a two-fold aspect of how those who carry a prophetic mantle can end up in the cross hairs and have to be alert so that they are not ‘needless casualties of war’. A double aspect is if those who carry that mantle are female, and perhaps a third aspect might be if they are also of a generation (or two) after those who have held the space but have now passed on, either through their death or have stepped aside to make space.
I woke this morning with a few things buzzing in my head. Nicola Sturgeon stepping aside after so many years might simply be that she has done her stint and time to leave space for others. But I was deeply troubled when I remember reading that Jacinda Ardern at age 42 was stepping down as PM of New Zealand and stated that she ‘no longer had enough in the tank’ to continue. Weariness.
Then for some reason I went to Moldova in my head and looked up who is president there: Maia Sandu. A couple of hours later I was on Zoom, Jenny Dahmann and myself had a prophetic session booked with someone. All we knew was her name; after we finished we followed the usual pattern of ‘so now tell us a bit about yourself’. Second sentence in: ‘I was a missionary in Moldova… and continue to work into Moldova’.
I have political leanings (of course) but I am not mentioning the above because of any political leanings. They are / were women of a new generation who have stepped up, and as far as I can tell sought to lead with a feminine touch.
Someone like Maia Sandu is in one of the most vulnerable places to be visible in the political arena, bordering the Ukraine and Romania; there are vulnerabilities, but I come back to the words that Jacinda Ardern had said. That is probably the sharp end of the work of the enemy against the feminine rising at this time: to wear them down so that there is nothing left in the tank.
There is a time to give way, to submit and simply walk away. There is a time to stand, to stand in the proverbial ‘field of lentils’ until sunset and to hold it, with a ‘God gave me this place and I am not moving’.
In the recent days because of circumstances I have had a bit of a battle against some powers and come to realise in the situation that the enemy seeks first to have eyes to see where to land and be positioned. I have spent some time on the issue of sight, but two days ago I realised that once there had been a landing that the next element desired by any demonic powers is to have a ‘mouth’ with which to speak. (That being a critical advancing stage in the book of Revelation when the ‘beast was given a voice’.) Speaking in such a way to weaken all resolve; speaking perhaps what might be termed ‘containing elements that are true’ but speaking them as if they are the truth. (Falsehoods – a NT measure – can contain elements that are true… as can wisdom, but if we press in will discover that the wisdom is from the earth and is false.)
In this post, I am simply flaggig up that we are in a year when (younger) women leading politicians will be attacked… and that women of a rising generation in all spheres need to know that there are those that have their backs.
Drawn to ‘women of a rising generation, in all spheres need to know there are those who have their backs’ Yes to being alert to the who, and how in this season! Gratefully flowing here!!
To quote an article title in the Guardian today. . . ‘we are in a time of extraordinary misogyny’. Many of the female leaders stepping down or stepping aside have been harassed to the nth degree on social media. Or stalked and threatened with assault and death to them and their families. I suspect as climate change creates more chaos and social/political/economic breakdown we will continue to see male violence rise. Tribalism, patriarchy, violence, exclusion and any other fear-based, anger response action will not fix the problem or enable us as a species to restore and regenerate this planet.
I know many lovely men. Caring and considerate. However, men as a whole need to sort out how they hope to get through the great transformation that is upon us. Who will they be? How will they move us forward into grounded and vital communities that thrive rather than just survive.
Violence, in speech or deed, is a form of nostalgia based on fear of the future. It accomplishes nothing and yet so many are addicted to it. That is why so many female leaders step down. It becomes too much effort to continually battle the small and large cuts that come daily while doing anything in leadership.
I teach young women. I marvel at them. So many are clear and direct when it comes to their relationships in a way I was taught to avoid for fear of abuse and violence. At the same time, I shake my head. They are not free of it all at all. Again, we are in a time of rising and extraordinary misogyny. The Taliban ban contraceptives and enforce home imprisonment for all women. Many in the USA on the right would like to ban contraceptives too thereby depriving women of any economic freedom. Anti abortion laws leave women carrying fetuses with known fatal conditions. Only to birth them and watch them die. I cannot figure how that has anything to do with life. It goes on. The list of offenses that women face daily just goes on. I wish better for the young women I teach. I wish them life and freedom and the ability to make choices about their own lives. I wish them peace and freedom from abuse, verbal and physical.
May they continue to rise up as leaders. So many are. I hope they are protected and cared for as they challenge these not so ancient but very real legacies.
This is great Martin. In the rising of femininity and the feminine image of God,
to bring great healing to the earth, I reckon we are only at the beginning.
So much of the tussle for roles and places of leadership for women in the last 100 years, have been the very beginnings of this, and quite often still coming out of the fallen masculine, and therefore at best, incomplete. What we need is a sense of the true feminine to arise, nurturing, comfort, gentleness and care, to the extent that it overturns the masculine focus on roles and leadership. A feminine approach will allow for a more grassroots bottom up focus anyway. We need an embracing of the feminine aspects of God and love and for men to embrace the feminine aspects of themselves, which will counteract fallen masculinity and transform the masculine also into what it is truly meant to be as there is a more healthy marriage between the two. I wonder if the debate worldwide is still too based around roles, as we live in an over and falsely masculinised world that sees life as about roles and position. But this is changing, and I wonder if the question really needs to be – what is the true feminine, where has it been pushed out, why has it been pushed out, and how do we on all levels macro, and micro make space for it again?
You may have heard of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance? I have not dug deep into their resources as I have just found the website recently https://weall.org/
The high female presence is notable as is the fact that countries aligned to the movement include New Zealand and Scotland. Living in England you would think Nicola Sturgeon only talks about Scottish independence, but there she is calling for a wellbeing economy beyond GDP. Feminist theologians in particular it seems to me have naturally moved into environmental theology recognising the oppression of the planet with their own and instinctively defend that which needs to be defended. I’d recommend Sally McFague ‘Blessed are the Consumers’ in which she takles the two major topics of economics and climate. She offers a kenotic theology leaning on the lives of three church ‘saints’. At some point marginal voices cease being niche and become mainstream though some don’t live to see it, but I would like to think the space is opening up….
Thanks for the link. One of the people deeply involved in Scotland with the economy is a radical forward thinker in the realm of economics (a clue… some articles on the kenarchy.org site!).
article in last journal yes… so glad there are people who can actually articualate this