Church Woman Leader Speaks on Inclusiveness
A new chief executive has assumed leadership of the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women. Garlinda Burton, a woman and an African-American, speaks of her strong views on gender and racial equality, both of which are still currently lacking in the United Methodist denomination.
The commission first began to monitor high church bodies early last decade, in 1992. From a position of ridicule, the commission has developed into a respectable organ promoting "gender and racial inclusiveness," she said.
One example she provided of a lack of inclusiveness is the tendency for the "English-speaking delegates to speak up about the needs of non-English-speaking delegates." This has prompted the delegates to complain about the gender or racial bias still present in the church.
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Buton attributes her inspiration to the women figures in her life--her grandmother, mother, aunts and female cousins who served the church. "They did everything from helping pastors serve communion to offering food to a bereaved family after a funeral to rocking and fanning babies on hot summer nights when community organizers gathered us in to mobilize church folks as civil rights marchers."
She states that it's women who are the primary labor force, yet they have fewer rights and protections and make less than men.
The commission will work with their annual conference leaders, and help to address gender bias in the ordination process, ensure that conference leadership includes women and men, enforce a sexual ethics policy, and train pastors and laypersons to recognize and address sexual abuse issues. Their role as monitor to make sure women have equal access and voice will surely be appreciated by the many women who serve in the denomination in various ways.
"We have 'talked' inclusiveness for so long that many in the church think we have reached the goal of true equity just because we use the right words in a resolution to General Conference," she said.
Hold up a mirror she urges and see “This is who we routinely include in decision-making. This is who we routinely exclude."
She believes her mandate is to engage more laywomen and clergywomen at the grassroots level and create better communication to understand better what the commission should offer them. This is with the goal of challenging the church's male oriented power structure.
During the past twenty years, she has noticed that it is oftentimes white men, who are many times treasurers who dominate discussions about how the church spends its money. "White women and people of color need to question this recurring pattern because the person who controls the purse controls the missional direction of our church," she said.
Also, she added that, "If we are not at the table, our concerns and our input are virtually ignored."
The commission is set to begin its new reign on January 1st, and with much prayers, Garlinda Burton may fulfill her dreams of women's inclusiveness, and equality on all bases.
