“I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy... 
Even on my servants, both men and women,  
I will pour out my Spirit in those days...”
Acts 2:17-18

We’re in the midst of Pentecost right now, and I can’t think of a better time to discuss the equality of women in God’s new Kingdom than the season in which we celebrate the boundary-breaking work of the Holy Spirit. 

I recently realized that while I often take to the blog to speak out against patriarchy in the Church, I’ve never taken the time to lay out a thoughtful case for egalitarianism. So today I am pleased to announce that next week, June 4-10, I’ll be devoting a series of blog posts to discussing an egalitarian view of gender—including relevant biblical texts and practical applications.  The goal is to show how scripture, tradition, reason, and experience all support a posture of equality toward women, one that favorsmutuality rather than hierarchy, in the home, Church, and society.  

The series will feature one or two essays each day, several guest posts (including one from Dan!), a special “Ask an egalitarian...” interview featuring Mimi Haddad of Christians for Biblical Equality, a list of resources, a sweet giveaway,  a roundtable discussion, and synchroblog. 

If you want to participate, here’s how you can add your voice to the chorus of those calling for more equality in the Church: 

• Join the synchroblog. Write a relevant post on your blog next week, and share it with us. You can write about anything related to gender equality from a Christian perspective: biblical support for women in church leadership, how mutual submission works in your relationship with your spouse, feminine images of God found in scripture, critiques of the modern-day patriarchy movement (complementarianism), personal reflections on your own “evolution” (or questions or struggles) with this issue, contemporary or historical women of valor, analyses of relevant scripture, discussions related to women’s inequality worldwide, tips for how to make the Church more welcoming of single women, the challenges of mothering in a Christian community, etc. Be creative, and be civil! I really want us to take a thoughtful, even-handed approach so that folks on the fence will see that egalitarianism is a reasonable, supported position. (And don’t hesitate to simply repost something you wrote in the past.) 

I’ll create a space on the blog where you can share a link to your post, and at the end of the week, I’ll post a special Sunday Superlatives listing some of my favorites. (Note: I realize that inequity in the Church extends to many groups besides women, and that’s important to talk about as well, but for efficiency and clarity, next week’s focus will be on women in the Church. We can get to those other issues at a later time.)

• Make suggestions. Use the comment section today, or find me on Facebook or Twitter, to make suggestions for topics to cover, questions to address, ways to get the word out, etc. Be sure to look for Mimi’s introduction later today so you can submit your question. (I already owe a big thank-you to Emily McGowin for coming up with the tagline for the week. Sure beats "Egalitarian Week.") 

• Spread the word. You can help by spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, and good old-fashioned word of mouth. Let’s use #mutuality2012 on Twitter.

I’m also hoping to organize a fundraiser, but might not be able to get that together until later in summer...due to my mad procrastination skills. 

Let me know if you have any ideas or questions, and stay tuned for Mimi Haddad, president of Christians for Biblical Equality. 

Bonus points if you can name the woman on the right in the picture above! :-)