Jann Aldredge-Clanton

Jann Aldredge-Clanton didn't start out as a reformer. When she was a pre-teen, she almost starved herself to death trying to fit into the culture's feminine mold. In high school she felt inadequate because she never won a beauty crown, even though she graduated at the top of her class. Slowly, she began waking up to her own voice, and became one of the first women ever to be ordained as a Baptist minister in the South. It has not been an easy road. She almost lost her job as a professor at a Baptist university because she refused to sign a fundamentalist statement of beliefs. She was labeled a "heretic" for calling God "She" and "Mother." Others said she couldn't be an ordained minister because it would be "unbiblical." The controversy over women's roles in religion was just another example of the glass ceiling women too often face in American society. Called "Waco's Give 'Em Hell Minister" for her outspoken opinions and action on social issues, Jann divulges in Breaking Free how she discovered her mission of freeing people, including herself, from sexism and other injustices. Breaking Free is a remarkable memoir that shows the liberating power of faith combined with feminism. It will inspire readers of all ages to find the freedom to become all God created them to be.

Music has great power to spread the good news of peace, justice, liberation, and abundant life for all people. This new song collection proclaims this good news with lyrics inclusive in gender and race and with themes of social justice and peacemaking. The title of this collection, Inclusive Songs from the Heart of Gospel, comes from our choice of gospel music tunes for most of our texts. This title is likewise appropriate for our songs set to other familiar hymn tunes because we draw from the meaning of the Greek New Testament word for "gospel," euangelion, also translated as "good news." We reclaim these gospel tunes and other tunes we love with inclusive lyrics to sound the good news that transforms our world. The songs in this collection bring good news for all races and all genders, celebrating the sacredness of all people and all creation. They name Deity as female, male, nonbinary, and more to support the foundational biblical truth that all people are created equally in the divine image. This collection includes all new songs for use in worship services, small groups, retreats, music camps, activist gatherings, and individual meditation. Many of the songs are appropriate for multifaith and multigenerational settings.

Words we sing in worship have great power to shape our beliefs and actions. This is the second collection of hymns by Jann Aldredge-Clanton with composer Larry E. Schultz. These hymns, like those in the first collection, will contribute to an expansive theology and an ethic of equality and justice in human relationships. Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice will empower people to take prophetic action on gender, race, interfaith cooperation, sexual orientation, ecology, and other social justice issues. These hymns include female and male divine images to support the foundational biblical truth that all people are created equally in the divine image (Genesis 1:27). Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice will instill belief in the sacredness of all people and all creation. The predominant themes of social justice, peace, liberation, care of creation, partnership in relationships, and unity in diversity come from the prophetic tradition in Scripture. This collection also includes hymns of lament and hymns that celebrate special occasions. Many of the hymns are appropriate for interfaith settings. Most of the hymns are set to widely known tunes, many with fresh arrangements.

Inclusive Hymns for Liberating Christians will expand the spiritual experience of any group, large or small. These hymns inspire justice and peacemaking. They empower women, men, and children of all races to become all they are created to be in the divine image. These hymns will lift the heart, invigorate the mind, and enliven the spirit. The wide variety of biblical divine names and images in this hymnbook will contribute to belief in the sacredness of all people and all creation. Peace and justice flow from this belief. These hymns draw from the prophetic, liberating tradition in Scripture. Predominant themes of the hymns are peace, justice, resurrection, abundant life, liberation, new creation, and partnership in relationships. This collection includes hymns that celebrate the seasons of the church year and other special occasions.

Inclusive Hymns for Liberating Christians will expand the spiritual experience of any group, large or small. These hymns inspire justice and peacemaking. They empower women, men, and children of all races to become all they are created to be in the divine image. These hymns will lift the heart, invigorate the mind, and enliven the spirit. The wide variety of biblical divine names and images in this hymnbook will contribute to belief in the sacredness of all people and all creation. Peace and justice flow from this belief. These hymns draw from the prophetic, liberating tradition in Scripture. Predominant themes of the hymns are peace, justice, resurrection, abundant life, liberation, new creation, and partnership in relationships. This collection includes hymns that celebrate the seasons of the church year and other special occasions.

A womanist church has great power to transform church and society, primarily because womanist theology centers the experiences of Black women while working for the survival and wholeness of all people and all creation. Experiences of the triple oppression of racism, sexism, and classism give Black women an epistemological insight into recognizing injustice and creating solutions that benefit all. The Gathering is unique, the only church founded and identified as ""womanist,"" applying womanist theology to the full life and worship of a church. The Gathering, a womanist faith community in Dallas, Texas, welcomes all people to partner in pursuing racial equity, LGBTQ equality, and dismantling PMS (patriarchy, misogyny, and sexism), following Jesus in liberating the oppressed and lifting up the marginalized. The Gathering, A Womanist Church tells the story of the birth and ongoing development of a womanist faith community. This book includes personal narratives of people transformed in this community, womanist co-pastors' sermons informed by their experiences and those of other Black women, and litanies for womanist worship.

Letha Dawson Scanzoni changed the landscape of American evangelicalism through her groundbreaking work on the gospel-based intersection of gender and LGBTQ justice. She coauthored two of the first books that support women's equality and LGBTQ rights with the Bible: All We're Meant to Be and Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? In all her work Scanzoni applies the liberating message of Jesus to women and to people who have been marginalized by church and society because of sexual orientation. Building Bridges combines an exploration of the life and work of Letha Dawson Scanzoni with stories of people she continues to empower through her writing and the Evangelical & Ecumenical Women's Caucus - Christian Feminism Today, an organization she cofounded. This book illustrates her growing influence as she continues her prophetic collaboration with new generations. In addition, it provides resources for churches as they build bridges for their ministries of liberation, justice, and peace. ""This book lifts up one of the most important feminists in the last fifty years. Through it we can trace how Letha Dawson Scanzoni challenged evangelicals' established and theologically legitimated roles for women and perspectives on LGBTQ persons, and then helped foster significant social change. It's not only the biography of a long neglected history changer, but a description of how one biblically literate scholar helped the church to think in new ways."" --Tony Campolo, author of Red Letter Christians: ACitizens Guide to Faith and Politics ""Building Bridges displays biography at its best, fully encompassing one life, yet written larger than life. The authors deftly set the narrative of Letha Dawson Scanzoni and her pioneering writings on sex and gender to showcase her pivotal challenge to the reigning contours of American evangelicalism. Scanzoni stands tall and courageous in this book, a prophet calling the American church to the biblical stance of justice for all."" --Priscilla Pope-Levison, Associate Dean and Professor at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University ""Many think of Letha Dawson Scanzoni above all as a feminist, and that is no doubt legitimate. But I think of her first and foremost as a courageous biblical interpreter, because when I was a young evangelical, I watched her take the same biblical texts that the (white male) evangelical gatekeepers used to oppress others and instead use them to liberate. I admired her courage to differ from the gatekeepers, having no idea that I would eventually walk that same path. This book tells Letha's story and celebrates her impact. I highly recommend it."" --Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration ""Jann and Kendra have produced a fitting homage to Letha and an excellent review and analysis of the Christian feminist movement. As a church historian, I value their insight into and accurateinterpretation of the pilgrimage of Christian women toward equality. I encourage anyone interested in the story of the intertwining of Letha Dawson Scanzoni's life with the development of twentieth-century Christian feminism to read this book. It is a fine addition to Christian feminist scholarship."" --Rosalie Beck, Associate Professor at Baylor University ""If time travel were possible, I'd set the dial back two thousand years and place this book in the hands of the early church. Then I would roll the dial forward, stopping every decade to make sure its lessons were remembered. Alas, now I can only hope its prophetic witness is not too late."" --Philip Gulley, Author of If the Church Were Christian ""Kendra Weddle and Jann Aldredge-Clanton's book Building Bridges provides an informative and inspirational story of the life and work of Letha Dawson Scanzoni. Letha's life paves a pathway for a new generation of feminist theologians. This thoughtful biography will stimulate future generations of feminist thinkers in their work and witness."" --Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Author of Embracin

Letha Dawson Scanzoni changed the landscape of American evangelicalism through her groundbreaking work on the gospel-based intersection of gender and LGBTQ justice. She coauthored two of the first books that support women's equality and LGBTQ rights with the Bible: All We're Meant to Be and Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? In all her work Scanzoni applies the liberating message of Jesus to women and to people who have been marginalized by church and society because of sexual orientation. Building Bridges combines an exploration of the life and work of Letha Dawson Scanzoni with stories of people she continues to empower through her writing and the Evangelical & Ecumenical Women's Caucus - Christian Feminism Today, an organization she cofounded. This book illustrates her growing influence as she continues her prophetic collaboration with new generations. In addition, it provides resources for churches as they build bridges for their ministries of liberation, justice, and peace. ""This book lifts up one of the most important feminists in the last fifty years. Through it we can trace how Letha Dawson Scanzoni challenged evangelicals' established and theologically legitimated roles for women and perspectives on LGBTQ persons, and then helped foster significant social change. It's not only the biography of a long neglected history changer, but a description of how one biblically literate scholar helped the church to think in new ways."" --Tony Campolo, author of Red Letter Christians: ACitizens Guide to Faith and Politics ""Building Bridges displays biography at its best, fully encompassing one life, yet written larger than life. The authors deftly set the narrative of Letha Dawson Scanzoni and her pioneering writings on sex and gender to showcase her pivotal challenge to the reigning contours of American evangelicalism. Scanzoni stands tall and courageous in this book, a prophet calling the American church to the biblical stance of justice for all."" --Priscilla Pope-Levison, Associate Dean and Professor at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University ""Many think of Letha Dawson Scanzoni above all as a feminist, and that is no doubt legitimate. But I think of her first and foremost as a courageous biblical interpreter, because when I was a young evangelical, I watched her take the same biblical texts that the (white male) evangelical gatekeepers used to oppress others and instead use them to liberate. I admired her courage to differ from the gatekeepers, having no idea that I would eventually walk that same path. This book tells Letha's story and celebrates her impact. I highly recommend it."" --Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration ""Jann and Kendra have produced a fitting homage to Letha and an excellent review and analysis of the Christian feminist movement. As a church historian, I value their insight into and accurateinterpretation of the pilgrimage of Christian women toward equality. I encourage anyone interested in the story of the intertwining of Letha Dawson Scanzoni's life with the development of twentieth-century Christian feminism to read this book. It is a fine addition to Christian feminist scholarship."" --Rosalie Beck, Associate Professor at Baylor University ""If time travel were possible, I'd set the dial back two thousand years and place this book in the hands of the early church. Then I would roll the dial forward, stopping every decade to make sure its lessons were remembered. Alas, now I can only hope its prophetic witness is not too late."" --Philip Gulley, Author of If the Church Were Christian ""Kendra Weddle and Jann Aldredge-Clanton's book Building Bridges provides an informative and inspirational story of the life and work of Letha Dawson Scanzoni. Letha's life paves a pathway for a new generation of feminist theologians. This thoughtful biography will stimulate future generations of feminist thinkers in their work and witness."" --Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Author of Embracin

Meet the ministers and laypeople driving foundational Christian theological change and restoring awareness of the sacred value of women and girls. "The Bible teaches that we are made in the image and likeness of God; therefore, I must believe that there is a male and female expression of God…. Claim your divinity and walk in it every day, because you are fearfully and wonderfully made." —Rev. Dr. Susan Newman, "Claiming Our Divinity" In a world filled with injustice and violence, we long for a new sacred symbolism to inspire transformation. Our yearning includes a widespread hunger for visions of the Female Divine in church life and worship to restore gender balance and finally achieve just, equal and inclusive faith communities. This collection of engrossing narratives of women and men trying to change the institutional church—and society—illuminates how reclaiming multicultural female images of God extends beyond the sanctuary and into the community. Whether you're searching for your own place in the church or you want to explore this growing movement, these fascinating pioneers invite you to join the adventure of creating rituals that include Her, affirming the sacred value of all people and all creation.

This collection offers a theologically rich and musically flexible resource for those who lead young children in music experiences in the church or at home. The songs include feminine and masculine references to God to teach the foundational biblical truth that male and female of all races are created equally in the divine image (Genesis 1:27). The music, teaching ideas, and activities can enhance the work of preschool church music groups and children's choirs, and can be used in Church School classes, Vacation Bible Schools, daycare programs, music camps, and worship experiences for young children. This songbook comes with the hope that children will learn an inclusive theology of God and an ethic of equality and fairness in human relationships.

This is just what we need in our congregations and classrooms -- a truly inclusive collection of resources for children. . . . This creative collection offers some hope that the next generation will grow up convinced that God is a God for girls as well as boys and will act accordingly. -- Miriam Therese Winter, Professor of Liturgy, Worship, Spirituality, and Feminist Studies, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT A] terrific collection of inclusive language resources and] a powerful tool that needs to be in every minister's toolbox Jann Aldredge-Clanton has made an excellent contribution to Christian worship and education. -- Cheryl Collins Patterson, Director of Early Childhood Ministries, Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC What an exciting collection I can't wait to order copies for all of our children's workers. We have waited far too long for the kind of balanced recognition of the feminine face of God reflected in this book. -- Paul Smith, Senior Pastor, Broadway Baptist Church, Kansas City, MO These stories empower girls and boys to say, 'Yes I'm created in the image of the living God ' . . . Parents, pastors, teachers, and anyone who loves God and children need this imaginative and faithful resource. -- Rev. Trish Holland, Associate Pastor, Central Presbyterian Church, Waco, TX Jann Aldredge-Clanton, PhD, is a Chaplain Coordinator at the Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. Her previous works include 'In Whose Image? God and Gender'. She is married and the mother of two children.

At times we may be called to be companions on a journey we would rather not take - the journey of a loved one toward the end of life. For those who choose to serve as close companions of terminally ill relatives or friends, Parting offers the collective wisdom of people from many cultures and faith traditions as a ""travel guide"" for meaningful companionship in helping someone toward a peaceful transition from this life. Sections of the book discuss how to cross the bridge from ordinary conversation to spiritual reflection; how to provide comforts for the body, mind, and soul; and how to care for yourself while concentrating on the needs of another. Transcending any specific religion or culture, this handbook addresses universal spiritual needs. Designed for easy reading by weary travelers, this practical, pocket-sized guide prepares the spiritual companion for an enriching experience, even on the Journey toward life's end. It is an indispensable tool for family members and friends, hospice workers, religious leaders, counselors, and medical providers.