Surprise Theologian!

Earlier in the week, as we were finishing dinner, a woman who had just arrived from the airport joined us for a bit. Her name was Elisabeth and she was introduced as a visiting professor of theology.  We chatted with her for a bit as she ate, and we learned that she is from Germany, but is currently a Theology professor in Massachusets. I was so tired at the time, that I had not even put together who she was until I later saw the banner with her name and photo (this is Katy). Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenze is one of the top feminist theologians in the world and is currently teaching at Harvard Divinity School! When I was in seminary, I actually read quite a bit of her work for various courses, and now I just happened to run into her while on a mission trip in Costa Rica! On Thursday night we managed to sit in for her second of 3 lectures, titled “Power, Diversity, and Religion.” At one point, she was speaking about women in the church, and described a couple examples of churches that maintain a sternly fixed stained-glass ceiling for women in leadership roles. One of the examples she spoke of is the Roman Catholic church and the ability for women to be nuns, but not to be priests or preside over the sacraments. As we sat there listening, we were only a couple rows behind a nun, and I couldn't help but wonder what must have been going through her mind! Just as Michelle and Luisa face so much criticism and turmoil for pursuing ordained ministry in the Anglican Church of El Salvadore, churches in Latin America are typically more oriented towards male leadership. I remain amazed by the steps the UBL is taking to make the students here think for themselves. The UBL is not afraid to bring in controversial speakers or approach controversial topics (there's currently a flier posted around campus for a conference on homosexuality and theology), knowing that many diverse views will surface. In speaking with one of the students about her thoughts on the lecture, she responded by saying that controversial topics are good for the students because they make them think for themselves and appreciate the diversity of this university. Who would have thought that a mission trip to Costa Rica would land us in the presence of such an incredible and prestigious theologian!