Are women good for the Church?

Of making many books there is no end, but some merit publication more than others. One of these is Gabrielle Thomas’s For the Good of the Church: Unity, Theology and Women (London: SCM Press, 2021), which is now available. Thomas collates and analyses the relayed experiences of women from across the UK churches to ascertain where and how denominations can learn from one another (‘Receptive Ecumenism’), and to open space for women’s own voices to be heard by those in ecclesial authority. Some of the topics discussed are vocation, leadership, power, gender roles, racial issues, sexual abuse and harassment, singleness, motherhood, and hospitality.

It is difficult for me to overstate how important this book is: For the Good of the Church exposes as it reveals and quite frankly needs to be read.

Oh—and my answer to this blog post’s title-question is: Yes.