In the introduction to this volume, Rabbi Malka Drucker writes: "I imagine this book as a dinner party where women have eagerly gathered for a conversation about being a woman, a person of faith, and a leader. While some know each other, many do not, but it doesn't matter. Listening to them in ensemble reveals that all their differences are less important than how much they share as women of faith. Since community and interconnection tend to be feminine traits, sisterhood is important, . . . I hope that upon finishing the book, the reader may feel that she or he has found a teacher that offers a new way to see women and the Divine."
The author presents interviews with thirty-one women, illustrated with photo portraits by Gay Block. These leaders are laboring away in the new spiritual landscape of America. All of them have done invaluable work and made significant contributions to humanity with their persistence, creativity, and feminine perspective.
In the first section, Drucker profiles trailblazers and veterans who have "given birth to a new day in the spiritual lives of women." Among this contingent are Leontine Kelly, a Methodist minister who became the second woman and first African-American to be elected a bishop in any denomination; Laura Geller, a Reform rabbi and one of the first women to be ordained; Nahid Angha, cofounder of the International Association of Sufism and the founder of Sufi Women Organization; and Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, a Christian Methodist Episcopal elder and executive director of the Center for Women and Religion at the University of California at Berkeley.
In the second section, we meet those who are "charting the change women are making in spiritual expression." They include Luisah Teish, a Yoruba priestess; Lauren Artress, canon for Special Ministries at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral; Dr. Sylvia Boorstein, who blends Buddhist and Jewish practices in her writing and workshops; Elaine Pagels, professor of religion at Princeton University; Beatrice Bruteau, who offers Christians practices from other traditions to enrich their faith; and Starhawk, who opened a new chapter in women's spirituality by resurrecting Goddess worship.
The two most impressive women profiled in "Law" (those who have chosen to uphold the historic practices and beliefs of a traditional faith path) are Joan Halifax Roshi, head of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, and Sister Jose Hobday, a Native American Franciscan nun. The women in "Wilderness" have overcome obstacles and continue to do their work. They include Debbie Friedman, a Jewish singer and composer, and Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, founder and head of the interfaith Kashi Ashram in Jupiter, Florida. The women covered in "Harvest" have reaped some of the rewards of the feminist and spiritual movements and include Iyanla Vanzant, Jean Houston, Della Reese, and Marianne Williamson — all celebrities in their own right thanks to the far-reaching nature of their work.
White Fire will give you a deeper appreciation for the diversity in backgrounds, perspectives, and accomplishments of these American leaders. It is a wonderful account of the great strides made by spiritual women in the past 25 years.
