There’s a Woman in the Pulpit

RevGalBlogPals is proud to announce the publication of There’s a Woman in the Pulpit: Christian Clergywomen Share Their Hard Days, Holy Moments & the Healing Power of Humor (SkyLight Paths Publishing).

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Click here to download a discussion guide for your book group or adult class.

Find links to our #WomaninthePulpit blog tour here.

Be informed and inspired, delighted and supported, encouraged and entertained by stories and prayers from the unique perspectives of clergywomen. 

“In ministry, we constantly balance the sacred and the ordinary, juggling the two as expertly as we manage a chalice and a [baby] bottle. Even as we do things as simple as light the candles, set the table, break the bread and pour the wine, we invite people into a holy moment…. The women [in this book] not only have a wellspring of deep wisdom, but they also have the ability to dish out their knowledge with side-aching humor…. I am thrilled that their great wisdom and intelligence will be bound into the pages that I can turn to, lend and appreciate for years to come.”

—from the Foreword by Rev. Carol Howard Merritt

Learn—and laugh—with these women of the church, all members of the RevGalBlogPals web ring, bound together by a deep commitment to ministry, as they reveal what it really means to be a woman in the pulpit. Over fifty clergywomen representing fourteen denominations share the details of their intimidating balancing act—juggling the isolating expectations of perfection from their congregations and the shared human realities of everyday life.

“Although many seminaries offer a course in boundary training, this training tends to focus on issues like dating parishioners (don’t) or embezzling church funds (really don’t). There is little to nothing offered about Personal Life Boundaries. At what point does a single pastor inform her congregation that she is seriously dating someone?…What if a church member receives a fatal prognosis on the day of her sister’s bridal shower?”

—from “What They Will Remember,” by Rev. Jan Edmiston

Intended for laypeople, women hearing a call to ministry and clergy of all denominations, these stories and prayers will resonate with, challenge, encourage and amuse anyone who has a passion for their work and faith. A group reading guide will be available on the SkyLight Paths Publishing website – consider choosing it for your book group!

Rev. Martha Spong, Editor, is a United Church of Christ pastor. She is the Director of RevGalBlogPals, a social media ministry making community for clergywomen across lines of denomination, generation, nation and orientation since 2005. Martha blogs at Reflectionary.

Rev. Carol Howard Merritt, Foreword, is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor, podcast host (God Complex Radio) and author (Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation, Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation) who blogs at Tribal Church.

Contributors to There’s a Woman in the Pulpit

The Rev. Jemma Allen is a priest in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia; she  blogs at Exilic Chaplain.

The Rev. T. Denise Anderson is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at Soula Scriptura.

The Rev. Stephanie E. Anthony is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at For Some Reason.

The Rev. Beth Birkholz is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor; she blogs at ChickPastor.

The Rev. Laurie Brock is an Episcopal priest and author (Where God Hides Holiness); she blogs at Dirty Sexy Ministry.

The Rev. Jennifer Garrison Brownell is a United Church of Christ pastor; she blogs at There is a River.

The Rev. Hilary Campbell is a Church of England vicar; she blogs at Pootling Along.

The Rev. Erin Counihan is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at Somewhat Reverend.

The Rev. Julie Craig is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at You Win Some, You Learn Some.

The Rev. Robin Craig is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at Beautiful and Terrible.

The Rev. Liz Crumlish is a Church of Scotland pastor ; she blogs at journalling.

The Rev. Martha Daniels is a Metropolitan Community Church pastor; she blogs at Rainbow Pastor.

The Rev. Stacey Simpson Duke is an American Baptist Church (USA) pastor ; she blogs at earthchicknits.

The Rev. Jan Edmiston is an Associate Executive Presbyter in the Presbyterian Church (USA); she blogs at a church for starving artists.

Amber Belldene is the nom-de-plume of an Episcopal priest. She blogs at Amber Belldene.

The Rev. Ruth Everhart is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor and author (Chasing the Divine in the Holy Land); she blogs at Love the Work (do the work).

The Rev. Dr. Amy Fetterman is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor and author (Who’s Got Time? Spirituality for a Busy Generation, with Teri Peterson); she blogs at Spirituality for Busy People.

The Rev. Marci Glass is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at Glass Overflowing.

The Rev. Rachel G. Hackenberg is a United Church of Christ pastor and author (Sacred Pause: A Creative Retreat for the Word-weary Christian, Writing to God:40 Days of Praying With My Pen); she blogs at Rachel G. Hackenberg.

The Rev. Elizabeth Evans Hagan is an American Baptist Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at Preacher on the Plaza.

The Rev. Cheryl Harader is an American Baptist Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at Abandoned Water Jars.

The Rev. Joanna Harader is a Mennonite Church USA pastor; she blogs at Spacious Faith.

Gillian Hoyer is a seminarian seeking ordination in the Anglican Church of Canada. She blogs at Gillian’s Island.

The Rev. Rosalind C. Hughes is an Episcopal priest; she blogs at Over the Water.

The Rev. Sara Irwin is an Episcopal priest; she blogs at Sara I Writes.

The Rev. Kathryn Z. Johnston is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at Volume II.

The Rev. Deborah Lewis is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and a campus pastor; she blogs at Snow Day.

The Rev. Jennifer Burns Lewis is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at An Orientation of Heart.

The Rev. Catherine MacDonald is a minister in the United Church of Canada; she blogs at My Window on God’s World.

The Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan is a minister in the United Methodist Church and author (Hopes and Fears: Everyday Theology for New Parents and Other Tired, Anxious People, with Lee Hull Moses); she blogs at Love and a Cough.

Pastor Suzy Garrison Meyer is a commissioned ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA); she occasionally blogs at RevGalBlogPals.

The Rev. Karla Miller is a United Church of Christ pastor; she blogs at Amazing Bongoes.

The Rev.  Sarah E. Howe Miller, PhD., is a United Methodist Church pastor; she blogs at The Vicar of Hogsmeade.

The Rev. Holly Morrison is a United Church of Christ pastor; she blogs at Cowgaels in Tir Na Blog.

The Rev. Katie Mulligan is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at InsideOuted.

The Rev. Dr. Teri McDowell Ott is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor and college chaplain; she blogs at Something to Say.

The Rev. Katya Ouchakof is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor; she blogs at Proclamation.

The Rev. Kerri Parker is a United Church of Christ pastor; she blogs at Tell the Stories.

The Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey is a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) pastor and author (Any Day a Beautiful Change); she blogs at Any Day a Beautiful Change.

The Rev. Teri Peterson is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor and author (Who’s Got Time? Spirituality for a Busy Generation, with Amy Fetterman; she blogs at Clever Title Here.

The Rev. Patricia J. Raube is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at A Swimmer in the Fount.

The Rev. Diane Roth is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor; she blogs at Faith in Community.

The Rev. Anna Scherer is an Episcopal priest; she blogs at Not Graceful But Grace-Filled.

The Rev. Julia Seymour is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor; she blogs at Faith, Grace, and Hope.

The Rev. Monica Thompson Smith is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor; she is a host of the 11th Hour Preacher Party for RevGalBlogPals.

The Rev. Sally-Lodge Teel is a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor and founder of RevGalBlogPals; she blogs at St. Casserole, where you can find the post that got the whole thing started.

The Rev. Sharon M. Temple is a United Church of Christ pastor; she blogs at Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

The Rev. Michelle L. Torigian is a United Church of Christ pastor; she blogs at Michelle L. Torigian.

The Rev. Deb Vaughn is an American Baptist Church (USA) pastor and interfaith chaplain; she blogs at An Unfinished Symphony.

The Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell is an American Baptist Church (USA) pastor; she blogs at Rev-o-lution.

The Rev. Julie Woods is a Church of Scotland minister; she blogs at A Country Girl.