BOOK LAUNCH RECORDING

In late 2020, some women dared to dream, ‘Could we create a podcast of Australian women preaching?’

After an initial conversation, they reached out to Women and the Australian Church (WATAC) and The Grail Australia. A small diverse group of Christian women gathered and the team behind Australian Women Preach (AWP) podcast was born.

The Australian Women Preach weekly podcast features Australian women preaching the Sunday Gospel. The subsequent book – In Her Voice: Raising Women’s Voices in Preaching the Gospel – was created using a selection of reflections from the podcast by 30 women preachers of diverse Christian faith and ages.

In Her Voice seeks to raise women’s voices and highlight the preaching talent of women. The broad group of writers all share a knowledge and love of the Gospel, and a Spirit-driven desire to preach. It also includes a Welcome to Country from Aunty Di Langham, Director of Reconciliation for the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.

In Her Voice is a unique Australian book that showcases the often unheard voices of Christian women. It is powerful and ground-breaking.

EVENT DETAILS

On Thursday 9 March 2023 the virtual launch of the book was held.

Hosted by David Hughan from Garratt Publishing, six women spoke about their preaching experiences, and what it has meant to be part of Australian Woman Preach. A Q&A session followed, facilitated by Tracy McEwan.

The recording of the event can be viewed below.

PRESENTERS

Patricia Gemmell

Tricia has a Master’s degree in Theology and is a member of the The Grail in Australia. She has recently completed 8 years’ service on the National Leadership Team and is the coordinator of the International Spirituality Network. In 2016 she presented five lectures on Eco-theology and Spirituality at The Grail summer school in Portugal. Patricia has been involved in a variety of ministries over the years and is currently a lector and Extraordinary Minister of Communion (EMC), and one of the church bell ringers. In 2018 she was asked to become her community’s Local Animator for the Plenary Council, and since then has engaged herself wholeheartedly in the Plenary Council journey.

Mary Coloe

Mary is a Presentation sister and a professor of New Testament at Yarra Theological Union – a college within the University of Divinity, Melbourne. Her primary focus in teaching and writing is the Gospel of John. Her two-volume commentary on John in the Wisdom Commentary Series – a series of feminist commentary on the biblical books – was published in 2021. She also has three small books of reflections on each Sunday Gospel of the year: Sundays under the Southern Cross. Mary has taught at Australian Catholic University and a number of places overseas: Berkeley, California; Boston College, and Jerusalem. In recent years she has worked on an international dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Mary calls this her ‘Vatican hat’, as this appointment was for the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

Rachel McLean

Rachel is a Leader of Formation at Catholic Education Services Cairns. She works with leadership teams and staff from 30 Catholic schools in Far North Queensland in the areas of Faith Formation, Religious Education, Outreach and Reconciliation. For the last two years, Rachel and Jennifer King have collaborated with students and other First Nations elders to showcase and celebrate student voices with the Cairns Catholic Education Community. This collaboration draws on the wisdom and ways of First Nations peoples and invites listeners to consider how the ancient ways of First Nations peoples of Australia can enrich and extend an encounter with the scripture.

Jennifer King

Jennifer is a proud descendant of four Aboriginal clan groups: Butchella of K’gari (Fraser Island), Djiribul of Innisfail, Gugu Yimmithir of Hopevale, and Western Yalanji of Laura in Cape York. Her great-grandparents were removed or forced off their homelands and institutionalised on Yarrabah Mission, south of Cairns. She is the Indigenous Liaison Officer at St Monica’s Catholic College Cairns, where she works closely with all students and staff to share First Nations Knowings and embed First Nations perspectives across the curriculum. Jennifer takes a holistic approach in her professional practice with the school by serving students in developing academic, social, and spiritual health. In doing so, she challenges students to reflect on their personal values, explore the champion within themselves, and have confidence in their decision-making. Jennifer collaborated on the podcast with Rachel McLean.

Di Langham

Reverend Canon Auntie Di Langham is the Director of Reconciliation for Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, and secretary of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Council. She has been a priest in the Diocese of Newcastle for the past 21 years, and was the first Aboriginal woman in this Diocese to be ordained. She was a chaplain in Corrective Services NSW for 20 years and prior to that, a chaplain in Juvenile Justice. Di is a Boandik woman and part of the Stolen Generations’ history of this country, and is now living and working in the lands of the Awabakal and Wanaruah. She likes to weave Aboriginal spirituality into any of her talks and talk about her past experiences in any sermons she does.

Tracy McEwan

Tracy is a theologian and sociologist of religion and gender affiliated with the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her writing and research interests include women in Catholicism; domestic and family violence; sexual and spiritual abuse; gender, sexuality, and women’s religious experience. Tracy is the current vice-president of WATAC Inc. – Women and the Australian Church. Her recent projects include the podcast Australian Women Preach which celebrates the diverse talents of woman preachers in Australia, and the International Survey of Catholic Women, a survey of more than 17,000 Catholic women from 105 countries. Tracy holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Theology) and Master of Theology from the University of Newcastle and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Mathematics) from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).