Ideas for Feminist Worship

This page is the beginning (I hope) of a set of resources for leading worship which is women-friendly and inclusive of as wide a group of people as possible. Because I am a Christian minister, they have been conceived and put into practice within a Christian framework. Whether or not they will work in other faith traditions I have no idea. If you come from another faith tradition and would like to give me feedback, I'd welcome it. Please e-mail me and let me know.

Principles for Planning Feminist/Women-Friendly Liturgies

I don't think there is any one thing which is authentic "feminist worship" because there is a huge variety of feminist theologies and what is appropriate worship depends on a number of factors, many of them cultural. Having said that, most of the people who write about worship which springs from feminist theology outline a number of principles which need to be followed in creating worship experiences which are women-friendly, inclusive and following feminist principles. The following list is not exhaustive, but contains what IMHO are the most important factors.

green dotInclusive language when referring to human beings - Unless you are working with an extraordinary group of people, you will inevitably make some women feel excluded if you try to use "men", "man", "brothers", "brethren", "sons of God" etc as though they mean women too.

green dotUsing a wide range of images when referring to God - In some gatherings, it is both appropriate and helpful to refer to God as She and Mother, but in others it will alienate more people than it will help. There is, however, a huge range of options between this and the traditional orthodoxy of calling God Father Almighty/King/Lord. Scripture refers to God as like a mother, as giving birth and as having a womb, so references to God as female are not wrong but neither are they essential. Scripture also refers to God in a huge number of other ways which are neither male nor female, but paint a picture of a God who is with us and understands us and in whose image we are created.


green dotInvolving as far as possible the whole of everyone present - Feminist liturgy is not one person planning and leading worship and everyone else watching, listening, singing and praying. Worship is planned by a group of people which may be the same for every service or have a rotating membership. It may involve dance, drama, the lighting of candles by members of the congregation, the naming of people, places, events which have been of significance to congregational members in relation to the theme of the service, washing hands or feet or annointing of each other. It often involves the oportunity for dialogue during the sermon, congregational members serving each other the elements of the eucharist, the use of colour, light and sound in non-traditional ways as well as using old and new symbols.


green dotStarting from the experience of the worshippers and asking how Scripture speaks to that experience - Much traditional worship begins with Scripture and asks how it is relevant in the lives of worshippers. Feminist theologians and liturgists tend to look at particular events and issues then go to Scripture to see how it helps us to understand these events and issues. As well as looking at different ways of celebrating events like Christmas and Easter, feminist liturgists often develop liturgies for other events in the lives of their congregations. Examples would include croning rituals to celebrate the wisdom of older women, house blessings, services to acknowledge the end of a marriage, services of healing for survivors of sexual assault and family violence and services of lament for tragic events.


green dotAiming to be inclusive - Those who plan and lead feminist worship take care to include people of all ages, races, physical abilities, genders and sexual orientations. One of the major challenges of feminist worship is holding in tension the needs of those worshippers who are differently abled and the desire to involve the whole of each worshipper.


green dotCreative use of worship space - Wherever possible, feminist worship happens with people seated in circles so that there is no front or obvious leader. There is a definite preference for having worshippers able to see the faces of other worshippers and for avoiding having any person or people elevated and 'out front'.

I am hoping in the not too distant future to have some samples of feminist liturgies linked to this page. Because they arise from within various worshipping communities in response to the issues of these communities and expressing these responses in ways which are comfortable for the community members, many will not work if you just print them out and use them as they are in your setting. Depending on what they are and where you are, some may require minor adaptations, whereas others would never work for your community. Even in the ones which would never work, however, you might find a prayer, a song, a meditation, an idea which you can use with other resources to craft a liturgy which will work.

Two books which I have found particularly helpful in crafting liturgy are:

green dotIn Her Own Rite: Constructing feminist liturgical tradition by Marjorie Procter-Smith (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1990) - a theoretical treatment of the why and how of feminist liturgy

green dotWomanPrayer WomanSong: resources for ritual by Miriam Therese Winter. My copy of this was published by CollinsDove in Melbourne, Australia in 1987 but in the US it is published by HarperCollins. It is a book of feminist liturgies which can be used or adapted (within copyright restrictions, of course, but the author has specifically given permission for them to be copied for community worship).


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Last updated 6 June 2001
Maintained by Judy Redman
E-mail to: jredman@metz.une.edu.au


This is a personal page published by the author.
The ideas and information expressed on it have not been approved or authorised by the University of New England either explicitly or implicitly.
In no event shall the University of New England be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of this information or its publication, including any action for infringement of copyright or defamation.