The Magdalene Mystique » 2007 » June

The Author

Betty Conrad Adam, an Episcopal priest, is resident Canon Theologian at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, and spiritual director of the Magdalene Community. She holds a PhD in philosphy from Rice University and was a recipient of a Merrill Fellowship at the Harvard Divinity School.

The Book

The Magdalene Mystique retells the story of Mary Magdalene for our time. As the consummate “other” who is mislabelled and demonized, the Magdalene becomes an ancestor who can help us bridge our cultural and religious divisions. Her lost Gospel tells us how a more deeply connected consciousness can happen to all of us and how we can be lead into a “shared peace.”

The CD

The Magdalene Mystique: Songs From Within by Anita Kruse is a companion to the book, The Magdalene Mystique. The music that accompanies our services can be found on this CD along with voices from other religious traditions. You will find this music helpful for private devotion or for use in your community.

Katharine Jefferts Schori and Bill Moyers

posted June 13th, 2007 at 4:54 pm by Betty

Katharine Jefferts Schori is a great gift to the Episcopal Church and to the world. I want all of you to have access to Bill Moyer’s interview of her that was aired recently on pbs.

She talks about many of the topics that we discuss on this website: the interconnectedness of all life (she mentions Sally McFague’s The Body of God) is a topic she delights in. She wants to bring religion and science more into dialogue with one another. She stresses the importance of a contextual reading of scripture and the inclusiveness in the full life of the church of gay and lesbian persons and women.

Toward the end of the interview she sketches broadly the leadership of women in the Jewish and Christian traditions. She mentions Miriam and Deborah from the Hebrew Scriptures. She mentions Mary Magdalene, whom she refers to as the “apostle to the apostles” who was rejected and transformed into a prostitute - one of the women whose insights made the church “uncomfortable.” I hope you will take time to soak in this interview. She is a great gift to all of us.

Here is the website information: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06082007/watch2.html

Katharine Jefferts Schori episcopal news service