Reformation Women

In Reformation Women, Rebecca Vandoodewaard introduces listeners to 12 16th-century women who are not as well known today as contemporaries like Katie Luther and Lady Jane Grey. Providing an example to Christians today of strong service to Christ and his church, these influential, godly women were devoted to Reformation truth, in many cases provided support for their husbands, practiced hospitality, and stewarded their intellectual abilities.

The church is sadly still confused about what it means to be a man or a woman. While secular society talks about sexuality in terms of liberation, many in the church define manhood and womanhood in terms of reductive roles that rob us of the dignity of personhood, created in the image of God. In her poetic, theologically contemplative style, Aimee Byrd invites you to enter the rich treasure trove of the Song of Songs as its lyrics reveal how our very bodies are visible signs that tell us something about our God.

At her execution Mary, Queen of Scots wore red. Widely known as the colour of strength and passion, it was in fact worn by Mary as the Catholic symbol of martyrdom. In 16th-century Europe, women's voices were suppressed and silenced. Even for a queen like Mary, her prime duty was to bear sons. In an age when textiles expressed power, Mary exploited them to emphasise her female agency.

The Protestant Reformation of the early 16th century in Europe divided the church and gave rise to several reformation movements. As such, it was characterised by universally famous men such as Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli or John Calvin, but many women were also quite instrumental in advancing the Protestant cause - as powerful supporters, committed helpers, resolute authors and passionate advocates in a time of great social, political and religious upheaval.

Before the Reformation, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, being a wife or mother was not a holy vocation. The only “spiritual” calling for women was to be found in a convent. The Reformers confronted the bad theology which led to this (and other worse abuses, like priest-patronized brothels) and returned to the Bible to develop a theology of vocation that began to free Christians to be "holy" no matter their occupation. But today, modern feminist claims about vocation have more in common with the pre-Reformation popes than anything else....

The legendary life of Katharina von Bora Luther! Born in 1499, Katharina started her education first at the convent at Brehna, then continued it in Kloster Nimbschen, where she took vows as a nun at the age of 16 and expected to live the whole of her life. God, however, had other plans. On Easter Eve, 1523, she escaped with 11 other nuns to Wittenberg, a move meant to be temporary until a more permanent home could be found for her. What happened next changed the world in this family story, filled with music in the original German.

Aimee Byrd explores the theological meaning behind our sexes, helping Christians to understand our sexuality as gift and to grasp the story our bodies tell of Christ’s love for his church. She calls the church to the recovery of God’s true design of man and woman that unfolds through Scripture—indeed to a sexual reformation.