Freda Gardner elected moderator The Layman Online Saturday, June 19, 1999
According to a press release from Princeton Seminary, Gardner was the first woman to serve as a tenured faculty member at the institution, teaching there from 1961 until her retirement in 1992. In 1991 she was named Educator of the Year, and in 1994 she was a recipient of the Women of Faith award. 'Prophetic voices' In her five-minute speech to commissioners, Gardner said, "I do know something about enabling people to speak and to hear. Maybe we are ready for prayer that names our fears, that offers to God our reluctance to change." During the question and answer period preceding the vote, Will Adams, Youth Advisory Delegate from San Diego Presbytery asked the candidates to comment on "the serious concern" being raised about the Women of Faith award. Gardner replied, "As I understand it, I think the process that was followed was the one always followed. … I believe the three women selected this year are women of faith. They have raised prophetic voices in places where their voices need to be heard. They have been criticized and stood firm." 'Speaking my truth' Gardner is no stranger to theological controversy. As a member of the General Assembly Council in 1994, she was one of the most vocal defenders of the 1993 ReImagining conference. When some GAC members attempted to assert that the conference went beyond the boundaries of Reformed faith and practice, Gardner responded that it had been "a pathway to growth in faith." She declared, "I resent that you do not think that I can sort that out for myself." She added that she resented any element in the GAC's discussion of the ReImagining conference that would "cast a shadow upon it." The GAC eventually declared that nothing said or done at the conference went beyond the boundaries of Reformed faith, a decision that cost the PCUSA several million dollars, as Presbyterians expressed their outrage at the theological directions being espoused by their elected leaders. At a press conference following her election, Gardner was asked if there was something she said that made a particular connection with the commissioners. She answered, "I would like to think they heard me speaking my truth and that they felt they could live with that and could be led by that." Freda Gardner's answers to questions about Scripture, organizational funding, and demonstrations on the floor of General Assembly (March/April Layman) Reactions from Layman Online readers regarding Freda Gardner |
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