NEWS STORY: Iron John, meet the Nice Girls

c. 1999 Religion News Service CLEVELAND _ A Christian women’s movement _ born out of the success of the Promise Keepers men’s movement but remade in the image of evangelical women _ continues to grow in its fourth season. In an “Outrageous Joy” conference at Gund Arena in Cleveland this past weekend (June 18-19), one […]

c. 1999 Religion News Service

CLEVELAND _ A Christian women’s movement _ born out of the success of the Promise Keepers men’s movement but remade in the image of evangelical women _ continues to grow in its fourth season.

In an “Outrageous Joy” conference at Gund Arena in Cleveland this past weekend (June 18-19), one of 25 rallies planned throughout the country this year, the sports complex was transformed into a giant church sisterhood meeting.


No beer. No catcalls. And no men’s restrooms on the main concourses.

Just some 14,000 women from throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania and upstate New York sharing two days of prayer, song and motivational speeches designed to embrace rather than cover up the struggles of daily life.

Unlike Promise Keepers, which aggressively challenges men to be better fathers and husbands and to fight racial prejudice, Women of Faith seeks to bolster the self-esteem of evangelical women who often do not get affirmation elsewhere.

“They’re not battering women to say be more than what you are … Real life has hardship. It’s saying to you, you can be OK anyhow,” said Karen Cico of Chardon, Ohio. “For women who come who are hurting, that is such a powerful message.”

The idea for Women of Faith began with a man, Stephen Arterburn, chairman of New Life Clinics, a Christian mental health care provider. Building on the success of Promise Keepers, Arterburn envisioned a women’s movement that similarly would rely on popular Christian speakers.

In 1996, Women of Faith had some 30,000 people at 10 conferences in churches. In 1997, it drew 160,000 people to 15 events.

Last year, there were 320,000 people at 28 events. This year, the group

anticipates 400,000 people at 25 rallies.

It’s not easy being an evangelical woman today, say officials of the women’s group. While the Southern Baptists last year passed a controversial statement encouraging women to submit to their husbands, Promise Keepers was built on the premise that many men have fallen short in fulfilling their responsibilities in the home.

Added to the stresses of family and work in secular life are often unrealistic expectations in churches. Images of the ideal evangelical woman _ often a June Cleaver prototype who handles all her responsibilities with a smile _ clash with the suffering women endure in their lives, women’s leaders said.


“They’re told it’s OK to deny if it makes us feel better. It’s OK to lie if it makes us look better. And that’s just not the case,” Arterburn said.

Comfort _ both spiritual and physical _ is at the center of the “Outrageous Joy” rallies. While the dress was modest, there were as many T-shirts and shorts as skirts and dresses at Gund Arena. Most women wore pants or jeans.

“It’s a time of like minds getting together and being encouraging. Having a break from family and kids and stressors and just relaxing for a day or two,” said Betty Fulks, 36, of Athens, Ohio.

Along with popular Christian singing groups such as Point of Grace, which performed the Nice Girls, a takeoff on the Spice Girls, the 14,000 women, who paid from $45 to $55 for the two-day meeting, heard words of solace from several well-known Christian speakers who talked freely of their own hardships in life.

“Right now, as you are, at this very moment, Christ loves you,” said Sheila Walsh, the former co-host of “The 700 Club” who battled clinical depression in a psychiatric hospital at the height of her success.

She closed her speech by sharing her nightly ritual of asking her son, “Which boy does mommy love?” Walsh said her 2-year-old son puts his hand on his cheek and replies, “This boy.”


Conference participants ranging from teen-agers to women in their 70s and 80s then followed Walsh by putting their hands on their own cheeks and softly responding, “This girl,” when she asked, “Which girl does Jesus love?”

Such gentle moments are far removed from the stadium-size roars of “I love Jesus, how about you?” that men challenge each other with at Promise Keepers rallies. In the testosterone-driven environment of a sports arena, men toss beach balls and paper airplanes and stamp their feet until the stadium shakes when they make vows before God to overcome racial barriers and to practice ethical and sexual purity.

Just as Promise Keepers tries to create an environment in which men don’t have to check their masculinity at the gate, so does Women of Faith tailor its appeal by taking over the men’s bathrooms, placing flowers around the stage and providing a room for nursing mothers.

“I think it’s right for the gender. You don’t have to go through the macho breaking of barriers,” said Sue Meehl, 49, of Erie, Pa.

“Men are competitive and aggressive and they respond to that type of presentation, where God created women to be nurturers,” said Debbie Butler, 48,of Maple View Mennonite Church in Burton, Ohio.

But the major difference between the Christian men’s and women’s movements lies in their approaches. Promise Keepers seeks to call men to repentance for their failings and then build them up to be better fathers and husbands. Women of Faith focuses on raising self-esteem.


“I don’t think there’s any need to call women to be responsible,” Arterburn said. “While a lot of us men were out there being jerks, there have been wonderful, faithful women waiting out there for us to come back.”

Cico, adult director of groups at First United Methodist Church of Middlefield, first went to a Women of Faith conference with 16 other people in Pittsburgh in 1997. The group grew to 43 women for a conference in Buffalo, N.Y., last year and to 142 women for the Cleveland meeting.

“The first group of women that went had such a good time they just wanted to share it with other women,” she said. “There are not a lot of things out there for women to gather in groups to be edified and lifted up.”

In the company of women, Marilyn Burkhardt, 45, of Bethesda, Ohio, said she is less inhibited and more able to show her emotions.

“To have that many women all in one setting is very inspirational. It’s very encouraging,” she said. “You think, `Oh well, I’m not in this alone.”

DEA END BRIGGS

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