Patheos

BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Patheos

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Rhetoric Race and Religion

New Book in R3 Book Series on Women Bishops

Last updated on: July 19, 2017 at 6:14 pm   by blog admin

New Book in R3 Book Series on Women Bishops 2017-07-19T18:14:15-05:00 blog admin

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

women bishops

The R3 book series is pleased to announce the publication of Women Bishops and the Rhetorics of Shalom by Leland Spencer. The Southern States Communication Association recently named Dr. Spencer the Janice Hocker Rushing Early Career Research Award winner. Pre-order your copy today! 

Women Bishops and Rhetorics of Shalom: A Whole Peace argues that the theological concept of shalom offers a way forward for progressive Christians who want to advocate for social justice based on their faith in an increasingly globalizing world characterized by many faiths. To do so, the book considers the rhetorical leadership of three women bishops who are all “firsts” in important ways: Marjorie Matthews, the first woman bishop in any mainline Post-Reformation church, Leontine Kelly, the first woman bishop of color in any mainline church, and Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman to lead a national church in the Anglican Communion. This book is recommended for scholars interested in communications, religious studies, and gender studies.

Praise for the book:

Spencer’s compelling, nuanced analysis of women bishops’ rhetoric offers keen and timely insights about intersections of gender, power, religion, and politics. Yet it is his articulation of shalom as a model for peaceful community that takes my breath away—Spencer’s vision offers hope, guidance, and a call for social and political transformation based on the eloquent words of trailblazing women of God. A must-read for scholars and students in rhetoric, women’s and gender studies, and social change! (Laura L. Ellingson, Santa Clara University)

Women Bishops and Rhetorics of Shalom: A Whole Peace locates an intrepid “shalom,” in the sermons of three ground-breaking (and ground-making) bishops in the Christian Church…Spencer reveals how each woman navigates the waters in her singular manner, embodying and advancing a courageous shalom, co-constructed by persons from all religious backgrounds—and from none—as a vision of active and fully inclusive peace, across religious, racial, ethnic, gender, and all lines that would divide us. (Elizabeth Nelson, University of Minnesota, Duluth)

Leland G. Spencer invites readers along a path that is at once scholarly and transformational. The feminist rhetorical analysis offered in this study of the language of pioneering women bishops is skillful, integrated, and expansive. Professor Spencer’s re-visioning of the concept of shalom as it uniquely unfolds in their sermons calls forth the strength and hope of shared values in a world that far too frequently battens down the hatches against difference. Each chapter reminds the reader, through compelling display of Spencer’s intellect as he considers the words of the bishops, that feminist scholarship is as propelled by deep desire for learning as it is for social change. The goodness and grace of Professor Spencer’s message, culled from the sermons of the bishops, is not to be missed, either by seasoned or aspiring language and communication scholars. (Carol L. Winkelmann, Xavier University)

*If you are seeking a publisher for your book, see our call for proposals.

About the book author:

Leland G. Spencer (PhD, University of Georgia, 2013) is assistant professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary and Communication Studies at Miami University in Hamilton, OH and an affiliate faculty member in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program and the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film. 

Donate to the Work of R3

Like the work we do at Rhetoric Race and Religion? Please consider helping us continue to do this work. All donations are tax-deductible through Gifts of Life Ministries/G’Life Outreach, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, and our fiscal sponsor. Any donation helps. Just click here to support our work.

R3 Book Series

Book Series

Leland Spencer

R3 Book Series

Previous Post



March 23, 2017

Give Joseph a Job

Next Post



April 12, 2017 White Silence and the Making of #WhiteChurchQuiet


Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Amy Steele Andre E. Johnson Book Reviews/Series Brian Foulks Call for Chapters Carol Howard Merritt Classes Conferences Contributors Crystal St.Marie Lewis Daniel White Hodge Earle Fisher Eulogy Fredrick Robinson Guest Contributions Henry McNeal Turner Institutes Interviews Joseph Boston Katherine Whitfield Kimberly Peeler-Ringer Lectures/Roundtables Natalie Bullock Brown R3 Book Series R3 Contributor Rashad Grove Readers Reflections Symposiums Teaching Traci Ellis Travis Harris Uncategorized Video

Select a Month June 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 October 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011


Follow Us!

Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter



TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What occupation did Peter, Andrew, James, and John have before following Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Scribes Fishermen Politicians Tax collectors

Related posts from Rhetoric Race and Religion

Progressive Christian

New Book in R3 Book Series on #BLM...

Rhetoric Race and Religion

Progressive Christian

New Book in R3 Book Series on Desegregation...

Rhetoric Race and Religion

Progressive Christian

New Edited Volume in R3 Book Series

Rhetoric Race and Religion

Progressive Christian

New Book in R3 Book Series on African...

Rhetoric Race and Religion

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Progressive Christian

What Being a Modern-Day Apostle Means to Me

In my last column, I discussed the ins and outs of modern-day...

Did Ancient China Once Worship the God of...

Across human history, a common thread weaves through the origins of the...

Love Your Neighbor – Including Earth-Kin: Lev. 19,...

God’s command to love your neighbor means acting in an ethical and...

Lead a Church Study of “Jesus and Lao...

Guest writer Jack Thomas (The Irreverent Reverend) reflects on leading his church...

Pastoral Wisdom for Responding to Sermon Pushback

Getting sermon pushback on your social justice sermon? Learn practical, Proverbs-based strategies...

Principles for Understanding the Apostolic Ministry Today

Whenever people discover that my formal ministry title is "apostle," as in...

view all Progressive Christian blogs

Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube