FINAL ISSUE OF THE PERSISTENT VOICE, BUT CHALLENGES GO ON by Dr. Norma Cook Everist, WTS Professor

It all began in the fall of 1989 with a knock on my seminary office door and the voice of one woman, Rhonda Hanisch, waiting for a call to pastoral ministry. She said, “We need a networking newsletter to keep connected –the women are waiting much longer for calls than men. It should have the word ‘Voice’ in it.” The next day she came back and added: “Persistent.” I said, “Let’s do it.”

If Rhonda named what was to be born, Rev. Juel Pierce, Wartburg graduate, financed the birthing expenses. She happened to come into my office a few days later and said, “I would like to donate my honorarium for being chaplain at Wartburg’s WELCA Bible Study event to helping women.” I said, “Thank you. I have just the thing. . . “

In January, 1990, Rebecca Ellenson and I published the first issue  of The Persistent Voice. In those early years our mission was, “The full inclusion of women in the ministry of the church and the full partnership of women and men.” The figures told the story: “Update on Wartburg Seminary M.Div graduates from previous years waiting for call: nine, including seven women and two men. Most are available for call anywhere .” (March/April 1990 Issue)

Issues regularly carried stories of WTS M.A. graduates. The first issue highlighted Rebecca Grothe, Senior Editor for Leadership Education at Augsburg Fortress and Wartburg’s first “Associate in Ministry in Residence .”

From the very beginning men as well as women were part of The Persistent Voice, with Ray Blank writing poetry on “Freedom” for the first issue. Many other men wrote poetry as well as articles, including Rev. Peter Heide and  David Weiss, M.A. graduate who since graduation has published several books.

By year 20 our mission had broadened to “Addressing issues of gender and justice across the globe and working towards the full partnership of women and men in ministry.” We had a policy to let each writer speak his or her own voice, to provide editorial assistance, and to not let any article go to publication without collaboration with the author on the final version

For twenty years we published a familiar goldenrod 11 x 14 print copy. Readership grew way beyond Wartburg to people around the world; printing and mailing was financed by the readers. Each issue contained “Feature Articles”, “Signs of the Times,” “The Global Scene,” “Book Review,” “Poetry,” “Challenge,” “Spirited Action,” and original artwork.  Broad topics; familiar format! (In the fourth year the staff suggested for variation we change the color, printing an issue in light blue. We heard an earful: “We want our goldenrod back! We see it in the mail and read every article!”)

Print it was; however, already by the end of the first year, Nov/Dec, 1990, the Rev. Earl Janssen, a WTS grad, began to put The Persistent Voice on the Lutherlink  computer network. It spread immediately, for example to the Center for Women in Religion in Berkeley, part of the Graduate Theological Union.  In those days students at many seminaries were amazed we could publish our newsletter openly and independently with the trust of the Wartburg administration.

Spring 2009 was our final print issue and Chris Deforest facilitated the complete transition to our place on the web under “Resources” and then “Student Voices” on the Wartburg Seminary home page. From print to Web page to email to Facebook to…

Each fall for 27 years we announced an open meeting and asked, “Is The Persistent Voice still needed?” The answer was always a resounding, “Yes!” The collection has become a history, including: news of the first female Lutheran bishop in the world, Maria Jesper, in Germany; the first female bishop in the ELCA, April Ulring Larson; the second, Andrea DeGroot Nesdahl, (both WTS grads).  Women were ordained in more countries in Africa, but not in Australia. Men and women were serving as diaconal ministers. Men and women were shaping new forms of collaborative leadership. A woman became a Lutheran seminary president in Canada, and then two in the ELCA, Phyllis Anderson and Louise Johnson (both WTS grads).

The longevity and quality of this publication has been noted so that the Archives of both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University asked for the complete set of issues to become part of their women’s history collection.

Our mission this year has been, “Addressing with Compassion and Courage Issues of Equality, Power, and Justice Across the Globe” This networking newsletter publishes its final issue, but the challenges persist. I give thanks to all of you, particularly to Amy Heinz , for her partnership this final year. Hundreds of students have been part of this adventure as reporters, writers, editors, and artists, carrying their persistent voices to this seminary and into the broader church and world.  Thousands more have been readers and actors in Christ’s call to vocations of justice.  Thanks be to God.