A redacted letter I sent to the ABs of my ecclesia.
1. 1 Corinthians 11:5 specifies that Paul’s instructions are relevant IF a woman is praying and prophesying. Since women neither pray nor prophesy in our ecclesia, on this basis alone, we need not cover our heads.
2. It was the custom of the Corinthians’ society in Paul’s day that married women covered their heads with part of their dress (similar to a sari in India). To remove their head covering in public was as if they were rejecting their marital vows. Paul uses the cultural interpretation of the disgrace in a woman’s short or shaven hair to illustrate the similar interpretation of disgrace society would place on married women removing their head covering. Our culture no longer interprets short/shaven hair as shameful for a woman and neither do married women cover their heads. Head coverings, therefore, do not have the same symbolic value as in Paul’s day.
3. When I first came to [my ecclesia], my understanding was that [our] ecclesia allowed sisters to make a conscience decision whether or not to wear a head covering. For at least ten years I have not considered head coverings necessary for women and yet I have worn one. Why? I have primary done so as a gesture of harmony towards the ecclesia’s general culture of wearing one. I have also not considered it a sufficiently important issue to promote changes because [our] ecclesia wasn’t going to make an issue of a woman not wearing a head covering.
4. This changed when the statement from the ABs came out mid-2017, and when I learned that [a sister] had been accosted for not wearing a head covering. I decided that I would double check my reasoning and stop wearing a head covering if this reasoning stood. Why? Because I want to represent [our] ecclesia as a place of good Bible interpretation and tolerance on matters of conscience to young people, “weaker” brethren, and preaching contacts. I feel I am strong enough in my spiritual principles and willing to take the heat for my actions; therefore, I believe it is my responsibility to enable a space for people of a different conscience and interpretation of head coverings who are not as strong or who feel discouraged or intimidated by a uniform stance.
5. For me, growing up in a rather conservative side of Christadelphia, head coverings became a symbol of the power and control men wanted to have over women and their general lack of respect for our spiritual, economic and physical vulnerability. Head covering were a way to police women’s submission and a sign of our inferiority. I appreciate that many, if not most, brothers and sisters in [our] ecclesia would find this corrupted symbology completely foreign and false. I am glad for them and appreciate the honour they see in the wearing of a head covering. Unfortunately, I am also aware that for many sisters this symbology is too inextricably linked with the power and control from brothers and their experiences of a corrupted and abused doctrine of male headship. Combine this with a lack of scriptural support for continuing the Corinthians’ practice (see points 1 and 2) and suddenly there is a powerfully off-putting message in any pressure to wear a head covering.
6. Finally, I confess that my own visceral reaction to the ABs statement was one of disbelief and anger. I found it difficult to believe that such a statement was made in the context of the coming conference when we are actively trying to pursue unity in the broader community, and in a climate of discussion about domestic violence (and its abuses of scriptural headship). I can only presume that the ABs had contextualised the issue very differently to me. I felt angry because this decision, this pressure, seemed to be made without consultation with people of a different interpretation and without a concurrent space for members of the ecclesia to discuss the topic and educate or re-educate ourselves on what exactly this symbology is. I acknowledge how easy it is to not know what you don’t know. I have been humbled many times over the years by the things I have said and done and assumed out of unawareness or lack of exposure to complexity. I also appreciate what a delicate balance it is for Arranging Brethren to act on scriptural principles while managing ecclesial diversity and harmony. It’s not easy. We’re always learning. I wanted to put forward my reasoning in a calm but honest manner so that others can understand my approach.
