The Re-Imagining Community is an ecumenical, radical, Christian movement. Together we pursue creative and relevant ways of understanding Womanist, Feminist, Mujerista, and Asian Feminist theologies, opening space for dialogue with the church, diverse religious communities, and the world. We are impassioned to participate in Re-Imagining by our love and search for God, justice, and a challenging, empowering, and inclusive church.

We have recently re-organized in order to preserve our legacy so that future generations do not have to re-create it.  We are also committed to looking to the future and sponsoring activities that continue the spirit of Re-Imagining.

The Re-Imagining Community evolved out of a 1993 conference which brought together clergy, laypeople, and theologians from a variety of Christian denominations to mark the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Decade: Churches in Solidarity with Women 1988–1998.

It included presentations by leading feminist/womanist/mujerista/asian theologians and worship rituals shaped by feminist theology and the use of inclusive language for God. This led to a national debate on feminist theology that was not confined to churches but carried on in newspapers across the country and on episodes of Nightline and the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour.

This response led a group of supporters to conclude that there was a need for an ecumenical community to promote feminist theology and liturgy. In 1994, they formed the Re-Imagining Community, which was in existence until 2003, a decade after the initial conference. During those ten years, the Re-Imagining Community organized six more conferences, published a quarterly journal, and sponsored “faith labs” to teach about feminist theology in local churches.  In the process, it made major contributions to the development of feminist/womanist/mujerista/asian theology and liturgy.

Duke University has digitized oral interviews with 72 people connected with Re-Imagining, including planners, participants, and presenters.

→ VISIT THE COLLECTION

You can now listen to audio files from Re-Imagining Conferences.

Now available: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996.

Coming soon: 1998, 2000, 2003

→ LISTEN TO AUDIO FILES 

Materials from our ten years as a community are dispersed in a variety of archives.

→ VISIT ARCHIVES