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62 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2024 Rev. Dr. Stewart's sermon was deemed controversial, yet the video immediately went viral. Islamic spiritual leaders gain huge audiences on YouTube. Churches with female pastors flourish and grow in membership. Clergywomen have "the power to open up theology and spirituality in new and expansive ways," says Rev. Schuber. These risk-taking ministers are "strongly encouraging compassion and empathy," says Rev. Blizzard. What happens when you bring persistent hope to a place of risk? You move forward, shaping a new picture. Rev. Blizzard shares how showing up brought change. A male congregant who once disapproved of clergywomen told Blizzard that he changed his mind. "My consistency and compassion as a leader had convicted him to rethink his reservations about women." In some cases, the data shows the soar: "We're welcoming numbers we haven't seen since the early 2000s, and we are projecting a 20% increase in membership between Aug. 2022 and the end of this year," Rev. Schuber explains of the High Street congregation. When we're moving toward change, "the destination is not what matters," reminds Dr. Haqqani. "Remember that you're part of a lineage. One step in a lineage of liberation for everybody." Wrestling and struggle can surely shatter any glass. My sister wears tiny pieces of cracked glass on a delicate silver chain around her neck. I gi ed her a necklace made of broken stained glass when she was ordained as a pastor in 2021. May she see the broken pieces for what they are – remnants of a ceiling that never was large enough to hold the sacred wonder of a life of ministry. Figures like St. Elizabeth and St. Veronica, pictured here at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Downtown Macon, show that women have been working as faith leaders for centuries. Photo by MM Staff. The gifted necklace. Photo courtesy of the author.