Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-27
AS ONE WOMAN SEES IT
Reasons For and Against Women
Serving on a Church vestry Arc
Given Wider Application
by SARAH u. yOWRlE

I WAS asked in all seriousness this week
Ivy tbc president Of n church society III
| believed that women should bc allowru TO
serve as members of church vcstry. l
said that did, She said very cmphatlcslly
she did not. ! asked her why. She cnum.
Grated her reasons by checking them off in
II busincssIikc manner on the fingers of her
loft bnnd. There wore five reasons. and the
way | remember them is that cnrh reason
moro or less reminded me of the digit ON
which 1t was checked off. She began with
tho thumb
''lf women were OH tho ,cstry, that would
end 1t for men. They would lose interest.
Don't you think know my husband! He'd
pull right ont of the whole thing. You
won't get the real mon 20 consent to It,
Then. what do women know of bust
n"sa--and that's what vcstryman is for
business, insurance, banking, bookkeeping,
building, pcw-ronting, salary paying. repair.
ing! They would have to let the men do it.
why sit ike dummies on committee! Why
want to-
"Thcn, it would he hard on the clergy.
They have TO do 80 much for the church
with only women to help. Most of their
meeting. are two-thrds women, and when
they make an extra appeal it Is the women
who come 10 listen and help. I say do for
goodness sake lot the poor rector have ut
least ON" committee where he cum depend on
men. aud fight il out in the masculine gen
der.
Then. Of course in laying down the rules
for the church in apostolic days, women
were not allowed to do certain things that
men wore. There was I'll" rua about cover
ing their heads. there was the rule about
speaking in church. there was the rule
about Il woman being subject to thr man.
! ho"" must have been Il very good reason for
II. and II YOU break tho rule about one
thing why not about another! You will be
advocating their preaching and being priest
"ascS next
'And then. If YOU want 20 know my rcai
reason. I'd hate to do it myself. ana I
never believe in advocating q thing l would
not 90 myself. SO there you are. Those
ar" In" reasons ] do not think women ought
to be asked I" serve on the vcstry.'
T CAME home much impressed and checked
off TO the family hcr reasons as they arc
given above; And TO my surprise they we're
received with dcrision. Some OF the dcrtsivr
remarks | remember. such as:
Men won't like it. 4 real man WON'T
consent 10 it. Not il she knows hrr ln>-
band. Fudge. Eunco. When did men
"r"r consent 70 n new thing without a
Hamm"r and Il rlamor: Did God Almighty
ask Adams consent before hr gave him a
Ndam into-H N"ry d""p sleep and took away
from him what II" needed and gave Aoam
,Mhai he n""d"d aud said very good after
II" had done il And WAS Ainin p.ca>"d:
'i' was. And did Lc N1sg">t going "n TO live
and work hy himself? lie did not.
Il was tn" houSckcc Gcr Of the family who
answered the statement that women would
have to he helped by thr mon to do tao buSi-
ness that cones hcfor" u vcStry. but she was
smiling over at the #alarird business women
tf lt
mcnt.
lnasmuch Is any dow ntown Office has for
it, bo"kk"rpcrs, accountants. insurance ad-
jn':'rS, rent ti)"rs. secretaries and cashicrs
women r. well as mon. it is no longer uppli
'abi" {" $ay that n, business women the fc-
males of the ra"c are 'dllmnliC>. Nor docs
their active part in the business of the par
ish look IL though they were numb from
C"n>' ions inability.
In their comments upon the third reason,
however,. I'll" men in the group rather ced
that maybe the women In the parish did
."t moro than Il bit on the nerves of thA
clergy. and they thought that t" fight it cut
man /" man on Il vc>try might be very salu-
t"ry for the clergy, but they spoiled their
argument by saving that the mon on vc>tries
were mostly old women.
Being Il very modern group and cyccru-
lngly logical no one was at all Impressed hy
rhN barking ba"i; of ST. Paul and his stric-
lures on women without hats and with
Vuir~> in church,.
In their opinion Paul was speaking for
his day and generation and loraIity just a.
Moses and Aaron w"r" pr"%umrdly speaking
f." theirs. wh"n they laid down the laws os
l."v'i"uS. and preached the religious ritual
that included an ark. and candlcs,icks and
a "uttcr"d altar and n high priest VITA
vcSim"ntS of II certain cut. and feast days
and fast days and IN all tho year rounu
menu tina, did NOT include pork or Holsters
and did lnrIuIr unlCaI on bread,
l...