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Foreword    MY FIRST RECOLLECTION of Joanne is as an undergraduate taking a summer course taught by her at St. Michael’s College in the 1970s. I had heard so much about her, and when I took one of her courses, it was clear that the fame was well deserved. At that time there were very few women teaching in Religious Studies, and we were in awe. Years passed before I would have the chance to get to know her personally, but along the way her reputation grew and grew. The great thing about her lectures was that she never relied on her personality or special effects to catch the classes’ interest. It was her dedication as a scholar that caught the attention and won the respect of one and all. Even the most conservative Anglican bishops listened to her, and her address at the General Synod, when the Anglican Church of Canada voted to ordain women to the priesthood, most certainly influenced the vote in favour. Remember that she was speaking as a Roman Catholic laywoman at the time. Subsequently I remember the buzz of excitement when word spread that Dr. Joanne McWilliam had been received into the Anglican fold and would be teaching at Trinity College, Toronto. There was further excitement when we heard she was applying for holy orders. It fell to a group of Examining Chaplains in Toronto to interview her, and I remember well the slightly nervous question: “Which one of us is going to quiz her on theology ?” Needless to say, the theological questions were handled beautifully. No surprise there, but afterwards I remember all commented that prayer vii was obviously as strong a passion for Joanne as her theology, and wasn’t that wonderful beyond words! Still more time passed, and I came to know Joanne as a colleague at Trinity College. She was now a deacon, and the date for her ordination to the presbyterate had been set. One day, passing in the halls of the Larkin Building , she asked me if I would teach her how to preside at the altar. The earth moved beneath my feet. With that history, the reader can understand how very pleased we all were when Joanne was appointed to the Primate’s Theological Commission of the Anglican Church of Canada. What a sheer delight to hear her and Robert Crouse discuss Patristics. It was refreshing also to hear her engage feminist critique and move elegantly from topic to topic as we developed the three workbooks that the first commission published. The membership of the Theological Commission was very intentionally diverse, yet the respect afforded Joanne was universal. One had only to set foot on the campus of General Seminary in New York to know that she was as highly respected south of the border as in Canada. With those very personal comments, let me state the obvious: the Church has been blessed beyond words by the life, ministry, and theological contribution of Joanne McWilliam. We have been blessed by her questions: “Can one be a Christian and against the ordination of women?” “Can a person be a Christian and against the blessing of same-sex unions?” The Body of Christ was blessed by her loyalty and her love for her family and friends through the days of controversy and darkness in the academy. And Anglicans and others continue to be blessed by her generosity as a teacher of theology; she continued to teach as a non-stipendiary member of the Divinity faculty right up to her final weeks of life, because she knew that teaching Augustine was imperative to the formation of theological minds. Last but not least, the human family was and is blessed by her deep commitment to justice. It shone forth when she spoke with pride about the lives of her children and grandchildren; it was evident when, just occasionally, you could get her to talk about herself and you discovered that she read widely in the area of social justice and lived her life in accordance with her convictions. So thank God for the gift of Joanne McWilliam, theologian, priest, wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, mentor, and friend. May the Church honour Joanne’s gifts and enormous contribution by being as theologically sound, devout, and faithful as she was. Bishop Victoria Matthews Diocese of Christchurch, New Zealand viii FOREWORD ...

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