Women Priests and Hum and Screech

WOMEN PRIESTS AND HUM AND SCREECH
Wed. June 7th, 2023

 

My priest and I have been talking a little about the amplification of the voice of women priests in church, especially during their sermons, but also for the rest of the worship service.  It is totally theoretical, because I have no relevant knowledge.  I only have hunches.

I wrote on Facebook recently,  "If a woman comes to a woman priest and says 'I'd like to become a priest,'  I hope the woman priest will say "That's great, but we also need women sound engineers.  Part of the reason some men priests don't have to talk that loud but their voices get picked up really well is because all the sound engineers were men."  That is the way I see it. -- So now I have one more thing to add.  But first, an anecdote.  My friend Martin in Durham told me his father was a professor in divinity school, and he taught a course that the professors called "Homiletics and Speech."  But the students called it Hum and Screech (Hum and Screech 101).  Well the point -- the way I take it -- is that diction and elocution are part of the curriculum in schools of divinity.  That's a really good thing!  It's a little-known fact (among atheists) that Christians like to be able to hear what their preacher is saying. -- So therefore, I think part of the solution to creating an environment where women priests can really sock it to their congregation, is for the hum and screech professors to put their minds on the following question: What is the most effective way to teach hum and screech to the women candidates for the priesthood?  I happen to believe that is a doable project.

My priest is a little bit gloomy about the prospects.  I am somewhat optimistic.  Not optimistic in the sense that the issues can be solved in the next year.  But optimistic in the sense that the issues can be solved in the next ten years.  We all need to work together on this.

Frank Newton