The Talon does not exist in a vacuum. Topics the Talon covers each day affect the Oklahoma Christian community, and the Talon wants to engage this community.
The Talon hosted its first Town Hall on Tuesday, Oct, 1 in an effort to have an interactive dialogue with interested members of campus about the issues which face them, inspired by topics covered by the Talon. Staff members, led by editor-in-chief Keaton Ross, hosted a panel to discuss women speaking in chapel and gender roles within the church.
Recent changes in the Oklahoma Christian chapel policy make this topic relevant. According to spiritual life policies on campus, women are now allowed to speak, give messages and read Scripture during chapel, but are barred from leading prayer. These policies were updated at the beginning of the 2018-2019 academic school year.
This semester, more women have begun reading Scripture or giving messages in chapel. A recent Talon feature covering the increase in women speakers served as a talking point for the town hall.
Oklahoma Christian students gathered at the town hall to discuss the Scriptural basis of these policies and their personal thoughts on the topics. In addition, they examined the role of women in the church and whether or not women’s leadership in the church is biblical. The Talon panel expressed their personal opinions and opened up questions for the audience to hear their different takes on the issue.
Senior Abby Dolan, who attended the town hall, expressed her frustration with prior chapel experiences.
“A continuing frustration of mine is the lack of women involved in chapel at this university,” Dolan said. “Until this year I avoided going to big chapel altogether because of that practice. That’s very discouraging. Seeing that change this year in big chapel and how people are receiving it; I was really interested to come to this conversation and see what was talked about.”
Junior Rachel Creech also attended and said the topic is relevant due to recent changes and student discussions.
“It’s a glaring flaw in how chapel has been run,” Creech said about previous policies regarding women speaking in chapel. “It’s very hard not to notice that womens’ voices are not heard, at least in big chapel. I came tonight because I wanted to be a part of the conversation to keep women in chapel.”
Dolan said she was encouraged by the open dialogue the town hall provided.
“It’s good to give a space for students to talk about this in a casual setting,” Dolan said. “There are a lot of differences at this university. To have a space for all voices to talk and process and see what’s happening at this university is beneficial.”
Creech said she enjoyed hearing from individuals who came to process their own thoughts and opinions on the topic.
“It was good to hear from someone who acknowledged they were here to figure things out,” Creech said. “It’s encouraging for me because a lot of people come into this university with a more traditional view of the church and how it should operate.”
Creech also stated that she appreciated hearing support for women leading chapel and church services as she supports womens’ leadership roles in congregations.
“I completely believe that women should lead in the church, “ Creech said. “If they are not leading, there’s a problem. It’s encouraging to hear that there are people who have like-minded ideas and that people came to this with an open mind. Even if they did not completely agree with the changes, it seemed like everyone was here to talk openly.”
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