Creating and Sustaining an Ecofeminist Theological Hermeneutic in the Community of Pacific Women Scholars: An Interview with Elaine Wainwright

Creating and Sustaining an Ecofeminist Theological Hermeneutic in the Community of Pacific Women ScholarsAn Interview with Elaine Wainwright Kathleen McPhillips (bio) and Elaine Wainwright Keywords ecofeminist theology, feminist biblical hermeneutics, social change, women and the Pacific Click for larger view View full resolution Kathleen McPhillips Click for larger view View full resolution Elaine Wainwright End Page 111 Elaine Wainwright is an Australian feminist biblical scholar and was at the forefront of developing feminist biblical studies in the Pacific region. Before she studied at university, Wainwright joined the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy (Australia and Papua New Guinea congregation) and taught in Catholic schools. From 1982 to 2001 she was lecturer in New Testament at the Brisbane College of Theology in Queensland Australia. From 2003 to 2014 she was Richard Maclaurin Goodfellow Professor of Theology and head of the School of Theology at the University of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Professor Wainwright was a founding member of the Women Scholars of Religion and Theology (WSRT) network, which operated across Oceania from the early 1990s until 2005. She was also a founding member of the journal SeaChanges, which focused on the work of women scholars working in the Pacific, and she mentored hundreds of theology students in her time as a teacher. She has published five books on feminist and ecofeminist theological hermeneutics as well as many book chapters, journal articles, and keynote presentations. Her research has had a profound impact on ecofeminist theological paradigms and feminist approaches to the study of Matthew's Gospel with well-known publications including Woman Healing/Healing Women: The Genderization of Healing in Early Christianity (2006), Shall We Look for Another: A Feminist Re-Reading of the Matthean Jesus (1998), Towards a Feminist Critical Reading of the Gospel of Matthew (1991), and Habitat, Human and Holy: An Eco-Rhetorical Reading of the Gospel of Matthew (2016). Wainwright has also held leadership positions in the Mercy congregation including most recently as executive leader, Mission and Ministry. She is currently professor emerita and lives in Brisbane, Australia. Wainwright is known for her collaborative and inclusive style of teaching and mentorship as well as her inspirational scholarship and is regarded with distinction and much love by those who know and work with her. I first met Elaine Wainwright in the early 1990s when she was lecturing at the Brisbane College of Theology in Queensland, Australia. We were both interested in developing networks of feminist studies in religion across Australia and later the Pacific. I found an erudite, seemingly conventional woman, who was anything but conservative. I learned from Elaine how she successfully wedded scholarship to social action and brought women together across the Pacific, demonstrating a profound understanding and appreciation of the cultural values and practices of diverse Pacific communities. This is an interview with Elaine Wainwright and Kathleen McPhillips recorded on Monday, March 22, 2021, for Across Generations in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. Kath: Your work in feminist theology has been groundbreaking. When did you first become interested in feminist theology? End Page 112 Elaine: It's been really interesting looking back over my life's journey, as I keep on trying to respond to situations. I found myself going back to the time when I was asked to teach John's Gospel to the novices in my congregation (Sisters of Mercy, Australia) and this took me deeper into the field of scripture. And at that stage I wouldn't have been conscious of feminist readings, but that changed for me when I was looking for a thesis topic for my honors year at the University of Queensland in the 1970s in Brisbane. I was looking for something in the area of social justice, an area that I was very involved with, and my supervisor suggested that I do something on women. I hadn't really been exposed to feminism prior to that, but this was the catalyst that led me into issues of women and justice. It was a time of political unrest in Brisbane and my perspective started to shift into the area of scripture and justice, and then scripture and justice for women.1 Kath: What feminist texts inspired you...