The Rev. Anastasia Webster-Hawes

July - September 2016 | The Vaughan Park Scholar in Residence

I am married to Donald, and am the mother of eight children and Rector of the Parish of Blayney, which has seven widely-flung churches in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, part of the Diocese of Bathurst.

I plan to complete a dissertation on the First Letter of Peter. The working title is 'Christlike Suffering? A Feminist Theological Perspective on the First Letter of Peter'. Although some commentators have found 1 Peter 'one of the most eloquent and theologically rich' texts in the New Testament, feminist theologians, on the other hand,  have found it 'one of the most dangerous texts in the New Testament.' In his call to imitate Christ and endure unjust suffering, the writer of Peter calls for obedient subordination, which can be pernicious for women, especially those who are in situations of abuse. From a faith perspective, but employing a hermeneutic of suspicion,I plan to question the received interpretation, and examine questions of how we deal with, and make sense of suffering.