International Journal of Childrens Spirituality, Vol. 6, No.

3, 2001

Courage and Resistance: spiritual formation and mentoring girls for religious leadership
SHERYL A. KUJAWA-HOLBROOK
Episcopal Divinity School, 99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. E-mail: skujawa@episdivschool.org.

ABSTRACT In spite of the vast growth in literature over the past 10 years related to the gender-speci c aspects of girls development, very little has actually been written concerning their spirituality and spiritual development. This paper reviews available sources on girls spiritual development and compares and contrasts the extant literature with the results of interviews with over 32 young women as part of a Girls and Religious Leadership Project. How do girls develop spirituality? What are their spiritual questions? How do the relational concerns of girls connect with their spirituality? And how do the answers to these questions compare to the same as related to boys? Further, what sort of mentoring models relate most directly to the support of girls and their spiritual development. We are at a time in history when women are emerging as religious leaders. Though further work needs to be done, this paper makes initial suggestions about how knowledge of girls spirituality and mentoring can contribute to the formation of future religious leaders. Spirituality and Spiritual Development in Girls For a girl to tell the truth about her spirituality is an act of courage and resistance. She must believe in her own story: she must be willing to take her story seriously even when others wouldnt; she must be willing to talk about things that most girls are not generally accustomed to discussing. To speak honestly, which most of the girls seemed to want to do, they must be willing to negate a deeply embedded cultural rule about merely being nice. (Davis, 2001, p. 20) An important study in recent years relating to the spirituality of children is Patricia H. Davis Beyond Nice: The Spiritual Wisdom of Adolescent Girls. The title re ects the authors assertion that, Niceness is the opposite of spirituality. Niceness is, in fact, the opposite of what is required to build any genuine relationshipwith God or with others. While niceness can smooth super cial human interactions, it is devastating to true intimacy (Davis, 2001, p. ix). Throughout her book, Davis makes the connection between girls lives within our societies and their need for spirituality as
ISSN 1364-436X (print)/ISSN 1469-8455 (online)/01/030299-12 2001 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/1364436012010047 8

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the one place where their ultimate concerns intersect with their daily realities. As do most other recent works related to the development of girls, Davis makes a case for the perilous journey to maturity faced by females across cultures; journeys often characterized by exploitation, harassment, manipulation, and abuse. To be sure, it can be argued that children in general, female and male are under-valued and at risk in far too many societies around the world. Books and articles similar to work focused on the development of girls is now published on the particular needs of boys. Yet, the systemic marginalization and devaluation of female children and women across the world suggests the continuing need to examine how gender roles limit and inhibit the development of girls (and boys) as they strive toward human maturity and wholeness. Where do we go from here? Interestingly, the work of psychologists, educators, and theologians concerned with varying aspects of girls and womens development support the need for intentional efforts directed at nurturing the spirituality of girls and nurturing that spirituality for religious leadership. As an initial effort in this direction, I interviewed 32 young women over a 3-year period, 19961999 under the auspices of a project entitled Girls and Religious Leadership. The youngest respondent was 12 when interviewed; the oldest was 18. In addition, each respondent answered a written questionnaire relating to their concept of God, their spiritual experiences, and their experiences in religious institutions, etc. Half of the girls included in the process were of young women of colour; half considered themselves Christian, while the remaining respondents self-described as Jewish, Buddhist, and Unitarian. All respondents self-described as religious leaders, either through church membership, volunteer work, or paid work in a church, camp, or other religious organization. One of the key questions in the spiritual development of girls is their conception of God. Pierre Babins Faith and the Adolescent was published in 1965, 25 years before Davis work and at a time when the second wave of the womens movement had only just begun. Though not cited speci cally by Davis, Babin wrote about the spiritual development of girls one decade before the publication in 1976 of two major works that precipitated a paradigm shift in the psychology of women, notably Jean Baker Millers Toward A New Psychology of Women (1986), and Janet Hydes Half the Human Race (1976). Ahead of his time in acknowledging the differences in the spiritual development of girls and boys, Babin asserted that they each have a different conception of God: The boy sees in God a point to attain; the girl sees a relationship to realize (Babin, 1965, pp. 4748). Similarly, he describes what characterizes girls spirituality: The religious universe of the girl seems to be organized around a person-toperson relationship with God The girl does not so much seek in religion a logical and coherent system which would permit her to dominate the world and impose her law on history. Rather, she seeks harmony in dependence, a support and stabilizing accord in her relationship with God. Her feminine need is not so much to dominate nature (as is the case with men), as it is to live and give life. (Babin, 1965, p. 61)

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Moreover, Babin argued for the centrality of relationships in girls images of religious communities, stating that, before being the universal Church and the six continents, the mystical body of Christ is the person of Jesus, the parish priest, the neighbors, and the woman who helps out when she is sick (Babin, 1965, p. 63). Babin concluded that girls are unlikely to be moved by legalistic morality, but rather, tend to make moral decisions in contextual terms based on personal relationships (1965, p. 63). Further, he asserted the importance of recognizing the differences in spiritual development between boys and girls: Psychologists note that the affective maturation of the adolescent occurs partly as a result of his [her] assimilation of the characteristics of each sex. Such a truth should in uence religious education. The conversion of youth to the God of Jesus Christ will occur insofar as the young person has integrated not only the characteristics of his [her] own temperament, but also those of his [her] sex, with his [her] life in Christ. (Babin, 1965, p. 68) Similarly, the respondents in the Girls and Religious Leadership project described God in relational terms, often as a feeling or presence more so than a person. Most of the girls in the study struggled to nd language to suit their theology, and most felt uncomfortable about articulating their spirituality aloud. I like to sit in our church after everyone else has left and feel peacefulthats what God is like for me, said Beth, 15. I feel that God is there for me, gives me strength, even when I cant relate to the church service. When asked if she discussed her spirituality with others, Beth noted that she talked mostly with friends who I know feel the same way, but otherwise keeps her spirituality to herself. Girls search for their spiritual voice parallels the challenges facing them in other areas of their development. Beginning about 10 years ago, an increasing number of research projects have focused on listening to the voices of girls (e.g. Brown & Gilligan, 1992; Gilligan et al., 1990; Gilligan et al., 1991; Gilligan et al., 1988; Sidel, 1990). Most of these earlier studies explore longitudinally and cross-sectionally the various ways girls speak about themselves, their relationships, and their lives in general. For the most part, these studies focused primarily on White, middle- and upper-class girls; few of these projects attempted to listen to urban, poor, and working-class girls speak about their lives over time. Moreover, most of these early studies on girls development generally did not include spiritual development as a category of analysis. For example, the highly in uential and provocative work Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher contains less than three pages related to spiritual development, though adolescence is characterized here as a time when girls actively search for meaning and order in the universe (Pipher, 1994, p. 71). Though focused on the intersection between girls psychological health and cultural regeneration, the otherwise critical study Meeting at the Crossroads by Lyn Mikel Brown and Carol Gilligantwo women psychologists who were among the rst to isolate the discreet patterns in girls developmentignore issues of spiritual development entirely (Brown & Gilligan, 1992). Studies related to girls of colour more frequently tend to include questions regarding religious behaviour in the form of church attendance, particularly in regard to issues of sexuality

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and support for youth programmes (Leadbetter & Way, 1996, pp. 276ff., 281, 394). However, while patterns of church attendance relate to spiritual development, they do not fully explain the internal processes that support or inhibit the spiritual growth of girls. It has become almost common knowledge that girls and women are primarily motivated to maintain relationships because their sense of self is centred around their relationships with others, while boys and men are motivated to achieve autonomy, and operate on a pattern of rights and rules. Girls are schooled toward dependency both inside and outside of religious institutions (Giltner, 1996, pp. 44 45). It is generally agreed that there are differences in the way girls and boys receive and process information, form and use language, establish gender identity, and achieve independence and autonomy. While most accept that being female is fundamentally different from being male, our societies are more reluctant to shed patterns of socialization that shape women and men in roles that offer different opportunities and rewards. Children do not exist just to develop themselves and become integrated as persons. They have a more transcendent calling. All human persons, including children, have a concrete mission, a vocation, within the world that they are called to exercise for personal ful lment and for the betterment of humanity. Spirituality then becomes the way a childs life re ects the relationship she has with God, people, and the world. It is both individual and communal, and it is the communal aspect of spirituality that can be more pronounced in girls. Children and adults develop spiritually in a way that is consistent with their gender, race, ethnicity, social class, abilities, and limitations, etc. Spirituality re ects the values and attitudes of people, as well as their historical and socio-cultural contexts. Not without consequence, the respondents of the Girls and Religious Leadership project though self-described as leaders, felt little support in their spiritual growth. Although their families and friends supported their participation in religious activities, the respondents did not nd overall that these relationships nurtured them as deeply spiritual persons. Half of the respondents reported a feeling on the part of the people closest to them that if they grew too spiritual it would con ict with their social roles of daughter, wife, mothers, etc. My mom always encouraged me to go to conferences and camps and stuff like that, said Carolyn, 17, But I never could nd anyone to talk to after I came home. I was like no one wanted her hear what I learned thereand it was pretty powerful stuff. Perhaps not surprisingly, Patricia H. Davis found in her interviews with over 100 girls of various religious, ethnic, and regional backgrounds that religion actually functions to both support and hinder, to liberate and to oppress, girls in their overall development. While spirituality positively shapes the ways girls understand themselves and their world, and sometimes functions as a major survival strategy, it also contributes to negative attitudes, beliefs and actions (Davis, 2001, p. 5). For girls, institutional religion is a source of af rmation and nurture, where their social, physical, and intellectual needs are met and where they feel valued, listened to, and challenged. It is also a source of ambiguity and tension, a source of unanswered questions (by adults) about the meaning of personal and world events, particularly

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if these events are seen as controversial, a source of terror in the face of evil and sin, and for some, a source of violence and abuse (Davis, 2001). This same ambiguity toward institutional religion was found among the respondents in the Girls and Religious Leadership project. All the respondents20 out of the total of 32who remained in religious institutions reported a positive history; they felt af rmed for who they are and challenged to greater creativity, independence, and autonomy. While a number of respondents appreciate the opportunity to participate as leaders in public worshipan observation also made by Davis in her workwhen asked what most supported them spiritually, these girls invariably mentioned a relationshipeither a person or persons in a congregation, a particular role model or mentor, their friends, or less often a family member. I dont consider myself a religious person, but I am very spiritual, reported Emily, 18. I would never be seen as a leader at my school, but at church I am one of the key people who keeps things going. Our leader really gave me the con dence that I could do it, that I belonged here. Though the respondents not active in organized religion did not report actual physical abuse, they all reported some sort of traumatic incident. I wanted to be a server when I was little, reported Liza, 15, but the priest said that girls werent allowed. The others [girls] accepted it, but I never could. Though not always a form of institutional religion, all of the respondents reported in some way that they bene ted from an extended community of other spirituallyminded young women (and young men), and have developed the ability to network across vast geographical hurdles via the telephone and internet to maintain these relationships. These relationships often serve as important touchstones and offer girls the opportunities 1. to discuss their desires and concerns in an atmosphere of trust; 2. to re ect together on meaningful aspects of life; 3. to work together on the problems they face and offer one another adequate and timely advice; 4. to accompany one another in their daily lives, especially as they struggle to achieve their ideals and as they experience pain and joy; 5. to help one another heal emotionally and physically from negative experiences, free themselves from oppression, and seek reconciliation with themselves, God, and others. The most important people in my life are the kids that were counselors with me at summer camp, reported Genita, 16. I can talk to them about anything, and even though we live all over I still feel that they are a part of me, you know. The Place of Relationships What becomes apparent when looking at the major studies about girls development, and speci cally girls spiritual development, is that for them spirituality is primarily about relationship. Girls spirituality centres on their relationship with God and is profoundly in uenced by their relationships with other people. This assertion resonates with some of the earlier studies on girls development that also emphasized the importance of relationships in girls lives. Carol Gilligan explained this tendency

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by suggesting that girls develop an ethic of care (Gilligan, 1982, p. 62ff). Girls think of morality in terms of their responsibility to others and are therefore concerned with doing something to meet the needs of others. This differs from boys, who tend to think of responsibility as not doing something that would infringe on the rights of others (Woolfolk, 1995, p. 83). Though Gilligan is not speci cally concerned with girls spiritual development, her ethic of care is demonstrated by the statements of the girls interviewed in the Girls and Religious Leadership project. Each of the 32 respondents reported that they rst began to perceive themselves as leaders when faced with a situation in early adolescence where they were charged to be a care-giver, rather than a care-receiver, e.g. mission trips, childcare, working with the homeless. For these girls and young women there was a strong connection between engagement with marginalized and vulnerable people and the recognition of their leadership capacity. When we were working in the homeless shelter I realized that I could actually help other people, said Maria. I never thought I could make a difference before. What then do girls need for spiritual growth? What particular developmental concerns relate to girls and how do they compare with the developmental needs of boys? Like all children, particularly those in societies where they are undervalued, girls need compassion and care from concerned adults. Certainly, they share with boys the universal human needs outlined by Maslowaffection, respect, well-being, power, enlightenment, skill, wealth, and rectitude (Maslow, 1970). Similarly, they need spirituality and a culturally valuing community, as well as peer relationships characterized by mutuality and respect in order to grow into whole human persons. Like their male peers, girls need positive role models and mentors who are sensitive to their gender-speci c needs as well as other aspects of their social location such as race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual identity. Yet the message from scholars who have speci cally studied girls also indicates that they have some unique needs, not necessarily foreign to the experience of boys, but manifested in different ways. For instance, girls share a need to own their voice and may struggle with issues of self-esteem and independence. The ethic of care shared by many girls suggests a latent sense of social responsibility that needs to be both shaped and challenged. Though sexual violence impacts both boys and girls, it affects girls in larger numbers, and hence, the fear of abuse and the need for safety surfaces more commonly among girls. Many girls also struggle with the need to develop more assertive behaviour on a variety of levelsspiritual, personal, social, and intellectual. Given then what we know about what girls developmental needs, how can those of us concerned with their spiritual development encourage them to build healthy and positive relationships with God, other people, and the world? What types of relationships lead to the spiritual empowerment of girls? And lastly, what characteristics are of importance to the promotion of girls as religious leaders? Mentoring All the respondents in the Girls and Religious Leadership project interviews reported about the importance of role models and mentors, though in most cases

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these girls and young women pointed to the need for not just one person, but a variety of persons who were in uential in their life. All the respondents could name and highly valued female role models and mentors, though some, particularly those active in church and religious organizations, also claimed men who were important to them spiritually and as leaders, especially in contexts where there are few or no women in visible religious leadership roles. Latoya, 16, noted: I would never have become active in my church without the support of Mrs Johnson. She made me excel and expected me to do the work I was given. Nobody ever had such high expectations of me before. She made me feel important and I felt she trusted me. Latoyas statement also accented the particular need of young women of colour. Unlike their White contemporaries, young women of colour face devaluation due to both sexism and racism, and need the mentoring of other women of colour with their own distinctive religious leadership (McKenzie, 1996, pp. 79, 113, 115). The word mentor has become a popular, often mis-applied, word in educational and training circles. Typically, the purpose of mentoring for some has been to extend achievements from one person to another, particularly in academic or professional circles. It has often been assumed by those who advocate for programmes for children and youth that the same mentoring models used with adults will be appropriate for young people, and that the these same methods are suitable for both girls and boys. These assumptions are problematic; in considering possibilities for transformation, gender, age, race/ethnicity, sexual identity, and social class are but a few of the variables that need to be considered when examining the mentoring process for girls. The notion of a mentoring environment or a mentoring community is important, however, precisely because it breaks out of the imagination of mentoring as a task-orientated activity and draws attention to the irreducible, formative power of a girls larger community as a whole. A mentoring environment is the sum of all the relationships, behavioural norms, and physical architecture that constitute a girls emerging sense of self in the world. Mentoring relationships centred in families, schools, churches, and other organizations where girls live can provide them a place where self-discovery is encouraged. This in turn could lead to a spiritual transformation uniquely suited to those growing into womanhood. Founder and president of the Childrens Defense Fund in Washington, DC, Marian Wright Edelman, a childrens advocate who af rms the importance of spiritual development for all children, writes of her own mentoring environment in The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours: At Spelman College in Atlanta I found my Daddy and Mamas values about taking responsibility for your own learning and growth reinforced in the daily (except Saturday) chapel service I remember now far more from the chapel speakers who came to talk to us about life and the purpose of education than from any class Many of my mentors and role models, such as Dr Benjamin Mays, Whitney Young, M. Carl Homan, a professor at Clark College, later head of the National Urban Coalition, Dr Howard Thurman, and Dr King, all conveyed the same message as they

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S. A. Kujawa-Holbrook spoke in Sisters Chapel at Spellman: education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it. (Edelman, 1992, p. 9ff.)

Edelmans plea is less for the return of compulsory daily chapel services, than it is for the need to provide young people with role models and mentors with whom they can identity and by whom they can be challenged. While her list is comprised of famous persons, mentoring is less about the notoriety of a person than it is about their integrity and quality of presence. A change in the one mentored is the desired outcome of a mentoring relationship. For girls, this change, or transformation has more to do with self-discovery than it does with nding a new identity. Growth toward human maturity and integration for girls is more tied to making connections than to severing relationships, whether that relationship is with God, other people or the world. Girls emphasize the need for a sense of continuity in relationships, and appreciation for the sense of self-discovery that is emerging from within. Scholars who have studied adult women religious leaders, both lay and ordained, have underscored the importance of role models and mentors in their lives. Joanna Gillespie in her study of womens roles in congregations reported how the women she interviewed waxed eloquently about how their beloved mentors expanded their horizons, yet paradoxically, also found comparatively little energy and concern in these same congregations for the nurture and instruction of children (Gillespie, 1995, p. 221). Moreover both Zikmund et al. (1998) and Nesbitt (1997) in their studies of women clergy found that gender discrimination, at times subtle and indirect, causes many women to delay to an older age than their male counterparts institutional approval of their call to ministry. All these studies suggest a gap for girls spanning from childhood through adulthood in the area of spiritual mentors. It is not surprising then to hear from those interviewed in the Girls and Religious Leadership project that they have proceeded on their spiritual journeys without feeling the support of those closest to them. Such leadership losses and delays in the spiritual development of half of the population of humankind no doubt has lead to incalculable losses for religious organizations and institutions. Belenky et al. (1986) discuss the importance for girls of not only nding their voice, but also of claiming what they already have experienced and know to be true. Most girls learn at an early age to be self-critical and hesitant about their choices. More than constructive criticism, girls need to be af rmed, sometimes over and over again, in the reality that they are part of Gods creation. In this way the mentor becomes a midwife helping a girl to give birth to herself (Schaller, 1996). A model of mentoring girls that is concerned with their spiritual transformation goes well beyond the educational model of helping them think critically about faith issues, and the institutional model of helping them t into church structures. Such a mentoring model is more process-oriented, and less devoted to the achievement of external tasks. A transformational mentoring model focuses on encouraging, supporting, and befriending a girl to become con dent in her own spirituality and emerging womanhood.

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Though mentor training is provided within some organizations, the skills associated with mentoring girls are not so much didactic in nature as they are interpersonal. Within the context of spiritual development, transformational mentoring is more of a charism than strictly speaking a skill, a gift of the spirit, a way of being present to a girl that invites her into a fuller and more con dent relationship with God, other people, and the world. It is a one-to-one relationship within the context of a community that is characterized by a sense of mutuality, is focused on the exploration of the girls best interests, and built on shared time and experience. A one-to-one relationship between a girl and a woman who has shared a similar journey may make it safer, if not always easy, to discuss ones own experiences and to share ones hopes and fears. A healthy mentoring relationship should encourage a girl to claim her emerging sense of self, and see that it is holy and re ective of the image of God. If a mentor truly believes that God is active in the transformative process, the mentor will then be encouraged to act in a girls best interest rather than according to their own needs. Obviously, transformation takes time. Mentoring relationships do not proceed based on human schedules and plans. Rather, the mentoring relationship evolves over time and ebbs and ows according to the spiritual journey of the girl involved.

Mentoring and Leadership One of the obvious bene ts of an intentional mentoring process aimed at the growth and development of girls spirituality is the direct link between those who have bene ted from the experience of role models and mentors and leadership development. Leadership as it pertains to children and youth is a fairly elusive concept. This is in part because adults and young people alike do not de ne themselves in terms of leadership. Still, girls have the capacity of lead in many wayssome in named leadership roles such as in student government or in church groups, others in more subtle ways. Many girls, by the time of adolescence are involved in school, church and community, working a job, and often volunteeringactivities that all help them develop their own personal understanding of leadership. Institutions of higher learning and employers are interested in adolescents who are leaders, and often equate leadership capacity with the ability to take on responsibility and show concern about the work being done. Leadership development is a burgeoning eld that offers several de nitions for the abilities and skills that support leadership potential. Research by Peters and Austin (1985) suggests leaders have the capacity to unleash human energy; building, freeing, growing. Bennis and Nanus (1985) emphasize the importance of an individuals ability to know her skills and apply them to situations that can support and promote leadership potential. In this regard, all people have leadership potential, and lead in many places in many ways. The ability to motivate others is another suggested leadership characteristic. Halloran and Benton (1987) argued that leadership is the ability to in uence others actions in either formal or informal settings. Though exact de nitions for leadership vary, what is crucial to recognize here is that

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leadership is a personal and a developmental process which takes place over a persons lifetime. Leadership is also a social process that is manifest among all people, regardless of culture. Each society has its own social construction of leaders and leadership (Bass, 1990). For those of us concerned with the leadership development of girls, it is important to note that researchers indicate that leadership development starts early. Gardner (1987) concluded that critical skills for effective leadership, including the capacity to understand and interact with others, grow most profoundly in adolescence and young adulthood. Yet these capacities begin to form before 5 years of age. Further, all young people have the capacity to lead; researchers have found that there are no major quantitative or qualitative differences between young people identi ed as leaders and those not identi ed as such. It is not possible to predict among adolescents those who will develop exceptional leadership capacity, and those who will not (Garrod, 1988). For adolescent girls, however, The choices made and paths taken at adolescence have the potential to be pivotal, setting the course of educational and vocational direction (Taylor et al., 1994.) While theoretically all children and adolescents have leadership potential, girls face signi cant challenges in developing their capacity. As was mentioned earlier in this article, the perceived roles of males and females within our societies differ. Being socialized as a boy or as a girl has a signi cant impact on how an individual views his or her capacity to be a leader. The dominate culture teaches boys at an early age to mirror the more stereotypical vision of leadership; strength, intelligence, aggression, competitiveness, and ambition. While these same characteristics are also part of the socialization of girls, they are so to a lesser degree and with a higher cost. For instance, girls that are seen as competitive or aggressive may be labelled as unfeminine or pushy. Though certainly not the case in all contexts, the underlying message remains that girls are expected to be followers, not leaders. Exceptional leadership potential is not associated with girls. I dont like to tell people about all I do at the church, reported Melanie, 14. I really like to work hard, but other people think it is weird. The assertion that girls have the same leadership potential as boys, but are societally and culturally disadvantaged when it comes to developing these capacities, is consistent with research that suggests girls experience greater setbacks during adolescents than boys. Simmons and Blyth (1987) have found that adolescent girls tend to have a lower sense of self-esteem than boys. Epidemiological research suggests that adolescence is a time of heightened psychological risk for girls. What once seemed ordinary to girlsspeaking, difference, anger, con ict, ghting, bad as well as good thoughts and feelingsnow seem treacherous: laced with danger, a sign of imperfection, a harbinger of being left out, not chosen (American Association of University Women, 1991, p. 32ff.). Further, girls also receive cultural messages regarding their ability to lead, often rooted in race and ethnicity, like most girls, black girls are raised to assume the traditional female role of nurturing and child care, but they are also encouraged to be strong and self-suf cient and to expect to work outside the homeas have generations of black women before them (Taylor et al., 1994, p. 43).

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While the spiritual dimension of leadership is not considered in most of the research on leadership development, by extrapolation it can be surmised that there is a paucity of resources geared toward developing girls capacity for religious leadership. This comes at a time when churches and religious organizations are experiencing growing numbers of women leaders at all levels, though not without a certain degree of ambiguity and tension: In doing so, women must overcome the deep cultural barrier that still keeps many from authoritative public actionfrom choosing to lead (Buchanan, 1996, p. 220). Theologian Letty Russell has analysed the differences in leadership styles between women and men and suggests that overall the variety of styles of leadership differ depending on their context, on their religious and ideological commitments, and on their access to power and authority (Russell, 1992, p. 346). While she argues that there are many factors of personality, culture and context which effect leadership styles, the clues to womens religious leadership can be found in primarily three sources: One way to do this is to think of women who have been role models for us and what they have taught us. Another is to point to examples of leadership in which authority is exercised as standing with the community in solidarity with those who are most marginal. A third way is to speak of characteristics of womens leadership and their contribution to new styles of leadership in the church. This later approach is well developed by Joan Campbell in the new ecumenical volume on women and church, edited by Melanie May. She describes womens leadership as relational, connectional, exible, intimate, and passionate. (Russell, 1992, pp. 349350) Conclusion Much remains to be gleaned from the data, yet all indicators point to the reality that girls are a spiritual force to be reckoned with that has yet to be tapped for its potential. Moreover, unless countless gifts are to be lost to religious institutions, more attention needs to be paid to consciously grooming girls for religious leadership. The need for mentors, female and male, sensitive to the spiritual lives of girls is strong, as is the need for opportunities for girls to exert their leadership potential from an early age. Those committed to girls and boys are called to look beyond gender roles that oppress and con ne. Let us work to equip children with the life skills to appreciate differences, value mutuality, and live in the spirit of hope. References
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN (AAUW) (1991) Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America: a nationwide poll to assess self-esteem, educational experiences (Washington, DC, AAUW). BABIN, P. (1965) Faith and the Adolescent (New York, Herder & Herder). BASS, B. (1990) Bass and Stodgills Handbook of Leadership (New York, Free Press). BELENKY, M., CLINCHY , B., GOLDBERGER, N. & TARULE, J. (1986) Womens Ways of Knowing (New York, Basic Books).

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