Sister Mona Sullivan wants to become a Catholic priest. If she chooses this path she must renounce her vows and leave her beloved Church. Sandra Miller-Brownstein, one of the first women rabbis, and Elizabeth Adams, one of the first women Presbyterian pastors, must choose between their lovers and their careers.
When the three women attend a gala dinner to receive an award for their professional accomplishments, each recalls fifty years of her life and struggle to forge a pathbreaking career and find her own voice. And as the evening draws to a close, each makes the decision that will forever change her life. Set between 1940 and 1990, the story follows the civil rights struggles that revolutionized every major institution - including religion. Real events and figures lend Hear My Voice authenticity and relevance, making it a must-read for people of all faiths. |
"The Hagermans were deluged with dinner invitations from their new congregants. Everyone was eager to meet the new pastor and his wife. “New pastor and other new pastor,” Liz said to Tom. “Don’t they get that?” …They divided up their responsibilities. Liz would run the Sunday School and Wednesday night adult bible study group…the exploratory committee looking into establishing a pre-school and work with the lay chairs of the book review and adult education committees.…Tom would do most of the personal counseling, hospital and home visits to the ill, and conduct the worship services, baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals." |
"Sandy wrote to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati and told them she wanted to apply to rabbinical school. By this time Sandy had told her parents of her wild dream. Helen [Sandy’s mother] was surprisingly supportive, but warned her she’d probably not be able to follow her unusual career choice. Leon Miller was appalled, or at least pretended to be. “You do know religion is all hogwash,” he reminded his daughter. “Rabbis don’t have mysterious magical powers. This ordination stuff is all nonsense. Laying on of hands. In the twentieth century. It’s all magic. There are other ways you can transmit our Jewish culture, if that’s what you want.” |