In Memory of Her – Elaine Wainwright
In Memory of Her
Elaine Wainwright, RSM 1948-2024
Brisbane, Australia
Elaine Wainwright, RSM, second from right, with Australian friends at 2017 FLTN meeting.
WATER extends sincere condolences to the family, Mercy Community, friends and colleagues of Elaine Wainwright. She was a highly respected and deeply loved feminist theologian with focus on biblical studies, especially Christian scriptures. Her ecofeminist work was a signal contribution to the field. As a scholar, teacher, minister, and administrator, she brought the same faithfulness, thoroughness, and kindness to every table.
Elaine was a longtime participant in WATER’s Feminist Liberation Theologians’ Network (FLTN) which meets at the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meetings. She rarely came alone to the sessions, always inviting other colleagues to join her. Thus, the pictures we share capture her delight at being with friends. Because of her warm welcome, FLTN includes a number of her students and faculty colleagues.
Her presentation at the 2017 FLTN meeting was entitled “What Sustains Us for the Long Journey of Resistance, Resilience and Creativity?” https://www.youtube.com/watchv=iyMpRGR3kiU&t=3434s (49:00-57:07). In it, she spoke of the women in the Gospel of Matthew, lifting up Rohingya women immigrants as examples of contemporary women on a long journey of resistance and survival. She was an eco-feminist theologian for a global community.
WATER gives thanks for the life and work of Elaine Wainwright, for her international friendships and ecofeminist commitments. May her spirit inspire us to embrace the same.
A Eucharist celebrating Elaine’s life will be held on Friday, July 12, 2024 at 1 PM AEST, which is 11 PM EDT on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Here is the link to the Live Stream:
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Thanks to Elaine’s friend and colleague Kath McPhillips, WATER shares these two insightful pieces, an interview with Elaine and an article about her work.
–“Across Generations: Creating and Sustaining an Ecofeminist Theological Hermeneutic in the Community of Pacific Women Scholars: An Interview with Elaine Wainwright” https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1D5NopRuyLnMXJTRVWHY6O5thjs1poTOy
— “SeaChanges: Creating and Sustaining a Community of Women Scholars of Feminism, Religion and Theology in the Pacific 1990-2016” https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/131LMpDDgZBpGgUGPVpHMMJqNCJHEX4Vg
Another friend, Sheila Curran, shared this beautiful refection by Ann Gilroy, https://hail.to/tui-motu-interislands-magazine/publication/njCpnQY/article/v8T2wEl
Elaine Wainwright, center, with FLTN panelists, 2017.
