At Evensong last Sunday, I was transported once again by the Magnificat, the beautiful Song of Mary that I have cherished since singing it in high school some forty years ago. The song speaks of the profound relationship between Mary and God: her soul magnifies the Lord, Who has done great things for her.

The passage from which the canticle is taken, the first chapter of Luke, has special resonance for me this week following the inaugural meeting of the Sisterhood of Progressive Christians. Mary, a very young woman, has learned that her cousin Elizabeth, thought to have been past child-bearing years, is expecting a baby. She makes the journey to Elizabeth’s home in the hill country, and Elizabeth immediately recognizes the sacred nature of Mary’s pregnancy: “And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?”

Mary’s response, the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55 NRSV), sets forth beautifully her understanding of her situation, and how she sees God at work in the world: “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

On Monday, some fifty Christian women of many denominations met in Arlington, Virginia to share our hopes, fears, and determination to live our Christianity more fully. We are young and old and in between; childless, grandmothers, mothers, and expectant mothers; but all of us feel strongly that now is the time to support and inspire each other, to speak and act, to bring justice to a troubled world.

Just as Elizabeth and Mary, having come together, could see God at work in their lives and in the world, we too join across generations to share our wisdom and work for change, lifting up the lowly, filling the hungry, and doing what we can to bring down powers inconsistent with our Christian values.