Our Woman of the Week is Carrie Frederick Frost, was nominated for her pioneering work in the theology of motherhood and her work toward reviving the male and female diaconates. She is seen here speaking at an event in Philadelphia. We asked her about herself.
“I am an Orthodox Christian, a professor of religious studies and theology, a nonprofit consultant, a reader of books, a bird watcher, a wife, a mother of five, and a lover of dogs, especially of my new puppy, Penrose Pym.
“I teach theology at Saint Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary (New Jersey) and religious studies at Western Washington University (in Bellingham, WA, where I live). Yes, you read that correctly: I teach in both New Jersey and Washington state. I'm not always teaching in both places every semester--I have part-time, adjunct positions--but, when that's the case, I do some of the coursework online for the St. Sophia students and then I fly out there once a month for a long weekend for our face-to-face time. Good thing I have an unusual love of planes and airports! I teach in two part-time residential programs at St. Sophia's that are designed for either men discerning a priestly vocation or men & women ministering in the church one way or another who are taking time out of their careers and family lives to come to New Jersey, too, so we all make the most of our limited time together. At Western Washington, I teach undergraduates in a secular, academic setting. In both places, I love being in the classroom; my time with my students brings me so much delight.
“I also serve on the board of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) and the advisory board of Saint Phoebe Center for the Deaconess. And I am an author; my book about motherhood, the body, and the church, Maternal Body: A Theology of Incarnation from the Christian East, came out this past summer.”
You can find Carrie’s book here https://www.amazon.com/s…
A perceptive review of the book is here: https://publicorthodoxy.org/20…/…/26/maternal-body-a-review/
Learn more about IOTA here: https://iota-web.org/
And about St. Phoebe Center here: https://orthodoxdeaconess.org/
We asked Woman of the Week Carrie Frederick Frost, nominated for her work on various aspects of women in the Church, how she brought her children into her prayer life. Here’s what she said:
“When I homeschooled our younger children for a year, I really enjoyed having the luxury of time to pray (an abbreviated) Matins together every morning. Now, we aim to pray our evening prayers together after dinner. With children now at ages where they are going in different directions different evenings of the week (five children ages 11 to 19, with one off at college), I've learned to accept that our prayer life won't be perfect; a child will be missing, a dog may be barking, there have been times where we've all forgotten to convene in nightly prayers for weeks on end! Knowing that my children are starting to head off into the world, I think, 'How many more nights will we be together like this?' And I relish these moments of standing in the solidarity of silence and prayer.”
The morning routine of Woman of the Week Carrie Frederick Frost starts early:
“I get up pretty early in the morning, around 5 am. I like the quiet hours before the children are awake (this is definitely the calmest time of the day in our house), and I use this time to catch up on personal email and to make my list of things to do for the day. I usually, but not always, find a few minutes for silence and the Jesus Prayer before I wake up the children. I make them breakfast, take them to school, then I go to the university, and my husband picks up the children and makes dinner. The more preparation I do for myself (logistically and spiritually) before starting the children's school day and my professional day, the smoother the day is for everyone. On an ideal day, I walk around a lake that's near our house. Time in the created world is always a balm for my spirits. I also highly value sleep! My children like to joke that I go to bed earlier than they do, and that's close to the truth.”
Thank you, Carrie!