We were sitting at dinner with Cynthia Thompson in San Francisco in November 1992. This was an hour-long respite in the middle of a harried schedule at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. As guests of Cynthia Thompson and Westminster John Knox Press, we were prepared for some busi- ness conversation but not for what we heard. "Why don't you two edit a feminist theological dictionaryr Cyn thia asked. Shannon thought it was a great idea, because she likes computer challenges and long lists of phone calls. Letty thought it was impossible. She had another book in mind, and neither she nor Shannon knew anything about editing dictionaries.

There were a lot of impossibilities built into this project. First, there was the problem of getting feminist scholars in religion to agree that this dictionary was needed and that it would be possible for us to edit it. Second, there was the prob- lem of getting any agreement on the title of the dictionary or on the words that should be included. Third, there was the problem of finding the writers and of in- cluding as many and as diverse a group as possible. Last, there was the sinking feeling that there would always be people who would look at the entries and think, I could do that one better!

We did, however, find a number of reasons to say yes to this team effort on behalf of women in religion. The opportunity for networking and exchange with the advisers and writers was truly exciting. Each entry that came in was like a special letter to be rejoiced over and pondered. The opportunity to contribute to the growing field of womanist, mujerista, and feminist studies inspired us to take the risks involved in moving into the double unknowns of dictionary editing and feminist theological dictionary editing. After all, we thought, this is a book we would like to have and use, so why not do it?

Scholarly work in feminist studies in religion has been developing since the late 1960s, and a wealth of research and writing has been carried out in religious studies. It would seem that the time has come for a dictionary that will assist both students and interested readers in the search for study and reference materials. In the more limited field of feminist theological studies, there is also a great wealth of material. This Dictionary of Feminist Theologies seeks to provide guidance to readers who are interested in all areas of Christian theology as they relate to feminism, as well as in theologies of other religions as developed by feminists. Entries include topics of international interest and articles written by international scholars, but the majority of the writers are from North America and have written in English; 21 percent of the writers are women of color.

This Dictionary is an aid to feminist scholarship and teaching, and it will also be helpful to students in seminary and in religious studies departments. An important readership would be the large number of women and men, both clergy and lay, interested in feminist theologies and looking for information that could lead them to further understanding of a particular topic. No other dictionary of this kind exists in English. The entries are intended to be intelligible to educated laypersons as well as to clergy and religious professionals. Together, the Dictionary and The Women's Bible Commentary published by Westminster John Knox Press in 1992 make available an important area of contemporary theology and church renewal for church members interested in learning about the insights of feminist theory and theologies. The Dictionary covers standard topics of Christian theological studies, as well as topics of other religions that are important for the continuing feminist dialogue among many different religious, cultural, and racial groups. There are also entries on topics of particular interest to those engaged in feminist studies. There are no entries on persons, but there is a listing of all the contributors. As an aid to those who would like an overview of current work in feminist theologies, there are slightly longer introductory articles on Feminist Theories; Theologies, Contemporary; Justice and Social Change; Spirituality, Women's; Ethics and Moral Theologies; Biblical Studies; Church Ministries and Worship; Theologies, Historical; and Church Histories. The extensive Bibliography provides a key to further resources on all the topics covered in the Dictionary. It is also a resource for those seeking a comprehensive bibliography of English-language publications on feminist theologies in the U.S. context.

The work of writing and editing the Dictionary of Feminist Theologies fell into tree overlapping phases. The 1993 phase included the important work of designing the book, selecting its title, and working with the editorial advisory groups to select the words and recruit writers. In this phase the Yale Advisory Group, made up of women teaching in the Feminist Studies program at Yale Divinity School at that time, assisted in finalizing the design, selecting areas of study, and suggesting words in group members areas of specialization. In addition, the International Advisory Group submitted suggestions for the design, title, entries, and writers from all parts of the world. The names of the participants in the advisory groups are listed in a separate section of this volume.

Those editorial advisers who were able met in November 1993 to discuss the plan and suggestions for the title. No title was adequate for the book, because no one title describes all of the work being done by women in the study of religion today. The decision to call the book a Dictionary of Feminist Theologies was based in the need for some way to speak about the work that we do in common. Even though the focus is Christian theology, Jewish feminists and post-Christian and post-Jewish feminists, as well as women of many other faiths and ideologies, are constantly sharing in the discussion and were welcomed as contributors. Because "feminist" so often has been identified with "white feminist," many women theologians of color speak of their work in reference to their own context. For in- stance, many of the African-American writers, such as Katie Cannon, speak of themselves as "womanist" theologians, while writers such as Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz speak of Hispanic women's liberation theology as mujerista theology. Discussion of the diversity of feminist theologies is found in the Introduction, as well as throughout this volume in entries by women from many different contexts.

The 1994 phase of the writing consisted of finding the writers and then doing everything in our power to get the entries sent in! The computers stayed busy with all the details of working with 185 authors. With the able help of Stephanie Egnotovich, our second editor at Westminster John Knox Press, we be- gan to shape the entries and the book and to confer with the authors about their en- tries. Many times the writers were in the midst of crises in their own lives but were trying to keep up with the demands of their academic work, including the Dictionary.Ultimately, the number of those unable to finish was two.

In 1995, the final editing phase, our Yale Advisory Group continued to help us with names and to advise us on entries. In particular, Susan Garrett worked with us on the biblical entries, and Margaret Farley and Serene Jones advised us on the ethical, theological, and historical entries. Sharon Ringe of the International Advisory Group provided a crucial service in translating the Spanish entries. In addition, we received wonderful and patient support from Barbara Blodgett, Karen Mabee, Maria Malkiewicz, and Connie Reinhardt, and Elizabeth Russell Collins in the preparation of the Bibliography and the manuscript. To these women and to all the women in the edi- torial advisory groups, we owe special thanks. A real gift of this phase was the way so many writers thanked us for the opportunity to share in the project! But it was we who were thankful every time we could read their entries with interest and excitement.

Although Letty said at the beginning that a dictionary was a pretty impossible project, she discovered that she was in very familiar territory. It was familiar not because it was like writing a book but because, as Katherine Gill, a Yale adviser, pointed out, it was like teaching. The Dictionary was interactive and required flexible responses up to the very end. Each day the shape changed and the challenges were different, according to which entries did or did not appear. This Dictionary of Feminist Theologies is itself a conversation among a women's world wide web of people who joined together for one brief time to give reports on where they are in feminist theologies. We hope you enjoy reading the entries and that you will enter into the conversati as it continues to evolve among all join in this adventure of learning teaching!