I'm sorry to hear about the loss to your family. Sending you positive thoughts.

The perspective of time that you offer here is valuable for me. I grew up in the 80s, and I don't have personal experience with progressive Christians. It's useful to me to hear that they once existed!

When people tell me about their church, I often ask them if their church allows women in positions of leadership. The problem I often encounter is that they become angry at me for asking that question. That anger, I think, compels us not to have those kinds of conversations. But I believe that's the wrong response. There's nothing inappropriate about challenging a church that decides to discriminate against women. I wish we could move towards a society that could have honest and respectful discussions about this and other topics. Thanks for the nice comment!