How do Black women sustain communities of faith, and what happens when the very communities they nurture fail to honour their dignity and leadership? In this thought-provoking presentation, Dr Mutale Mulenga Kaunda reflects on the experiences of Black women within Christian communities, exploring how home, embodiment, faith, and community are deeply interconnected.
Beginning with her own Bemba heritage in Zambia, Dr Kaunda revisits the traditional understanding of home as far more than a physical dwelling. Historically, Bemba women were recognised not only as caregivers but as spiritual leaders, community builders, and custodians of social life. She traces how colonialism and missionary Christianity reshaped these roles, often narrowing women’s authority and excluding them from positions they had traditionally occupied.
The presentation goes on to examine the ways women’s bodies, labour, and spiritual gifts continue to sustain faith communities while too often remaining vulnerable to exploitation or marginalisation. Drawing on examples from across Africa and beyond, Dr Kaunda explores how religious authority can be misused, while also highlighting the resilience of women who continue to challenge injustice and build communities marked by care, dignity, and hope.
Ultimately, the presentation is both a theological reflection and a call to action. It invites churches and faith communities to move beyond patterns of extraction and control towards genuine partnership, recognising Black women’s leadership, agency, and embodied wisdom as essential to the flourishing of the whole community.
Originally presented to the Rede de Mulheres Negras Evangélicas (Black Evangelical Women’s Network) in Brazil, this webinar contributes to an important international conversation on faith, gender, justice, and community from the perspective of African women’s theology.
The presentation will be published as an article soon, or if interested contact Mutale for an early copy.