Speaking for Ourselves

There are many powerful women in the Bible, but their descriptions are almost always tantalizingly brief.

If they had had the chance to tell their own stories in their own voices, what would they have said?

Basing her interpretation of these women on extensive research, Katerina Whitley puts herself in their shoes, giving today’s listeners a fuller understanding of each of their stories.

The women explored, some well known and others less familiar, include the Virgin Mary, Miriam, Mary Magdalene, Elizabeth, the Syrophoenician or Canaanite woman, Lydia, Ruth, Gomer, Michal, Tamar, and Peter’s wife. Each woman speaks for herself in these monologues in a way that brings the biblical issues and questions into contemporary focus. Study questions follow each woman’s story.

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, Katerina Katsarka came to the U. S. at 16 years of age to enter college. Her education focused on music and English literature and later on theology. She married Rudy Whitley and together they were confirmed in the Episcopal Church. In the four decades of her involvement with the church, Katerina has worked as diocesan and national church journalist as writer, photographer, and editor. She is the author of five books of biblical monologues and one Greek cookbook. “I long for what is good and whole in humanity, even though I am quite aware of the darkness. Jesus expects us to be the light of the world and I try to remember this always. Writing, for me, is a response to the Light.” The same is true with teaching, Katerina says.  She has taught children and adults of all ages and continues her ministry in leading retreats and in speaking to churches. She has two daughters and four grandchildren. She lives in Louisville, KY.