By Grace Bolton, Staff Writer
Wheaton College’s Women in Bible and Theology (BITH) club closed its programming with a book talk from Jennifer Powell McNutt, a professor of theology and history of Christianity.
Friday, March 27, from 7 to 8 p.m., 35 female students gathered in the Phelps Room to hear McNutt talk about her book, The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today.
Established in fall 2025, the Women in BITH Club aims to bring together women studying theology at Wheaton who are interested in academic biblical scholarship and vocational ministry.
Junior Bible and theology major Zoe Foster-Whiddon, the club’s founder and director, said the club provides a space for women pursuing academic and vocational ministry that was missing on campus.
“Being a woman pursuing BITH can sometimes feel lonely and isolating,” Foster-Whiddon said. “I desired to create a space to help foster belonging, community and connection.”
The club hosts monthly events and discussions with women theologians, women in ministry and faculty members. The events give students a chance to ask questions, learn and grow.
McNutt’s book talk opened with club leadership introducing the cabinet members. They also invited attendees to join as regular members or consider serving on next year’s cabinet.
McNutt’s book seeks to clarify Mary Magdalene’s role in Jesus’ ministry.
“The goal of my book is to help Christians go back to the Bible to re-root our understanding of her story through canonical Scripture,” she said.
McNutt’s lecture focused on why Mary Magdalene matters, addressing common misconceptions and providing historical context to better understand her role in the Gospels. Speaking for about 45 minutes, she highlighted Mary Magdalene’s significance as a central Gospel figure, noting that she appears in all four accounts and is described as encountering angels.
In Scripture, this experience is shared only by the Virgin Mary, Zechariah and Jesus.
Intending to correct common misconceptions, McNutt’s work seeks to reconnect our reflection of Mary in Scripture with robust theology.
“I hope that my work will continue to draw attention to women in Scripture and in theology past and present with an eye for supporting and encouraging the women of the church today,” McNutt said.
Following the lecture, McNutt answered questions from students during a 15-minute Q&A session. The event concluded with informal conversation as students lingered afterward, purchased newly designed Women in BITH T-shirts and signed up for the club’s email list.
Senior mathematics major Danica Hanson said she was drawn to the event after repeatedly encountering references to different Marys in the Bible in the weeks leading up to the event.
“I grew up in churches that didn’t really educate me on the history of the Bible,” Hanson said. “I entered Dr. McNutt’s talk quite ignorant of which Marys were which and what they did and suffice it to say, Dr. McNutt taught me a lesson.”
Hanson said McNutt spoke passionately and was approachable.
“Not only was Dr. McNutt an engaging speaker and skilled at fielding questions afterward, but she was also extremely kind and personable,” Hanson said. “I left while passionately typing in my Notes app and adding her book to my to-be-read list.”
When it comes to Women in BITH’s values, McNutt appreciated experiencing firsthand what the club is doing on campus with conviction and grace.
“These are spaces set aside for important conversations about theological, exegetical and ecclesiological matters that impact not only women,” she said. “I am not aware of other groups on campus having these intentional conversations, and I am thankful that I could be part of it.”
Debates over women’s roles in ministry and academia remain longstanding and often controversial in Christianity, centering on whether women can serve as pastors, preach or hold positions of spiritual authority. These disagreements are shaped by differing interpretations of passages such as 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14, including 1 Timothy 2:12, which states, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.”
Bible and theology major Ashley Seymour said these debates are especially present at Wheaton, where students actively engage questions of vocation, Scripture and church leadership.
Seymour serves on the Women in BITH cabinet as social media coordinator and hopes to pursue vocational ministry after graduating from Wheaton with her Bible and theology degree.
“Even though the conversation of what role women should play in academia and the church is not prevalent in all Christian circles, it’s clear that it is one at Wheaton,” she said.
Seymour feels grateful for the space that Women in BITH provides to share vocational hopes and connect with female mentors and faculty in ministry and academia.
“I have been faced with a lot of personal confusion with reconciling passages in Scripture that seem against women,” she said. “This is why I think Women in BITH is so important for our campus right now.”
Seymour said the event with McNutt reflected the club’s vision. “The entire event aligned with our club’s hope for students on campus: seeking the importance and necessary knowledge of women testifying of their faith in the risen Christ,” she said.
Foster-Whiddon said her vision for the club is long-term sustainability, to establish a lasting community to support students in their Bible and theology studies beyond Wheaton. She wants to make a space that will extend past any single leadership team or graduating class, allowing the club to grow steadily over time.
“I am hoping that our model of ‘small but faithful’ events and efforts will create space for high-achieving women still to be able to commit to seeing Women in BITH last beyond them,” she said.
