INTRODUCTION
Lois Roden (1916-1986) was the second prophet of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist community at Mount Carmel Center outside Waco, Texas, founded by her husband Ben Roden (1902-1978) in 1959. She succeeded her husband as the prophet of the community in 1977, as Ben’s health was declining and Lois received a vision of an angel from which she discerned that the Holy Spirit is feminine. From that point on, the Branch Davidians, including those who by 1984 had begun following Vernon Howell/David Koresh (1959-1993) as a prophet and Christ, believed that God consists of a Father, Mother, Son, and Daughter. The manifestation of the Daughter will occur during the Endtime events.
Lois Roden’s authority as a Branch Davidian prophet, who was believed by followers to be divinely inspired to interpret the Bible’s prophecies about the Endtime, was contested by her son, George Roden (1938-1998). Possibility as a means to shore up the legitimacy of her charismatic leadership of the Branch Davidian community, Lois Roden was interested in reading and disseminating biblical and early Christianity scholarly publications about women leaders in the early Christian movement and feminist theology publications that include a divine feminine in the Godhead in addition to the usual God the Father in Christianity. From 1980 through 1983, Lois Roden as editor-in-chief and Clive Doyle (1941-2022) as editor reprinted scholarly and popular articles on these topics in a non-sectarian, non-profit free publication titled SHEkinah (see February 1981 issue), which Doyle printed at Mount Carmel Center. Publication of SHEkinah ended in 1983 as the long-time Branch Davidians, including Doyle, concluded that the “Spirit of Prophecy” had moved from Lois Roden to Vernon Howell.
On Lois Roden’s prophetic leadership career see the article by William L. Pitts, Jr., “SHEkinah: Lois Roden’s Quest for Gender Equality,” Nova Religio 17, no. 4 (May 2014): 37-60; and Bill Pitts, “Lois Roden,” Women in the World’s Religions and Spirituality Project, July 11, 2016.
JOURNAL ISSUES
Shekinah
December 1980
Shekinah
February 1981
Shekinah
April 1981
Shekinah
June 1981
Shekinah
August 1981
Shekinah
October 1981
Shekinah
December 1981
Shekinah
January 1982
Shekinah
April 1982
Shekinah
July 1982
Shekinah
October 1982
Shekinah
January 1983
Shekinah
June 1983
Shekinah
Second Anniversary Edition
