On Monday, Sept. 9 at 9:30 a.m. Biola hosted a dedication ceremony for the Ethel Lee Auditorium (formerly Sutherland). The auditorium, one of the oldest buildings on the La Mirada campus, has seen a complete renovation including new ADA accessibility, a green room and a new control booth.
The name change was the result of a surprising discovery during the demolition process. When removing a painting from a wall in the lobby, workers discovered a plaque with the inscription, “We dedicate this auditorium to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in loving memory of Ethel Maude Lee (1878 – 1951).” After finding the plaque, the university used the opportunity to recover Ethel Lee’s legacy and rededicate the auditorium to her.
HER STORY
Ethel Lee was a beloved teacher at Biola who taught classes on the Bible and theology. She was born in England and worked as a nurse in London before immigrating to the United States to study theology at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
In 1920, Lee moved to California and joined a group known as the Biola Bible Women, begun by Biola co-founder Anna Horton. Lee went on to serve the Biola community and teach the Bible for over 30 years. After her passing, one friend remembered Lee as “such a happy woman, transparent in the radiance of Christ.”
During the dedication ceremony for the rechristened Ethel Lee Auditorium, President Barry Corey reflected on Lee’s legacy,
“The word Ethel means noble, and what could be more noble than to preach the gospel to a needy world in the way Ethel did for decades and decades.”
WOMEN IN THEOLOGY
Ethel Lee was one of several women who have played important roles in Biola’s history since its beginning. In honor of that legacy, the ceremony hosted a panel of female theology professors to discuss the ongoing importance of and need for women in the study of Bible Theology. The panel included Dr. Joanne Jung, Dr. Carmen Imes, Dr. Lisa Igram, Dr. Jeannine Hanger, and Dr. Lynn Cohick.
The women reflected on how they each found their way to study theology. While many found encouragement in their Christian brothers and sisters, others faced disapproval.
“I assumed that I would just follow the path that I had seen our pastor and others do and go to seminary and learn more about the Bible and then go on for my PhD. But my church did not sign a letter of recommendation for me to go to seminary, so I ended up just going straight for my PhD at a secular university,” Cohick said.
They went on to discuss the value of the female perspective when understanding women in the Bible and what the Bible has to say to women.
“We are embodied beings who can understand female characters in scripture from an embodied perspective, and that’s something a man can’t do,” Hanger said.
Carmen Imes added that she felt this value to be in conjunction with the perspective that male theologians have to contribute.
“I in no way would want to silence men’s voices. I have learned so much from men, but I do think there’s a kind of synergy and partnership that God intended for us that we miss out on when we only hear from one,” Imes said.
The panel shared about ways they have seen this female perspective come into play when discussing Scripture with colleagues and when teaching Bible classes, especially to young women. They also spoke encouragingly to female students in the room to recognize their own valuable perspectives they bring to the table.
“The way we sharpen each other is by bringing different perspectives, by even disagreeing with each other. And if we’re not doing that with each other, if we’re not sharpening each other, then we’re not doing our job right here,” Igram said.
The dedication ceremony concluded with a ribbon-cutting to finalize the rechristening of the Ethel Lee Auditorium.
