What the Church Needs to Know About (Peri) Menopause | Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young & Tara Beth Leach

Why is the church still reluctant to discuss a topic that half its community will experience?

In this episode of Hear Women, hosts Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young and Tara Beth Leach take the microphone together for an honest, personal conversation about perimenopause and menopause: the symptoms, the grief, and the questions women are quietly carrying. From night sweats and sleepless nights to the deeper question of what it even means to be a woman on the other side of fertility, Dorina and Tara Beth share what they've experienced and what they're still learning.

Together, they also bring Scripture into the conversation, from Mary's posture of curiosity to Anna's devoted witness in the temple, and they ask what it would look like for women to embrace what this unique season truly holds. They also name the ways the church's emphasis on the nuclear family can send unintended messages to women who are single, childless, or post-menopausal—and what some helpful correctives might look like.

More than anything, this episode is an invitation to ask not "what's wrong with me?" but "what's happening in me?" and to find community, laughter, and grace in a season that too often goes unnamed.

Whether you're in the thick of perimenopause/menopause/postmenopause or supporting someone who is, or if you are just ready to have a conversation the church rarely starts—this episode is for you.

This episode highlights the following themes:
✅ The real, physical, and emotional weight of menopause—and why women are finally talking about it
✅ What Scripture says about women, aging, and worth beyond reproduction
✅ How the church can create space for women in midlife to be seen, supported, and still lead

Links from this episode:
✅ Read Weathering Change (www.ivpress.com/weathering-change) by Courtney Ellis
✅ Learn more about The ‘Pause Life (thepauselife.com/) from Dr. Mary Claire Haver
✅ Learn more about Dawn Jackson (www.dawnjacksoncoaching.com/)
✅ Check of the Our Time to Rise in Midlife podcast (theopendoorsisterhood.com/category/the-open-door-podcast/)
✅ Read the transcript here (drive.google.com/file/d/1-xojuiiNR8hXDBcJGjKPbwBj47DAwWnE/view)
✅ Learn more about Hear Women (www.ivpress.com/hear-women-podcast)
✅ Learn more about your hosts, Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young (www.ivpress.com/dorina-lazo-gilmore-young), Nijay Gupta (www.ivpress.com/nijay-k-gupta), and Tara Beth Leach (www.ivpress.com/tara-beth-leach)
✅ Read Redeemer (www.ivpress.com/redeemer) by Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young
✅ Read Tell Her Story (www.ivpress.com/tell-her-story) by Nijay Gupta
✅ Read Emboldened (www.ivpress.com/emboldened) by Tara Beth Leach

SPECIAL OFFER | Visit ivpress.com (ivpress.com) and use the code IVPHEAR40 for 40% off and free shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

SPONSOR | Hear Women is sponsored by Northern Seminary, where thousands of women have been equipped to serve as pastors, practitioners, church planters, and ministry leaders across the globe. Explore your calling and visit seminary.edu (www.seminary.edu/) to learn more.

Credits:
✅ Producers: Christine Pelliccio Melo, Helen Lee, and Travis Albritton
✅ Research Assistants: Abby Lee and Jazmin Rose
✅ Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts (honestpodcasts.com/)
✅ Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne
✅ Podcast Art: Kate Lillard
✅ Theme Song: "Organica" by Artax

==== Time Stamps ====

00:00 – Introduction
05:25 – What Perimenopause Actually Feels Like
07:14 – The Grief of a Changing Body
08:47 – What This Season Means as an Athlete and Mom
12:06 – Thinking About Perimenopause Theologically
13:23 – What God Says About Women and Aging
15:10 – What's Wrong With Me vs. What's Happening in Me
16:48 – Mary's Posture and Following Her Lead
20:01 – What the Church Gets Wrong About Women's Worth
22:53 – Not Benched, But Leading
26:27 – Suffering, Lament, and the Freedom to Grieve
29:24 – Women in Leadership Who Name It Out Loud
31:30 – Why Not a Perimenopause Support Group
33:10 – Women Whose Voices Need to Be Heard

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.