TAMAR'S SISTERS
Presented By
Places at the Table
SisterReach Faith and the Need for Intentional Presence between Faith
and RJ Communities
A young woman who has been sexually
assaulted—drowning in shame and pain—prays for comfort and guidance to a God
she firmly believes is punishing her for not behaving like a lady. A young man
bound for college finds out that the one time on prom night was enough to
impregnate his date even though his friends assured him that she couldn’t get
pregnant the first time. He wishes that he had known the truth and—spinning in
confusion about what this means for his life—he picks up his bible. The mother,
already working two jobs and barely staying afloat, hums a hymn through her
tears as she considers how she can make enough money to afford to feed another
baby. The same gendered couple who have been fighting for the right to adopt or
utilize fertility services in order to have a child wrestle with whether or not
to seek guidance from their pastor whose silence about their marriage feels
like quiet acquiescence to social pressure rather than full acceptance of their
love for one another.
I could
go on and on naming situations that bring Reproductive Justice issues into
conversation with real people and their faith. We at SisterReach believe
wholeheartedly that women and girls of color, poor and rural women deserve the
same access and opportunities afforded to all of our neighbors. We believe that
part of that access to opportunity includes the ability to be self-determining
about our own bodies and reproduction. With sadness, we acknowledge that of the
many places in which our bodily autonomy is challenged and our needs subjugated
some of our faith communities have become the most oppressive.
As faith communities struggle to
remain relevant in a culture that increasingly recognizes their complicity in
the oppression of people throughout history, now is the moment to consider the
ways in which we approach (or refuse to approach) the real needs of those who
are most faithful in our communities. Now is the moment to decide how we will
minister to the lives of the people who have been the backbone of our faith
communities since the beginning and who often keep them afloat now: women
of faith. We must recognize that God created them in God’s image and
intends to bless their WHOLE lives—even their reproductive lives.
If we are to continue to be relevant, we have
to stop evil practices that call out the “sin” of a woman’s sexual activity
while normalizing male sexual aggression. We have to recognize that narratives
of personal responsibility aimed at women like firing squad weapons to
intimidate them into respectability has not worked and, in a climate like today’s,
will only serve to distance us from those we serve. If we are to be relevant in
the lives of our people, we will have to START with the lives of our people—told
from their own perspectives—rather than with “preachable,” yet oversimplified
messages about complicated situations.
Rates of unexpected pregnancy, STIs,
domestic and sexual violence, poverty, incarceration and much more are high in our
communities and our church members are not immune. Many of us know that “the
way we’ve always done it,” is toxic in the midst of crisis, yet hold on to a
theology that either ignores these issues or silences and stigmatizes those who
are called to address them. In many
cases, we are hurting the very people we are called to liberate. By refusing to
acknowledge the impact of systemic racism, classism and heteropatriarchy on the
lives of our congregations, we refuse to see them. And if we don’t SEE them, we
cannot SERVE them and are therefore missing out on our call.
In movement spaces, we are careful
to uplift and center the lived experiences of people who have been marginalized
by shaming narratives, systems of oppression and domination. We encourage our
own AND our opponents to listen to the voices of those who have been silenced
and whose very bodies have been vilified because we believe that no one can
tell a story from the intersection better than the person standing right in it.
Faith itself is a cornerstone of the lived experiences of many—inseparable from
the rest of their lives—and therefore MUST be part of the conversation.
Many of
us in movement spaces have been so hurt by the insensitivities and sometimes
downright hatefulness of “church folk,” that we have abandoned all attempts to
reach people of faith for the sake of the movement. Truly hearing the stories of the women at the
margins MUST include hearing the ways that their faith informs every facet of
their lives for good or ill. Certainly, we must acknowledge the ways in which
faith spaces have traditionally silenced the needs of women or shamed us for
even having needs, but we also must be committed to learning to speak these
truths in ways that call out the oppression inside these communities without
belittling the experiences or intelligence of women who rely on their faith as
a resource for every situation. This, too, is justice.
The
table is a symbol of coming together in many cultural contexts. Joining one
another at the table is an intentional act that implies at least enough good
will to be present with one another. SisterReach Faith invites all of us to the
table. We may never agree whole heartedly on every detail, but if you are
willing to wrestle together with others who want to do the work of improving
the lives of women and girls of color, poor and rural women, we invite you to
the table. Together, we believe we can create a message of love and liberation
that connects the lives of women inside and outside of faith communities—encouraging
wholeness, flourishing and justice!
WELCOME TO SISTERREACH FAITH!!
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