Let Us Be Women Who Love

I love these words. And want more than anything to let them shape my life and the life of my daughters someday. Grateful for the wise, passionate, beautiful & intelligent women writing over at SheLoves Magazine (an online magazine for women who are daring to dream and be the expression of God's feminine heart here on earth). This is their manifesto.

Let us be Women who Love

by Idelette McVicker

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women willing to lay down our sword words, our sharp looks, our ignorant silence and towering stance and fill the earth now with extravagant Love.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women who make room.

Let us be women who open our arms and invite others into an honest, spacious, glorious embrace.

Let us be women who carry each other.

Let us be women who give from what we have.

Let us be women who leap to do the difficult things, the unexpected things, and the necessary things.

Let us be women who live for Peace.

Let us be women who breathe Hope.

Let us be women who create Beauty.

Let us be women who love.

Let us be a sanctuary where God may dwell.

Let us be a garden for tender souls.

Let us be a table where others may feast on the goodness of God.

Let us be a womb for Life to grow.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us rise to the questions of our time.

Let us speak to the injustices in our world.

Let us move the mountains of fear and intimidation.

Let us shout down the walls that separate and divide.

Let us fill the earth with the fragrance of Love.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us listen for those who have been silenced.

Let us honor those who have been devalued.

Let us say, Enough! with abuse, abandonment, diminishing and hiding.

Let us not rest until every person is free and equal.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women who are savvy, smart, and wise.

Let us be women who shine with the light of God in us.

Let us be women who take courage and sing the song in our hearts.

Let us be women who say, Yes to the beautiful, unique purpose seeded in our souls.

Let us be women who call out the song in another's heart.

Let us be women who teach our children to do the same.

Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women who Love, in spite of fear.

Let us be women who Love, in spite of our stories.

Let us be women who Love loudly, beautifully, Divinely.

Let us be women who Love.

Nourishing Our Souls

We are learning first hand how incredibly important it is to take time out and go play. To have a full day to just be outside, even if it's chilly, has proven to be so incredibly important for us. I never really was a nature girl, but since meeting Charles I've started learning how much I really do love the fresh air, the sunshine, the wind, seeing God's creation in all its glory. We did some hiking around California, and I enjoyed it, but I'm not a girl that loves the heat--and most of our hikes were done in the summer, in rather desert-y conditions. This past weekend we had a full day on Saturday with absolutely nothing on the calendar. No youth events, no dinner plans, no nothing. (Don't get me wrong, we love all those things! But a break every now and then is good too!). We weren't really sure what our day was going to hold, but as we were eating breakfast Charles mentioned seeing if we could go take a hike somewhere (it was gorgeous and sunny out). We ended up at Twin Falls Creek which was only about 40 minutes away, and was a great hike--not too strenuous, great views, a mixture of sunny and shady spots. It was definitely a day that was good for our souls!

First though, someone from church texted us to let us know that Alki beach had some impressive waves thanks to the wind, and that there was even a guy out there trying to surf. So of course we had to go check it out! Oh my word the views of the mountains were absolutely incredible.Then we got to the hike, it was so so beautiful!The trees were so moss-covered, they looked to me like monsters--I thought they were pretty coolYay! Vitamin D!

2 new favorites

I recently came across two blogs I absolutely adore, and wish I had become aware of them years ago! Allow me to introduce you :) (I'm aware, not all of you will appreciate this as much as I do, but that's okay, I know some of you will!)

First, check out Beauty Tips for Ministers. The tag line of the blog is "Because you're in the public eye, and God knows you need to look good." Before someone starts down the mental path of "wow, how superficial," let me explain. Here's what the author (known as "PeaceBang") writes about her blog:

"This blog is for the encouragement of self-care, the sharing of tips, and the celebration of shoes, lip gloss, fragranced shaving cream, and all of the other accoutrements of vanity which have hitherto been considered wholly unholy, and therefore generally discussed only in hushed whispers among the servants of the LORD.

In this space, we are free to remember that although we work from our hearts and our souls, we are also incarnate beings, and that our appearance does matter.

It is also written with the intention of bringing a little bit of joy and laughter into your life."

What I love is that it's tapping into something so untalked about. There aren't that many female clergy in the country, at least not compared to the percentage of male clergy. And lets be honest, girls, there are just some things a female pastor has to think and worry about that will never cross our male counterparts' mind. For instance, the latest post is a letter from a reader who is having to deal with male parishoners making inappropriate comments about her appearance. How do you respond to that, lovingly yet firmly? What looks are both cute and completely appropriate for preaching and home communion with the elderly? PeaceBang can help you out :) One of the things she says that I appreciate is why this matters. In some sense it's a bit of a theological issue. We can pretend our appearance doesn't matter, and dress as if we truly believe that. Or we can consider that: "our bodies are on display as an incarnation of our message and ministry, and for that reason, I am not offended by the fact that ministers’ bodies are a subject of conversation in the parish. We are embodied people, for heaven’s sake, and have only gotten ourselves into terrible trouble pretending to transcend our physicality." I like that, "we are embodied people." My theology says that's true. Therefore, way to go PeaceBang for helping some of us out when it comes to the fine line of the appearance of female clergy!

My second favorite new blog is called Dirty Sexy Ministry (if you're offended by the title, well I didn't come up with it, but I do happen to love it...) It's written by two young women who are both Episcopal Priests. Their tag line is: "two priests, with a feminine outlook on the world. After all, celebrating the Eucharist with a slipping bra strap adds perspective." I truly love it. They are great writers, for one. But even more, what I love is how much humanity they bring to reflecting on ministry. I know that when I was younger, and had never really known any pastors personally, I always had this sense that they were on some kind of pedestal. That the very basic human things, like working out, taking care of one's body, loosing sleep over problems, fighting with family members etc weren't an issue for them. They were the pastor. They were perfect. Or close to it. As someone preparing to be a pastor, this perception of ministers is one of the things that scares me most. Will people have the same expectations of me? What happens if my congregation finds out I enjoy a glass of red wine each night or, gasp, might even swear now and then if I'm really angry?? They write about what their minds often wander to while in worship, how hard it is for them to settle down and pray, how much more appealing mindless trashy TV is than preparing sermons sometimes etc. Stuff I already struggle with. I love that they point out that ministry is amazing, but it's more human than holy. I love that. Truly love it.

Frail Hands

This morning in worship we were talking about worship. We've been looking at the different areas and ministries of the church and this morning was "worship." Pastor mentioned that there is only so much talking you can do about worship before you just need to do it, so they left an extended period of time and space for people to do just that. We talked about how everyone worships differently, and sometimes the best way to worship is to watch others express themselves to God in different ways. So all over the sanctuary were different spaces set up for us to use our unique gifts to worship in different ways. There were easels with art supplies, kneeling pads placed at the foot of the cross, artwork around to reflect on, and soft music playing. They gave us about 15 minutes of pure freedom, to worship as we saw fit--through writing, drawing, sitting in silence, painting, kneeling, etc. At first I though, "oh dear, this Presbyterian church isn't going to know what to do with this." And some didn't. But many loved it. Many tried something new. Many were exposed for the first time to the idea that drawing can be worship. Writing can be worship. It was beautiful.

One elderly woman, probably in her 80s, almost immediately got out of her pew and made her way to the front of the sanctuary towards the cross. She was beautiful. She radiated God's love and joy. As I watched her, I wrote this:

Frail hands

Hands that have touched, caressed, soothed, and held many in their years
Hands shaking slightly
Raise above her body. Both hands, raised,
Stretching, reaching out towards the cross.

Her stark blue sweater stands bright in contrast with the gray stone walls.
Hands raised in exuberant praise
And exaltation to the One who is clearly the
King of her life.

Frail knees shake and creak as she lowers herself upon a kneeling pad,
As she kneels before the cross.
Those hands, those beautiful, wrinkled, shaking hands
Stretch out once again, raised in adoration, raise with abandon
As a child reaches out and raises her hands to her Father.