Thanksgiving, 2021
Friends and siblings in faith,
I'll be in Concord, New Hampshire, on Wednesday, with hundreds of others, standing up for the rights of women, and the reproductive rights that are deeply sacred to us all. For me, and for many, this is a deeply spiritual and profoundly moral opportunity. As some political operatives seek to carve away at the freedoms and dignity of women, and as they do so in the name of their religion, they distort the moral imperatives at the heart of Christian tradition and gospel faith. I will join my neighbors on December 1, not only as their friend, but also as a Christian minister in good standing. As a Christian who sees the dignity of women as a cornerstone of a moral, generous and compassionate society.
Those who would take away reproductive rights -- in spite of broad popular support -- mock the prophetic imagination of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and all grand religious traditions. They simply calcify the all-too-justified views of so many that religious life is patriarchal, mean-spirited, masochistic and mysogynistic. I simply and loudly say, NO. My faith calls me into partnership with women, and into alliances of collaborative power and creative and expansive hopefulness. My faith calls me into deep friendships with those of other traditions, with those of other political convictions. Together, we protect and expand one another's freedoms. Together, we protect and expand one another's right to choose what's best for our bodies and families, for our communities and neighborhoods. Christianity gives me no license to bully others, and no license to impose any particular code on women or men, siblings or neighbors of any kind. Instead, my God invites me into the world's complicated spaces and into wildly diverse communities to work out freedom and covenant, provision and communion in partnership.
So--I want my church friends to know where I'll be Wednesday morning (at the State House in Concord) and who I'll be hanging out with (the Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund and others). I will use my voice, my energies and my strength to oppose those who seek to bring anti-choice, anti-freedom and misogynist legislation to this state. That's not who we are. And that's not who we can be together.
In that spirit, here's a powerful prayer--based on Psalm 139 in the Hebrew Bible--by the Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton. It captures the humility and grace I hope to breathe prayerfully Wednesday, December 1, and in the days beyond.
In hope, in humility, and in determination,
The Rev. David Grishaw-Jones
Pastor,
The Community Church of Durham, United Church of Christ
by the Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton
(See more resources at the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice website.)
Holy, gracious and loving G_d
You are wise beyond our knowing
You have gifted us with
intelligence, memory, reason, and skill.
You fill our lives with
experiences in which we
may freely use these gifts.
Holy, gracious and loving G_d
You are wise beyond our knowing
You have gifted us with
intelligence, memory, reason, and skill.
You fill our lives with
experiences in which we
may freely use these gifts.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Before we were born, you knew us.
You know our deepest thoughts,
our fiercest passions,
our desperate longings,
our ancient hurts,
our wildest dreams and
our strongest fears.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
When we were being shaped and formed
in the secrets of our mothers’ womb
You also knit together in us strong threads of
liberation and justice,
will and grace,
and set us free to live our lives
as human beings fully alive.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
We are complex beings,
living complicated lives.
Give us the courage to
discern what is right
and what is good,
knowing that the two
may not always be the same.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Help us – and help us help others –
to respect all of life
especially the lives of women
who have been denied justice
their intelligence questioned
their choices limited
their freedom denied.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Inspire our minds
fire our spirits, and
strengthen our wills
that justice and compassion
may always be our
companions on this journey
and we may know your peace.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Before we were born, you knew us.
You know our deepest thoughts,
our fiercest passions,
our desperate longings,
our ancient hurts,
our wildest dreams and
our strongest fears.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
When we were being shaped and formed
in the secrets of our mothers’ womb
You also knit together in us strong threads of
liberation and justice,
will and grace,
and set us free to live our lives
as human beings fully alive.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
We are complex beings,
living complicated lives.
Give us the courage to
discern what is right
and what is good,
knowing that the two
may not always be the same.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Help us – and help us help others –
to respect all of life
especially the lives of women
who have been denied justice
their intelligence questioned
their choices limited
their freedom denied.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Inspire our minds
fire our spirits, and
strengthen our wills
that justice and compassion
may always be our
companions on this journey
and we may know your peace.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
