Much of the last two days has been spent with women creating a message for the Uniting General Council on justice issues that women face. It has been an interesting exercise though not always fun or even pleasant. I've cringed as different segments vie for power. I've wrestled with what the root of injustice is against people and I've struggled to wrap my head around the consensus voting model and how it will influence discussions during the General Council. So, apparently the vacation is over and the real work has begun.
The daily schedules are tight and I find that I'm not sleeping well or enough. My passion for people is consistently getting in the way of getting to bed at a reasonable hour, and sleeping in a strange (and slightly board-like) bed is never conducive to resting well. At least I thought to bring my pillow!
In spite of all of that however, I have great reasons to be grateful. I've spent considerable time over the last two days getting to know 4 women.
- MaryAnn is a South African sister who has 2 doctorates. She is funny, intelligent, and slightly distracted. She shared stories of the struggles in the Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa - from the ordination of women, to the enduring effects of apartheid. She rejoiced in meeting me an RCA sister who will be exploring what it means to live out the Belhar Confession in a North American context.
- Cecilia is a Ghanaian Canadian sister who is just beginning the ordination process in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. She is passionate and gentle, and she shared the story of her call to ordained ministry moving from running, sickness, and depression to deep peace as she submitted.
- Million is an Ethiopian sister who spent 20 years in television reporting. She is stunningly beautiful, well spoken, and deeply loves her church. Million is extremely passionate about ministering to seniors and has a commitment to servanthood that I admire. She wept as she shared how great the rewards are for serving God, even though no one around her understands, she has found great freedom and joy away from her fame, serving the elderly in her community by doing "small acts with great love."
- Mussarat is a Pakistani sister and quite possibly one of the most beautiful, elegant women I have ever seen. One of the things that strikes me about Mussarat is her deliberately slow pace of walking, without words she reminds me to enjoy the journey. She is a math teacher who is a trained psychiatrist. She gave up her practice when she got married choosing to focus on her relationship with her husband, but has taken up teaching as she feels it is a less time (and emotional energy) consuming career. Mussarat is beautiful inside and out demonstrating gentleness, compassion, and a quiet spirit. We talked about the continuing instability in Pakistan, even though the country was formed nearly 60 years ago.
There's so much more, so many more... the stories are incredible! This, however, is not the time to tell all of them. Tomorrow the Uniting General Council will begin and with it many more people will arrive. More people, with more stories to tell. May I continue to see the imago Dei in each person I meet. May the justice of recognizing another's personhood/humanity bring the redemptive and restorative light of Christ in each of our communities. May we all see people not labels.
No comments:
Post a Comment