Emerging Women

So these questions have been asked in various forms before, but I need some help. I’m most likely leading a session at the Emergent Gathering on women in the emerging church. Its a very broad topic, and I wanted to narrow it down by relating personal experiences and perspectives. So if you don’t mind sharing and allowing me to tell your story (no names will be given there), please chime in… (you can also email me at emergingwomen@gmail.com if you would rather not post your perspectives)

And here are the questions to consider -
What has been your experience with the emerging church(the good the bad and the ugly)? How did you enter the conversation, how deep into it are you, and do you identify with it? Have you felt welcome in it? Is it a safe place for you? How does it compare with your previous experiences? Have you felt supported or condemned by friends and family because of your involvement in the conversation (or is it something you still hide)? How has it helped you faith as a women? Is it permission giving? Do you feel like you (or women in general) have a voice? How can it be more supportive of women?

What do you do when a homeless person asks for money? How often do you give it to them?

I ask because I’ve heard so much conflicting advice in this area:

Some people say we should never give money to people who live on the streets as many of them are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

I’ve heard other say that if a person is truly asking for money because they’re hungry they should encouraged to use the social services already provided – soup kitchens, etc.

I’ve even met at least one person who believes that we shouldn’t worry about how any money we give to a street person is being spent, that it’s the action of giving and caring for them that really counts.

According to the research I’ve seen between 1/3 and 1/2 of homeless people are mentally ill (as compared to 4% of the general population), and another 1/3 are addicted to drugs and alcohol. The rest of those who become homeless tend to be individuals or families who stumbled upon some bad luck – a sudden illness that wiped out their savings, layoffs at work.

I know that the “common sense” answer to this question is to look at each request on it’s own and to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And I’m comfortable doing this…at least for the most part.

I’d like to take this conversation a step further, though -

How much personal responsibility should be expected from a person who is mentally ill or addicted to drugs or alcohol?

How much personal responsibility should we as Christians have to help them?

What have you done? What do you think we should do to help?

(I apologize if this post is a little disjointed….this is something that has really be weighing heavy on my heart).

hello friends. though i’m listed as a contributor to this blog, i’ve been a lurker since its inception. i guess i’m writing now to say, “we can make a difference.” i recently wrote a post lamenting the dearth of women in church leadership. one commentor asked what could be his role in helping to bring about change, so i wrote a follow-up post with a list of tangible actions, in which i made the following suggestion:

in the same way that there can be no inactive (or passive) anti-racism, there can be no inactive (or passive) feminism. there can be active antifeminism. picketing, writing scathing posts, denying women roles and status and whatnot. there can be inactive antifeminism. simply doing nothing and letting the system, which is itself problematic, exist as it is. there can be active feminism. perhaps picketing, writing scathing posts, granting women roles and status and whatnot. but there can be no inactive feminism. because doing nothing leaves the system, which is itself problematic, unchanged.

as a result of that, the commentor decided to review his blogroll, and my husband has committed to profiling a different religious female blogger every friday on his blog. i consider that good news.

most days, i am discouraged about this whole thing. but today i am encouraged that small changes can grow and can turn into something larger. today, i am hopeful. what about you?

I called the Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort (site of the Virginia Beach event next week) and the registration clerk says there are still rooms for Sunday and Monday nights. Elsewhere on a “comment” someone said they were told it was full, so I don’t know what happened there (we will try to figure it out for her), but the Sandcastle has rooms! If you are coming and need transportation to and from the airport, let me know at mizliz00725@hotmail.com. If you are coming for the Sunday evening optional activities and need transportation from the beach to Generation Quest, also let me know (same email). We are about to attempt to email final confirmation and details to those who are registered. If you think you are registered but don’t hear from us by Thursday or Friday at the latest, let us hear from you. Email above. Grace y’all!

Emerging Women Anyone catch Falwell’s comments on Hillary’s potentially running for presidency? I just heard something in passing on the Today show, so I won’t misquote him. Supposedly, it was a tongue-in-cheek comment about Hillary’s run for the presidency in comparison to the devil running. Hope it wasn’t because she is a woman…probably not…I hope not…I don’t think he was supportive of Bill either. If it was because she is a woman…I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m kind of tired of being the butt of someone’s joke because I have a vagina (can we say that?).