Celebrate: Women

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It’s women’s history month, and the Discovery Channel is featuring a series called Genius Aretha, about the phenomenal Aretha Franklin. The story shows not only her genius but the extraordinary hurdles she overcame and the family that helped her clear them. It’s a beautiful testament to the Black family and our complicating challenges.

I talk often about growing up in a Black community where the men often caused the women more harm than good. As a child, I struggled to love my father and many other men in my life because of their blatant disrespect for women. I didn’t understand why so many women remained in torturous relationships. I vowed never to let any man have that kind of power over me. By this stage in my life, my mother had rejected my father’s philandering and was raising us children alone. She was a militant Black woman akin to Angela Davis. She spoke truth to power and strived to empower her daughters to reach high and far. I am thankful for that today.

The Aretha story reminds me of the many hills and valleys women go through in the course of one life. Though the elder women in my life struggled under many chains of oppression, they pushed the next generation to break those chains before being constrained by them too. So, when one of the younger generations stumbled, our elders felt a tremendous blow to their legacy.

I remember when I told my mother I was pregnant at 16. Disappointed and concerned, she sighed deeply and simply said, “Cyneatha.” I was the one with potential, the one who would get out from under the dark cloud of our circumstances. I was the one the family knew was going to make something of herself. Then, so close to the finish line, I got pregnant. After the initial shock, my family rallied around me, as Aretha’s family did for her, and prepared for a baby. I now see how blessed I was through it all, but my choices led to a decade of valleys.

CeCe Winans song “Alabaster Box” is my anthem. It reminds me of what I have been through and how giving all to Jesus is my only means of survival. You should listen to this powerful song about Mary and her costly jar of perfume poured out on Jesus’ head. My jar, too, is extremely expensive. It has been poured out far more times than I care to admit.

What price have you paid to be a woman, daughter, wife, mother, teacher, lover, friend? In the dark days, have you stumbled your way to Jesus? Read Mark 14:3-9 and notice how Mary forged on to Jesus despite much criticism. That is what it means to be a woman: pushing forward no matter what.

To all the women I admire—from the great Aretha Franklin, Shirley Chisolm, Angela Davis, and Mother Teresa to my close and most adored friends including Pat Plude, Nekeisha Alayna Alexis, Jenny Moffett, and my big sister Vicky Scott—I am grateful for knowing even a small part of who God has created you to be. Your light and your dark places too guide me. As women, we grow stronger in the powerful cloud of sisters around us.

Affirm: Asian American Solidarity

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Recent videos of people harming elderly Asian Americans break my heart. I try to make sense of them and feel ashamed as an African American. While I know that not only African Americans have been targeting Asian Americans, seeing people with my skin color harming anyone—especially senior citizens—is soul-crushing. I sense gravity in this moment that I don’t yet fully understand.

I remember being told months ago of the hate being directed at Asian Americans. I stated how sad it was to hear, said a quick prayer for the Asian community, imagined appropriate governmental responses, and then moved on. I didn’t give the issue space in my heart, soul, and mind.

My response was wrong. I did exactly what many people do when they hear about horrors being committed against African Americans: say a quick prayer and follow up with excuses to blame someone else for the problem.

The recent violence against Asian American senior citizens shows me how I too have fallen into my culture’s typical response to right and wrong. Instead of standing up for the vulnerable, I have followed our society’s pattern of viewing the issue as someone else’s problem; worrying about how it might affect me personally; and then trying not to get involved.

When I speak out about issues facing African Americans and this nation, I am quick to tell White Americans they must act; they cannot sit comfortably on the sidelines. I recognize that this holds true for me as well. Whether it’s a hate crime against Asian Americans or any other group, I am called to voice the wrong—better said, the many wrongs—that these incidents against bring to light. It is shameful that individuals are being victimized for their racial identity. It is shameful that elderly persons’ physical vulnerability is being exploited. It is shameful that so many in our society have deemed the elderly unworthy of our attention.

I, like many, want to figure out why these crimes are happening. In particular, why are African Americans targeting Asian Americans? Is it the loss of family values, poverty, hunger, unemployment, poor education, or the new coronavirus?

Any of these systemic problems may be contributing to the recent aggressions against Asian Americans, but before we continue to investigate and look for explanations, we must first and foremost condemn the wrongs committed and find ways to protect those being victimized. When George Floyd was murdered in May 2020, our nation in its great diversity stood in solidarity against the wrong. That same collective response must be seen now when another group is being victimized. All of us need to stand alongside neighbors when their trials come, advocating for justice and lending a helping hand.

Today I purchased Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics: Volume 1, African Americans and Asian Americans (American Political Landscape Series) by Jeffrey D. Schultz. It’s my first honest step in trying to understand the plight and history of Asian Americans. If you have suggestions on books or movies I should read or watch, please email them to me.

To the Asian American community: We see your beauty and your strength. We stand against all hate and racism toward you.  

Question: Military Creates Peace

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My niece is reenlisting in the United States Army for another 6 years. Why? Her number one reason is peace. Peace of mind and security. 

My niece tells me there is nothing in the civilian space that can provide the lifestyle she has as an officer in the army. She has a job, housing, financial resources, and travel perks. The army doesn’t afford her a lavish lifestyle, but it provide a safe, peaceful, and interesting one. Because her basic needs have been met, my niece no longer worries about food, clothing, or shelter. She is required only to do her job and stay physically fit. Beyond that, her life is her own.

During her first 7-years with the military, she has traveled to more than 10 different counties. She told me that the opportunity to travel is alone worth enlisting. Outside of the military, young people growing up in poverty rarely get to see the world beyond their immediate communities. The army opens the world to them and provides a new and expanded worldview.

My niece has never set foot in a war zone. While she can be called to any location at any time, being sent to war has not been a major concern of hers. Part of that might be because her hometown in the U.S. is more violent than anywhere she has been stationed.

The United States loses more people to homicide on our own soil than soldiers to violence abroad. In 2018 alone, the United States recorded more than 18,000 homicides. In the years 2006–2020, approximately 17,650 active-duty soldiers died while serving in the armed forces. Of those, only 26% died while serving overseas in military operations.

So how do we Mennonites—traditionally anti-military—address the fact that, for many recruits, the military is their only option for peace? If we seek to direct young people away from enlisting, we need to provide them with viable options for achieving economic and physical security at home.

Though the military has worked for her, my niece says that she would prefer civilian life. While it is changing, the military is still very much a white man’s world. It has a long way to go before people of color, women, and LGBTQ persons feel seen and valued as equals.  She would not advise them to enlist.

At the same time, the military provides stepping stones for those lacking resources to succeed otherwise. The first stepping stone is economic. To hook recruits, the military offers bonuses ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. Such a financial boost is a big benefit to people living in poverty. The second stepping stone the military offers is education. Soldiers are able to receive college or other education while serving, enabling them to return home more qualified for jobs with a living wage.

The third stepping stone the military provides is discipline. When she enlisted, my niece was an angry young woman whose life wasn’t going anywhere. Largely because a Black, female officer took her under her wing, she endured the demands of the military and learned the discipline she needs to succeed.

My niece believes that the military will be many young people’s most logical road to peace until civil society offers those three stepping stones: economic security, good education, and healthy discipline. We Anabaptist Christians who oppose military service in the name of peace must consider what peace means and how to offer young adults different means of attaining it. Until we offer another way of peace for those fleeing the violence of poverty, the military will continue to attract them.

Ponder: Positive

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My test results came back positive. Bummer.

The results came six days after the onset of symptoms. By then I had chest pain, fever, body ache, and what seems like a head cold.

The positive test added anxiety to my symptoms. It also meant spending a half-day being interviewed by the health department and calling my contacts. Our family had been gathering in a bubble—so when my husband, daughter-in-law, infant grandson, and I all tested positive within a week, it burst our bubble in a bad way.

We’re all worried about those of us who tested positive because everyone in our family hasn’t survived. We have already lost three family members to Covid-19, along with five others who have died this year for reasons unrelated to the pandemic. Many of our family members and friends have managed to beat the virus, but they continue to suffer lingering health problems and financial hardship caused by their illness.

With four of us Covid-positive at the same time, we’ve seen how differently this virus affects different people. We’ve each had different symptoms, and we’ve each responded to our symptoms differently. This has added up to a lot of family angst! We are nearing the end of our two-week quarantine, but none of us, besides the baby, feels as if the virus is gone. Many of our initial symptoms are still present, and new ones seem to be showing up. For me, it’s depression.

I have been remembering other positive test results that brought our family profound sadness. My husband and sister tested positive for cancer. I am happy to say that both of them survived. Another family member tested positive for HIV and is living with that diagnosis. And now four of us tested positive for Covid-19.

Right now, I just want to go on a long walk. Breathe in the cool winter air. I want to look at the trees and houses decorated for Christmas and see healthy children playing in the yard. I want to hold my grandson. I want to comb my granddaughter’s hair.

I want my life back, but I am not sure that I can walk to the end of my yard and make it back without searching for air.

I keep thinking about what our world will look like a decade or so from now. How will the virus change us? Our nation has always been known for its individualism, but my hope—and thank God I still have hope—is that this experience will help us to prioritize being with one another. That we will no longer wait until holidays and funerals to gather with extended family. That we will get back to weekly meals and games with friends. That we will stop storing up money for the end of our life. Because this virus has shown us that life can change with one word: positive.

To all the frontline workers, thank you. We would not have made it this far without you.

Affirm: The Lowly Boast

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This past weekend I lost four family members—none to COVID but simply age and health issues. At one of the three funerals I attended, God spoke to me through a sister, a woman I grew up with. She told me she has been richly blessed because God has brought her through many things in the past year. She blessed me with her story.

This woman who self-identifies as blessed told me that her husband left her, she lost her job, and she lived for months in her storage shed. When she could no longer pay for the storage unit, a friend let her stay with her a few nights until she got into a local group home.

God has been good to her, she told me. God has seen her through. She is blessed.

My encounter with this woman’s story shocked me out of the protective shell I’ve been cowering in. These past few months I have found it hard to write. I haven’t sent out blog posts. I haven’t written articles. I struggle to be positive and hopeful in the midst of the pandemic and racial tension. In my isolation and lack of travel, I’ve missed hanging out with other women across the country. It’s been a bummer, and I thought I had it bad.

My conversation with this woman opened my eyes to blessing. To help the organization stay afloat, I cut my hours—but I did not lose my job. I have a home. My family has been okay financially through the pandemic. Even as we lost three of our matriarchs, I have welcomed three grandbabies since March. God has been good to me.

We followers of Jesus are told that, somehow, all of this amounts to joy:

“My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. . . . Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away” (James 1:2-4, 9-11).

As I try now to dwell on the positives—as evasive as they may be—I consider this: we as a people are more aware. Instead of being too busy to simply be with one another, we are longing to be in the presence of others. Instead of ignoring those in need, we are confronted with the scale of it. We can no longer ignore the unemployed; we and those we love are increasingly among their ranks. The rich are being brought low.

No matter how these months have treated us, let’s remember the many families who have lost their homes or are unable to pay utility bills. Remember communities of color battling the virus physically and economically. Remember women enduring domestic violence and seniors unable to hug their loved ones. Remember those in poverty whose state of well-being goes from bad to worse. Let us pray that those who suffer will be raised up so that they might boast. 

I thank God for my conversation last weekend with the women who unknowingly humbled me, reminding me that I am rich, and I must boast when I am brought low. When I am low, I must boast when I am raised up. As hard as this pandemic and racially divisive time in our history, I am blessed. I will praise God.

Question: A vaccine for COVID-19

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All we hear these days is that there is a vaccine coming for the novel coronavirus. I think it’s wonderful and necessary for scientists to be working on a vaccine, but rushing the process could prove dangerous for the next generation.

It takes years to create vaccines, 10-15 years on average (https://www.ifpma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IFPMA-ComplexJourney-2019_FINAL.pdf). The standard procedure requires years to study their effects in the lab before even moving trials to humans. We are planning on having a vaccine for a virus that is not yet a year old, and we are trying it first on the most vulnerable in our society. Does that seem like a good idea?

Seniors, people of color, the economically poor, and those with preexisting conditions will be first to get the vaccine. Are these people in the clinical trials? An article from UC Health stated that some vulnerable populations will be in their trials, which I am thankful for (https://www.uchealth.com/press-releases/clinical-trial-for-covid-19-vaccine/). But how extensive will trials be before subjecting these populations to the vaccine?

I believe I am more skeptical because of the Tuskegee Study. In the years between 1932 and the early 1970s, African American males were placed in a study to track the long-term effects of syphilis in the body (https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/index.html). The problem with the study was that the men did not know that they were being used in the experiment. They were simply lab rats for the United States public health system. Most participants—individuals from an already oppressed and marginalized population—were exploited until their death with only the promise of free medical appointments and meals.

When we rush, we often make major mistakes even when our intentions are good. And we often look to those most vulnerable to carry the risk. As much as we want an answer to COVID-19 and to get back to our lives as usual, the most defenseless in our population should not be the first to test the vaccine on a large scale. The most vulnerable should remain in isolation as much as they can, as we all practice social distancing, wear masks, and maintain the social bubbles of those at risk. We should prepare safe spaces for them to gather and navigate our society. They deserve that kind of care.

Each of us should be prepared to do our part in the years before widespread inoculation to COVID-19. If wearing masks and social distancing helps slow the virus (whose lasting effects we have yet to learn), would it not be safer for all to continue these practices? Consider your loved ones. Consider the next generation. What if this vaccine works in the short run but over time causes other health issues? We need to not push for a vaccine fast, but a vaccine that will tackle this and many other coronaviruses if possible. 

Some people are willing to be the subjects of vaccine testing. I thank God for those who risk their health as an act of service to humankind, for the betterment of all. But a human subject of such an experiment should be fully aware of one’s choice and reasoning for doing so. No one should do this out of fear or ignorance. We will need people from all walks of life to help ensure that our world is better prepared for the next pandemic, but they should do so only in freedom and through well-informed decisions. The vulnerable must be protected and treated with the dignity they deserve.

Ponder: I am starting to breathe

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The past month has been a terror for my spirit. I have tried to write this blog for over a month now. Every attempt was stopped by another issue. I first wrote about human trafficking and the concern for women and children in our country. Then the Varsity Blues scandal, with actor Lori Loughlin and her husband plea bargaining for 2 months in jail, after defrauding a university of a half a million dollars which sparked my anger over privilege and our justice system. As I was ready to release the blog again, I saw the news of George Floyd being choked to death and my spirit and will to fight left.

I felt like I could not keep up with the world around me. My thoughts and actions were moving too slow. I felt hopeless and physically drained. All of these new emotions were coming on top of the loneliness and isolation of our stay at home orders and the concern for a virus that was taking out people of color and our seniors at an alarming rate.

Today, I am starting to breathe. I feel like my mind is clearing up and my thoughts are taking shape. We have a lot of work to do in this country. I am thankful for the energy and vision of the younger generation. I believe they will change the way this country operates. I believe they will chart a new path forward.

So where do we go from here now that we can take a deep breath?

I am excited about the concept of defunding police departments. I know we need a police force, but I am excited about the conversation centered around what an effective police force might look like, if we train them to be “peace officers.” If you are willing to join me for a virtual Coffee & Conversation on this subject, please click here and fill out the form to register. The Coffee & Conversation will be Tuesday, June 16, 3pm EST.

Coffee & Conversation: Creating Peace Officers

  • Defunding police departments
  • History of police and Black community
  • Demilitarizing community police offices
  • Creating peace officers – steps to changing the culture of how we protect ourselves

Remember we are not professionals, but we have thoughts and hopes. Coffee & Conversation is a safe space for women to ask questions and share ideas. When we listen to one another, we create a space where we can process our own ideas and begin to work together to affect real change.

Litany for Pentecost 2020

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Litany for Pentecost 2020 in response to the death of George Floyd

The Litany below from Joanna Lawrence Shenk’s Facebook page posted 5/30/20 was used at my church (Hebron Mennonite, Hagerstown, MD) in our Zoom meeting on 5/31 and it touched me deeply.  I join my voice to this prayer.  Rhoda Keener

Joanna wrote:  “Along with Mark Van Steenwyk and my pastoral colleagues, Pat Plude and Sheri Hostetler, I created this prayer which First Mennonite Church of San Francisco will include in our service tomorrow. We are grateful for others to pray it with us. Lord have mercy.”

LITANY FOR PENTECOST 2020

God of the enslaved and God of the crucified, meet us in our anger, our despair and our grief at another Black life suffocated by the enduring violence of white supremacy in this country.

Meet us with the fire of your Holy Spirit sent to renew the world. May this fire refine our vision, separating truth from lie, separating an uprising born of enduring oppression from state-sponsored, white supremacist violence.

Meet us with your justice embodied by Yeshua and the prophets, who overturned tables, disrupted the status quo, and unflinchingly spoke truth to power. Amplify our cries for justice as we say the names of precious lives lost:

George Floyd
Ahmaud Arbery
Breonna Taylor
Mario Woods
Michael Brown
Eric Garner
Philando Castile
Sandra Bland
Stephon Clark
Trayvon Martin
Oscar Grant
…

May the fire of the Holy Spirit ignite transformation and healing. We pray for a righteous revolution—a society that no longer oppresses Black bodies. Where Black struggle isn’t exploited for white prosperity. Where the powerful are torn from their thrones and the people can live in beloved community.

This is the message of Pentecost: that God is birthing a new world. Come Holy Spirit, birth the new world in the shell of the old.

AMEN.

Ponder: The Handmaids Tale and COVID-19

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I was not sure which word to use for this post, celebrate, ponder, question or affirm because either of them would work.

Have you read (or watched the series) the Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood? This book and series challenge your mind to consider, could this happen? And then, remind yourself that similar events in our history have happened. Rhoda Keener suggested I read this book a few months ago and I did. I struggled with it mostly because even though I understood what was happening to the women it seemed futurist. No real threat for me personally, and then COVID-19.

I have so much to talk about that this simple blog post would never have the space to address. But two things are pressing in my mind. How close are we to losing all of our freedoms? And what happens to our sisterhood when constant trauma and isolation are a daily part of our lives?

First, our freedoms. Many people would say, something like this will never happen but I am not sure about that. In the book, the heroine talks about the fact that we gave up more and more of our liberties until it was easy for the government (or new regime) to simply take the rest. In the book all the women find without warning that all their money had been taken from them and given to their husbands or their closest male relative. Women were no longer allowed to own property; all their resources had been stripped. This concerns me because our government was able to simply drop $1200 in our bank accounts. If they can put money in, then they can take money out. What liberties have we already given up? Consider because of COVID-19, entire cities came to a complete halt. We were told to go inside and stay off the roads and within days, we did.

Now I know many people will say, but that was because of a virus that has killed and will likely kill more people if we do not. I agree and feel like staying home is the right choice in this current crisis. But what else is this moment informing others about us? And how will that knowledge be used in the future?

Second, to what extent our we as women willing to save ourselves over the life of another? In the Handmaids Tale, women are pitted against each other in ever aspect of their lives. The Handmaids do not trust other handmaids. They are forced to degrade and belittle one another. They are not sure if the other woman is a spy who will turn her in if she speaks negatively about the new world order. The barren wives are forced to participate in the rape of the handmaids by their husband which in turns causes her to hate the handmaid. Even women in power, who could put a stop to the entire practice of enslaving women for a prescribed ideology, do not because of their own fears of a world without new life which comes in the form of a child.

How far will you go to protect the human species? We have countless examples throughout history of leaders and regimes going to unprecedented lengths to advance their cause, beliefs and even more scary their own people. And it often starts with the idea that the other is threating their way of life and or what God has ordained.

So, I am looking for women to join me in a conversation. Coffee and Conversation is one of the ways MW USA has invited women into gather with other women to discuss issues facing our families and communities. But because of COVID-19 we are not able to gather in person, so MW USA would like to visit with you virtually. If you are interested in joining me and other women to talk about The Handmaids Tale and how it relates to women today, please reply to this post. You will be sent a personal invite for the Coffee and Conversation.

Or if your women’s group would like to host a Coffee and Conversation with me please contact our office to schedule a time.

Question: Equity

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  • Current U.S. debt is $22 trillion, the highest it has ever been (Pew Research Center, 2019).
  • The U.S. Internal Revenue Service collected nearly $3.5 trillion in 2018 (IRS, 2020).
  • The current U.S. spending plan is $4.8 trillion in 2021 (govinfo.gov, 2020).

Reading this information about our government income and spending, I am confounded. Can someone please tell me how and where we will get one trillion dollars to pass out to families during this Covid-19 crisis? And, if we can manage to obtain an extra trillion dollars, why haven’t we used it to support the poor and disadvantaged before now?

Long before Covid-19 entered our vocabulary, our country has been in dire circumstances meriting crisis management. Consider just a bit of the evidence:

  • The housing market in many cities has priced its citizens out of basic shelter. More than half a million people in the U.S. are homeless (Council of Economic Advisers, 2019).
  • Our public-school systems are failing at an alarming rate. Many of our public-school teachers work in dangerous conditions, with large class numbers and outdated facilities and materials.
  • Many Americans cannot afford proper healthcare. Our hospitals and clinic are not equipped for national health emergencies.
  • Our society imprisons more people than any other country. Many investigations reveal appalling conditions in both federal and state prisons.
  • After China, the U.S. pollutes more than any other country in the world (epa.gov). We are not moving fast enough to address climate change.

Our country struggles with all of these problems, and on top of that, we’re $22 trillion in debt. In 2019, our government spent $393.5 billion in paying interest (pewresearch.org). Imagine the good we could have done with those billions!

As Covid-19 is proving, we are fully capable of making dramatic changes to our way of life. It’s not that we can’t fix our national debt and social problems; it’s that we choose not to. We could provide jobs that stimulate our economy. We could provide better educational and healthcare systems. But we don’t do it because our country’s influencers have other priorities.

We are talking these days about flattening the Covid-19 curve by changing our habits and controlling our behaviors. The deadlier virus in America is wealth inequality. Now is the time to flatten that curve, especially now that we see how our society can make drastic changes when we put our mind to it.

We all have time on our hands as we work to flatten the Covid-19 curve; consider spending some of that time figuring out ways our nation can flatten the wealth inequality curve. I’d recommend the following books, among others:

  • The Problem of Wealth: A Christian Response to a Culture of Affluence, by Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty
  • Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, by Edgar Villanueva
  • Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, by Anand Giridharadas
  • Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins, by Miguel A. De La Torre

Send me a note if you know of reading material or a podcast that would help us to flatten the economic curve. I’ll do my best to share your suggestions with women across the nation.

We change our world by speaking truth to power and challenging each other to read and study our nation’s pressing issues for ourselves. We need to stop listening to pundits paid to give a slant and ask God for discerning hearts and minds. We need to pray for the strength to act.