“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
― Anais Nin
Dear Friends of St. David’s,
Serving as the chaplain to our day school is a complete joy. When chapel time ends, I often hint at what story I plan to share the following week. Recently, I mentioned I planned to bring twenty thousand friends with me when I see them next. As literal thinkers, they were both amazed and puzzled at how their classroom could fit us all. I explained that we would only be pretending that Jesus was with us feeding twenty thousand people with just a few fish and two loaves of bread.
One of the students piped up and countered, “No, Pastor Emily, that’s not right. There were only FIVE thousand people.” The students were surprised to learn the five thousand number only included men, and there were likely more than twenty thousand people if women and children were included in the tally. “Why WOULDN’T they count the women?” one of the children asked in utter confusion.
That is a good question.
As we begin Women’s History Month, this is a question we continue to ask as a culture. Women were undoubtedly an intentional part of God’s creative vision from the start so why are they not always “counted” in our biblical story or our own time? As People of God, we can shift that reality. By sharing the stories of the women who matter to us we give power to their presence in our lives and the world. We make them count.
So, I ask? Who are the influential women in your life? Who is included as an essential part of your faith story? Who are the women working in ways that make you proud of the power of feminine energy?*
My list is long and includes many of you! If I had to narrow the field down, two women would come to mind for me. The first is my maternal grandmother, Jeannette. I spent nearly every Friday night at her home as a child. Each week, there was a sacred ritual of cooking, sewing, and conversation before I was tucked into crisply ironed sheets and guided lovingly through prayers. My grandmother was the first person I remember who invited the unfiltered longings of my heart. She opened the door to what it meant to have an intimate relationship with God.
The second is Hannah, the Old Testament figure (11th Century BCE, found in 1 Samuel 1). Her complicated path to motherhood and unwavering trust in the power of prayer made others write Hannah off as appearing drunk or wild. I can relate. As a mother who has walked with her children through a variety of challenging seasons of depression and anxiety, the passionate nature of my prayers made me feel as though I might appear unhinged like Hannah. Her witness showed me that throwing one’s whole self into the trust of God is not for the faint of heart.
This month, I invite you to consider who would be on your list of noteworthy women. Tell their stories to your friends and family to give their stories a continued life. Trust that the power of their witness has something worthwhile to add to our communal life that extends far beyond the confines of Women’s History Month. Tell the stories with the confidence that God will do something with those stories to heal and inspire the world.
Peace and love,
The Rev. Emily Given +
Director of Christian Formation, Transitional Deacon
*We’d love to help tell these stories! We’re assembling a bulletin board in the hallway between the Chapel narthex and Allen Hall with stories of these women of faith. If you’d like to respond to this post with names, brief stories, and even images of those women who are or have been influential to your faith story, please either send them to the Rev. Emily Given at egiven@stdavidschurch.org or bring them in and post them on the bulletin board yourself. We can’t wait to see and read your responses!
Published: February 29, 2024