{"id":544,"date":"2017-07-10T11:12:32","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T15:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/?p=544"},"modified":"2017-07-10T11:12:32","modified_gmt":"2017-07-10T15:12:32","slug":"meet-me-in-the-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/meet-me-in-the-streets\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Me in the Streets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Recently, my dear friend, Linda Bryant, posted a thoughtful blog \u2018Meet Me In the Field\u2019 https:\/\/charisgrandma.wordpress.com\/2017\/07\/05\/meet-me-in-the-field\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Take some time to read it. It is a challenge to those of us who live in a polarized society. It calls us to a kind of faithfulness, no matter our faith tradition, that requires compassion, authenticity, and the willingness to listen. What she has to say is important for us all to hear.<\/p>\n

She posted it right before I posted my last blog, \u2018Put on Your Big Girl Panties\u2019. It seems like we are polar opposites in our calls to address the same problem.<\/p>\n

While she encourages us to face our fears and withhold judgment I said things like:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to change the conversation. We don\u2019t need to be in dialogue with those who would destroy our values and vision of a nation whose arc is \u2018bent toward justice\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>It\u2019s time to stop compromising about the lives and deaths of our fellow citizens.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to get up, gird up, and put on our big girl panties.<\/p>\n

We cannot afford to wait and see how things ‘play out’.<\/p>\n

We are the majority<\/em> and we need to assert our power. Even if it is for the first time.<\/p>\n

Vote now. Get involved now. Be the change now.<\/p>\n

This is not the time to make nice. It’s time to make policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is there any way both of us could be right? Could both of us good people? Is only one of us faithful? My answers are yes, yes, and no. As feminists, both Linda and I believe there are many \u2018right\u2019 answers. Our perceptions are not so contrary to one another as they are coexistent. How can that be so?<\/p>\n

I used to be afraid that I was not spiritual enough because of my loud, radical, and often coarsely worded calls to justice. I choose words for impact, to move people, and to challenge systems of evil. Those calls and words are important. They are part of the long-standing tradition of prophetic speaking. Prophetic calls to justice are often harsh, uncomfortable, and urgent. They are never\u00a0a call to destroy \u2018the other\u2019.<\/p>\n

Linda\u2019s pastoral call to faithfulness is equally important. We need to be challenged to live faithfully in ways that stretch us. Facing our fears, the willingness to listen and be vulnerable, to love those difficult to love are the challenges of a deepening faith. However, \u00a0it should never compromise our call \u00a0to stand for justice.<\/p>\n

Both perspectives are necessary. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it the \u2018cost of discipleship\u2019. Carter Heyward coined the phrase \u2018justice-love\u2019. The nature of faith is dynamic. The expression of faith kaleidoscopic. Our many \u2018right\u2019 ways move together to form a pattern of the whole. The call is to live our faith . The gifts of sharing the journey is that it deepens our relationship with the Sacred and challenges us to live authentically.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, my dear friend, Linda Bryant, posted a thoughtful blog \u2018Meet Me In the Field\u2019 https:\/\/charisgrandma.wordpress.com\/2017\/07\/05\/meet-me-in-the-field\/ Take some time to read it. It is a challenge to those of us who live in a polarized society. It calls us to a kind of faithfulness, no matter our faith tradition, that requires compassion, authenticity, and the … Continue reading Meet Me in the Streets<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,7,13,24,21,25,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":546,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions\/546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}