I Do Not Understand

A Somali woman was stoned to death today. She was 20 and recently gave birth. Her baby was stillborn. I do not understand.

I do not understand why she had to die. I do not understand why the father of her baby was given 100 lashes, and she was murdered. I do not understand why we don't know her name.

Every minute of every day a woman dies somewhere in the world because of a pregnancy related cause. Causes can include sepsis, hemorrhaging, obstructed labor, and eclampsia. I do not understand why I have to add stoning to the list of pregnancy related deaths.

I know how to gather supplies for birthing kits and work with local villages to arrange skilled birthing attendant training. I know how to encourage people of faith to learn more about what they can do to increase maternal health globally. How do we increase maternal health by decreasing stoning?
S

photo courtesy of Gavatron's flikr photo stream

Sisters

Eloquent, waxy words for the academy are what I need to be writing. I have explanations regarding Plato's influence on Christianity and the importance of losing dualistic thinking. But all I want to say is this,
In the beginning, God said, "Let us make humankind in our image."

The reasons to increase maternal health are plentiful. Even still, I continue to herald one. The woman giving birth in Tanzania is my sister.
S

Conceive

Lately I've been studying mothers in the Bible. There are examples of women who were unable to conceive, but eventually all of them gave birth. Where are the stories of the women who never had children? Is Anna from the temple one of those women? What about the woman with the issue of blood? So often fertility is used as a spiritual marker in the Old and New Testaments. Surely there were faithful women of God who desperately wanted to give birth, but did not.

I wonder, if their stories were a part of the Bible, would infertility be less stigmatized? If pastors could stand in their pulpits on Sunday morning and share the words of childless couples who parted oceans and led their people to safety, would those unable to give birth feel comforted? Does what we say (or don't say) in sermons have the power to affect the way those who are infertile view their state?

Yes, yes it does. Pulpits can encourage and de-stigmatize. The church can increase maternal health. Positive Body Theology is of utmost importance and Sunday morning sermons are exactly where it needs to be discussed.
S

photo courtesy of MassDistraction's flickr photostream.

Aunt Esther's Advice

I should be writing about maternal health and the benefits of economic development. I need to be soliciting support for universal girls' education. And there is that post on the summit the Religious Institute led in Atlanta last month. Still trying to get copious amounts of words on dissertation pages. Instead I will post this picture of my $1 estate sale find.

"'Take the plunge,' Aunt Esther advised. 'What the hell.' In the desultory scatter of her senior year - a bemused, irritable period of killing time like what Essie imagined pregnancy to be - she found herself . . . "
In the Beauty of the Lilies by John Updike

You

This morning I pulled out candles from Idjitmi and thought of you. I thought of you Brandy and your sparkling eyes filled with camp week excitement. I thought of you Hephzibah and my favorite vesper memory ever. I thought of candlelight and morning watch. I thought of Pinnacle Knob and hiking in the rain. I thought of that magical time between staff meeting and lunch where the day was free to be whatever it wanted.

Today my WMU perpetual calendar is telling me to "Think long thoughts," courtesy of Fannie E.S. Heck. Today I thought of you.
S

Mothers are Powerful Pt. 2

Mothers love fiercely. Aren't we thankful. It's parents weekend on my campus and the mothers are out. I love how they tend to their daughters with protection and pride.

I'm including a picture of T and her mother taken at T's wedding last weekend. Their embrace and expressions say it all. It was a wonderful day.

S

The Look

Like it or not, mothers have a major influence on their daughters. You know that look a mother gives her daughter when she doesn't like her daughter's haircut or outfit choice? That look has the power to boil my blood AND incite an outfit change ASAP.

Recently, my mother made a point of telling me about a new book. It was another organic smorganic book that she had no doubt heard about on NPR. I'm sure she said a lot of interesting things about the book, but this is what I heard:
*You should stop drinking your Diet Cokes.
*Processed foods are bad for you and I know you eat them all the time.
*That blemish on your chin wouldn't be there if you were more careful with your diet.

In reality, she said none of those things - directly. But just like the, "I don't like the way you are wearing your hair" look, I heard between the lines.

The crazy thing is I love NPR. I appreciate organic products. But when she pushed them my way I fiercely guarded my Diet Cokes and refined pasta.

So imagine my shock when I found myself driving to the book store today and asking if they had the book in stock. Yeah, I caved. Meet the new book. It does sound pretty interesting. Gah.
S