I’ve been thinking a lot about faith lately, my faith, other people’s faith, and how people of faith are lumped together if they read from the same book, even if their interpretation of that book is vastly different. Suffice it to say when people say Christians do this or that thing, they aren’t usually talking about me. I imagine it’s the same for Muslims and Jewish folks or any faithful body who have serious disagreements with the loudest among their fold. These folks can usually quote from their holy book, but aren’t particularly interested in living it out.
I’ve watched askance as the Southern Baptist Convention threw out any church that ordained women to preach, including the largest church in their denomination, Rick Warren’s Saddleback church. I learned from a friend who grew up Southern Baptist and is now Presbyterian that Southern Baptists used to ordain women, so the math isn’t mathing on that one. Folks are so entrenched in their ideological difference that it’s like watching toddlers who can’t stop flailing even when you’ve given them juice and french fries.
I’m struggling as a United Methodist watching with a broken heart as our church splits ostensibly over the potential of LGBTQ ordination, though frankly, I suspect that particular ideological difference won’t pass the smell test in a few years. What I see around me in my faith community reflects what I see in our country. We are going backward; I’m worried we can’t stop it. Racism, misogyny, and homophobia flourish among talk of family values and the greatness of bygone days. I’ll ask whose family and which days were so great for what people.
I see it in my daily work as our all-women fundraising team asks donors with significant capacity who say they believe in our work to give only a pittance of what we asked for or nothing at all or what we expect they donate to other outlets with far more resources. One day I had the bright idea of sending Jared, our business manager, who’s a white man, to a donor meeting with a mic in his ear. My plan was I’d tell him what to say, and we’d get more money because the women weren’t doing the asking. My partner Donna had to ask then-Jackson Free Press Publisher to join some of her meetings with male staffers who would verbally abuse her if he wasn’t in the room.
Sending Jared with a secret microphone was a terrible plan for many reasons. He has more than enough to do. And if I did that, I’d be giving in. I’m not going to do that. My faith and belief that we can be a better state and nation won’t allow it.
Prophets call out the ills of our society yet can still see the good and hope of their fellow man. Our team, particularly our editorial team, is a prophetic voice for these difficult times. So we can’t give up, and we won’t give up because you deserve ethical media that yes, focuses on systemic issues, but also offers the hope through the solutions we uncover through our work. Please help support and grow our journalism.
This MFP Voices essay does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to azia@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
