Seeing self-righteousness, judgement and hypocrisy is deeply upsetting when we know Jesus preached compassion, forgiveness and humility
You're not the only one who feels this way - sorry for the hurt you and others have experienced
I don't think there will ever be a perfect ministry or church - the 12 Apostles lacked faith, bragged, judged, blasphemed, betrayed and deserted him. And despite all their failures, Jesus still returned to them to continue his ministry while comforting them that he would be with them always, even to the end of the world
I try to remember it's love that covers a multitude of sins
Wow. I am so glad that you shared this. I also was raised in a no-pants-on-women church and school environment. Boys had to have short haircuts, which in the late 1970s and early 1980s really stood out in public. Oddly enough, the school allowed the students to dress up on Halloween. I twice dressed as Angus Young, the AC/DC guitarist.
Like your church, mine was also scandalized by sexual abuse. In particular, the youth pastor targeted teenage girls by calling them into his office for “counseling.” I don’t think a church could do that now, or at least as easily. However, then there were no cell phone cameras and greater trust in authority.
This is beautifully done, Audrey, and holds the inherent tensions and threads of the topic so well. I saw myself in many a sentence, and in many of the precise little details too. I didn’t realize I needed to revisit and reexamine my own somewhat similar experiences to what you’re working through here, which I have tried to pack neatly away instead but this forced the reflection that I really do have much healing yet to do. Thank you for being willing to write about it.
I am perpetually impressed by your poise and capacity for critique, of both yourself and of the community in which you were raised.
Even though I grew up so differently, I am touched and inspired by your story; I can’t imagine how helpful this is to the women and men who relate to it more personally. You’re doing yourself and others a sincere favor by your writing.
I relate to a lot of this, and this topic has been somewhat on my mind lately, more or less, and stewing in my drafts. I think it's so beautiful how you address the grittiness of the your upbringing but somehow seem to have come away with style and vigor. True Proverbs 31 virtues despite what Trad larpers claim.
I am not myself religious but there is a wing of my family that is part of an intensely pro-natal religious movement that does practice strict modesty codes for women (and for all I know has sexual scandals they hush up). I don’t see that world as an insider but from my limited experience I’ve noted the women seem to gain a lot of status later in life as they accumulate grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. By the time they are in their 60s they have dozens of descendants. It seems like it would make for a very different kind of aging than the often lonely process of aging I see in the secular world. I wonder what it’s like.
Seeing self-righteousness, judgement and hypocrisy is deeply upsetting when we know Jesus preached compassion, forgiveness and humility
You're not the only one who feels this way - sorry for the hurt you and others have experienced
I don't think there will ever be a perfect ministry or church - the 12 Apostles lacked faith, bragged, judged, blasphemed, betrayed and deserted him. And despite all their failures, Jesus still returned to them to continue his ministry while comforting them that he would be with them always, even to the end of the world
I try to remember it's love that covers a multitude of sins
Aw
Wow. I am so glad that you shared this. I also was raised in a no-pants-on-women church and school environment. Boys had to have short haircuts, which in the late 1970s and early 1980s really stood out in public. Oddly enough, the school allowed the students to dress up on Halloween. I twice dressed as Angus Young, the AC/DC guitarist.
Like your church, mine was also scandalized by sexual abuse. In particular, the youth pastor targeted teenage girls by calling them into his office for “counseling.” I don’t think a church could do that now, or at least as easily. However, then there were no cell phone cameras and greater trust in authority.
Thanks again for sharing. God bless.
This is beautifully done, Audrey, and holds the inherent tensions and threads of the topic so well. I saw myself in many a sentence, and in many of the precise little details too. I didn’t realize I needed to revisit and reexamine my own somewhat similar experiences to what you’re working through here, which I have tried to pack neatly away instead but this forced the reflection that I really do have much healing yet to do. Thank you for being willing to write about it.
I am perpetually impressed by your poise and capacity for critique, of both yourself and of the community in which you were raised.
Even though I grew up so differently, I am touched and inspired by your story; I can’t imagine how helpful this is to the women and men who relate to it more personally. You’re doing yourself and others a sincere favor by your writing.
I love you and I’m so proud of you.
I relate to a lot of this, and this topic has been somewhat on my mind lately, more or less, and stewing in my drafts. I think it's so beautiful how you address the grittiness of the your upbringing but somehow seem to have come away with style and vigor. True Proverbs 31 virtues despite what Trad larpers claim.
I am not myself religious but there is a wing of my family that is part of an intensely pro-natal religious movement that does practice strict modesty codes for women (and for all I know has sexual scandals they hush up). I don’t see that world as an insider but from my limited experience I’ve noted the women seem to gain a lot of status later in life as they accumulate grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. By the time they are in their 60s they have dozens of descendants. It seems like it would make for a very different kind of aging than the often lonely process of aging I see in the secular world. I wonder what it’s like.