Thank you, Mrs. Truth.

20Jul
“... that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.”
- Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” (1851) 

Recently, I’ve been writing thank you notes for gifts I received at my wedding (far later than I intended). I enjoy writing them because the process forces me to sit in a place of gratitude for the friendship that I share with the recipient. The notes are almost never about the physical gift, as they are just a symbol of a much larger gift - love, acceptance, and time. The memories flood my mind with the laughs, the tears, the smiles, and the smirks. My heart is warmed, and I finish the note in a much happier place than when I started.  

I would love to write a thank you note to the women the church honors today - Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Amelia Jenks Bloomer. Their gifts to us range from “bloomers” to the abolition of slavery to the call for women’s right to vote. They fought in the name of equality, spending their lives advocating for a fundamental principle of the Church: that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, perfectly and wonderfully made. Their lives show that no one person is too small to stand up for good and that until we are all free and equal, there is still work to be done. The extension of their work actually enabled me to be married to a man I love by a woman I deeply admire, and I hope that my life and efforts will be even a faint echo of theirs. So… thank you, Mrs. Truth, Mrs. Stanton, and Mrs. Bloomer, for helping make this a more wonderful world. I am forever in your debt.

Musical Reflection - It's A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

Almighty God, who has made the Church to be one body with many members and many gifts: we thank you for the witness of your daughter, Sojourner Truth, and for her courage to preach the truth of your liberating love in the face of great injustice. Grant that we, like her, may use our time, talents, and energy to proclaim the coming of your Kingdom, which is good news to the poor, and in which all the oppressed shall be made free; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 
- Satucket prayer for Sojourner Truth
WomenSacrifice
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#history #love #women #justice #friendship

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