Tag: christian social justice

Justice, Ministry

Madonna Alley

melissaannekuipers
Mary mother of Jesus
The Madonna statue in the Mary Garden in the forgotten alley

“The writers of our ancient texts grasped at metaphors and imagery to represent that which we cannot see and cannot fully grasp. They tried to hold the unholdable through word pictures. God is a lion, a lamb, a sun, a friend, a lover, a king, a vine, a potter, a loaf of bread. And the creative Creator, who walked in the garden with Eve and Adam and dwelt in the confines of the tabernacle and grew till snug and tight within a peasant’s womb, allows God’s self to be held within the humble flesh of words. God is willing to be held, chooses to be held, intends to be held, longs to be held, loves to be held.”

You can find my Advent reflection, “Madonna Alley,” in the recent issue of The Christian Courier.

parenting, Published articles

Why Does Being Healthy Have to Hurt?

melissaannekuipers
When we follow a Saviour who calls us to turn the other cheek, we can probably, at a bare minimum, cover those cheeks with a mask.

My small, peaceful hometown has been home to a number of anti-lockdown protests in recent months, including a march of 2000 people on November 7th. I wrote a bit about what’s happening there for the Christian Courier, as well as some thoughts on what it means for people of faith to respond to COVID-19.

‘Recently my very attentive three-and-a-half-year-old overheard me booking our flu shots over the phone. As I hung up, he blurted, “Are we all going to get shots?” His memory of the needle is distant, but his imagination of it is powerful. His lip began to quiver as I bent down to talk to him. 

“Yes,” I said, “because it will help us be healthier.” 

With tears in his eyes he said, “But why does being healthy have to hurt?”’ 

You can read more here.

Published articles, Uncategorized

Inheriting Privilege

melissaannekuipers

20200729_211528

Over the past few years I’ve been on the continuing and unending journey of sorting through stuff I’ve inheriting, as well as some of my own childhood stuff I stuffed in the attic of the family home I grew up in. It’s a bit overwhelming at times.

Somehow the process of sorting through so many things that I’ve inherited–stuff I want and stuff I’d like to just ignore–brought to mind the ways in which we inherit privilege, whether we want it or not, whether we want to deal with it or not. I wrote a piece a few months ago about checking our privilege as spiritual practice, and I think it’s an essential ongoing exercise for white Christians. You can check it out in The Banner here.