brigitte - post #2, 6.26.22: out on a limb

I have a confession to make: I still don't understand the Holy Trinity. How on earth am

I supposed to understand the Wesleyan Quadrilateral? That was my poor attempt at a joke.

I'm not actually joking about the Trinity though; my understanding is that Christians typically

believe in the triune God--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That's the of my knowledge on the

topic. I'm guessing that the three entities work in tandem to reveal whoever and and whatever

God is.

I didn't grow up in the United Methodist Church, or in any church for that matter, so last

Friday's session on the UM Social Principles was super informative. It also provided space

for us to discuss current events like SCOTUS' overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court

ruled against bodily autonomy as well as the will of the American people. 62% of Americans

believe that abortion should be legal. What exactly is the purpose of government institutions

that don't accurately represent the American people? SCOTUS has an insane amount of power,

and its conservative supermajority's decision has already impacted the lives of millions of

people. At the time of my writing this, abortion has been effectively banned in 11 states, with

others likely to follow suit. It's been predicted that maternal mortality rates will increase by

21% overall--33% for Black women. That doesn't sound very pro-life to me. Abortion bans

hit the poor the hardest, depriving people of healthcare and putting them and/or keeping them

in precarious economic situations. What a woman and/or anyone with a uterus chooses to do with

their own body doesn't concern strangers. If these individuals really cared about lowering abortion

rates to "protect life", they'd support things like comprehensive sex ed in schools and increased

access to contraception, and policies that ensure that people have access to the resources they

resources they need to support their families. Forcing people to carry their pregnancies to term

honestly sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me. The limiting of reproductive rights

is the ruling class' attempt at maintaining power and perpetuating systems of patriarchy and

capitalism.

Before talking with my pastors over the course of the last couple of years, it had never really

occurred to me just how much God cares about the poor. My image of Christianity, or rather,

Christians, prior to becoming acquainted with my church was that they were kind of superficial,

judgmental (the irony of me writing this), and materialistic. The prosperity gospel is the most

prevalent one in America I guess. According to Luke 4:18,"The Spirit of the Lord" is upon

Jesus because God has anointed him "to bring good news to the poor...to proclaim release to

the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free." What do the

impoverished consider to be good news? Policymakers should go and ask them. Maybe this

good news centers on human dignity. This must entail the improvement of people's material

conditions at the bare minimum; ensuring that everyone has access to the resources necessary

for them to survive and make a living is a start, and we Christians should be working toward

toward this image of society. Policies influenced by neoliberalism constantly antagonize the poor,

but God chose to inhabit this world as a poor man. I'm still thinking about what this means.

I find some comfort in the fact that God can identify with those experiencing homelessness,

food insecurity, unwarranted disdain; with those who have limited choices and those who are

suffering.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into our first session of Church and Society programming.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the writing exercise and blob ID check-in.

Identifying my strengths has never been my strong suit (ha ha); there's a fine line between

humility and self-deprecation in my case, and I need to find a healthy balance. I'm going to

attempt to name a strength here: I care a lot (and cry a lot as a consequence). I'm glad the EYA

program is full of caring people too. I loved the activity we did with the Social Principles

Admittedly, the second I found out what we'd be doing I got anxious because I felt like I was

in class again; I was the shy kid in school, and I guess my fear of saying something stupid is

still there. It's gotten better though. It was nice to get to voice my opinions on the death penalty

healthcare, climate change, and war, and to hear the opinions and about the thought processes

of the other interns. Reflecting on my stances using the Wesleyan Quadrilateral allowed me to

go through the process of asking myself why I believe what I believe. It was what I consider

to be very cool and enlightening, and the session was honestly the highlight of my week.

The UMC's stances on these weren't surprising, which I guess is a good thing? Well, for the

most part; I also learned about the Church's two incompatibility clauses. Apparently

homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. In what possible way is this the case?

Does Jesus even say anything about homosexuality? I thought that Christianity was about

radical love, inclusion, and acceptance. Hooray for the Social Principles' non-authoritativeness

and the fact that they can be amended.

God values authenticity and vulnerability, right? I sure hope so.

Song that made me happy this weekend: "Prelude" by Nobuo Uematsu

-brigitte