“We Showed Up” :: Millennials & Reproductive Justice

Last updated on: July 9, 2013 at 2:04 pm By Caryn Riswold

Consider the masses of younger women who showed up at the Texas statehouse before and after Wendy Davis’ pink-shoed filibuster against a bill that would effect devastating restrictions to women’s healthcare. Consider the online organizing carried out by women like Jessica Luther to feed and sustain those orange-shirted activists. Consider the recent panel on Millennials of color and reproductive justice at Netroots Nation. Consider Samantha Griffin and the work of the Black Women’s Health Imperative in Washington, D.C. I met... Read more

Myth Heads Overrun Blogger!

Last updated on: July 6, 2013 at 2:00 pm By Caryn Riswold

Fellow Patheos blogger Kimberly Knight has penned an awesomely creative response to “bible drive-bys” that we progressive Christian bloggers have become all to accustomed to. Check out the comments section in my recent post on the SCOTUS marriage equality rulings for an example of bible drive-bys along with a great series of substantive responses. Here’s Kimberly’s hilarious description of a bible drive-by: “an unidentified perpetrator rolled up in what witness claim was a light brown, late model, Chevy Camelus, and... Read more

Who’s Next to Me?

Last updated on: July 6, 2013 at 2:05 pm By Caryn Riswold

I was annoyed when I found out that some people think Emeli Sande’s song “Next To Me” was about God (or more specifically Jesus) and not about an awesome male partner. Partly because I loved the catchy tune when I first heard it, and because it made me think of my awesome husband. Maybe too because we need more pop songs celebrating good long-lasting love … (though, I do love it when Carrie carves her name into his leather seats... Read more

Our Voices: “Who Says?”

Last updated on: June 27, 2013 at 12:20 pm By Caryn Riswold

This summer, I’ll be sharing a series of short personal stories from the Our Voices, Our Stories booklet published by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Justice for Women program. It is available in full on the program’s website, and is described thus: “Rooted in the gospel, truth-telling is a part of all social change, no less so when confronting patriarchy and sexism. This booklet of true stories, written by a variety of people across the ELCA, serves to encourage listening and... Read more

“You Call Us, Christ-Sophia”

Last updated on: June 27, 2013 at 12:20 pm By Caryn Riswold

Recently, I shared a story about the power of images and language for God in which the author asks: How many biblical images of God are there? What about the deeply theological work behind expansive language for God? We were indoctrinating children into an exclusively male image of God and it didn’t seem like anyone noticed or cared! Because there are people who notice and care about expansive and inclusive language for the divine, I’m happy to once again share a resource... Read more

Not Separate, Not Unequal: Notes on Two SCOTUS Rulings

Last updated on: June 26, 2013 at 11:43 am By Caryn Riswold

I don’t spend a lot of time reading decisions rendered by the Supreme Court of the United States, but I did today and excerpted a few things with my comment here. There will be more to say and there is already a whole lot of commentary out there, but I thought it would be a good idea to at least start by reading the words of the Court itself. Page numbers cited are to the linked decisions themselves. In striking... Read more

We’ve Come A Long Way, Baby?

Last updated on: June 22, 2013 at 6:01 pm By Caryn Riswold

Rev. Gene Robinson, groundbreaking retired Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, writes this month over at The Washington Post about the recent election of Dr. Guy Erwin as the first openly gay bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I wrote a bit on this historic shift here, and Robinson notes what a difference a decade makes: Flash forward ten years from my election. On May 31, 2013, The Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin, an openly gay, partnered Lutheran was elected to serve... Read more

God, Gays, & the Lutheran Church Basement

Last updated on: June 22, 2013 at 6:01 pm By Caryn Riswold

Did you notice the location of the meeting between Alan Chambers, now-apologetic director of the now-former Exodus International, and the group of ex-Exodus members? The church basement. The Hollywood Lutheran Church basement was the site of the “God and Gays” episode of Our America with Lisa Ling on OWN. And it was a fitting location for so many reasons. The church basement is where so much of the ordinary, daily, and often messy work of the church takes place. Education,... Read more

Our Voices: “Speaking ‘He'”

Last updated on: June 14, 2013 at 11:29 am By Caryn Riswold