Is there such a thing?

I hold no special standing to know exactly what to say and when to say it. When I do speak, I hope that my words are shared with dignity and from a place of wisdom sharing.

For sure, I believe, Jesus wrestled with this idea more often than we are led to believe. To explore the humanness of Christ Jesus is to explore our own humanity and the struggles there, within. The Gospel is stock full of stories about the fully human reality in Jesus as he prays, heals, teaches, seeks solitude, weeps, and displays righteous anger towards those who would build walls and erect barriers to keep those deemed unworthy out of the Kindom of God’s Love.  For Jesus, the Kindom of God IS LOVE!! The Unearned, unretractable, eternally within, Love of God. 

No one can give us the love of God. We are all called to openly share the love of God that we experience. Jesus called this Love as you have been Loved.  If someone did not give it then no one can take it away, ever. Not even death. Have we done more than simply ignore this call from Jesus? Have we lost our ability to act in such a way that honors God’s love by honoring that Love in others. If it is inherent in us it is inherent in others.

When we think of the current headlines regarding the supreme court actions about a woman’s right to choose, how can anyone stake a claim in the middle? Especially in the current age of fence building and barrier erecting between differing factions. 

Is there a different way? Is there a different stand to take? Is there a new proclamation other than extreme either/or?

Is there such a thing as pro-choice/pro-life?

I cannot get pregnant. There for it’s not my body, it’s not my choice. So, I am pro-choice.

I am pro, from the womb to the tomb, life. That means that every single person in our nation deserves support and care for themselves so that everyone can live with dignity and freedom to be who they are in the world. Pro-Life means every single child from birth to death is supported and loved. By all of us, regardless of stature or place in societies false hierarchy.

Maybe I can. Maybe there is space to make a new proclamation as a pro-life/pro-choice pastor. 

Not my body, not my choice means for me that I support all woman and every child in the world as they journey through life. I support and will fight for the dignity and freedom of every human being, even a woman who makes the difficult choice to end a pregnancy. 

Yes! There is such a thing! 

We can all work to support every single life as sacred and worthy, while also holding space for a woman’s right to choose. We can all reject this notion that to hold one you must let go of the other. We can all work towards a health care system that supports all stages of life from the womb to the tomb. This is really pro-life.

I am a pro-choice pro-life, a pro-life-choice pastor and I get to define what that means, regardless of what is being said that is meant to tear us apart. 

I declare a different way of holding life as sacred to mean all of life, everyone’s life, the entire span, and stages of life for each and every child of God. 

I declare there is such a thing as a life affirming, choice defending way of being.