BOHICA

yeah, that assault was a walk in the park compared to what you get next.

we're the williston federated church. BOHICA.

it's who we are.

yeah, too bad about that assault thing.

BOHICA.

here at the williston federated church we really care about our church family.

except for, you know, BOHICA.

same song, different verse

"no matter who you are, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey, all are welcome at this table."

except you.

wen you come broken with your soul crushed in the aftermath of the assault in which you are defiled, do not expect us to ray for your wounds. do not expect to be welcome to eat at the Lord's table. do not expect that "church family" means anything other than "loose confederation of smiling hypocrites"

"do you accept the costs and joys of following Jesus?"

only if it's not awkward.

good job, williston federated church.

bright sunshiny day

it's business as usual at the williston federated church.

this morning one church lady passing me tried to sing back at me which was amusing, because she learned real quick that it's harder than it looks to stay with the tune and the lyrics and the central message in that situation.

but she was singing something about how much she LOVES this church and this congregation.

yeah, i did too, right up until and past the point at which i got thrown out of it for what happened to me in the aftermath of finding myself on my back underneath a creepy old pervert.

my takeaway from the encounter: the protest is effective.

and two ladies going by me asked me angrily why i don't just go IN the church, as if going in would magically show me God's own healing.

yeah, well, that's kind of the central issue here.

when i got thrown out of the church in the aftermath of my best friend's husband, the creepy old pervert crawling on top of me and putting his tongue in my mouth, i kind of lost the ability to go into the church and experience God's own healing.

if i had been allowed to heal with the community of the church or maybe competent pastoral care or any of the things that victims of assaults might expect from a faith community that purports to be about healing and love and service, i would have been inside standing in the choir instead of outside with a protest sign.

unfortunate, that.

funny thing: when you get tossed out of a church for what happens to you in the aftermath of your assault and the subsequent stalking THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE CHURCH WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PASTOR AND OTHER CHURCH MEMBERS and you'll be arrested if you step on the lawn, that alternative of coming inside to receive grace of any kind is kind of out of the question.

it would have been nice not to have been ejected and sent away in humiliation and disgrace. it would have been nice to have been inside this morning and every sunday morning, but it's been taken right out of my hands.

it's a problem of the vacuum of leadership.

and by the way, reverend debbie ingraham, the next time you run for office, expect to be asked questions in public forums about why you as a methodist clergyman are complicit in this coverup.

there is going to be a cultural change at the williston federated church.

that is not a choice.

the only thing that is a choice is what form the change will take.

will you, the church, continue to harden your hearts against the injured, or will you start being the body of jesus on this earth?

will you accept the costs and joys of following jesus?

or will you only take up the cross until it's uncomfortable and an old pervert might be embarrassed by what he did?

will you be afraid to look on the face of sorrow? will you be afraid to look on what your indifference has made?

there is going to be change.

which change will you choose?