pentecost sunday

it felt good to be back walking the line today.

when i see the looks of derision and mockery on the faces of some of the church people, i know why it is so important to walk.

statistically i am not the first person in the congregation to have been assaulted and statistically i am not going to be the last. it does not matter if it is the same perpetrator or a different one.

what matters is the response and support or lack thereof by a congregation.

institutionally churches say the right words. they use words like "safe churches initiative" and "crisis response team" but the message that the williston federated church is actually sending is "when it happens to you, you will be outcast. you will not be believed, and you will be blamed."

it is right and good for this to be brought to the surface and exposed, because sometimes the assault is much less damaging than the response of your community. if the church community is going to be part of the problem, it needs to be identified because the future assault victims will need to know not to expect support from that quarter.

churches tell you they will support and care. but it just gets too uncomfortable to have to face that it happens between people of their own congregations. if they are not inclined or equipped to help, they should be identified as such.

i would not expect support or care or community from my grocery store or computer repair shop, but churches purport to be about caring and supporting. they talk of comfort and family and guidance and maybe there are churches who know how to cope when this happens within their own community, but i am not seeing it here.

so when i am met with cheerful looks of hostility and derision or mocked and blamed for what happened to me and my audacity in naming it, i know very well why it is important for me to walk that corner with the sign.

williston federated church, how are you explaining this to your young people?

are you telling them that when (and the sad statistical reality is that it will be "when" and not "if") -when it happens to them, they will be believed for some reason?

no. you are sending the message that it is risky to tell. you are sending the message that you will judge and blame the victim. you are sending the message that you are not safe, regardless of the words you say.

your actions speak.