Domestic Violence
And What About the Good Samaritan?
May 19, 2008 — Categories: Domestic ViolenceA woman recently shared with me her experience of being assaulted and stabbed by her abusive husband. As she recovered from her injuries, she turned to her church, expecting pastoral care and support.
“Where Are We?”
May 15, 2009 — Categories: Sexual Violence, Domestic ViolenceAs I was presenting a workshop recently on how we should challenge the roadblocks which the church can present to battered women and affirm the resources, I noticed one participant was very quiet and reserved.
Guest Blog: “An Ode to Rihanna and Chris Brown”
Mar 02, 2009 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceOn February 8, 2009, 19-year-old Chris Brown and 20-year-old Rihanna, music icons scheduled to perform that evening at the Grammys, engaged in an argument while inside a vehicle that escalated into a fight. Rihanna suffered visible injuries and was treated at a hospital. The next day Chris Brown surrendered himself to authorities.
Jimmy Carter Challenges His Church
Jul 24, 2009 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic Violence“The turning point in every social justice movement occurs when the authentic leadership of survivors is met with the genuine commitments of our most power social institutions.” So said my colleague, Judith Beals, in 2002 in the midst of the disclosure of extensive sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests.
Before “Yes, We Can” . . .
Jan 05, 2011 — Categories: Domestic ViolenceBefore “Yes, We Can,” there was “WE CAN.” Women Empowered Committed Against Negativity (WE CAN) is an organization whose office is in a house on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. The leader of WE CAN is Loretta Joseph. She is a Roman Catholic laywoman who has organized Catholic and Protestant women outside the church in order to get the work done—i.e. the work of supporting and empowering women in their real lives.
“Love-All That and More” Debuts in Cape Town!
Dec 07, 2010 — Categories: Current Events, Healthy Teen Relationships, Domestic ViolenceSince my visit to South Africa is supported by the U.S. Department of State Speakers’ Program, the Consulate staff has arranged some of my meetings. They asked me to go to a YMCA afterschool program and meet with the youth workers and the youth. It has been many years since I worked specifically in youth ministry, but I pressed ahead—and I am so glad I did.
Women’s Work Is Never Done
Mar 08, 2010 — Categories: Child Abuse, Sexual Violence, Domestic ViolenceMarch 8 is International Women’s Day. So I was pleased this past week to be in New York City for events surrounding the 54th Annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Not only is women’s work never done, our agenda continues to expand.
Santa Targets His Own Family
Dec 26, 2008 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceAn ex-husband took advantage of the annual family gathering at his in-laws’ house to inflict his violence on his ex-wife and her family. He appeared at the door dressed as Santa, and one of the children let him in. He opened fire on the 25 people there and then set fire to the house.
Is the Gospel of “More Sex” Really Good News for All?
Dec 10, 2008 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic Violence, Sexual ViolenceSo Pastor Ed Young of the Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, got the attention of the media. And his church members. He called for a week of “congregational copulation” to take people’s minds off the economy. Pastor Young has added his blessing to our already highly sexualized culture.
"Déjà vu All Over Again"
Dec 02, 2008 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceAnother murder in a church; another domestic terror homicide. On Nov. 23, Joseph Pallipurath entered the St. Thomas Syarian Orthodox Kananaya Church in Clifton, NJ and killed his wife.
The Fight to End Terrorism
Oct 10, 2008 — Categories: Domestic Violence“Compare the raw numbers. In the same seven-year period [2000-2006] when 4,588 U.S. soldiers [in combat] and police officers [on duty] were killed by hostiles or by accident, more than 8,000 women – nearly twice as many – were shot, stabbed, strangled, or beaten to death by the intimate males in their lives."
The Invisibility of Domestic Violence in Faith Communities
Mar 23, 2010 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceLast week, Charles Parsons murdered his wife during a couples’ counseling session at Calvary Lutheran Church south of Seattle. He turned himself in and has been charged with first-degree murder and assault.
A Spiritual Battle between Good and Evil?
Aug 28, 2010 — Categories: Domestic ViolenceIs addressing domestic violence a spiritual battle between good and evil? This is the question I received last week from a colleague. As I pondered this question, I sent a note to several other colleagues for their input. I think the answer we all agreed to is “yes and no.” Or as one Muslim colleague said, “Essential and not sufficient.”
It’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the Color Is Purple
Oct 28, 2010 — Categories: Domestic ViolenceOctober is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Did you know that? It’s also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I’m sure you knew that because you can’t help but see the pink all around. On my flight last week, the airline was selling pink lemonade and martinis as well as collecting donations--all to go to breast cancer research. Football players in NFL games this month are wearing pink! Pink?! How cool is that? So why aren’t the airlines selling grape soda and football players wearing purple in support of ending domestic violence?
Boys to Men
Jul 19, 2010 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceA baseball game is a place where boys are socialized to become men. And in a world where men’s violence against women is rampant, it is worth considering as a place to work on changing the norm of violence against women. Help the Seattle Mariners win a $200,000 Pepsi Refresh Project grant to support domestic violence work!
“Another Hate Crime . . . with a Backstory”
Sep 15, 2008 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceOn a Sunday in late July, Jim David Adkisson entered the Tennesse Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville and opened fire. He said he hated gays and liberals and “all liberals should be killed.” He murdered two people and seriously injured 6 others before being subdued by other church members.
“My Heart Is So Sore . . .”
Dec 01, 2010 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceWe sat together with the Religious Leaders Forum of Cape Town. Clergy and lay, men and women who have come together to address gender violence in their communities. Twenty people met in a room in a Dutch Reformed Church. The women began to share their stories.
Guest Blog: Bishop Weeks Assaults His Evangelist Wife in Atlanta
Sep 12, 2007 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceThe recent violent assault of Evangelist Juanita Bynum by her husband, Bishop Thomas Weeks, in a parking lot in Atlanta is tragic and almost unbelievable. Two highly respected faith leaders, Bishop and Evangelist, are now also abuser and victim. This assault reminds us that domestic violence crosses all racial, social, economic, and religious lines.
Domestic Terror: A State of Intense Fear Related to Household or Family
Nov 15, 2010 — Categories: Current Events, Domestic ViolenceHere are two current events that, when juxtaposed, caught my interest. Changing social norms is getting harder, not easier. “In revealing the decision points that led him to choose waterboarding as an interrogation technique, Bush says, ‘CIA experts drew up a list of interrogation techniques . . . At my direction, Department of Justice and CIA lawyers conducted a careful legal review. The enhanced interrogation program complied with the Constitution and all applicable laws, including those that ban torture.’”
“The Bible Says . . .”
Nov 20, 2009 — Categories: Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence“The Bible says I can have sex with my 8-year-old child . . .” “The Bible says I can beat my wife because she is to be subject to me . . .” These and other biblical justifications haunt my consciousness.
