"The most difficult part of making changes in our lives is that our communities do not always change with us. Our friends do not always change with us. Our family members do not always change with us." -Rev. April Emick Fiet
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Introduction to Advent 2022 Series
Change is constant and important for the person who professes faith in Christ, for such a one must contend with and surrender their previous allegiance to many patterns and systems in/of the world (1 John 2:15-17). Especially patterns and systems which do not align with the Christ message of love of neighbor. -Oghene'tega Swann
Productivity Makes No Sense If You Are Not Adequately Rewarded For It
The so-called unwillingness to work would disappear IF corporations paid everyone according to the profit the corporations make. It is highly ungodly to live in wealth and luxury while those who make your wealth and luxury possible live in abject poverty. -Oghene'tega Swann
Voices of Our Children: Is Beating the Best Form of Discipline, Correction & Teaching of Our Children?
Not every 'Christian' child grows up to embrace 'Christianity' after they were raised with the literal 'rod' of discipline and correction of being hit in the name of correction. Many have instead, walked away from the church and the vengeful and violent god of their parents.
Indigenous People Day: The Land That Was, That Is and Evermore Shall Be
Indigenous People Day: The Land That Was, That Is and Evermore Shall Be For many years and on the second Monday of every October, North America has celebrated a holiday termed "Columbus Day." It is to mark the 'discovery of America by Christopher Columbus' and to celebrate the 'finding' of the land that many white… Continue reading Indigenous People Day: The Land That Was, That Is and Evermore Shall Be
Man or Husband Does Not Mean or Translate as Protector, Provider, Defender, Etc..
Nowhere in the Scriptures is there mention of this term being translated to mean 'provider,' 'defender,' or 'protector.' Instead, what we see in Scripture is that people who are in covenant of commitment to one another deliberately practice and model these concepts regardless of their gender. -Oghene'tega Swann
A Seat at the Table
"Phrases like “same-sex-attraction” and “struggling with...” are homophobic dog whistles from anti-LGBTQ+ ideologies that are so extreme they believe that even identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual––even without acting on your attractions––is sinful, and being transgender is altogether off the table." -Alex M. Griffin
Montgomery’s Unburied History: Haley Gabrielle’s Reflection on the 2019 VOCCU Admin Retreat
"EJI’s museum documents the historical connection between slavery, lynching, and modern mass incarceration. But hearing statistics are one thing, and hearing stories are quite another." -Haley Gabrielle
Unashamedly Taking Control of My Birth Control
The emotional and physical labor of contraception falls heavily on people who can get pregnant. We not only have more numerous and more effective options compared to people who can impregnate, but we are also blamed socially for our negligence if we do become pregnant. -Haley Gabrielle
The Impact of American Psychology on Violence Against Black Men in North America
Living as a woman of color in America, it was not long before I realized that American Psychology was more harmful than helpful to Black people in America because it interprets the life of Black people from the perspective of how and where white America sees and places Black people and that until this was rectified by Black folks rising up to initiate the study of the psychology of Blacks contextually and then cross-culturally, the 'regular' psychology practiced in America is not helpful to non-whites and the non-white experience in America.
The Ethnic and Sexual Diversity of Judaism in Jesus’s Day
"When we imagine the early followers of Jesus, we must imagine them beyond an ethnic binary of Jew/Greek and beyond a sexual binary of male/female. God’s people has always been diverse, before, during, and after the days of Jesus, and God’s people continues to be diverse today." -Haley Gabrielle
Does Leadership De-Womanize Women?
"Women cooked
And cleaned up after husbands and after children
But Elizabeth didn't
So she wasn't woman enough"
-Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
Are Racial & Gender Equality a Possibility?
The veracity and efficacy of the Gospel are not measured by how many people did not receive it, but by the transformation in those who do believe and receive it. In the same way, we must look for the veracity and efficacy of gender and racial equality not by measuring those who neither accept nor practice it, but instead in those who believe, accept and practice it. -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
The Racism of Susan B. Anthony
"The claim is that Anthony wanted White women and not Black men to have the vote. I have not been able to find evidence for this claim. I think that Anthony was racist in an entirely different way. Anthony chose to employ racist tactics in response to her colleagues’ claims that she should stop fighting to correct sexism." -Nikki Holland
Allied Partnerships: Men of Color, Be Your Sisters’ Keepers
"One of the ways that people of color communities have yet to do right by women of color, is having men of color stand with women of color in the gender equality conversation." -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
Intersectionality From The Perspective of a Black Female Unicorn
"Oppression isn’t a competition, but it would be disingenuous to pretend that women of color and white women experience patriarchy and misogyny in the same ways." -Ally Henny
How Politicizing Race Discriminates Against People of Color
"If one is constantly presented with a negative image of a community and that image is fed with hateful rhetoric, it eventually normalizes any violence done to that community." -
Black Panther & The Effect of Cultural Appropriation on Youth of Color
"To my son, it was the first time he saw black people not as thugs, drug dealers, gang members, or sex workers. He saw people that looked like him that did amazing things. He didn't see the hood. He saw a nation. He saw a hero. He saw that we aren't just what the media wants us to be." -Shevone Torres
R-E-S-P-E-C-T In Nigerian Families
"Everyone wants to be respected. Everyone needs to be respected. Respect should not be gender based. Respect is reciprocal. When respect is accorded to both men and women, regardless of gender, we will have better homes and communities and also raise respectful kids." -Edith Durojaiye
Mutuality Sunday: The Art of ‘Belonging’
"If we are becoming truly human like Jesus, this must be characterized by a boldness and courage to love one another, despite the history between our various people groups or even one another." -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
Becoming the Mother of Black Children
"As I began to learn more about racism and the systems of oppression, it was like I was discovering a whole other world that I had previously not known existed. I had been able to live in my white bubble, unaware of the experiences of POC all around me." -Jenn Lynn
My Bicultural, Egalitarian Wedding
"We also have a relationship of equality and mutuality, in which neither of us is defined in our roles or abilities by our genders. It was important to us—and to me especially, as a woman and as someone who thinks deeply about gender equality in both my professional and my personal life—that our wedding reflect our egalitarianism." -Haley Gabrielle
Mutuality Sunday: Were De Black Brodas At?
"... although not all Black churches typically ordain women as ‘pastors,’ they nevertheless respected me as ‘a pastor,’ addressed me as such, and gave me the full accord with their male ministers, and outside of my denomination male ministers, they have been the most accepting of me, my call, and my leadership." -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
Allied Partnerships: An Introduction To The Complexities of the N-word
"Black people of color have taken a word that was used by colonizers and slave owners in a derogatory manner to describe their ancestors and turned it into a greeting and a term of endearment and friendship within their community. This is seen as a method of gaining back some of what was taken from them." -Zanetta Holley
At-Risk Youth or At-Risk Communities?
"Our well-meaning North American psychological bent towards the communities of color tends to address the effects of risks our communities face without ever really addressing the injustices that creates those effects." -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
When Our Skin Is Our Sin
"As the black community grapples with the effects of incarceration on generations of black men, we now have to grapple with the incarceration of black women and the fact that colorism and the disdain for blackness is a contributing factor to who enters prison and how long they stay there." -Onlielove Alston
Fight Like Sisters!
"If true love means fighting fair and honestly, while maintaining value and regard for one another, then neither me, nor people of color need to reduce ourselves and our voices in order to get along with Caucasians. Neither do we need to compromise our worth or hide our pain at our boundaries being breached in order to belong in the community of God." -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
The Non-Monolithic Experiences of POC: The Diversity Within The Minority
"What we need is an accurate understanding of the distinct challenges that racism can pose for various ethnic groups, and the goal of eliminating racial disparities with an open mind to where and how they may occur." -Haley Gabrielle
A Vision of Reconciliation…
"Just when I was about to give up hope of the possibility of reconciliation and a relationship with my sister, He was there!" -Zanetta Holley
Our Few Are Not The Marines
"Children of color all over the world are the face of philanthropic organizations and programs that constantly focus on the economic plight of the individual families without giving a thought to changing the systems that create the poverty in those communities." -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
White Grief Is Not Enough, Nor is Black Anger
"Not every person is called to fight for every cause, but every person is called to be more than sensitive when confronted with injustice. " -Ernest Lewis, Jr.
Absentee Fathers: Is It a Black Men Only Thing?
"The issue of absentee fathers has been projected upon African-American communities in America as an issue of the moral failure of African-American men, when in reality, it is a drastic combination of patriarchy and the violent consequence of racism on the Black community." -Rev. Tega Swann
Come Meet CBE President: Dr. Mimi Haddad!
Join us at 8pmEST on Wednesday, May 30, for a heartwarming interview with our Egalitarian Guest of the Month, Dr. Mimi Haddad. Click/copy&paste link to join the conversation https://zoom.us/j/690724356
Calling All P/WOC Allies: It’s Time To Connect!
"In the United States, black and brown people are not and will never be "equal" until America deals openly with it's ugly past and most importantly, until white America accepts their part in this history: the truths that are left out of our school books, in internet searches, etc.." -Zanetta Holley
Mutuality is Being “Seen”
"Mutuality is about being 'seen' and 'affirmed' as inherently worthy and equally equipped and imbued by God with knowledge, integrity, honor, skills, worthiness, etc., and being 'brought into' the space where one exists and functions with others in that paradigm of equality." -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
The Imported Christ vs The Real Jesus of Cuba
"As I continue in my research, I remember that although the imported Christ infiltrated Cuba, the indigenous Jesus can be still be found beating in the hearts of 'los humildes'—the truth and the beauty of this Jesus somehow still penetrated the island of my ancestors, my family." -Kat Arma
How To Be A People/Women of Color Ally
"Being an ally means the actual practice of "mourning with those who mourn" and "rejoicing with those who rejoice." In order to mourn with those who mourn, you must go to the house of mourning! [Even Jesus did that!]" -Rev. Oghene'tega Swann
A Call To End The Infamy On Black and Brown Bodies
"Existing while black is neither a crime nor a threat, but unchecked bias will result in injustice towards black and brown people and even cost them their lives." -Elizabeth Quashie
Don’t Rob Oga’s Wife To Pay Oga
Oga's wife. Oga Madam. Pastor's wife... All these are terms that are used to represent women as shadows and extensions of their husbands, but there are no similar titles for men. One doesn't hear: Madam's husband. Madam Oga. Pastor's husband. From the homefront to the work place, the story is the same: no matter how… Continue reading Don’t Rob Oga’s Wife To Pay Oga
When Mary Led…
"...a new kind of woman is found in Mary and in her connection to and with Jesus:.."
It’s Eve’s Advent Too!
"Eve has been directly hit by patriarchy over and over and even in the face of the fulfillment of the promise, patriarchy refuses to let her go! However, we must proclaim that what Eve waited for has come. Eve is free! Patriarchy no longer has a hold over her story!"
Eve, Keeper of the First Watch
"Eve's hopeful waiting for the promised deliverance laid the ground work for the covenanted people of God to inherit the promises. She expressed her hope in the name of her son, and it wasn't long before others around learned to express a similar hope in God, enough to call upon him!"
Eve, Inheritor of the First Promise
"God gave Eve hope by giving her something to look forward to after the temptation and its consequences...God's promise to save, to redeem, etc., first came to us in a woman, Eve!"
Why a Women of Color In Advent Series?
"Because too often, the story of redemption has been passed down to us through the voices of the patriarchs (thereby setting the scene for the flourishing of patriarchy) and not through matriarchs and patriarchs (the latter, which would set the tone of mutuality and equality as God intended from the very beginning),..."
Honoring and Affirming She-nay-nay
In responding to the Shay-nay-nays of North America, I also began to be conscious of the havoc that the Westernization of Christianity has wreaked on people of non-Western cultures.
Voices of Color - Christians United (VOCCU) 