Monday, October 23, 2006

moving on

it's never good to stay in one place for too long.

you begin to go over the same ground, the same complaints, the same scenery. the environment loses its sharp color and your brain begins to fuzz down until all the sharp little questions start sounding the same.

and that's what has happened with me and my blogs. i've had them for 4-5 years now and it's time for a change. the sharp little questions i had when i started them are still there: how does a modern woman navigate being a feminist christian, how does a progressive woman of color interact with her world while not hiding from it? will i ever find a progressive guy who doesn't hate the idea of church and who won't annoy the crap out of me? where is my perfect black pair of pants? and if the christian conservative wants to mold the world in their image so much, why not just do what the amish folk do and live on a farm somewhere where they can create their world to their heart's content?

so i still have these questions but is this the right way? is ChurchGal the right way for me to explore and convey what it's like for a woman like me and even provide a space for other women like me?

i read an excerpt from barak obama's new book, The Audacity of Hope, while in the bathroom this morning. he briefly described the defensiveness he felt while battling the kooky alan keyes. (i call him kooky, not obama.) and i know what he's talking about. he defends a pro-choice position, he defends the civil rights of gays and keyes says he's not a Believer. is that what our intellectual exchange has come to? 'you don't believe the exact thing i believe so you don't have faith. you express your struggles so you don't have faith. you've admitted you've had sex, so you're a whore and don't have faith.'

it makes me want to give every self-righteous person who passes by a great big 'fuck you' finger. but that's not the right response either.

i don't want to indulge in these little playground smackdowns anymore. they're tiresome and beneath a good many of us. so what's the new ground i want to explore? where should i go next with ChurchGal?

i don't know.
but it has to be forward.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

i hope that you continue with churchgal.
a lot of those questions you started with and still have, i have as well.
i don't think we can answer all those questions ever, but just work toward getting the answers we want from those questions.

Anonymous said...

don't go we need you!

here is a great link that will tell you who voted FOR the Violence Against Women Act...the MRA's want it gone...we have to use our voting power...

http://ga4.org/workingwomen/108th_House_Vote_Chart.html

Molly Malone said...

churchgal, here's what i know: i very much enjoy and appreciate your blog. i feel like i'm learning stuff and though not in non-profit and not a woman of color (per se), i take comfort knowing there is a progressive feminist Christian voice on the web. we need more. i don't know where your blog will take you, and i'm sure you need to reevaluate - i too believe in periods of review - but i just wanted to let you know that what you offer, in whatever ways you offer it, will be good and you will have a grateful audience!

Anonymous said...

Conservatives want to mold everyone into the way they think? No, that is not true. I would think that a smart gal like you would begin with the truth, you know, the truth. Now that's a start.

Delia Christina said...

the truth is, anonymous, is that a particular politically empowered christian right wing movement has made huge strides in the past 8 years to use legislative action to conform to religious ideology.

let's make a list:
reproductive freedom (abortion/contraception/sex education should be outlawed because it's against God's law.)
homosexuality (same sex marriage/partner benefits because it's against religious law.)
stem cell research (the same)
war in iraq (the same)
the environment

now, if you wanna quibble about word choice, quibble about that.