Good People Doing Good Things: Session Five

This past Sunday, we had our fifth Good People Doing Good Things conversation, with the theme of “the good news is rooted in justice, mercy and faithfulness.” Our panelists for the day were Jennifer Chin, Kira Walmsley and Bob Sittig. Our panelists began by reflecting on their understanding of “good news.” Answers were: “not just saying good things, but doing good,” “there is a way of being outside of empire,” “people seem to be waking up to the systems that govern our lives and do not help people live well,” “people who have been silent for a long time are speaking up and sharing their experiences.”

When asked about people who inspire them to do justice and be merciful, our panelists named people in their individual lives and in the life of the church. Jennifer shared about Dr. Mary Francis Gardner, one of her mentors in her Tulane medical program and an early leader of safe abortion care, and Dr. DeShawn Taylor, who visited us last year for a Romney lunch and lecture. Jennifer said a thought in her mind is often, “if not me, then who?” and that guides her actions. She also named people like Susan Blythe-Goodman (one of our panelists for 3/29!), Craig Darling, and Cathy Fransson, all people who served as some kind of moral compass. Kira named Adrienne Maree Brown, a profound activist and advocate for compassion, justice and joy. She said that people who ask what is needed and provide accessible space for experiencing emotions and still remain humble are leaders to her. Bob named various champions of human rights, but also Rod Romney, who was an early advocate for lesbian and gay people to have equal rights and legal marriage. Even when it was not popular, and he was ostracized by some other ABCUSA leaders, Rod did the right thing. Jennifer also noted that Rod Romney was instrumental in bringing her parents to this church!

Our panelists then reflected on the question of “to what/who are you faithful?” Kira named that she is faithful to the idea of personal sovereignty and personal agency. She talked about advocating for indigenous access to land, and supporting the freedom of people to choose important decisions in their life. Jennifer named that she is faithful to her patients, to her family and her church. Bob named his family, church, and being faithful to the drive to help people who are oppressed however he has ability. Bob talked a bit about his work with Diverse Harmony, the LGBTQIA+ youth choir founded here, and how the choir was much more than 2 hours of music, but that it made a real difference in how some youth felt about their identities and belonging in the world. He also talked about serving on the Board of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB) and doing what he could with his privilege to help churches affirm and celebrate LGBTQIA+ people among them. Kira shared about how she thinks about power and privilege: she said we often “compare up” instead of “compare down,” more often aware of what we do not have instead of what we do have. The question then is what do I need to do to risk my power or privilege for something I believe in? She named that interrogating how we use/where we keep/invest our money is one of the things we can do with fairly little effort.

Our panelists named that often “showing up is doing justice.” Jennifer talked about her experience as a medical student being involved with Medical Students for Choice, and the struggle to find a professor to mentor the group. Today, she is a mentor for the local UW chapter! Kira said “as soon as you leverage your power, you find yourself in community with others.” That’s part of being the church! We always could do more, so we need to discern how we can use our power to risk in heartfelt ways. We also have the privilege as a church community of being in a community that enables us to practice sustainability in our justice work. We know we are in the work for the long haul, so we can step up and step back when we need to because we have a community of support. Our panelists also shared how strongly they feel that there is power in intergenerational spaces like the church, and we have a lot of opportunity to do good for and with each other ahead of us.

Sunday, March 29 is our last session of Good People Doing Good Things, so don’t miss it! Join us in the Parlor at 9:30am!