Listen to the Quiet Voices on Abortion
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Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. (vv. 27-28)
When I was a young pastor in the 1980s, dealing with some angry disagreements in my congregation, our bishop offered some wise advice. “Always count heads,” he said. “Sometimes the loudest voices do not represent the will of the majority.” I learned to be patient and to listen to the quiet voices.
Those who have been counting heads since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, the 1973 precedent guaranteeing federal abortion rights, found that a large majority of Americans prefer to let the law stand as it was. A CBS News poll showed that 64% support a woman’s right to choose and 34% are in favor of overturning Roe.
This has been the trend over the past several years, even among Christians, despite the loud cries of protest from the minority. A Pew Research Survey in 2017 showed that 60% of mainline Protestants, 33% of Evangelical Protestants and 48% of Roman Catholics believe that abortion should be legal in most cases. And only 11% of Christians believe abortion should be illegal in all cases.
Of course, these kinds of polls are not 100% accurate. They can be off by as much as several percentage points. But the size of the divide is striking and portends a heightened continuation of this bitter struggle. Is there a way to move toward a peaceful resolution? I believe there is, and it could start in our churches.
Some years ago, I was appointed to serve as pastor of a church that was in conflict over the times of the two Sunday morning worship services. The traditional folks and the contemporary folks both wanted the same time. The only thing they agreed on was that the current schedule was not working.
I wrote a letter proposing a compromise schedule and I invited every member to come to a congregational meeting to discuss it. The understanding was that it was not an official meeting. No vote would be taken. We would just share our thoughts about the proposal.
I set up two circles of forty chairs each in the fellowship hall, one circle just inside the other. There was no way of knowing how many people would come but I was hopeful. When the meeting started, there were exactly eighty people present. Every chair was filled.
On my lap was the treasured pulpit Bible from the sanctuary. I announced that the Bible would be passed in turn to every person present. As they held the Bible, they were invited to speak briefly to two questions: How did you come to love this church? And, what are your thoughts about the proposed schedule? No one else was to speak or interrupt in any way until everyone had had their say.
And then a miracle began to unfold. People spoke in quiet voices, with tears in their eyes, about how they came to love the church, how people in that congregation had cared for them in times of sickness and grief. It was deeply moving for everyone present. By the time we got around to the last person it was clear where everyone stood, 76 people supported the proposed new schedule and only four people opposed it.
The decision about the schedule that was made official by the administrative board later that week was incidental. The love that was spoken in those two circles had transformed and unified the church.
What if you were to invite every woman and teen-age girl in your church to sit in a circle and share their thoughts about abortion? Every woman and girl have had an experience with difficult pregnancy issues, whether their own or those of someone they know.
Let men and teenage boys sit outside the circle and say nothing. Let them listen.
Now, I am not so naïve as to believe that this could really happen in any actual church that you and I know, especially if the idea was suggested by an old retired preacher man like me. The loud voices of old men have been drowning out the quiet voices of women and girls for too long.
But what if it really could happen? What if every woman and girl in your church felt safe enough to share all of their truth? What if every woman and girl was empowered to tell their stories about the excruciating decisions they have had to make about contraception, pregnancy, miscarriages, rape and incest? The result might be miraculous.
Let the church lead. Listen to the quiet voices of women and girls. Let men and boys listen.
*****************************************
StoryShare, September 24, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
When I was a young pastor in the 1980s, dealing with some angry disagreements in my congregation, our bishop offered some wise advice. “Always count heads,” he said. “Sometimes the loudest voices do not represent the will of the majority.” I learned to be patient and to listen to the quiet voices.
Those who have been counting heads since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, the 1973 precedent guaranteeing federal abortion rights, found that a large majority of Americans prefer to let the law stand as it was. A CBS News poll showed that 64% support a woman’s right to choose and 34% are in favor of overturning Roe.
This has been the trend over the past several years, even among Christians, despite the loud cries of protest from the minority. A Pew Research Survey in 2017 showed that 60% of mainline Protestants, 33% of Evangelical Protestants and 48% of Roman Catholics believe that abortion should be legal in most cases. And only 11% of Christians believe abortion should be illegal in all cases.
Of course, these kinds of polls are not 100% accurate. They can be off by as much as several percentage points. But the size of the divide is striking and portends a heightened continuation of this bitter struggle. Is there a way to move toward a peaceful resolution? I believe there is, and it could start in our churches.
Some years ago, I was appointed to serve as pastor of a church that was in conflict over the times of the two Sunday morning worship services. The traditional folks and the contemporary folks both wanted the same time. The only thing they agreed on was that the current schedule was not working.
I wrote a letter proposing a compromise schedule and I invited every member to come to a congregational meeting to discuss it. The understanding was that it was not an official meeting. No vote would be taken. We would just share our thoughts about the proposal.
I set up two circles of forty chairs each in the fellowship hall, one circle just inside the other. There was no way of knowing how many people would come but I was hopeful. When the meeting started, there were exactly eighty people present. Every chair was filled.
On my lap was the treasured pulpit Bible from the sanctuary. I announced that the Bible would be passed in turn to every person present. As they held the Bible, they were invited to speak briefly to two questions: How did you come to love this church? And, what are your thoughts about the proposed schedule? No one else was to speak or interrupt in any way until everyone had had their say.
And then a miracle began to unfold. People spoke in quiet voices, with tears in their eyes, about how they came to love the church, how people in that congregation had cared for them in times of sickness and grief. It was deeply moving for everyone present. By the time we got around to the last person it was clear where everyone stood, 76 people supported the proposed new schedule and only four people opposed it.
The decision about the schedule that was made official by the administrative board later that week was incidental. The love that was spoken in those two circles had transformed and unified the church.
What if you were to invite every woman and teen-age girl in your church to sit in a circle and share their thoughts about abortion? Every woman and girl have had an experience with difficult pregnancy issues, whether their own or those of someone they know.
Let men and teenage boys sit outside the circle and say nothing. Let them listen.
Now, I am not so naïve as to believe that this could really happen in any actual church that you and I know, especially if the idea was suggested by an old retired preacher man like me. The loud voices of old men have been drowning out the quiet voices of women and girls for too long.
But what if it really could happen? What if every woman and girl in your church felt safe enough to share all of their truth? What if every woman and girl was empowered to tell their stories about the excruciating decisions they have had to make about contraception, pregnancy, miscarriages, rape and incest? The result might be miraculous.
Let the church lead. Listen to the quiet voices of women and girls. Let men and boys listen.
*****************************************
StoryShare, September 24, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
