Rachel Fassler was in so much pain that she couldn’t remain still long enough for the emergency room nurses to take her blood pressure. After hours of being overlooked, dismissed, and misdiagnosed (she was initially treated for kidney stones) by two male doctors, Fassler was finally treated appropriately by a third physician, a woman, and rushed Read More
Advocacy
Happiness Habits
Finding joy has never been a priority for me in terms of how I structure my life. A long-term goal? Certainly, yes. My path to getting there, however, has been misguided. I’ve held the common belief that if I can achieve and succeed enough, joy–or at the very least, contentment–will find its way to me. Sometimes I wonder if I was drawn initially Read More
The Shifting Dance of Balance
What's your reaction to the phrase work-life balance? Does the idea of balance seem aspirational to you, or does it seem utterly impossible? If you're like me, it feels more like the latter. There are several major problems with the concept of work-life balance in the ways that I have heard it described. The phrasing falsely segregates Read More
Demystifying Self-Care
The first time I heard the phrase “self-care” was in a workshop for first-year students at my divinity school. I had no idea what it meant, much less how to practice it, but I was too embarrassed to say anything. This week I visited Duke Divinity School to deliver the Jill Raitt workshop for their annual Women’s Week. The theme was “Women Read More
Parenting and Politics: How I’m Showing Up
When I was ten weeks pregnant I gave an impassioned speech in front of the Supreme Court during the Hobby Lobby hearings about why universal access to contraception was part of my own religious understanding. I’d wanted to share about my own planned pregnancy, but at that point I wasn’t far enough along to feel comfortable telling that in a public Read More
Catalyzing, Not Culminating
On this Inauguration Day I have been putting the final touches on my sign that I will carry in the Women's March in Raleigh, NC tomorrow. It reads, "Love not hate will make America great." Though I'm regularly in DC, sometimes several times a month, I deliberately chose to stay home and participate in the local march because I firmly Read More
Encountering Spirit: A Ritual of Blessing for an Abortion Clinic
For the last year I have had the honor of serving as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC). This leadership role often requires great personal and professional sacrifices and yet blesses me tenfold in return. At this moment in history I can think of no more important organization to offer my time Read More
Finding the Quiet this Advent Season
This Advent I've been struggling for silence and stillness. My pursuit for calm isn't new, but it has a newfound urgency. The cacophony that erupted early in the morning one month ago today has left me despondent most days. For a week straight after the Presidential election I absorbed as many of the noises as I could stomach, but I found that I Read More
What Will the Faith Response to Zika Be?
In the face of the Zika epidemic the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new recommendations for individuals at risk of contracting the virus either through mosquito bites or through sexual contact with an infected person. If someone has traveled to an area where Zika is present, the WHO recommends abstinence or consistent condom use for at Read More
A Pro-Faith, Pro-Choice Response to Rev. Rob Schenck’s Anti-Abortion, Anti-Gun Agenda
Rev. Rob Schenck, an evangelical pastor known for his extreme anti-abortion activism, has recently had a change of heart on the topic of gun ownership. He is speaking out about the rise of gun ownership among his white male evangelical peers in the United States. His piece “Should Christians Own Guns?” is the cover story in the May issue of Read More