Daily Reading for January 27 • Lydia, Dorcas, and Phoebe, Witnesses to the Faith
I want to hear the voices of women
Reverberate around the world
Not the cries of the mourner and the victim only
Those too, of course
But also the articulate agendas of women’s passions
For a well, whole and flourishing world.
I want to see women themselves choosing to lead
Churches, groups, villages, towns, governments
Shaping strategies coming from the bedrock of our faith
That construct the way forward as we solve the critical issues
Women care about: poverty, health, education, violence and peace.
I want us, women of the Episcopal Church
To join with women and men throughout our global family
Speak with our moral authority; call our family to this holy task
Then listen as we hear our sisters’ and brothers’ voices
Coming back to us as they complete the circle around the world—
Enriched by the dignity and imagination of others—
Returning to shower us with the love of God.
“I Want to Hear the Voices of Women” by Phoebe Griswold. Quoted in Lifting Women’s Voices: Prayers to Change the World edited by Margaret Rose, Jenny Te Paa, Jeanne Person, and Abagail Nelson. Copyright © 2009. Used by permission of Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. www.morehousepublishing.com