Monday, February 09, 2009

I Was There In The Room...At the Unitarian Church in Westport


This was our Congo Sabbath weekend at the Unitarian Church in Westport.

We performed The Vagina Monologues, by Eve Ensler, to full houses on Saturday evening and late Sunday afternoon. I preached on Sunday morning at our two services on embodiment, the ways our bodies and souls can be violated, and on how we can heal. I talked about how often the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Scriptures call us to "bind up the broken", but reminded the congregation hat we are all the broken and we all can be the healers.

We read the Religious Institute's responsive reading and prayer for the Congo Sabbath, and showed a short video for V-Day about the Panzi Hospital and the City of Joy.

Through ticket sales and donations, we raised more than $3500 for the women and girls in the Congo at the two performances and during coffee hour.

We CAN be the healers. If you haven't signed up to participate in the Congo Sabbath Initiative, please go to our website and do so. It's easy. We've posted all the material you need.

It was a wonderful, moving, exhilarating weekend. I am so deeply grateful to the fifteen women in our cast, Meg Jones who directed us, Suzanne Sheridan who sang "Not Ready to Be Nice" during the worship services, to Rev. Ed Thompson and the women's choir, to David Vita for his support, and to the Reverends Frank Hall and Margie Allen for sharing their pulpit with me.

Help bring healing to the women of the Congo. Sign up here.

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