I’ve spent most of my adult life in the church serving in Primary, interspersed by only a few brief stints in Relief Society. A few weeks ago, I was released from my calling as a Primary teacher, so I’ve been attending Relief Society again for the first time in years. I was a bit hesitant because I don’t believe in segregation, including segregation by sex or gender. I contemplated ditching out after sacrament meeting but decided to give it a fair chance anyway.
This week was marvelous. There have been several tragedies in my ward over the last few weeks, so the RS president took the first half of the meeting to discuss what needs had to be met and to create a plan for us to band together to meet them. It was beautiful. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction”. James 1:27
I experienced pure religion this week. I still don’t see why we couldn’t include people of other genders, but I’ll take what I can get.
4 Responses
“I don’t believe in segregation, including segregation by sex or gender.” I would love to hear more about what you mean by this and what you would want to see in a church setting. A friend of mine has shared experiences attending an Episcopal church where the leaders (I’m not sure if it was the priest or deaconess or who was speaking) would give a sermon, and include a section of the sermon specifically for children, that connected to the larger sermon, with all ages together.
I am a very nuanced member of the church. I am like you, I find segregation deplorable. My observation is this, when men are in the room, even dinner parties in my own home, conversations are mostly dominated by men. I believe a space for women is necessary in our patriarchal church.
It has been over a year since I have attended church, I am a zoomed. However, for years now, in my ward, Relief Society resembles what you experienced last Sunday in your ward.
when men are in the room, not only are the conversations dominated by men, but women are less likely to speak freely. this is true in general society, and worse in a patriarchal church like ours.
I no longer sing the song from which the Blog post is taken, due to the line “the errand of angels is given to women.” Nope. The errand of angels is given to angels. Women are human. We get to be human, Most of us are decent humans and serve due to caring about other humans. To infer that when we do good things we are acting on our “angelic errands” is not only wrong, non-doctrinal, and dismissive, it reinforces toxic perfectionism.