tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137563652024-03-14T02:06:35.224-03:00earth and starrsRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.comBlogger235125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-62969155775259553702024-02-04T14:19:00.001-03:002024-02-04T16:26:24.036-03:00Life out of death<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJ7oRGG07YZCdlVr8M8hSn_v5oDJxBFWFgeYkYiYdmvbSK72XhM9-nOiqLH4YEGSx66suY267VpAmSQJawhcYQ6U6K0DEytNns2ifv4VGQ-ZMsOakX7j9WV_3K5xioNEaeKqUDrn-L-mC5l_IPEe_5VmwzfgZJgOjCX6CQWhYfIoNCgHSY-1c" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJ7oRGG07YZCdlVr8M8hSn_v5oDJxBFWFgeYkYiYdmvbSK72XhM9-nOiqLH4YEGSx66suY267VpAmSQJawhcYQ6U6K0DEytNns2ifv4VGQ-ZMsOakX7j9WV_3K5xioNEaeKqUDrn-L-mC5l_IPEe_5VmwzfgZJgOjCX6CQWhYfIoNCgHSY-1c=w300-h400" width="300" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">It was the last lecture. Around me, students were gathering bags and books, bike-lock keys in hand as they headed out. I waited, not sure how to approach her.</span></div><p></p><p>The lecture was part of a University of Oxford series on feminist theology. A second was led by Sarah Coakley; this one featured a range of Oxford scholars: Jane Williams, Peggy Morgan, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Grey_(theologian)" target="_blank">Mary Grey </a>and Lavinia Byrne. Overlooked by most; for me, it was non-negotiable. </p><p>By 1995, at the end of my undergraduate studies, I'd had one officially-sanctioned encounter with feminist theology. That was a<a href="https://stjohnscollegelibraryoxford.org/2017/08/25/on-this-day-the-laudian-library-opens/" target="_blank"> Laud Society </a>talk given by Mary Gray. It was the fifth week of my first term. I never looked back. </p><p>But being a feminist theologian in the early 90s (and in some places, still) was like being a low-level spy. Hunting out books hidden in the Theology Faculty stacks. Scoping out potential allies. Stumbling into a new language.</p><p><i>So a whole lecture series on feminist theology?</i> I was ready. </p><p>That week's lecture was given by Lavinia Byrne and was about the often overlooked work of <a href="https://www.biblio.com/book/hidden-journey-missionary-heroines-many-lands/d/627686420" target="_blank">Christian women missionaries</a>.</p><p>I didn't see myself reflected in these women. Yet I too was preparing to travel to distant lands. Not to teach or build, but to learn. Specifically, I want to learn from Latin American churches and communities about liberation theology. Yet, looking bac<span style="background-color: white;">k, I am evermore conscious of both my <span>power and privilege, and my lack of understanding of how I was stepping into a long, complex, often problematic tradition. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAJtXcijNadCN-EZSrgZU_x_lnyaPeS8IoEt7NXfKuZD2zK59rpuSukmhNn2wGVHWvQa5Fsos3p91GJCsHdQOwinhpfohGzb7D2ez1dAGRcYB-T1LxENh13uD-qRm33RLv1MnnnOjWBamMMVn5Ujvuyr5xGIHVabZJ7X94zfatu8tqW1D_KYQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="207" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAJtXcijNadCN-EZSrgZU_x_lnyaPeS8IoEt7NXfKuZD2zK59rpuSukmhNn2wGVHWvQa5Fsos3p91GJCsHdQOwinhpfohGzb7D2ez1dAGRcYB-T1LxENh13uD-qRm33RLv1MnnnOjWBamMMVn5Ujvuyr5xGIHVabZJ7X94zfatu8tqW1D_KYQ" width="166" /></a></div>Lavinia put me in touch with Pamela Hussey and Marigold Best, who in turn connected me to two Sisters of Poor Claire, <a href="https://www.sistersofstclare.com/bethlehem/" target="_blank">Anne</a> and <a href="https://www.sistersofstclare.com/women-who-followed-clare/responding-to-a-different-dream-in-a-different-time/" target="_blank">Anselma</a>, long time residents of El Salvador, then living in Guatemala. Back and forth, a thread was woven, connecting me to these deeply committed women: researchers, religious sisters, rebels. <div><p></p><p>There is so much I could write about these women: Pamela and Marigold who I know only through their writings (although I hunted through my lecture notes, convinced I had met one of them); and Anne and Anselma whose faithful witness have been an ever-giving source of insight and <a href="https://earthandstarrs.blogspot.com/2007/12/advent-2-keep-hoping.html " target="_blank">deep faith learning</a>, from that initial letter inviting me to stay with them in Guate. </p><p></p><div><i>Life out of death </i>was published by the <i><a href="file:///C:/Users/rstar/Downloads/progressio_legacy_publication.pdf" target="_blank">Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR</a>) </i>- the link takes you to a detailed report on the legacy of CIIR and <i>Progressio</i>. Amongst the many voices in the book, are those of Anselma and another Sister, Jean (who I think welcomed me to the sister house in San Salvador). Published after I had returned from Latin America, this book has accompanied me ever since. </div><div><p>At the end of the book, is a reflection by Marcella Althaus-Read: “Doing the theology of memory: Counting crosses and resurrections”, in Marigold
Best, & Pamela Hussey, <i>Life out of death. The feminine spirit in El Salvador</i>, London, CIIR, 1996, pp. 194-206. </p><p>In her reflections on the interviews, Marcella Althaus-Reid noted: <br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Importance of community – solidarity as essential for survival </li><li>Significance of memory – embodied memories. </li><li><i>Testimonio </i>– witnessing, martyrdom </li><li>The importance of finding and caring for the dead. The risk of burying a body. </li><li><i>Presente - </i>the communion of saints<i>.</i> </li></ul></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-16599101995979328052023-12-01T06:53:00.004-03:002023-12-04T16:35:25.124-03:00Heroes and how to avoid them<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div><a href="https://www.centrobiblicoquito.org/images/ribla/91.pdf" target="_blank">This article </a>converged on me from various directions:</div><p>A sermon preached in May of this year at Evensong at <a href="https://www.magd.cam.ac.uk/college-life/chapel" target="_blank">Magdalene College, Cambridge</a> </p><p>Conversations during <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk/media/durham-university/departments-/common-awards/documents/module-outlines/level-6/TMM3011.pdf" target="_blank">an intensive study week on Genesis</a> at <a href="https://www.queens.ac.uk/" rel="nofollow">Queen's</a> in June.</p><p>Decades-long learning from Delores Williams' <i><a href="https://orbisbooks.com/products/sisters-in-the-wilderness" target="_blank">Sisters in the Wilderness</a>.</i></p><p>A talk (and then article) on <a href="https://earthandstarrs.blogspot.com/2022/11/borderline-reading-mark-72430-as-white.html" target="_blank">reading the Bible as a white woman</a>, focused on the encounter of Jesus and the Syro-Phoenician woman in Mark 7, and in dialogue with the work of <a href="https://glocaltheology.com/2022/03/25/5-black-latin-american-women-theologians-biblical-scholars-you-should-know-about/" target="_blank">Silvia Regina de Lima Silva</a>.</p><p>Reports from the <a href="https://www.methodist.org.uk/safeguarding/the-theology-of-safeguarding-and-spiritual-abuse/" target="_blank">Methodist Church in Britain </a>and <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding" target="_blank">Church of England</a> on safeguarding.</p><p><a href="https://www.centrobiblicoquito.org/ribla/" target="_blank">RIBLA </a>past and present articles - on violence, resistance, silence, voices. </p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Abstract </b></p><p>This article begins by identifying how recent investigations into abuse within church
contexts in England have identified as problematic a ‘culture of deference’ towards
clergy and other leaders. It then moves to a critical reading of the actions of four ‘heroes of the faith’: Abraham, Sarah, David and Jesus. In conversation with previous
studies published in RIBLA, it explores the following texts: Genesis 16 and 21; 2
Samuel 23.1–7; Mark 7.24–30). Drawing on the work of Gina Hens-Piazza (2003),
it argues that if violence within the text is not named as such, it is difficult to name
violence within our churches, communities, and nations. It notes moments of resistance within the text; and asks how these offer insights for how we might resist the
violence of our leaders, heroes, and ourselves today. </p><p><b>Key words: </b>abuse of power, rape, enslavement, whiteness, resistance.</p><p><br /></p><i><p><i><br /></i></p><br /><br /></i><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-39879202708758349182023-11-16T13:21:00.005-03:002023-12-02T17:46:17.744-03:00RIBLA 91<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwBR1kxgSe_bacwqsf1aoicNj1iy0CFFenxJ9IjcRmVISvvJYTi1oIotj-sobJIzWyzLQ39vynL7dyn1SydKP3FWYCE_K8V5P5Zx6UY2KaFCiZB_0i-gpUJJAJvwlSGqWZO6Rlvw0ffHTth1TJq9jl4_SuUV3INOG2Qp9VOoErGylG6hE9h-NfA/s746/RIBLA%2091%20cover.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwBR1kxgSe_bacwqsf1aoicNj1iy0CFFenxJ9IjcRmVISvvJYTi1oIotj-sobJIzWyzLQ39vynL7dyn1SydKP3FWYCE_K8V5P5Zx6UY2KaFCiZB_0i-gpUJJAJvwlSGqWZO6Rlvw0ffHTth1TJq9jl4_SuUV3INOG2Qp9VOoErGylG6hE9h-NfA/w216-h320/RIBLA%2091%20cover.PNG" width="216" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What a joy to work with colleagues from El Salvador, Bolivia and across Latin America on the latest edition of <i>RIBLA</i>, the <i>Journal of Latin American Biblical Interpretation</i>. </div><p>I shared a little of this experience a month or so back: </p><blockquote><p>A global conversation in which I participated in the midst of the covid pandemic, was the assembly of the <i>Journal of Latin American Biblical Interpretation</i>, known as <i>RIBLA</i>. <i>RIBLA </i>began in 1988 and since then has published ninety issues, focused on a range of topics including: 500 years of the conquest of Latin America; Jewish and Christian readings of the Bible; masculinities; human trafficking; <i>pueblos originarios</i> and the Bible. The articles published bring together rigorous academic study of the Bible with local practical and pastoral concerns. The virtual assembly of <i>RIBLA</i> in 2021 involved scholars from across Latin America, as well as a handful of invited guests from beyond the continent such as myself. We shared in Spanish, Portuguese and a number of local languages. There was music, creative liturgy, testimony and conversations.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p>I'm currently co-editing the ninety-first edition of the journal. My fellow editors are from El Salvador and Bolivia. Often when we gather, one of us is having breakfast, another preparing lunch and another heading for the end of the day. We communicate daily: not only about the journal and mutual friends, but about the day-to-day details of our lives. We share voice messages and photos: from the forest lakes and rivers of El Salvador; or accounts of community organizing with local women’s groups in Bolivia. We share local festivals and traditions; and interpret the news from our part of the world for each other. We celebrate and commiserate together. (<i>The Methodist Recorder</i>, September 2023) </p></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p></p><p>You can read <a href="https://www.centrobiblicoquito.org/images/ribla/91.pdf" target="_blank"><i>RIBLA</i> 91</a> and every edition of <i>RIBLA</i> via the <a href="https://www.centrobiblicoquito.org/ribla/" target="_blank">Verbo Divino website</a>.</p><p>Update: Watch the launch of RIBLA 91 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CentroBartolomedelasCasas/videos/725229112999914" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p></div><p><br /></p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-44670173791665930792023-08-24T13:20:00.000-03:002023-08-24T13:21:03.828-03:00From the Shores of Silence - further conversations <p> Nicola Slee, co-editors Ash Cocksworth and myself, and contributor Karen O'Donnell met recently to discuss <i><a href="https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334060963/from-the-shores-of-silence" target="_blank">From the Shores of Silence</a></i> at the invitation of the <a href="https://practicaltheologyhub.com/?p=975" target="_blank">Practical Theology hub</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q25ZQL_M-kI" width="320" youtube-src-id="q25ZQL_M-kI"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p>And here are some pictures from the book launch back in June.</p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="742" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FQueensFoundation%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0h8NDCTPxsB7swkGB1zAn7Bx314Me3uohB6BugE9WcpZfdmVWibHaSrtjncha6Jkvl&show_text=true&width=500" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-84462831339346035632023-07-14T07:05:00.004-03:002023-07-14T07:05:36.321-03:00Deconstructing Whiteness, Empire and Mission<p></p><p class="1" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: -72.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/images/products/large/9780334055938.jpg?maxwidth=1000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="563" src="https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/images/products/large/9780334055938.jpg?maxwidth=1000" width="353" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>... A marvelous achievement: The first of its kind broad based examination of the problem of whiteness in theology, theological education, and society in the United Kingdom. The contributors to this powerful volume capture both the evasion of many British theologians to confront their own racial empire and its intellectual legacies and a way forward in how to think a life of faith not bound to whiteness. These courageous scholars have marked a new beginning for theology in the UK and beyond. This book is the turning point and therefore it must be find its way into the hands of every student, pastor, and scholar interested in a viable future for the church and theology. (Willie James Jennings) </blockquote><p></p><div>I'm grateful to be part of this important collection. More details over on <a href="https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334055938/deconstructing-whiteness-empire-and-mission">the SCM website</a>.</div><div><br /></div>Along with some of the other authors, I recently discussed my chapter, ‘<b>Unbecoming: reflections on the work of a white theologian</b>’ with one of the editors, Carol Troupe. <div><p></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zKzD_LYJwK4" width="320" youtube-src-id="zKzD_LYJwK4"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-72331560941573824072023-02-21T18:11:00.004-03:002023-02-21T18:11:47.468-03:00Teologanda: walking the ways of justice and peace <div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4LuD6K-Ir7oweQBWBUa18AfMvYhPzevyaOBmtHQrbUHNmAUz1gF8Ppzu8g5qeI_kdo4HZxavHB_vtUrNjeQUZEZz6JAvnXU4n7Y0WgJo_mKxKuzlm0HNn8qO0pJhg0B8jlZzDSY-qzp8cimdIAeM5DrEC1GvERXVsWI35iV_A_6hA8OC7LM/s912/306124354_465095258993061_570039082935902332_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="912" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4LuD6K-Ir7oweQBWBUa18AfMvYhPzevyaOBmtHQrbUHNmAUz1gF8Ppzu8g5qeI_kdo4HZxavHB_vtUrNjeQUZEZz6JAvnXU4n7Y0WgJo_mKxKuzlm0HNn8qO0pJhg0B8jlZzDSY-qzp8cimdIAeM5DrEC1GvERXVsWI35iV_A_6hA8OC7LM/w640-h320/306124354_465095258993061_570039082935902332_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />One of the many lasting gifts of my time in Argentina has been my continued connection with <a href="https://teologanda.home.blog/" target="_blank">Teologanda</a>.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I first encountered Teologanda through <a href="https://earthandstarrs.blogspot.com/2007/10/teologanda-and-rajab-conferences.html" target="_blank">a doctoral intensive on feminist explorations of theological anthropology or human identity</a>. The course was jointly organized by <a href="https://earthandstarrs.blogspot.com/search?q=ISEDET" target="_blank">ISEDET</a>, where I studied, and <a href="https://uca.edu.ar/es/home" target="_blank">Universidad Católica Argentina</a>. It was led by <a href="https://www.garrett.edu/directories/nancy-e-bedford/" target="_blank">Nancy Bedford</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=3XAXK2H9CjcC&hl=es" target="_blank">Marta Palacio</a> and <a href="https://uca-ar.academia.edu/VirginiaRaquelAzcuy" target="_blank">Virginia Azcuy</a>, and looking back on the list of participants, I see how those three days grounded me in a community of women activists and scholars. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Over the next three years, I regularly attended Teologanda seminars and study days in and around Buenos Aires, making <a href="https://earthandstarrs.blogspot.com/2008/08/murga.html" target="_blank">many dear friends </a>in the process. <a href="https://earthandstarrs.blogspot.com/2007/10/teologanda-and-rajab-conferences.html" target="_blank">This was a community of scholarship which celebrated and supported each other, encouraging excellence at every level.</a> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I've written elsewhere about the <a href="https://earthandstarrs.blogspot.com/2008/03/1-congreso-de-telogas-latinoamericanos.html " style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="background-color: white;">I Congreso De Teólogas Latinoamericanas</span><span style="background-color: white;"> Y Alemanas</span></span></a> organized by Teologanda in 2008. Published papers from this and the following Congreso can be located <a href="https://teologanda.home.blog/publicaciones/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">From conversations before and during the Congreso, I worked with three other theologians, two from Argentina, and one from Uruguay, on an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0966735009360387" target="_blank">article</a> exploring violence and resistance: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>As a collaborative and committed piece of work, which took shape over coffee and medialunas in the cafés of Buenos Aires, and through emails sent back and forth across the Río de la Plata, this article exemplifies the belief that the theological locale is not only, ‘specialist discussion panels…councils and other official spaces [but also]…the kitchen table or the table at a party, with much food, chatting, conversation, dialogue, different plates, dancing, colours, much beauty’ (de Lima 2002: 21).* </blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;">And when I finally completed my thesis and returned to Buenos Aires for the defence, <a href="https://earthandstarrs.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-ive-learnt.html" target="_blank">members of Teologanda were there to both examine and support me, as well as to congratulate and celebrate with me</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMNKtdC43xh2KybafH829UNpncyrnyLb999hqvnwiBpggsJ4WN-PgcsjQWNyKulh8QiqM1Js5XkSFjYwy-9EII82M96yH5nwWI7l5yk9sfQLypAQXztbWAFM_3NtxOxroGAkAa-8nsM8VvwhQt3OwlTVEiCBX9fRRTd7zDmHtGIHkUuZhbvro" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="270" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMNKtdC43xh2KybafH829UNpncyrnyLb999hqvnwiBpggsJ4WN-PgcsjQWNyKulh8QiqM1Js5XkSFjYwy-9EII82M96yH5nwWI7l5yk9sfQLypAQXztbWAFM_3NtxOxroGAkAa-8nsM8VvwhQt3OwlTVEiCBX9fRRTd7zDmHtGIHkUuZhbvro" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcqCePIOotUFmTFfMVVbuuFhMFfyvApGN6K5E2qgDD_LRsuM1fcQOuN5oqYdg91odVwd6PkIOWZoxJBXJBb1ABFew0_tLbZe1w-WTmEMpDeqMEsvgS702SfhH2E8YXeaQhcl0vmjPnNGZf_k31Tkc21bEhaAjBduEKPoibc3TjwMHLQHo4clY" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcqCePIOotUFmTFfMVVbuuFhMFfyvApGN6K5E2qgDD_LRsuM1fcQOuN5oqYdg91odVwd6PkIOWZoxJBXJBb1ABFew0_tLbZe1w-WTmEMpDeqMEsvgS702SfhH2E8YXeaQhcl0vmjPnNGZf_k31Tkc21bEhaAjBduEKPoibc3TjwMHLQHo4clY" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1261" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvc_emfuAwhTSb0wLNAlYNFOu5KBk4fq0PXHIjDQ23IXunakEvSopaQv7zL4m4I_92lLacTq5WOeXWfnsyrt2uS_t9FVn2wK0I1Pe1PjPy5IDn_23ZXODEq-JIC4aVpsKGq4NW16oJ00UhxMpp_8GypFuJab43S5q2hmfHi2AeVHAWJvh1Pvw=w309-h232" width="309" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUZQtIMQDj67ysI5aeuDtllNybfe55BhLIvFZaHUbZFXwgeB1WmutCl6jvn8CPqXoPm4JOIZG73dVuMISRCljpsC5TjgKtFIwCp5SOTcZwvBys7Sknzo0NUj3rL4RZI1YQcLBZHsrMx-wHR5h_E-YzhWdJnK19--A-wHCL45T7UUFU9sKfe5o" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1261" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUZQtIMQDj67ysI5aeuDtllNybfe55BhLIvFZaHUbZFXwgeB1WmutCl6jvn8CPqXoPm4JOIZG73dVuMISRCljpsC5TjgKtFIwCp5SOTcZwvBys7Sknzo0NUj3rL4RZI1YQcLBZHsrMx-wHR5h_E-YzhWdJnK19--A-wHCL45T7UUFU9sKfe5o=w303-h227" width="303" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcqCePIOotUFmTFfMVVbuuFhMFfyvApGN6K5E2qgDD_LRsuM1fcQOuN5oqYdg91odVwd6PkIOWZoxJBXJBb1ABFew0_tLbZe1w-WTmEMpDeqMEsvgS702SfhH2E8YXeaQhcl0vmjPnNGZf_k31Tkc21bEhaAjBduEKPoibc3TjwMHLQHo4clY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcqCePIOotUFmTFfMVVbuuFhMFfyvApGN6K5E2qgDD_LRsuM1fcQOuN5oqYdg91odVwd6PkIOWZoxJBXJBb1ABFew0_tLbZe1w-WTmEMpDeqMEsvgS702SfhH2E8YXeaQhcl0vmjPnNGZf_k31Tkc21bEhaAjBduEKPoibc3TjwMHLQHo4clY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In the last week of my visit, I was able to be part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of Teologanda, participating in reflections and recollections thanks to the kindness of various members who turned up early one Saturday morning to drive me to San Antonio de Padua, ensured there was food and coffee waiting for me, and, as always, happily made space for me around the table. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">The move online at the start of the covid pandemic provided new opportunities to connect. I took part in one of a series of online conversations about the impact of the pandemic organized by <span style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@teologasendialogo2987/videos" target="_blank">Teólogas en diálogo</a> and featuring many friends from Teologanda.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="255" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iiuiqlJAQ04" width="307" youtube-src-id="iiuiqlJAQ04"></iframe> <span> </span><span> </span><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="255" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qnHH8BV8UQc" width="306" youtube-src-id="qnHH8BV8UQc"></iframe></div><br /></div><div>This week I'm working on a chapter for a forthcoming Teologanda publication (<a href="https://teologanda.home.blog/publicaciones/" target="_blank">one of many</a>) and once again, am more than thankful to be so generously welcomed to the table and encouraged on the way. </div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;">---</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>*<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0966735009360387" target="_blank"><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Carolina </span><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Clavero White</span>; <span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Miriam </span><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Solares</span>; <span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Rachel Starr; </span><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">& </span><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Mónica C. Ukaski </span><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">(2010), "Violence against Women in the River Plate Region: Networks of Resistance," </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feminist Theology </i><span face="Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">18 (3): 294-308.</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Citing: Silvia Regina de Lima Silva (2002) ‘Comed, Bebed, Celebrad’ en CLAI Beber de Fuentes Distintas: Teología desde las mujeres indígenas y negras de Latinoamérica (Quito: CLAI), 16-27.</div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0Wolverhampton, UK52.5868159 -2.125658724.276582063821152 -37.2819087 80.897049736178843 33.0305913tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-49405413318134138822023-01-30T12:23:00.003-03:002023-01-30T12:25:25.081-03:00From the Shores of Silence. Conversations in Feminist Practical Theology<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8eaqUuLB8mc7WP7rwdjIpnxmFHFA8FyNbzo9Q0Q96pvscEFIhFosLPTo5rdGXWFI8CRqqA2X_lAd5kqoaEwo4SwyFBQ9x48O1q6QEVzpJD-JEyKCtRtHTUpgKPuC9yjfZ6AFTQx9oUX9OBwMF1Q-eYFbGLzHkX8QxqphQdqCDYGvsCKAISI/s555/Screenshot_20230126_204250.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="348" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8eaqUuLB8mc7WP7rwdjIpnxmFHFA8FyNbzo9Q0Q96pvscEFIhFosLPTo5rdGXWFI8CRqqA2X_lAd5kqoaEwo4SwyFBQ9x48O1q6QEVzpJD-JEyKCtRtHTUpgKPuC9yjfZ6AFTQx9oUX9OBwMF1Q-eYFbGLzHkX8QxqphQdqCDYGvsCKAISI/w251-h400/Screenshot_20230126_204250.png" width="251" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">These are the kind of conversations you want to keep having. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">That take place in the midst of an ever-growing community of faith, learning and commitment to justice. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">That weave together memories and moments from this place and others. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">That grow richer and deeper with each new contribution. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">That hold the everyday: lockdowns, fall-downs, uprisings, sorrows and celebrations. Ever changing, never changing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ashley Cocksworth, Rachel Starr and Stephen Burns (eds) (2023) <i>From the Shores of Silence. Conversations in Feminist Practical Theology</i>, London: <a href="https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334060963/from-the-shores-of-silence" target="_blank">SCM Press</a></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cover image: <i>Of Water and Spirit </i>by <a href="https://www.janrichardson.com/">Jan Richardson</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A companion piece to Nicola Slee (2020), <i><span style="background-color: white;">Fragments for Fractured Times. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d;">What Feminist Practical Theology Brings to the Table</span></i>, London: <a href="https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780334059080/fragments-for-fractured-times" target="_blank">SCM Press</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://twitter.com/queensfdn/status/1537510327461588998 " style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVXo5sBXsAAFPCh?format=jpg&name=4096x4096" width="400" /></span></a></div><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">----</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">And here we all are: </span><a href="https://www.queens.ac.uk/people/academic/nicola-slee" target="_blank">Nicola Slee</a>, <a href="https://www.queens.ac.uk/people/academic/rachel-starr" target="_blank">Rachel Starr</a>, <a href="https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/ashley-cocksworth" target="_blank">Ash Cocksworth</a>, <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://staff.divinity.edu.au/staff/stephen-burns/" style="background-color: transparent;" target="_blank">Stephen Burns</a><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">(with colleague, Paul Nzacahayo) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">last summer, celebrating Nicola's </span><i style="color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786223210/abba-amma" target="_blank">Abba Amma. Improvisations on the Lord's Prayer.</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0Wolverhampton, UK52.5868159 -2.125658724.276582063821152 -37.2819087 80.897049736178843 33.0305913tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-81536047459605603282022-12-16T09:58:00.021-03:002023-02-02T07:46:17.356-03:00Marriage and LLF<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/mb/64/1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="708" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7n1o6gHS2pygP4TxKsM1wij7y8wNb4l2ruXENoAdzS1AM-jRRrTfwgQHUAe9JFNvnA4iFEU88tUOa5W5f7XHcgbkt38LEyCEFOCPM1Mh7Ji3A4mqc19JIuQyz5D_tlZ5RZdSgyYMDMY0_HUXO9r7dCmy9siqRnlm21xA9hmr4U1mrZyyx-wI=w285-h400" width="285" /></a></div>In the summer heat, so intense to stop trains running, <a href="https://modernchurch.org.uk/" target="_blank">Modern Church</a> gathered online for their annual conference. The focus was the Church of England report,<a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/living-love-and-faith" target="_blank"> <i>Living in Love and Faith.</i></a><p></p><p>Videos from the conference are available <a href="https://modernchurch.org.uk/living-in-faith-hope-and-love-conference-resources">online</a>, including my own.</p><p>The text of my presentation is now published:</p><p><a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/mb.2023.3" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer;">Rachel Starr</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">, '</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer;">Marriage and </span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">LLF</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">'</span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> Modern Believing </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer;">Vol. 64, No. 1</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">, Winter </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">2023</span>, pp. 17<span face="Lato, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">–25.</span></span></a></p><p></p><h5 class="teaser__title" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #454545; cursor: pointer; line-height: 1.25rem; margin: 0.375rem 0px; overflow-y: hidden; position: relative; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Starr%2C+Rachel" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Rachel Starr"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Starr%2C+Rachel" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #595959; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Rachel Starr"></a></div></span></h5><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s0atrP1itoI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-33240137529233551012022-11-29T10:14:00.019-03:002022-12-19T09:31:49.238-03:00Borderline: Reading Mark 7.24–30 as a white woman<span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3L93j4vv2BWb_l9_6u5mf1kwD_9S_AuoDh_R6-7-dGytq2SqtPdvkVLH5AD6PAzxCWpDPSBabuRde9e8oRplhJxEt_qSut7zHCQeeLsiPinIDT4cNac-61z1yb2M8WJA-1eOpYVP96NmTbvdDBVzGJhAjcXIDj2UMmkbi3fhDG9rdQWB4R9I" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="555" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3L93j4vv2BWb_l9_6u5mf1kwD_9S_AuoDh_R6-7-dGytq2SqtPdvkVLH5AD6PAzxCWpDPSBabuRde9e8oRplhJxEt_qSut7zHCQeeLsiPinIDT4cNac-61z1yb2M8WJA-1eOpYVP96NmTbvdDBVzGJhAjcXIDj2UMmkbi3fhDG9rdQWB4R9I=w250-h364" width="250" /></a></div>Rachel
Starr (2022) ‘Borderline: Reading Mark 7.24–30 as a white woman’, <i>Practical
Theology</i>, 15:1-2, 10-22, DOI: 10.1080/1756073X.2021.2023960 </span> <div><br /></div><div>A video from the Dismantling Whiteness conference, including my presentation is visible <a href="https://youtu.be/LV5icLHjknQ" target="_blank">here</a> as is a shorter presentation, <span face="Calibri, sans-serif">‘Reading Mark 7.24-30 as a white woman,’ for Bible Month Methodist
Learning Network, May 2021 <a href="https://youtu.be/aKV7im9666Y">here.</a></span></div><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></div><div>See the complete journal edition, Dismantling Whiteness <a href=" https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/yprt20/15/1-2?nav=tocList">here</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-46055370669467885202022-11-29T10:07:00.007-03:002022-12-19T09:32:23.233-03:00Cuando la salvación es supervivenciaI'm delighted that a Spanish version of my research on concepts of sin and salvation in contexts of domestic violence has been published by <a href="https://www.ubl.ac.cr/" target="_blank">Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana</a> and is <a href="https://revistas.ubl.ac.cr/index.php/apteo/issue/view/99" target="_blank">available to download</a>.<div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI6kmBzuV8s5WfVoOgUdZawYWFnRBY8rwAupsIxd9WiHVvPVlN2qlhIOQv106ki1CGOioQmhMseotjj6_Ucvgp8b4eJBPm_sOIhQcqlzD9n2nlqpLSzP-gwNWElaibxpl3KOFVDhMOheVfgZCLFFsm1AxH3PNxV7ZsaB8_wVnvwdJZiVTgR2Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1716" data-original-width="1294" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI6kmBzuV8s5WfVoOgUdZawYWFnRBY8rwAupsIxd9WiHVvPVlN2qlhIOQv106ki1CGOioQmhMseotjj6_Ucvgp8b4eJBPm_sOIhQcqlzD9n2nlqpLSzP-gwNWElaibxpl3KOFVDhMOheVfgZCLFFsm1AxH3PNxV7ZsaB8_wVnvwdJZiVTgR2Q=w302-h400" width="302" /></a></div><br />Rachel Starr (2021) <i>Cuando la salvación es supervivencia. Reflexiones teológicas feministas sobre la violencia doméstica</i> (Aportes Teológicos 10), San José: Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana. </div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-52960380930002042222019-11-16T18:28:00.000-03:002019-11-16T18:28:36.063-03:00SCM Studyguide Biblical Hermeneutics 2nd edition (2019)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img alt="An ongoing conversation with the Bible" height="320" src="https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/media/74702/280717_cmsg-biblicher2nded.jpg?width=600" width="231" /></div>
The second edition of our studyguide is out now.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/blog/introducing-the-studyguide-to-biblical-hermeneutics-2nd-edition" target="_blank">Over on the SCM blog</a>, there's a short piece on the process of revising our book a dozen or so years on.<br />
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-76452601860222492062013-09-01T12:42:00.000-03:002013-09-01T22:26:30.281-03:00What I've learnt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">listening to Marga</span></td></tr>
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Being back in Argentina brings me back to my blog. </span><br />
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After seven years, I defended my thesis at ISEDET, Buenos Aires on Monday. Yesterday, on the long bus ride from the <i>ciudad porteña</i> to the second city of Cordoba, as the fields, <i>granjas</i> and <i>gomerías </i>trundled by, I thought about what I'd learnt.</span><br />
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1. Despite the solitary nature of doctoral research, theology is a collective task. As is often said about any thesis, book or creative work, it is done with, and with the help of, others. Even more so when you are writing between continents and languages. As I looked around ISEDET library on Monday afternoon, there they were: <i>compañeros </i>y <i>compañeros </i>from ISEDET, from <a href="http://informedh.wix.com/medh-en-construccion">MEDH</a>, from <i><a href="http://www.teologanda.org/">Teologanda</a></i>. From inviting me to visit the <i>defensorías </i>to printing copies of the thesis; from translating the text to guiding me in preparing conference papers; from finding cables for the projector to finding an external examiner. It is the work of many, and, that means, that I cannot be selfish about it. Although I'm ready to put it behind me, I am realising that I do owe it to others to look into publishing some or part of it, in some form or another.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">tortas y café</span></td></tr>
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2. The word of the defence was 'sacrifice', more than 'marriage' or 'survival'. Even though my focus has perhaps shifted to exploring the impact of models of marriage on domestic violence, what people resonated most with was the dangers of sacrifice. The belief that 'no-one is ever saved by sacrifice'* - and the importance of proclaiming that belief - was shared insistently, urgently. </span><br />
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3. Theology is practical. It's easy to forget this but it is. It's practical in that the organisation of the <i>mesa de tortas</i> was as important as that of the <i>mesa academica</i>. And it's practical because <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0099526158/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378049670&sr=1-4">what we write about when we write about theology</a> impacts on how we live, one way or another, whether this is acknowledged or not. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">----</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">*Ivone Gebara or Elsa Tamez? </span></div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-11031652472419101812010-02-21T11:32:00.000-03:002010-02-21T11:32:36.986-03:00i am black (country) and beautiful<a href="http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/mmlib/includes/sendimage.php?path=22.1922.XXXXBEAUTYcopy.jpg&width=270&height=415&folder=applicationfiles" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="320" src="http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/mmlib/includes/sendimage.php?path=22.1922.XXXXBEAUTYcopy.jpg&width=270&height=415&folder=applicationfiles" width="208" /></a>As the train raced alongside the canal that links Birmingham to Wolverhampton, the teenager sat next to me turned to his mother and proclaimed, ‘It’s like a war zone.’ <br />
<br />
His condemnation had royal precedent; Queen Victoria drew the curtains of her carriage as the royal train travelled this section. <br />
<br />
Wolverhampton’s reputation has been further undermined in recent months. Lonely Planet listed it as the <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ghana/travel-tips-and-articles/42/9782">fifth least favourite city in the world</a>, and last week it was singled out for having <a href="http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/businesslatest/2010/02/11/wolverhampton-hardest-hit-by-retail-downturn-65233-25809766/">one of the highest proportion of closed shops in the country</a>. <br />
<br />
Ugly, poor, with a reputation for racism, the city would seem an unlikely sanctuary for a Bengali runaway. But in Raphael Selbourne’s novel, Wolverhampton provides Beauty, the eponymous heroine, with at least temporary refuge. And amongst unexpected allies, Beauty finds respite as she struggles to reconcile family duties and her own well-being.<br />
<br />
I read Beauty while researching the Song of Songs, a collection of Jewish love poems that somehow secured its place in the biblical canon. Moving between the two texts, I found resonances of those erotic poems in Selbourne’s essentially chaste novel, which in turn offered new paths back through the landscape of the Songs.<br />
<br />
<b>Redefining beauty</b><br />
<blockquote>Your lips are like a crimson thread,<br />
and your mouth is lovely.<br />
Your cheeks are like halves of pomegranate<br />
Behind your veil. (Song of Songs 4.3)</blockquote>The compilation of the Song of Songs is understood to have taken place during the post-exilic emergence of the priestly class. With the book of Leviticus, the priests sought to control the body, delineating pure from impure, sacred from profane. Contamination of the body, caused by routine work or bodily functions (such as menstruation), required cleansing via an elaborate and costly system of temple sacrifices.* In contrast, the Song of Songs affirmed the fundamental dignity of the body. Indeed, the lovers delight in their bodies, in eating and loving. Beauty also craves good things for her body - halal food, a place to wash and rest. And slowly, like the female lover in the Songs, she begins to claim her beauty, to say, 'I am black and beautiful' (Song of Songs 1.5**).<br />
<br />
<b>Love not bought for a price</b><br />
<blockquote>My mother’s sons were angry with me; <br />
they made me keeper of the vineyards,<br />
but my own vineyard I have not kept! (Song of Songs 1.6) </blockquote>The woman of the Songs seeks to gain control over her own body, against the will of her brothers who aim to profit from her bride price (Song of Songs 8.7-12). That women continue to be exchanged between, and for the benefit of, men is evident in Selbourne’s novel. Beauty's forced marriage to a Bangladesh elder is socially beneficial for her father and, particularly, her brothers. And her refusal to stay in the marriage threatens their standing in the community.<br />
<br />
Beauty enacts madness as a strategy of survival; hacked-off hair, screams and silence finally convincing her Bangladeshi husband to send her back to England. Incarcerated and beaten by her brother, she exploits her few options, balancing risk with necessity. She chooses, to some extent, when to leave and whether to return. <br />
<br />
In the Song of Songs the lovers flee to the fields, away from temple, palace and household, from institutions that seek to control and profit from human love. Beauty’s salvation is connected to the city, although again away from patriarchal institutions (the father’s house). She and Mark mis/encounter each other at the jobcentre and on the edge of violence, before finding refuge in Mark’s dog-filled house. Like the lovers in the poems, Mark and Beauty’s friendship crosses ethnic and social divides, provoking hostility, even violence.*** <br />
<blockquote>Making their rounds in the city<br />
the sentinels found me;<br />
they beat me, they wounded me,<br />
those sentinels of the walls. (Song of Songs 5.7)</blockquote>The violence of the watchmen is echoed in Beauty's assailants who assume any woman out on the streets by herself at night must be a prostitute, and that prostitutes and other public women are fair game. But Beauty comes to claim the city as her space, refusing to be restricted to her father’s house. <br />
<br />
<b>Liberating desire </b><br />
<blockquote>My beloved is mine and I am his;<br />
He pastures his flock among the lilies. (Song of Songs 2.16)</blockquote>The poems celebrate the mutual desire of the lovers, a desire that does not objectify or disempower (unlike in Genesis 3.16).**** Beauty rejects the gaze of relatives and elders, of the men who leer over her on the street. But she does not reject the power of desire. Increasingly alert to her own passions, her dreams of her future are shaped around a small flat, a cat, her sister safe with her. And later, to read, to care for those abandoned by their families, for justice for herself and other women. <br />
<br />
<b>Set me as a seal upon your heart,</b><br />
<b>as a seal upon your arm;</b><br />
<b>for love is strong as death,</b><br />
<b>passion fierce as the grace.</b> (Song of Songs 8.6)<br />
<br />
-----<br />
Beauty is published by <a href="http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/books/beauty">Tindal Street Press</a>. Read the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/beauty-by-raphael-selbourne-1784393.html#mainColumn">Independent review</a> and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/one-minute-with-raphael-selbourne-1874742.html">one minute with the author</a>, and the <a href="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6979148.ece">Times interview</a>. <br />
*Nancy Cardoso Pereira, “Ah... Amor es delicias”, <i>RIBLA </i>15 (1993), p.59-74; Ana Maria Rizzante Gallazzi, “‘Yo seré para él como aquella que da la paz’”, <i>RIBLA </i>21 (1995), p.91-101.<br />
**This verse was for centuries mistranslated, ‘I am black but beautiful.’ See, Randall C. Bailey,“The Danger of Ignoring One’s Own Cultural Bias in Interpreting the Text.” in R. S. Sugirtharajah (ed.), <i>The Postcolonial Bible</i>, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998, pp.66-90. <br />
***Renita Weems, “Song of Songs”, in Carol A. Newsom & Sharon H. Ringe (eds), <i>Woman’s Bible Commentary</i> (expanded edition with Apocrypha), Louisville KT, Westminster John Knox Press, 1998 [first edition, 1992], p.164-8; p.168.<br />
****Phyllis Trible, <i>God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality</i>, Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1978, p.159-60.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-30108808442873608672009-12-24T09:00:00.000-03:002009-12-24T12:53:16.791-03:00christmas card<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E521FDpyHX8/Sx-PJcQY79I/AAAAAAAAArk/pmrMxkcX_Lc/s1600-h/Wordle+-+Christmas+2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 356px; height: 187px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E521FDpyHX8/Sx-PJcQY79I/AAAAAAAAArk/pmrMxkcX_Lc/s320/Wordle+-+Christmas+2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413202669489156050" border="0" /></a>The stories we treasure<br />The ones we ignore<br />God’s story at Christmas<br />Makes room for them all.<br /><br />Los relatos que guardamos<br />Los que ignormas<br />El cuento de Navidad<br />Tiene espacio para todos.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-6451954521894340562009-04-02T16:24:00.002-03:002009-04-02T16:58:04.673-03:00Marcella Althaus-ReidI caught up late on the sad new that <a href="http://www.althaus-reid.com/">Marcella Althaus-Reid</a>, Professor of Contextual Theology at <a href="http://www.div.ed.ac.uk/marcellamari.html">New College</a>, Edinburgh, died at the end of February. <br /><br />Reading the tributes left by students, colleagues and friends, one thing stood out - Marcella's constant support - academically and personally - for all those trying to make their own unique way in the world. <br /><br />I had read Marcella's work on indecent theology, studied at ISEDET where she also studied, and discovered many mutual friends before I met her in January 2007. We met in her offices overlooking the foreboding front quadrant of New College. I had found her abundance of theological ideas at times difficult to grasp. Moreover, her willingness to sub/vert, per/vert, long-established theological dogma was both thrilling and disturbing. I was expecting to be overawed by such a formidable intellect. <br /><br />I was not prepared for this petite chic woman, a red shawl swept across her shoulders, a warm welcome and attentive ear. <br /><br />I only met Marcella once but I was delighted to have done so. Her fierce critique and bound-less creativity will continue to inspire me.<br /><br />God, she wrote, will always escape our ideologies. God is not bound by our morality. Indeed, we would find God indecent, queer, clandestine, unlawful. God the boundary-crosser, the transgressor, the cross-dresser, the whore. A God who loves without censor, without purpose, without limits, without end.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-17972544682072124372009-03-28T17:46:00.004-03:002009-03-28T18:32:59.842-03:00wonky tiarasWhat I appreciate most about <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/entertainment/kermode.shtml">Mark Kermode's weekly film review on Five Live </a>is his direct confrontation of nasty, stupid and dangerous perceptions of women in film. <br /><br />It's rare for a male media personality to reference <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Dworkin">Andrea Dworkin</a>; rare for a man to unambigiously criticise films that objectify, sideline, attack and fear women. So even though I don't share his interest in horror movies, or agree with his critique of SATC, I am regularly encouraged by Mark's feminist insight and commitment. <br /><br />I wish more men would hold other men accountable for their treatment of women. I wish more men were brave enough to apply feminist perspectives to their work. I wish more men promoted strong, healthy, intelligent, independent role models for women and girls.<br /><br />Mark's recent review of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Young Victoria</span> is a case in point. He praised the film for its portrayal of a young woman finding her own way - yes, in partnership with her beloved Albert, but not at the expense of her own purpose and vision. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/b3e7_self_rescuing_princess.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 220px;" src="http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/b3e7_self_rescuing_princess.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>And on that theme... I'm loving this from <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/womens/b3e7/zoom/">think geek</a>, via the consistently inspirational <a href="http://www.feministing.com/">feministing blog</a><br /><br />that introduced me to another man doing the feminist thing - author Robert Munsch and his creation, <a href="http://www.robertmunsch.com/books.cfm?bookid=27"><span style="font-style:italic;">The Paperbag Princess</span></a>.<br /><br />Prince, frog, dragon...who needs them?Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-33829715737949156682009-03-24T18:14:00.004-03:002009-03-24T19:00:59.741-03:00counting the cost<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://argentina.indymedia.org/images/lopez24mesescultura.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 254px;" src="http://argentina.indymedia.org/images/lopez24mesescultura.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Today Argentina marks <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">33 </span>years since the start of the military dictatorship.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">2818.</span> The number of days under dictatorship (24 March 1976 - 10 December 1983)<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">30,000.</span> The number of people who were kidnapped, tortured and 'disappeared' by the military<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">500. </span>The number of babies taken from their mothers and illegally given up for adoption.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">97.</span> The number of children who have discovered their true identity - the latest in February of this year.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">500. </span>The number of illegal hidden detention centres established by the dictatorship. The largest of these was the former Naval Academy (<span style="font-style: italic;">Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada</span>) in Buenos Aires, in which some 5000 people were held and tortured. <br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">46,000 million. </span>The number of dollars of external debt owed at the end of dictatorship.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">517. </span>The percentage rate of inflation between 1976 and 1983.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">14, ooo. </span>The number of soldiers and conscripts sent to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Malvinas</span>/ Falklands in 1982.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">694.</span> The number that died.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">29.</span> The number of months since <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Julio_L%C3%B3pez">Julio Lopez</a>, aged 77, disappeared for the second time, hours before he was due to witness against a former police investigator.<br /><br />--<br />This is a translation of an article in today's <a href="http://www.clarin.com/diario/2009/03/24/elpais/p-01883617.htm">Clarín</a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-56899275797964909582009-03-03T17:57:00.002-02:002009-03-03T18:40:02.336-02:00fairtrade fortnight 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/images/2009/s/smallbutton.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 125px;" src="http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/images/2009/s/smallbutton.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a> This past year, £700 million of Fairtrade products were bought in the UK.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tasteandsmile-fairtrade.co.uk/">Tate & Lyle </a>went Fairtrade last year. <a href="http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/press_office/press_releases_and_statements/november_2008/starbucks_uk_and_fairtrade_foundation_announce_industry_leading_2.aspx">Starbucks</a>, <a href="http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/food/foodandfeatures/our_values_make_us_different/values/fairtrade.htm">Sainsburys</a>, more and more big companies (and lots and lots of small ones) are going Fairtrade. Great!<br /><br />During <a href="http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/fairtrade_fortnight/fairtrade_fortnight_2009/default.aspx">Fairtrade Fortnight</a> why not:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/gobananas/default.aspx">Go Bananas</a> - Be part of the world’s biggest Fairtrade banana-eating record attempt. Join in by eating a Fairtrade banana anytime between noon on Friday 6 March and noon on Saturday 7 March.<br /><br />Buy one of <a href="http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/products/retail_products/default.aspx">three thousand Fairtrade products</a> - maybe one you've never tried before.<br /><br />Start campaigning for a Fairtrade Olympics in 2012 - watch out for more details from the Fairtrade Foundation; and for now:<br /><ul><li>Play some Fairtrade games with sports balls – footballs, volleyballs, netballs and basketballs with the Fairtrade mark are all available </li><li>or, power your Olympian efforts with a Fairtrade banana smoothie (you can even use a pedal-powered smoothie maker!)</li></ul>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-5401771829385041492009-02-10T08:00:00.002-02:002009-02-10T09:04:58.529-02:00Elena Poniatowska - Here’s to You, Jesusa!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/418NYQTSVTL.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 270px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/418NYQTSVTL.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Elena Poniatowska’s testimonial novel is based on extensive interviews carried out between 1963 and 1964, with Josefina Bórquez, an elderly Mexican woman. Through the novel, Josefina morphs into the character Jesusa Palancares as Poniatowska pieces together her ethnographic field-notes into a narrative that shifts between Spiritualist visions and surreal recollections of a life lived in bars and on the battlefield. Jesusa works as a domestic servant, in factories making boxes, and as a professional drinker, betting on herself to out-drink the men. At night she makes a space for herself where she can: in a woman’s prison, on the frozen ground of the army camp, along a narrow balcony, or in the corner of a stranger’s courtyard.<br /><br />In such a precarious life, there are few moments of rest, as Poniatowska discovers when she tries to interview Josefina. There is no time to talk, only time to work (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: viii). She alone ensures her survival (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: 101, 132).<br /><blockquote>Survival means staying afloat, breathing calmly, even if it is only for a moment in the evening when the chickens no longer cackle in their cages and the cat stretches out on the trampled earth. (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: xiii)</blockquote><br />Jesusa is a fighter, ‘fiercer than a female fighting cock’ (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: 155). She endures life on the battlefield, first with her father and then with her abusive husband, neither of whom survive the Revolution. She relishes the tough life of a<span style="font-style: italic;"> soldadera</span> (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: 212, xvii), and returns to army life when the opportunity presents. Her father once gave her gunpowder water to make her brave (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: 5), and it seemed to work.<br /><br />Her dignity is essential to her survival. She is fiercely proud, refusing to drink coffee grounds or eat bean soup (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: 241), to be treated as poor. Neither charity nor friendship suit her: ‘Her isolation is striking’ (Franco 1989: 179). At the end of her life, she does not falter: ‘She died as she lived, rebellious, obstinate, fierce. She threw the priest out, she threw the doctor out’ (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: xx).<br /><br />Nevertheless, Poniatowska, in her account of the interview process and the two women’s cautious friendship, recalls moments of tenderness and tranquility: settling the chickens on the narrow bed; examining the dolls Josefina bought for herself but kept wrapped up; the exchanging of postcards while Poniatowska travels to France. More than anything else, Josefina is revived by the telling of her story:<br /><blockquote>On Wednesday afternoons, as the sun set and the blue sky changed to orange, in that semidark little room, in the midst of the shrieking of the children, the slamming doors, the shouting, and the radio going full blast, another life emerged – that of Jesusa Palancares, the one that she relived as she retold it. Through a tiny crack, we watched the sky, its colors, blue, then orange, and finally black. A silver of sky. I squinted so my gaze would fit through that crack, and we would enter the other life. (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: xiii)</blockquote><br />Through the construction of her own version of events, Josefina places herself at the centre of her world. After a life lived in the shadows, dismissed by those a few rungs up the social ladder, she is able to speak her truth, account for her actions. Once the book is published, Josefina asks Poniatowska for twenty copies to give to men in the neighbourhood, ‘so they’d know about her life, the many precipices she had crossed’ (Poniatowska [1969] 2002: xx).<br /><br />--<br />Elena Poniatowska ([1969] 2002) Here’s to You, Jesusa! [First published as Hasta no verte Jesús mío Mexico: Ediciones Era. Translated from the Spanish by Deanna Heikkinen, 2001] New York: Penguin Books<br /><br />As a testimonial novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">Here’s to You Jesusa</span> is concerned to honour and enable the voices of those absent from the literary canon. Testimonial literature seeks to represent the social and political experience of the illiterate, the prisoner, the slave descendent, the trade-unionist, the member of the <span style="font-style: italic;">pueblos originarios</span>, the slum-dweller, etc.; in short, all those who exist at the margins of Latin American society. Through testimony, such works seek to raise awareness and to promote social and political change.<br /><br />See also, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/03/18/reviews/010318.18gimbelt.html">NY Times review</a> and <a href="http://www.kiriyamaprize.org/winners/finalists/2001/fic/2001fictfinal_ponia_rev.shtml">other</a>.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-70603371414971440492009-02-08T20:37:00.006-02:002009-02-08T21:28:05.504-02:00tracing out shapesOn the corner of our estate, where there was once a church, stands a bright new health clinic. A giant dandelion clock blows over it. And, if you are lucky, the bus driver will drop you off at the entrance, even though it is between stops.<br /><br />I never made it to Mass at that church, and I only peeped through the windows of tiny St Thomas' opposite where my grandparents, father, great-grandparents, great aunt and uncle once lived. I wish I had known what it was like to worship, to make peace and to seek justice in those churches. I wish I knew how they fitted into the threads of prayers and song that are woven through this community.<br /><br />But there are still three churches within a brisk walk from my home. A simple building perched atop the hill is the home of the Anglican church. Years ago, I went to morning prayer there, trying to find a start to my day.<br /><br />The second church is the Christian meeting house, and, to be truthful, we are all a little scared of it. 'Come and here God's word preached,' it invites us, then, flashing with fire, sends us running, 'if the LORD wills.'<br /><br />And the third church. It was familiar ground even before today. I knew this church - simple, friendly, reliable. But it didn't know me, so today I decided it was time to introduce myself. I turned off the road sooner than usual - a good mile short of my Methodist home - and popped into the United Reformed Church. Light dazzled us, turning white walls to silver, and trembling voices into song. A man preached simply and honestly, lifting up his fears for us to take comfort from. A woman welcomed me in, and told me how the church keeps welcoming, all week long.<br /><br />I'm taking things slow, this settling in. I'm tracing out shapes and seeing how this place, in this moment, holds together; and how I might fit into it.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-48331375967790002822009-01-27T23:52:00.000-02:002009-01-27T22:07:04.646-02:00ex tenebris luxThe Sunday ahead of us finds its place in the Church's calender as the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany. It's not a snappy title. Even if we remember what Epiphany was about (three visitors to the stable at Bethlehem), we may feel that, four Sundays on, it is time to leave be, to look forward rather than back.<br /><br />As the <a href="http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/BEpiphany/bEpiphany4.htm">readings</a> for this Sunday explore, once the clear light of the Christmas star fades - and fade it does - it is not so easy to find our way. The year settles into routine, and we loose the clarity we enjoyed when the year was bare, unmarked by arguments and wasted days.<br /><br />I am spending my days, some wasted, others not, perched high at the edge of a glass-fronted library. My vision framed by the weathered red of St Peter's and the sharp gold of Molineux, I watch the light scan the sky. Today the clouds came down to touch the fields ahead of me. Yesterday, where the clouds lay today, the softest trace of green marked out low hills on the horizon. So although today I could not see them, I still knew they were there.<br /><br />I thought back to an exhibition I went to at the <a href="http://www.studiomuseum.org/">Studio Museum in Harlem</a>, of the artist Norman Lewis*. One canvas was almost entirely black, with the slightest line marking out a shape. It was a painting of a mountain that Lewis studied in Greece. He knew the lines of the mountain so well, he could paint it at night. Hidden from view, maybe, but still there.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Light for our eyes</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Darkness to rest</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Light of the way</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">In the dark we hold trust</span><br /><br />--<br />*I am checking whether it was Norman Lewis. If so, <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E2DC1131F933A05756C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all">this article </a>would fit.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-26436882728132104962009-01-15T21:14:00.004-02:002009-01-15T21:58:12.342-02:00bus peopleIn the lobby of the LA motel, the breakfast crowd thinning out, I phoned Kimberly. 'Which train do I catch to Orange County?' I asked. There was a pause. 'I'll come and get you,' she said. <br /><br />While public transport is thankfully much more integrated into British life than it was in LA ten years ago, I'm still noticing a difference with Argentina.<br /><br />During my three years in Buenos Aires, I only met two people who owned a car. Everyone caught the bus. And they ran day and night. Packed jam full. Sure, I sometimes got a taxi. But - as long as you had got hold of enough <span style="font-style:italic;">monedas</span> - the bus was how you traveled. <br /><br />It feels different here. <br /><br />I don't know if it was the smell of cigar smoke tonight, or how the bus queue seemed to merge with the overspill from the city pub. Perhaps it was something about how we stood hunched up, a couple of Tesco bags resting on the shelter seats. Or how the man in a bright yellow jacket moved around us picking up rubbish with a stick. But waiting for the bus this evening, I felt poor. <br /><br />Years ago, friends in LA told me that the term 'bus people' implied the very poorest, most marginalized people who, in that city of cars and freeways, had to take the bus.<br /><br />In my city, plenty of people catch the bus or train to work every day. But with my 'off-peak' travel pass, I don't share my bus with the workers. In the mornings, the seats are filled with elderly neighbours and school kids. But in the early evening, we seem a desperate bunch - tired from the day, waiting in the drizzle, we file on and shuffle down the aisle. The day's dirt imprisons us, smearing the windows. There is a dank smell.<br /><br />But we settle down. Warm up. Maybe say a few words to the girl next to us. Maybe peer out to see the park. And soon we are home. <br /><br />Bus people.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-43923098381604300312009-01-13T14:25:00.002-02:002009-01-13T14:28:49.203-02:00Women's Institute survey on violence against womenAs part of its Violence Against Women Campaign, the WI has commissioned research from the University of Bristol to look at the needs, views and opinions of women on the topic of violence against women. <br /><br />This is not just a survey for women who have experienced domestic abuse. It is for all women to fill out and asks questions on what you consider violence against women - for example do you think prostitution is a form of violence against women? <br /><br />You can complete the 10 minute survey <a href="http://dotm1.net/1530585/487838090/19161166/798633/16907/0/t2.aspx">here</a><br /><br />Preliminary results from the survey will be launched on International Women's Day, 8 March 2009, with a more detailed report available from the WI website by the end of April 2009.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-63993508284462548742009-01-07T20:40:00.004-02:002009-01-07T21:48:07.106-02:00Perla Suez - La pasajera<iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Pueblo+Brugo+&sll=-31.835566,-60.512695&sspn=0.618349,0.884399&ie=UTF8&ll=-31.835566,-60.512695&spn=0.890332,0.84099&t=k&output=embed&s=AARTsJph9f6NpOPJ8LcHYzVxFdsvR5h2Vg" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" width="425"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Pueblo+Brugo+&sll=-31.835566,-60.512695&sspn=0.618349,0.884399&ie=UTF8&ll=-31.835566,-60.512695&spn=0.890332,0.84099&t=k&source=embed" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br />Perla Suez sets her most recent novel besides familiar waters. <span style="font-style: italic;">La Pasajera</span> is set in Entre Rios, the province to the northeast of Buenos Aires. It is a story of transition and adjustment.<br /><br />Tránsito and her sister Lucía have spent forty years caring for the Admiral and <span style="font-style: italic;">la señora </span>who live in an isolated mansion, inspired by the chateaus of France, but situated on the banks of a tropical river. The river both separates and connects the sisters from their island home, the place they grew up together before coming to work in the city.<br /><br />The novel takes place on the afternoon of the funeral of the Admiral. With the death of their <span style="font-style: italic;">patron</span>, Tránsito prepares to leave her life as a servant and return home. She is tired of caring for a house that is not her own, and of playing a minor role in someone else's story.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Yo ahora voy a remontar en canoa el río ancho, mirando mi cara en el agua hasta llegar a ese lugar, cruzando el canal, donde madre dijo que me dio a luz. </span><br />Now I am going to travel upstream along the wide river in the canoe, watching my face in the water until I arrive at that place, crossing the channel, where mother told me that I was born. (Suez 2008: 45)</blockquote><br />The afternoon of the funeral, Tránsito tries to persuade her sister to return to the Delta with her:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Tenemos que cruzar al otro lado, y aunque hayamos dejado la vida aquí, quiero que regresemos juntas. Le prometí a madre que nunca te iba a abandonar.</span><br />We have to cross over to the other side, and even if it means leaving the life we have here, I want us to return together. I promised mother that I would never abandon you. (Suez 2008: 80)</blockquote><br />But Lucía has already bought herself a plot in the city cemetery. She will not go back. Tránsito has to make the journey home on her own.<br /><br />---<br />Suez, Perla (2008) <span style="font-style: italic;">La Pasajera (La otra orilla)</span> Buenos Aires: Grupo Editorial NormaRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13756365.post-55931623787958472302008-12-24T15:56:00.002-02:002008-12-24T15:59:19.101-02:00la Nochebuena<span style="font-style:italic;">The good night:</span><br /><blockquote>And she gave birth to her firstborn son<br />and wrapped him in bands of cloth, <br />and laid him in a manger, <br />because <br />there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2.7)</blockquote>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08099527652087167473noreply@blogger.com0