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Sept./Oct. response: Responsively Yours
Soul Care is Transformative for Justice
by Sally Vonner
Greetings in faith, hope, and love! I pray your summer has been going well and that you have found time for pause, rest, and to be amid many disruptions to our daily lives. This response issue focuses on soul care, and I hope it will inspire, influence, and impact you.
General Secretary and CEO
United Women in Faith
Photo: Janet Joyner
My schedule for the past several months has been demanding, and I must confess that my spiritual practices have been interrupted at times. I take self-care (physical and emotional well-being) and my soul care (spiritual well-being) very seriously. If not, I get off center and am exhausted. It is not a good feeling. Perhaps you can relate.
As mentioned, recent months have been filled with disruptions, especially acts of injustice and concerns of criminalization of communities of color; deportations; immigration; protests; wars; violence; and the U.S. budget cuts for significant programs and spending that disadvantage the poor, elderly, women, children, and the environment with the expectation of increased natural disasters this summer.
This has likely been a heavy weight for you as it has for me. It is why soul care is so important! It strengthens our hope to offset feeling overwhelmed, hopeless, and helpless when advocacy and action for justice are more important than ever.
The Mission u study, Practicing Hope, fortified and recentered me. This was the first year I attended in person since 2019. It was exhilarating to connect with my sisters of the Virginia Conference United Women in Faith, to see old friends, and make new friends. I hope each of you has or will participate in Mission u in person or virtually. My favorite session was “Hope is a ritual (even when it’s hard).” It reinforced for me how important soul care is to ungird hope in difficult times.
I’m also reminded of the song we often sing at United Women in Faith gatherings, For Everyone Born*. The final verse comes to mind along with the refrain: “For everyone born, a place at the table, to live without fear, and simply to be; to work, to speak out, to witness and worship, for everyone born, the right to be free.” Refrain: “and God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace: yes, God will delight when we are creators of justice, justice and joy.”
To be creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace, we must continue to practice soul care, to refuel, refresh, and continue the journey, even when it is hard. We know that justice work is sanctioned by God since the beginning of creation and lived out through the prophets/prophetesses and Jesus. Jesus invites us to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23) and gave us power and grace through the Holy Spirit, to be creators of justice, joy, compassion, and peace for everyone born.
United Women in Faith, may we not grow weary in doing good … (Galatians 6:9) as we practice soul care for the transformation of ourselves and the world.
*Global Praise 2: Songs for Worship and Witness (New York, 2000).
SALLY VONNER
General Secretary and CEO
United Women in Faith
