Start listening

I love to sing. Recently, I had an odd experience, though. I was singing during worship but couldn’t hear my voice at all.

No, I hadn’t lost my hearing. I was worshiping with the Conference of Bishops, all but five of whom are men. Despite my strong voice, I couldn’t hear myself at all.

That got me thinking about what it must be like to regularly not have your voice heard.

Some will say that when we engage in advocacy we are working on behalf of those who have no voice. I disagree. Everyone has a voice. Some have not yet learned how to use it. Others are using their voice (or their actions or words) but for any number of reasons, their voices are not heard.

I think that when we engage in advocacy we are working on behalf of those whose voices are not being heard. It’s time we started listening.

This message is an excerpt from a 2010 Women of the ELCA blog by Linda Post Bushkofsky. Today we remember John Wesley, who died in 1791, and Charles Wesley, who died in 1788; renewers of the church.

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