by Dr. Froswa Booker-Drew

Dear Body of Christ,

This isn’t for all of you. I want to commend those of you who step up to the plate daily supplying the support that our communities need. This is for those who are focused on dealing with certain people because it’s easy and comfortable.

As I witness you celebrating the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I want to challenge you. I want you to really consider the way you are currently supporting women and children in your congregation.

I hope that you will also embrace the young women who are single mothers without judgment and that your church has a ministry that caters to their needs offering both financial and emotional support beyond just the spiritual.

As churches, I hope that you are taking the time to address the needs of those who you are called to serve instead of just teaching them without the practical application of what they are hearing on Sundays and Wednesday nights.

I hope that you are talking to those young men in your congregation about what it means to be a man—that it is more than the ability to create babies but to be accountable and responsible for your actions.

My prayer is that you will show them what it means to be in a loving, committed relationship that supports your partner to fulfill their God-given purpose.

I hope that instead of allowing the women to carry the responsibility of parenthood—since their conception was not a solo act—that you will hold the men in your congregation to a standard of being involved, even if they are not with the mother of their child/children.

Church, if human life is so important to you then it must go beyond conception and pregnancy to life outside the womb. How can we care for the unborn, but not their mothers or fathers?

We should be fighting for universal health insurance, livable wage jobs, housing, and other necessities—so that children can come into the world healthy, safe, and provided for.

We are not questioning infant mortality and the rates of Black women who die in childbirth and after the birth of their babies. If babies are really important to you, you would be concerned about their educational opportunities.

We should have quality childcare centers with teachers that are trained and paid well. We should care about their safety—children and their families would be protected from violence that exists in the home and outside of the home.

They should be free to shop in grocery stores, go to the movies, attend parades or even go to school without the fear of being massacred in places that are supposed to be safe.

Just as Jesus listed several issues with the Pharisees, those same issues exist today within the Church. Matthew 23:14-36 lists seven woes to the Pharisees which are relevant today:

• Teaching about God but not genuinely loving God (claiming you love God whom you’ve never seen but hate your brothers and sisters you see every day (1 John 4:20).
• Preach about God but you don’t live out what you are teaching.
• Confusing what’s sacred and what is not.
• Teaching the Bible but not practicing justice, mercy, and faithfulness to God. Getting caught up in the minuscule but not paying attention to what’s major.
• Appearing to be righteous but filled with a heart of greed and self-promotion.
• Speaking about your love for Jesus but if He were alive today, many of you would condemn Him as well.

I hope that in your moments of celebration, there is time for true reflection and change. Without it, our witness to the world is filled with hypocrisy—just like the Pharisees.

(Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the president of Soulstice Consultancy, LLC. To learn more about her, visit <drfroswabooker.com>.)