"Making a Way out of No Way - a Womanist Theology"

Today, which happens to be Thursday, June 11, my good friend Monica A. Coleman is going to be at Charis Books & More at 7:30pm delivering a discussion about her new book, "Making a Way out of No Way - a Womanist Theology." I have not read the book yet-I will after I finish my current-but I will go ahead and advise you to attend if you are in the area. I promise you will not be disappointed!!

There is something you should know about Monica Coleman - she is smart. As in WOW! smart. As in, when she graduated from Harvard she was named one of the twenty-five “intellectual elite” of her graduating class. And yet, I know firsthand from talking with her that the words she uses are easily understood. Coleman is not someone who wants to sit aloft on her intellectual pedestal, but instead wants to spread her message to all.

Karen Baker-Fletcher, Ph.D. Professor of Systematic Theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, says this about Coleman's book: “Monica Coleman’s elegant prose makes Making a Way out of No Way a clear and accessible introduction to postmodern womanist theology. This book is a wonderful synthesis of the best of the past with attention to the foibles of our twenty-first-century present and realistic hope for creative future possibilities.”
(Did I mention that she's gorgeous too?!)

Coleman's newest book-she also wrote the book, "The Dinah Project," about how the church can help heal victims of sexual abuse-articulates the African American expression of "making a way out of no way" for today's context of globalization, religious pluralism, and sexual diversity. Drawing on womanist religious scholarship and process thought, Coleman describes the symbiotic relationship among God, the ancestors, and humanity that helps to change the world into the just society it ought to be. "Making a Way Out of No Way" shows us a way of living for justice with God and proposes a communal theology that presents a dynamic way forward for black churches, African traditional religions and grassroots organizations. And please come to the discussion, even if you are not Black or female, for womanist theology applies to everyone! We should all look into the ways that our society can be made into the "just society it ought to be."

*Much of the material for this post was gathered from her website, which is linked to on the right side of the page, under the "Support Your Community" section. Just click on her name, Monica A. Coleman to learn more about her and her work. Or come tonight! (Or come visit Circle of Grace Community Church in Atlanta, of which she is a member!)

Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body - a Book Review

I also have a blog called, "Hope is Real!" about feminism and mental illness, with a particular emphasis on eating disorders. Some of my posts from that site will also be posted here, like this one was a few weeks ago:

A very important aspect of recovery is learning about your disorder, but I have found most material about eating disorders to be 1) extremely triggering, as they describe in detail the self-loathing thoughts and behavior practiced, and 2) written for someone else, i.e. family, friends, caregivers, therapists, the next door neighbor's dog... which does, at least, explain all the heavy descriptions. But I, as a person in recovery from an eating disorder, want a book that is written to be read by me. I want material that is empowering, that addresses the deeper issues, and that does not remind me of the all the harmful behaviors that I already know I can do myself. Fortunately, I found a fabulous book that is not triggering at my favorite bookstore, Charis Books & More, in Atlanta called, "Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image,"

The book is a collection of short essays by different women and a few men about their relationship with their own body. I could not put the book down! While each person chose to center their essay around a different body part or feature that they felt uncomfortable or awkward about, what the book ultimately reenforces is that everybody in this society has body issues and that the biggest thing that we can do as a society, and as feminists, to break the insanity is for us as individuals to start loving and accepting our own body. A radical notion, I know, but oh, so worth it!

Another thing I love about this book is that the writers are a diverse group, from every race, ethnicity, region, religion, and sexual orientation in the United States. This how the book describes the writers, "The writers assembled here celebrate the body in all its splendored shapes, sizes, colors and textures. In doing so, they expand the national dialogue on body image to include race, ethnicity, sexuality and power-issues that, while often overlooked, are intimately linked to how women feel about their bodies. Body Outlaws offers stories by those who have chosen to ignore, subvert or redefine the dominant beauty standard in order to feel at home in their bodies."

I am also glad that one of the writers is Diana Courvant, who is also a transwoman. Her story, "Strip!" is for me, one of the most powerful. In it, she strips in front of a large group of people, while giving a talk about being trans, in order to show that having a body in transition is not "freakish," which sadly, are using her therapists' own words. Trans people are not freaks and neither are those with disabilities, or who are queer, or who are abormally short, tall, have a large nose, or an enormous butt! We are who we are and that is all we should ever have to be, for that is hard enough.