You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Ruth and Naomi’ tag.
THE STORY OF RUTH AND NAOMI
Adapted from the NRSV Biblical Story by
Rev. Kathleen Stone (writer)
DeWanda Wise (editor)
As performed with dancer, actress and voice at the
Commission on the Status of Women, 53rd Session
Ecumenical Women Opening Worship
February 28, 2009 8:30 a.m
Tillman Chapel, Church Center for the United Nations
DOWNLOAD RUTH AND NAOMI SCRIPT AS PDF
Story telling:
They say—those “Theys” who write books and tell us how to think about things—They say this: (sarcastically) “The quiet, idyllic mood of the book of Ruth and the charm of its gentle heroine has given it a special appeal to many generations of readers.”
But we know better. Having been schooled in the life of strong women, we know the true story; amended in wedding chapels, churches and cathedrals, told to children as bible story, is NOT idyllic, quiet, charming or gentle. This story is a tale of desperate grief. A story of survival in an unjust world. This is a story of a woman who, according to the law of the day, is a non-person. She, women, we are possessions. Objects. Burdens. Birthing, Sexing, Accessories. This story is a story of land being Mans’ and food being Mans’ and Blessings belonging to Man. A story where a woman breaks her back to birth, to bake, to sweep, to plant, to harvest, and without a man, she can buy neither land, food, shelter, nor safety. It is a story of a woman bereft. Her deprivation of NO interest to the ways things are.
This is what WE know.
We know this not only from this story,
But, we know it today.
So, let’s listen. Read the rest of this entry »
by Kathleen Stone, CCUN Chaplain
Morning worship is extremely important for the Ecumenical Women delegation. Being able to effectively ground the day in a firm Biblical faith along side a commitment to address injustices facing women around the world is an incredibly important skill. Both practically and theologically, claiming biblical stories together every morning is powerfully energizing, and has become a focusing tool for those who then spend the day at the United Nations. Doing so every morning during the Commission ushers amazing power to change the ideologies that limit women’s choices and power.
This year, Ecumenical Women’s Opening Worship at their orientation told the story of Ruth and Naomi. Through dancing, singing, original music, drumming and storytelling, the original, creative telling powerfully moved those gathered. Ruth, as Naomi’s caregiver in a world made for and by men in ancient Israel, was revealed as a powerful, fierce caretaker of Naomi in an unjust world. The storytelling emphasized the fact that Ruth and Naomi’s ONLY chance at survival was for a young, beautiful, loving, fierce, generous woman to sexually and illicitly sleep with a man who was old enough to have been her father. This year, the worship space displays an original participatory artwork commissioned by Ecumenical Women. The artist, Ms. Mary Button (www.marybutton.com) chose to imagine the moment when Ruth clung to Naomi, thereby saving her life. Ecumenical Women place extraordinary import on the representational nature of those who are delegates so each morning prayers for women around the world from the delegates are written on strips of paper which are made into beads and are then sewn onto Ruth’s dress. Because the situation facing Ruth and Naomi is still prevalent in our world and because women’s overwhelming burden of caregiving is so often overlooked in social, economic and political policy making, this story was extraordinarily relevant to the theme of the Commission.
Many thanks to the performing artists who contributed to the service: Dajhia Ingram, dancer; Cassondra Kellum, voice; DeWanda Wise, actress; and Grace Pugh Hubbard, keyboard.
by Mary Gindhart
The Grail
The hustle and bustle of getting to New York for CSW faded when I arrived at the Opening Worship organized by Ecumenical Women as the story of Ruth and Naomi was enacted.
This familiar story was being re-told as we gathered to prepare for two weeks of advocacy on the CSW theme: The Equal Sharing of Responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS.
My heart was touched, I thought of women all around the world struggling. I looked around at the women who were present. I saw the dance movements, I heard the spoken words and chants. I felt strength, support and calm that we could face the challenges of the next two weeks at the UN together.
The communion service was a corporate expression of our oneness in faith in Jesus Christ and commitment to a new covenant in which all are cared for, both the caregivers and those needing care, both the men and the women. Both the elderly and children. Both the black and white, the brown, yellow, blue and green.
