The Fall Into Respectability
Drawing from Matthew’s account of Jesus dining with tax collectors and sinners, we’re challenged to examine whether our desire for respectability has compromised our call to transformative love. The story of the women at Saint Paul UMC in the 1880s who orchestrated the first election of women delegates to General Conference, only to be turned away, reminds us that faithfulness sometimes means being willing to be ridiculed, to challenge the status quo, and to stand with those whose voices are being suppressed.
November 9, 2025
