PLYMOUTH UCC CHURCH
  • Home
  • Welcome!
    • I'm New Here
    • I'm a CSU Student
    • LGBTQ+
    • How Do I Join?
    • More Questions
  • Worship
    • What is Worship?
    • Worship Online >
      • Streaming Worship
      • Download Bulletins
      • Digital Pew Card
    • Easter & Holy Week
    • Easter Flowers
    • Share the Plate (Current) >
      • Share the Plate History
    • Learn More >
      • Faith Statements
      • Sermons
      • Music Program
      • Worship Sign-Ups
  • News & Events
    • Church Blog >
      • Ministry Highlights Form
    • eNews
    • Special Events
    • Calendars >
      • Today's Schedule
      • Mobile Calendar
      • Full Calendar
      • Calendar Request Form
  • Living Our Faith
    • Christian Formation >
      • Children
      • Nursery Care >
        • Child Care Handbook
      • Youth
      • OWL (Our Whole Lives)
      • Foraging for Faith
      • Adults
      • Visiting Scholar
    • Outreach & Mission >
      • The O&M Board >
        • Grocery Card
      • Climate Action
      • End Gun Violence
      • FFH
      • Immigration
      • Student Support
    • Labyrinth
  • Connect
    • Find Your Place at Plymouth
    • Contact >
      • Contact Us Form
      • Clergy & Staff
      • Lay Leadership
      • Building Rental >
        • Church Use Payments
    • Our Community >
      • Fellowship
      • Gallery
      • Calling & Caring
      • Meal Signups
    • Online Connections >
      • Church App
      • Text Connection >
        • Fun Text Question
        • Text Responses
        • Wellness Check-In
  • Give
    • All About Giving
    • Pledge Online >
      • Increase Your Pledge
    • Other Ways to Give >
      • Text to Give
      • Sustaining Gifts
      • Planned Giving
      • Share the Plate Giving
    • Statements
  • Member Info
    • Member Menu
    • New Members

6/24/2022

Roe v. Wade

Read Now
 
Picture
By Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0
Dear Plymouth Family,

None of us is surprised about Supreme Court ruling overturning the constitutional right to an abortion guaranteed by the Court back in 1973 in Roe v. Wade. But to some the ruling probably feels like a gut-punch.

There are macro issues at stake in this ruling, some of which are not immediately apparent. In the short term, women in roughly half the states that comprise our union will lose access to safe, legal abortions. But the larger issues will continue to ripple for years into the future.

One of those issues is the right of women to determine the course of their own health. No one is challenging a man’s right to choose a vasectomy — even though the Roman Catholic Church opposes it. Pope Paul VI’s encyclical said that vasectomy “is equally to be condemned” as is abortion. Yet, we do not hear many (or any) voices in our nation decrying vasectomy.

If we can deny a woman’s right to choose, what other rights is our nation prepared to deny?

According to the National Institutes of Health, “Black women have been experiencing induced abortions at a rate nearly 4 times that of White women for at least 3 decades, and likely much longer…. In the current unfolding environment, there may be no better metric for the value of Black lives.” Is it a coincidence that the Supreme Court ruling will affect Black women four times as much as it does White women?

Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurring opinion, said that the Supreme Court “should reconsider” its past in codifying rights to contraception access, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage. I know some of our LGBTQ members are already feeling the rumblings of this opinion. It’s Pride month, and it is probably no coincidence that hate-filled vandals destroyed the rainbow flags on our Prospect Road sign this week.

Another implication beyond abortion itself is the brokenness of the national process of judicial confirmation. Has the court become over-politicized? Some would say so. It will be interesting to see how we navigate the course ahead, when Gallup shows that 80% of Americans support legal abortion.

Where does the UCC stand?

Our denomination has been a standard-bearer for reproductive justice. I encourage you to see our denomination’s web page to learn more. Our Eighth General Synod, in 1971 (two years before Roe v. Wade), approved a resolution affirming choice. “The Eighth General Synod of the United Church of Christ calls for the repeal of all legal prohibitions of physician-performed abortions. This would take abortion out of the realm of penal law and make voluntary and medially safe abortions legally available to all women.” Further resolutions were passed by General Synods in 1973, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1987, 1989, and 1991.

Other mainline Protestant denominations have similar stances. Many Evangelical churches were initially mute on the issue of abortion and supportive of birth control. But since the fundamentalist takeover in some denominations and the rise of the Christian Right, even the use of birth control is in question in some quarters. (In a recent survey, 77% of White Evangelicals saw abortion as morally unacceptable. Most American Catholics support legal access to abortion.)

Where do you stand?

One of the guideposts of our UCC tradition is that matters of conscience are left to the members of our congregations under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is likely a range of opinion at Plymouth about whether abortion is ethically acceptable. Yet I am certain that only a handful of our members who would disagree that abortion should be safe and legal.

Over the years of my ministry among you, two conversations with women stick out on this subject. One discussion was with a member who was a women’s health nurse practitioner who had moved to Colorado from the South. Her perspective was that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” And she remarked that she had patients who, in her view, misused abortion as a primary form of birth control. Her view was that abortion should be a last resort, and that it should be easily accessible to any woman.

Another conversation happened years ago with a married woman and her husband who came to speak with me and Sharon Benton. They were over 50 and had been using a dependable form of birth control, which had failed, resulting in an unwanted and dangerous pregnancy. Their concern was the ethical dimension of a decision to end the pregnancy. Both Sharon and I shared our perspective that abortion was ethically acceptable, and we offered to accompany them if they chose to end the pregnancy.

Perhaps you’ve had an abortion yourself, or your partner, mom, sister, daughter, or friend has chosen to end a pregnancy. I’ve never known anyone for whom abortion was an easy way out or a simple decision. But during all of my adult years, it has been safe and legal. For some of our sisters, this will no longer be the case.

I don’t know where this road will lead, but we will follow Jesus’ commitment to compassion and justice. And we will walk together.

Blessings,
Picture

Share


Comments are closed.
Details

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    December 2016

    Categories

    All
    2020
    9/11
    Abundance
    Adult Formation
    Advent
    All Hallows'
    Alli Stubbs
    Alternative Giving Fair
    Ancient Future Church
    Animals
    Anxiety
    Apocalypse
    Art
    Ash Wednesday
    Bach
    Back To Church
    Back To School
    Bees
    Being Church
    Being The Body Of Christ
    Being The Church
    Beloved Community
    Benediction
    Beng Alive
    Better Angels
    Birthday
    Black History Month
    Black Lives Matter
    Blessings
    Book Studies
    Boulder
    Breath
    Brooklyn McBride
    Bruce Ronda
    Buffalo
    Calling & Caring
    Campus Ministry
    Celtic Christianity
    Chancel Choir
    Change
    Children
    Choices
    Choir
    Chrismtas
    Christian Formation
    Christian Formation For Youth
    Christian Fornation For Children
    Christmas
    Christmas Blues
    Church
    Church Governance
    Claudia DeMarco
    Coffee
    Comma Faith
    Community
    Compassion Camp
    Consecration Sunday
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    COVID Update
    Creed
    CSU
    DACA
    Darkness & Light
    Database
    David Bowie
    Deacons
    Devotional
    Discipleship
    Earth Day
    Easter
    Education For All
    Egg Hunt
    Election
    Fall
    Farewell
    Fear
    Fences & Bridges
    FFH
    Finance
    Fire
    Flexibility
    Flora Cash
    Flower Boxes
    Folklore & Wisdom
    Fort Collins
    Forum
    Forum Series
    Friends & Family Sunday
    Gareth Higgins
    Gender
    Generosity
    Getting Settled
    Giving
    Goals
    Go Deeper
    Godspell
    God Time
    Goodbye
    Goodbyes
    Gratitude
    Grief
    Guest Author
    Gun Violence
    Habitat For Humanity
    Hadestown
    Halloween
    Healthy Congregations
    Heartbreak
    Hobbies
    Holy Week
    Hope
    Housing
    Impermanence
    Inauguration
    Independence Day
    Interim
    Interruptions
    Interterm
    Introduction
    Italy
    Jazz
    John Philip Newell
    Joseph
    Joy
    Jubilee Sunday
    Kindred
    Known & Unknown
    Labyrinth
    La Foret
    Lament
    Laura Nelson
    LC Moderator
    Lent
    Lessons Learned
    Letting Go
    LGBTQ
    Light
    Liminal Space
    Listening
    Liturgical Year
    Longest Night
    Love
    Magi
    Mark Heiskanen
    Martin Luther King Jr.
    Mass
    Masterpiece Cakeshop V. Colorado Civil Rights Comm.
    Matthew Shepard
    Ministerial Transitions
    Ministry Highlights
    Ministry Match
    Mission Trip
    Music
    Musical Diversity
    Music Director
    Music Program
    Myth
    Nationalism
    Negative Energy
    Newness
    New Staff
    New Year
    ONA
    Online Worship
    Optimism
    Ordinary Time
    Organ
    Outdoor Worship
    Pandemic
    Parable Palooza
    Parking
    Pastoral Care
    Pastors
    Peace
    Pendemic
    Pentecost
    Phil Braudaway-Bowman
    Pilgrimage
    Plymouth Grounds
    Plymouth Reads
    Plymouth Ringers
    Plymouth Text Connection
    Polarities
    Popular Culture
    Prayer Service
    Psalm 126
    Psalms
    Racism
    Radical Hospitality
    Rebirth
    Reformation Sunday
    Releasing
    Reopening
    Rep. Joe Neguse
    Reproductive Justice
    Retirement
    Rev. Carla Cain
    Rev. Hal Chorpenning
    Rev. Jake Miles Joseph
    Rev. Jane Anne Ferguson
    Rev. J.T. Smiedendorf
    Rev. Mandy Hall
    Rev. Mark Lee
    Rev. Marta Fioriti
    Rev. Ron Patterson
    Ring Lake Ranch
    Risk
    Ritual
    Rocky Mountain Conference
    Roe V Wade
    Rooted
    Rosebud Episcopal Mission
    Sabbath
    Sabbatical
    Sabbatical Blog
    Search Process
    Share The Plate
    Signage
    Silence
    Singing
    Sleepout
    Solstice
    Song
    Soul
    Spiritual Growth
    Spiritual Practices
    Stephen Ministry
    Stewardship
    Stewardshp
    Stories
    St. Patrick
    Stranger Things
    Strategic Planning
    Students
    Suicide Prevention
    Summer
    Taize
    TARDIS
    Teacher Appreciation
    Thanks
    Thanksgiving
    The Church Organ
    The Magnificat
    Threshold
    Thrive
    Top Ten
    Touch
    Transfiguration
    Transformation
    Trauma
    Travel
    Tricia Medlock
    Trump
    Truth
    Tulips
    UCC
    Uncertainty
    Unexpected
    Values
    Vespers
    Video Reflection
    Virtual Balcony
    Visiting Scholar
    Voting
    Waiting
    Wanted
    We Are Plymouth
    Weird & Holy
    Wilderness
    Wisdom
    Work
    Worship
    Yendra Tencza
    Youth
    Youth Retreat
    Zoom For 7

    RSS Feed

916 West Prospect Road Fort Collins CO 80526

Sunday Worship

9 & 11 a.m.

Contact Us

970-482-9212

​Members, log into F1Go here.

Subscribe

* indicates required
  • Home
  • Welcome!
    • I'm New Here
    • I'm a CSU Student
    • LGBTQ+
    • How Do I Join?
    • More Questions
  • Worship
    • What is Worship?
    • Worship Online >
      • Streaming Worship
      • Download Bulletins
      • Digital Pew Card
    • Easter & Holy Week
    • Easter Flowers
    • Share the Plate (Current) >
      • Share the Plate History
    • Learn More >
      • Faith Statements
      • Sermons
      • Music Program
      • Worship Sign-Ups
  • News & Events
    • Church Blog >
      • Ministry Highlights Form
    • eNews
    • Special Events
    • Calendars >
      • Today's Schedule
      • Mobile Calendar
      • Full Calendar
      • Calendar Request Form
  • Living Our Faith
    • Christian Formation >
      • Children
      • Nursery Care >
        • Child Care Handbook
      • Youth
      • OWL (Our Whole Lives)
      • Foraging for Faith
      • Adults
      • Visiting Scholar
    • Outreach & Mission >
      • The O&M Board >
        • Grocery Card
      • Climate Action
      • End Gun Violence
      • FFH
      • Immigration
      • Student Support
    • Labyrinth
  • Connect
    • Find Your Place at Plymouth
    • Contact >
      • Contact Us Form
      • Clergy & Staff
      • Lay Leadership
      • Building Rental >
        • Church Use Payments
    • Our Community >
      • Fellowship
      • Gallery
      • Calling & Caring
      • Meal Signups
    • Online Connections >
      • Church App
      • Text Connection >
        • Fun Text Question
        • Text Responses
        • Wellness Check-In
  • Give
    • All About Giving
    • Pledge Online >
      • Increase Your Pledge
    • Other Ways to Give >
      • Text to Give
      • Sustaining Gifts
      • Planned Giving
      • Share the Plate Giving
    • Statements
  • Member Info
    • Member Menu
    • New Members