The Response of the Church...

UNB Professor of Sociology Dr. Nancy Nason-Clark’s work on the RAVE (Religion and Violence e-learning) project is about dispelling “the holy hush that often permeates the faith community on the issue of domestic violence.” She tells a story about interviewing religious leaders throughout England. One evening, Nancy had an appointment in a pastor’s home. She caught the train then walked 40 minutes to the house. As she was walking, Nancy felt a little uneasy about the gathering dark and the rain that was beginning to fall. She was glad when she arrived safely at the pastor’s house. The pastor and his wife welcomed Dr. Nason-Clark and they had a great 90-minute interview. As it came time for Nancy to leave, she walked to the door, feeling uneasy about the walk back to the train station. Now it was completely dark and there was a downpour. As she was about to leave, the pastor said, “We are concerned about your safety in this dark and horrible weather.” Nancy was so relieved to hear these words! She came back into their home. The pastor said, “Before you walk to the train station, we want to have a prayer that God would keep you safe and that God would keep you dry.” Nancy left the pastor’s home to walk 40 minutes in darkness to the station feeling unsafe, cold and soaked to the bone. “How easy it is to see the need right under our noses and yet be completely oblivious about how to respond.”


- Sacred Silence, Holy Hush, 1 Nov 2006. www.meckmin.org/newsletter/20061101.pdf