Rev. Aaron R. Payson
Saturday, April 28, 2012
War on Women Rally
City Hall, Boston, MA
My name
is Aaron Payson, son of Marcia, husband of Kristen, father of Morgaine and
Charlie. I am also a minister to scores
of women, men and their families at the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Worcester and a member of the Board of Directors of the Religious Coalition for
Reproductive Choice in Washington, D.C.. I am here today to
categorically proclaim that religion, reproductive freedom and economic justice are
not an oxymoron. As a person of deep faith and a professional religious leader,
I know that the decisions related to family planning and economic welfare are deeply sacred. I am
here too because I have faith in women to know when and how and if they wish to
bring children into this world. I
believe we are here today to proclaim that very same message. It would seem, however, that “religion” has
been synonymous with the voices of those who deny the moral authority of women; those who claim “life” as though it begins at conception and ends with birth; who pit
the human family against itself by denying the full personhood of those already
in existence and will continue to do so unless people of conscience and faith
proclaim and demand a different vision of justice.
Today,
my vision is that of Miriam, sister of Moses, who the Hebrew scriptures say was
struck silent by the Divine for disobedience. What if we got it wrong? What if this was written by those in power in order to protect their
power? What if, instead, as a number of
women religious scholars like Rabbi Ruth Sohn of Los Angeles have suggested,
she was silenced because she spoke for other women in her community, women like
the Tzipporah, the Cushite wife of Moses.
What if the efforts to demand the just treatment of women and families
was part of a conspiracy to silence such voices by those in charge? Shall we follow the lead of those who seek to
silence women? Shall we take as gospel
the notion of feminine subservience? I implore
you not to be silent! When those
we elect to represent us in government and those we entrust with religious authority demand our
silence, in order to enact laws and doctrines which treat women in this country
and world as second-class citizens who are incapable of claiming the full power
of their citizenship and discipleship, we shall not remain silent! When those in power refuse to admit the full
humanity of women of every ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and ability, we
shall not remain silent! When those who
govern us refuse to recognize the right of health care, including the right to
contraceptive coverage, abortion and family planning services, we shall not
remain silent! When those in the
religious institutions strive to high-jack the term “life”, we shall not remain
silent. When the those who claim
religious exemptions from their civic duty to provide the full range of health
care services to employees, students and their families, we shall not remain
silent. When politicians bank on
religion to protect their bias, bigotry and bad theology, we shall not remain
silent, and we will vote! And I have a message for Speaker Boehner. . .we will not give you a break! The war on women is real. It was not concocted by political liberal but by your political allies. And the idea that we fund the status quo for student loan rates by defunding family planning services is morally indefensible!
Today,
let us proclaim to those who seek our silence that we will shout from the
roof-tops our demand for justice and reproductive freedom. For our mothers, our sisters, our wives and our
daughters. For our fathers, brothers, and sons.
We have a voice, we will use it.
We will not be silent!
