Farewell to a heroine I never met
May. 6th, 2019 08:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegkerrI had a busy weekend: Synod Assembly was this past Friday and Saturday and May Day was Sunday. On Saturday I checked Twitter at one slow point--and I was moved to tears to learn of the death of Rachel Held Evans, a writer I'd followed and admired.
I hadn't read Rachel's books (an omission I intend to address; I downloaded Searching for Sunday today) but I followed her on Twitter. She was an ex-Evangelical who had grappled with doubt, which I have a close and personal relationship with, too. She was troubled by her church's treatment of marginalized people. She eventually left the Evangelical movement in which she had been raised because she objected to their treatment of LGBTQ people, among other things. She was kind and generous. The Twitter hashtag #BecauseofRHE offers quite an insight into her influence: many LGBTQ people said that they were alive because of she gave them hope, a belief that they were not the evil degenerates that their churches had convinced them they were. Many women asserted that they were in seminary or were now pastors because she affirmed that women could have a calling to be leaders in church, too. Rachel paid attention to civil rights, speaking out in support of Black Lives Matter, and many people of color spoke up, too, remembering her kindness, her determination to use her privilege to speak out in their support. They also appreciated that when she spoke out, she would use her platform to give the microphone back to people of color; she amplified their voices rather than calling attention to herself.
Authors told stories about how she would highlight their maiden efforts on her blog or send them notes of encouragement. She networked to support others, starting conferences for progressive Christians, and she gave many Christian writers their start, introducing them to other writers, agents and editors. Even the conservatives she sparred with online--and she never hesitated to wade in, yet she kept herself from descending into meanness--were stunned by her death and have added their voices to the outpouring of sorrow at her passing.
Following RHE on Twitter was good for me. She put into words a lot of the conclusions I'd come to when I was researching Wild Swans about LGBTQ rights, and she consistently pointed out other authors I should follow, other voices on Twitter to whom I should listen. In my frustration and my anger at political events, I have sometimes resorted to the slam and the snark, but she modeled better behavior.
It's just so damned unfair. I will miss her voice terribly.
Rachel Held Evans, a well-known Christian blogger, author, and joyful troublemaker online, died on Saturday from massive brain swelling after being hospitalized for an infection, according to her family. She was 37. Evans leaves behind two little kids, a husband, and four books to her name. Her death has been met with an up-swelling of grief and appreciation from loyal readers, famous pastors who sparred with her, and, especially, young people who saw her as a mentor.Read more.
I hadn't read Rachel's books (an omission I intend to address; I downloaded Searching for Sunday today) but I followed her on Twitter. She was an ex-Evangelical who had grappled with doubt, which I have a close and personal relationship with, too. She was troubled by her church's treatment of marginalized people. She eventually left the Evangelical movement in which she had been raised because she objected to their treatment of LGBTQ people, among other things. She was kind and generous. The Twitter hashtag #BecauseofRHE offers quite an insight into her influence: many LGBTQ people said that they were alive because of she gave them hope, a belief that they were not the evil degenerates that their churches had convinced them they were. Many women asserted that they were in seminary or were now pastors because she affirmed that women could have a calling to be leaders in church, too. Rachel paid attention to civil rights, speaking out in support of Black Lives Matter, and many people of color spoke up, too, remembering her kindness, her determination to use her privilege to speak out in their support. They also appreciated that when she spoke out, she would use her platform to give the microphone back to people of color; she amplified their voices rather than calling attention to herself.
Authors told stories about how she would highlight their maiden efforts on her blog or send them notes of encouragement. She networked to support others, starting conferences for progressive Christians, and she gave many Christian writers their start, introducing them to other writers, agents and editors. Even the conservatives she sparred with online--and she never hesitated to wade in, yet she kept herself from descending into meanness--were stunned by her death and have added their voices to the outpouring of sorrow at her passing.
Following RHE on Twitter was good for me. She put into words a lot of the conclusions I'd come to when I was researching Wild Swans about LGBTQ rights, and she consistently pointed out other authors I should follow, other voices on Twitter to whom I should listen. In my frustration and my anger at political events, I have sometimes resorted to the slam and the snark, but she modeled better behavior.
It's just so damned unfair. I will miss her voice terribly.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-07 03:22 am (UTC)Reading the becauseofRHE hashtag on Twitter made me cry. She was such a light in the world. And the number of people who got a lovely, encouraging note from her at some point blew me away.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-07 04:12 am (UTC)With anyone, no one can replace all of the specific things they were and did, but with her in particular, she was at the intersection of so many things.
Her memory for a blessing.