Excerpt by Meagan Manas, Cross-posted from National Council of Churches Women’s Ministries website.
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28, NRSV (emphasis added)
The recent dramatic story of a woman who received a face transplant after being shot in the face by her husband reminded anyone who may have forgotten of the traumatic effects of the epidemic of domestic violence. Some statistics say that a woman is battered every 15 seconds in America alone. With the economy and jobs worsening, the added pressure of financial strain is bound to increase this sobering statistic. And each of us can be sure there is someone affected by domestic violence in our congregation. As we read in Galatians, we are one, and if one person among us suffers, we all suffer.