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RSSAugust 29 , Proper 17
by the Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton for ERD
8/29/2004
Ecclesiasticus 10:(7-11)12-18
Psalm 112
Hebrews 13:1-9
Luke 14:1,7-14
"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you." -- Luke 14:8-9 (NRSV)
Such weddings could go on for days. They could—‚and still do—consume a year's worth and more of a family's substance. And the elaborateness of the wedding he put on for his daughter was—and is—a significant measure of a man's stature in his community.
So the wedding is one thing, but the marriage is another. Once the bride has put away her finery and her father has paid all the bills, she isn't a bride anymoreóshe's a wife. Her skill and wisdom was then—and still is—every bit as important as that of her husband if the family is to prosper.
So the empowerment of women is, in every way, an important part of strengthening every sector of a poor nation's economy.
Electra lives in Panchimalquito, (Pan-chee-mal-kee-toe) El Salvador. Panchimalquito is one of 48 rural communities in which women participate in a program that has increased their income and improved the nutritional well-being of their families. She and 25 neighbors each received 8 hens and 2 roosters from Episcopal Relief and Development and CREDHO, a local foundation for the empowerment of the poor. They also received training in mixing and feeding the chickens a locally available diet that promoted their health and fertility, and in vaccinating them against common diseases. They check with each other frequently, trading tips about managing their flocks, about sharing the cost of vaccines. Now Electra has plenty of chickens and plenty of eggs to feed her grandchildren and the rest of her family, increasing the level of protein in their diets, and plenty of eggs left over to sell in the local market.
Once Electra was a bride, excited and expectant about her new life with her new husband. It seemed to her that she would depend on him for everything in her life. Now she is a grandmother, and many grandchildren depend on her. In what is certainly still a man's world, Electra and her friends quietly used their energy, wisdom and friendship to make life better for everyone in town.
Episcopal Relief and Development saves lives and builds hope in communities around the world. We provide emergency assistance in times of disaster. When the immediate crisis is over, we rebuild devastated communities and offer long-term solutions in the areas of food security, health care, and HIV/AIDS.
