Tag: Elyssa Salinas

A Conversation I Never Expected to Have
Poetry · Speaker

A Conversation I Never Expected to Have

Tammy PerlmutterLeave a comment

Elyssa Salinas performed spoken-word poetry for us at our May gathering. Her words were a clarion call to self-awareness and strength, as she took on Hagar’s hurt and shame, and pleaded with Frida Kahlo for wisdom. Even if you think you don’t like or understand poetry, please watch this performance. You’ll never look at poetry the same way, and may even be inspired to write your own!

 

A Conversation I Never Expected to Have

I was made with more than flesh in mind;

A mind! Imagine that.

A mind that reasons & wonders why

All you see are body parts;

Mountains & valleys that you can walk over & conquer.

Not afraid of rough terrain or how it will fight back,

Just looking for a place to stick your flag.

A claim for all to see that you saw, you came & you conquered.

 

I was made with more than flesh in mind.

Given the gift of womanhood,

Of soft curves, short stature & the hope that one day

I will meet her.

The woman I’m supposed to become –

The woman everyone seems so excited to meet.

 

I was given the gift of womanhood.

A package filled with more than

Sugar in the raw &

Spices to fill the rack.

My womanhood lay underneath

Tissue paper and ribbon.

Gently laid and ready to be assembled.

My limbs were put together by women;

Women older & wiser than me who

Fastened me, piece by piece.

Putting my arm in a socket,

Showing me how to embrace

A sister

A mother &

Telling me one day I won’t need any instruction

To embrace a lover,

I’ll get enough practice when I find him.

Placing my hips low to the ground,

With a laying on of hands

Showing me how to sway when a beat calls to me.

They place my feet firmly on the ground & tell me

Each step I take will lead me

Through pain unbearable &

Toward pleasure unimaginable.

 

I was given this gift of womanhood,

Not you.

As much as you might think my hips sway only in your direction,

My body submits simply to your touch,

& my lips never speak anything but your name.

You are mistaken.

 

My body is not a present for you to unwrap &

Discard when you’re done playing.

My body is a gift from God with

My name on the tag.

 

A God that gave me the ability to create or wait,

Or just to say no if I choose.

My hips are not just childbearing –

They are weight-bearing, rhythm making, melody moving &

Cocked from side to side, depending on my mood.

 

These breasts are not meant for you to unclasp & set free,

To fondle as you dream.

They were meant for me

To push down, push up, fill out my dress if I see fit

& if I want you step

From that plate to touch a new base

I will tell you.

 

And what I hold between my legs

Was never meant to be called

Chastity, virginity, purity or honor.

It was never meant to be

Property, a bicycle, or a revolving door.

What I hold between my legs is not called

Shame.

It has a name

all its own,

but one I choose

& do not have to share with you.

What I hold between my legs is

Beauty beyond measure

Ecstasy without ceasing

A point of pleasure & pain

Of life & death

& it is by invitation only that you get to come.

 

I have the God-given gift of being a woman &

What rests between my legs is divine pleasure,

What resides between my thighs

Is something more than a switch

Labeled

Madonna & Whore

Virgin & Slut

Prude & Pleasing

What I hold between my legs is more

Than a fleshy existence

More than a quick night or fleeting fancy.

 

It is a place where life begins

Where existence is known

And where more women have been hurt

Then you can imagine.

 

I never thought I would have to explain

That my body belongs to me.

That it is my own,

That it does not belong to you.

 

I never thought that my decisions would give you ownership

Of a body that you do not take care of.

A nice dinner might fill my belly,

But do not think of it as admission

To play games and ride around as you please.

Take a whirl all the way to the top &

If you like it,

Make it spin again.

Pay a little extra and maybe it will go backwards?

 

I was made with more than flesh in mind.

I have the God-given gift that you try to turn

Into something I should hide

Or something I should give away.

But I have decided to keep this present,

This ever present gift that is God given,

The gift of being a woman.

Of soft curves, short stature &

That ever present hope that one day

I will be her,

The woman that everyone seems so excited to meet.

We Showed Up
Faith · Speaker

We Showed Up

Tammy PerlmutterLeave a comment
You never know what to expect when you throw a party or host an event. You hope people show up and are terrified nobody will. You are hyper-aware of every word spoken, wondering how this person or that is going to receive it, if there will be offense taken or hearts opened. You see it through an outsider’s eyes and listen with an outsider’s ear, praying that God will show up even if only a few people do.
You have to make yourself slow down, look away, and be fully present.
Each of us came with expectation, anticipation, and maybe even a little bit of fear. But we showed up. We talked to people we didn’t know, raised our hands in worship, added new Facebook friends, experienced a deep, new truth, and made meaningful connections with strangers. Even more importantly, God showed up. In a different way to each one of us, in just the way we needed him to.
Some of us needed to allow ourselves a voice to stand up to misogyny. Others of us needed to hear that everything will be okay even if we don’t have answers right now. Still more of us needed to be told, again, that we are loved, seen, and heard. A few of us needed to be safe enough in our discomfort to ask what is stirring our hearts with unease.
We received good feedback from our attendees and speakers. Here are two examples:
“Thank you for a wondering evening with Deeply Rooted. The speakers affirmed in me that my voice as a single woman is valid and my story is worth telling. I have been making a lot of art about my journey—these women gave voice to all women who need to encouragement to stand rooted in their faith and rooted in their womanhood.”
Rev. Dr. Velda Love had this to say: “Thank you for the invitation to speak. I just did what you asked and look at God . . . always doing amazingly more than we could ever expect or imagine. The women were lovely, beautiful, ready, receptive, and very present. I had an opportunity to hug and talk with young women and more seasoned women. There is so much work to be done in our lives, so anytime you need me just call.”
Many women were challenged and moved by our speakers, and encouraged by our worship. We want to be available to you in between events, so please keep in touch. Let us know how God used our speakers to speak to your heart. Give us some ideas for future events, workshops, gatherings, etc. Tell us how we can pray for you.
See You NEXT Saturday!!
Poetry · Speaker · Video · Worship

See You NEXT Saturday!!

Tammy PerlmutterLeave a comment

We can’t wait to see you next Saturday! We are busy working to make sure your experience is challenging and encouraging. Our worship team practiced on Thursday, here’s a sneak peek into our worship set:

 

Meet Rev. Velda Love. She is the director of justice and intercultural learning in the Office of Diversity’s Collaboratory for Urban and Intercultural Learning at North Park University. Velda collaborates with various academic schools to develop curricular and co-curricular opportunities designed to encourage greater integration of students’ in-class and out-of-class experiences with an emphasis on social justice related issues.

Velda completed a MATS from North Park Theological Seminary and is Ordained to Specialized Ministry in Social Justice in the Evangelical Covenant Church. She is a pastoral assistant at Second Baptist Church in Evanston, Ill., and serves on various boards and task forces that address interfaith dialogue, homelessness, and youth incarceration. She is completing her DMin in social transformation from Chicago Theological Seminary. This is an audio sermon she gave at Jesus People USA Covenant Church in Uptown, Chicago:

 

June Felix is the best person to share about wonder. She is an author, speaker, avid gamer and sci-fi geek. She evens dresses up for Comic Con! She is one-half of the Moody Radio duo Karl and June in the Mornings.

 

Elyssa Salinas will be bringing us some spoken-word poetry. She is the Program Assistant for Hunger Education, a recent graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and plans to pursue a doctoral work in sexual ethics and theology in the coming year. You can see her perform one of her poems here:

 

New Deeply Rooted Video!
Speaker · Video

New Deeply Rooted Video!

Tammy PerlmutterLeave a comment

A special thanks to Juan Carlos and Jessica Quiroga for their beautiful filming and video production and Grrr Records for allowing us to use the song “Come Before the Lord” by Mike Troxel from No Greater Love by Glenn Kaiser and friends. Please share this around and invite your friends!

Our Speakers for May 21, 2016
Speaker

Our Speakers for May 21, 2016

Tammy PerlmutterLeave a comment

 

Elyssa Salinas
Sandra Van Opstal
Velda Love

 

Elyssa Salinas works with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s World Hunger outreach as the program assistant for Hunger Education. This Fall she starts her Ph.D at LSTC in systematic theology and sexual ethics, where she plans to focus on body/sex shaming and how to embrace our bodies as God embraces each of us. Poetry has been a vehicle to explore her own challenges with body image and her identity as a Latina. She has been performing poetry for the past few years at various open mic performances in Philadelphia and Chicago along with using poetry as part of her academic career. Elyssa is working on a book of poetry from the point of view of biblical women, especially Old Testament women such as Hagar, Dinah and Jael.

Sandra Van Opstal pastors at Grace and Peace Community in Chicago and is the author of The Next Worship and The Mission of Worship. A liturgist and activist, she is passionate about mobilizing Christians for reconciliation and justice. She frequently consults, speaks, and writes on topics of racial identity and global mission. Sandra serves as a board member for Evangelicals for Justice and the Christian Community Development Association.

She has written two books for InterVarsity Press on multiethnic worship. Here’s the book trailer:

 Rev. Velda Love is the director of justice and intercultural learning in the Office of Diversity’s Collaboratory for Urban and Intercultural Learning at North Park University. Velda collaborates with various academic schools to develop curricular and co-curricular opportunities with an emphasis on social justice related issues.

Velda completed a MATS from North Park Theological Seminary and is Ordained to Specialized Ministry in Social Justice in the Evangelical Covenant Church. She is a pastoral assistant at Second Baptist Church in Evanston, Ill., and serves on various boards and task forces that address interfaith dialogue, homelessness, and youth incarceration. She is completing her DMin in social transformation from Chicago Theological Seminary.

We hope and pray you will join us. We can’t wait to meet you.