Cindy Dawson chats about her journey to preaching, trusting yourself, and racism.
Presenting sponsor: Alan and Beth Stanfield of Stanfield Properties
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This episode is a continuation of our conversation with Cindy Dawson, instructor and PhD student in Religion with an emphasis in Judaism and a certification in the Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Rice University.
Cindy tells us about her journey getting into teaching and preaching in church, and what an exciting journey that has been. She explains how important it was for her to have a male in leadership, the head pastor of her church, supporting her when she initially started preaching in church.
We hear about how it felt for her to enter into an arena where women have not often been welcome. She explains how there is a lot of pressure to do well and to do well right away, to prove stereotypes wrong and to be respected.
Cindy offers this advice to women: Trust yourself. If you are passionate about something, follow it. Push through the doubt, and listen to yourself.
We discuss recent events that have exposed racial disparities. Cindy challenges white women to check the lenses we are using to interpret situations with people of color. We need to be willing to do the hard work on ourselves, to acknowledge our implicit biases, and to be mindful of how we perceive danger. Cindy reminds us that although it is important to trust oneself, it is also necessary to improve oneself, especially when the lives and wellbeing of people of color are at stake.
We hope you find inspiration, encouragement, and empowerment in our discussion with Cindy. We also hope that you find you have been challenged in new and healthy ways to grow as a strong, capable, and compassionate image bearer of God.
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Music: “A New Day” by Michelle Raybourn
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