Dear Sister Todd,

I was not in the ranks of the women who asked for admittance to the Priesthood Session of conference, but I support them, and I think the work that they are doing to spur a real discussion of the ad-hoc “doctrine” of gender we have adopted in this church is immensely needed and valuable. While I may not strictly nor perfectly “share their views,” as you put it, I do not at all find what they are doing to be divisive. They are, perhaps, highlighting an existing divide. There are more women in this church who are hurt, confused, and disaffected by the state of its gender-based policies than your comments suppose, and while you perhaps feel that you were gracious in offering acceptance and a hope for peace to these others, I find your statement contains a very serious error of presupposition.

The women of Ordain Women and those who support them and appreciate their efforts are not a small “other” to be urged to remain among us, among some majority who have the privilege to define the whole.

They are us.

They are the Body of Christ as we are. And while different women in the church have different life experiences, and different focuses on addressing even the pains that we do share, we are all the Body of Christ. The Ordain Women are representative, and not just a small group to be tacitly dismissed as divisive, and wished well.

I say again, they are representative. Not of each and every one of the women in the church, certainly, because we are not a monolithic entity with all the same lives, inclinations, experiences, talents, natures, or desires. But they do represent something significant within the Body of Christ, something that requires acknowledgment, and not platitudes and spoken reassurances. Something that deserves a place at the table as it is, and recognition from the membership without fear that it is some kind of threat. It is something that deserves to be known, as Christ truly knows us all, and not painted with straw-man caricature from the pulpit, as has so regrettably happened in this and other General Conferences.

I did not participate with Ordain Women because my own personal focus is elsewhere at the moment, but they have my full love and support, and I do not find them divisive. I find them inspiring and brave, putting their own faces and selves under scrutiny to give a face and voice to a pain and a desire that cannot be be ignored, nor washed away by the blood of Christ, because it is not a sin. If that is divisive, then the fault lies elsewhere, and betrays significant weaknesses in the unity of this body, and its ability to accept all of its disparate parts for what they are. I would hope that those who claim to speak for God, and those who speak for those who claim to speak for God, can recognize that, and see the true faces of these sisters, and what they represent, and give that the weight and acknowledgment that it deserves. I hope that we can wish them, not only a place within the love of our Savior, but a place in all of our hearts and minds, and a place at our table, where they can speak, tell their stories, and truly be heard as He would hear them, and not as heard by mortal ears that filter with fear, an us-vs-them perspective, or an insularity of self.

These sisters have something important to say. They have, and do feel Christ’s love, I assure you, and it is from that, that they draw their strength to make themselves seen and heard. It is now up to the mortal group to see past its own limitations, and truly hear them as well.

Sincerely,

Melissa Mayhew

EDIT:

If anyone is interested in participating in a general (not fMh) campaign to send their own letters to Ruth Todd, there is a Facebook event for it here: https://www.facebook.com/events/426032647508453/?source=1