God unconditionally loves women and children of all nationalities, ethnicities, races, abilities, socio-economic statuses, gender identities and sexual orientations.
“We understand our gender diversity to be a gift from God, intended to add to the rich variety of human experience and perspective; and we guard against attitudes and traditions that would use this good gift to leave members of one sex more vulnerable in relationships than members of another.”
Jesus honored women and children throughout His ministry often challenging the laws and norms of his time. As Disciples of Christ, we are expected to do the same.
Women and children are made in the image of God, and that means that they must be valued as such. Women continue to lead and strengthen families, congregations and communities while also having to:
- navigate systems of oppression
- mitigate harm being done to us, our children and the community
- create and gather resources for survival, and
- cope with trauma
Women and children often become unnecessarily vulnerable because of sexism, poverty, sexual and gender-based violence, war and conflict, climate change, and media portrayals and cultural beliefs that denigrate women and children.
The United Methodist Church, “affirm[s] with Scripture the common humanity of male and female, both having equal worth in the eyes of God.” (Social Principles, 161.F) Our work is grounded in a desire to cultivate a world in which women and children flourish and live abundant lives as our Creator intended.
Sacred Worth Books
It is critically important for a child’s self-worth to see others like themselves and their families in media. Children of color and girls are underrepresented in children’s books. That’s why we’ve created this list to help you find books that help every child in your family, congregation, school and community see themselves as valuable.
Originally published by Church & Society.