"Words Matter" by Terri Pilarski+

As we say in the blogsphere, "This'll blog!" and indeed it will and does.  The Church and the use of language and what it means when we do use it, you know inclusive vs exclusive and all of that...intrepid supply priest of the Diocese of Chicago, Terri Pilarski+, opines regarding a recent meeting about language and how words do matter, as well as context for each of us.  Read on and you will see what I mean:

[Episcopal News Service] "For slightly less than half my life I was an intentionally de-churched person. Although the faith of my childhood had been a source of great comfort to me I also found that church to hold a very narrow view of God. My own prayer life suggested to me that God was much more expansive than the church was teaching me."

So began my own story at last week's ecumenical "Words Matter" gathering on expansive and inclusive language in the church, hosted by the National Council of Churches' Justice for Women Working Group at Cenacle Catholic Retreat Center in Chicago.

Through the power of stories, the 25 people -- ordained, lay, gay, straight, women, men, Native American, African American, Latino, white, Asian -- called each other to expand our cultural attentiveness, understanding that language speaks differently in different contexts...

Read the rest of Terri's+ insightful opinion here...right here.