Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1534028
110 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2025 C U P S A N D W A T E R B E C O M I N G B R A V E S O M E T I M E S , S A F E S PA C E S S H O U L D B E U P G R A D E D T O B O L D A C T I O N STORY AND PHOTOS BY REV. DR. ERIN ROBINSON HALL kind of space this would be. A safe space, she explained, is an environment where folks who have come to expect harm are assured that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or other damage. Truly, we need safe spaces. Eileen would look everyone in the eyes and announce, "We are not creating a safe space right now. You are invited to a brave space." A brave space is a place where people know the risks of vulnerability, and they enter it anyway. Brave spaces are where people show up to listen, tell their stories, and serve others with no promise of being understood or affi rmed. In those moments, I would watch the faces of each person considering what that means. Almost every time, the ministers would nod. As if they knew the cost of being brave, and had decided the risks are worth it. My clergy friend Mary Alice Birdwhistell has learned to be brave. She came to mind recently when she resigned from her role as a senior pastor, becoming part of the 53 percent of American clergy who have considered resignation. Rev. Birdwhistell decided to prioritize her own wellness. She has lived with osteogenesis imperfecta all her life; she has broken over 30 bones. Courage is nothing new to her, but her remarkably brave words challenge all of us these days: "I believe there is a way for us to live with our eyes wide open while making an intentional choice not to be dominated by anxiety and fear." We cannot anticipate exactly what history is shaping, but signs point to a season when faith communities need brave voices. A sign on the building of High Street Church boldly declares that Black Lives Matter. A sign that once stood outside Centenary Community Ministries naming Nueva Vida Church, is gone. The Hispanic church that met in the building changed their location, due to rising fears about immigration enforcement like ICE showing up during their worship. A sign on the doors of First Baptist Church of Christ cites a court order, that "ICE must treat our church as a sensitive location." The church is part of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, who said M y daughter and her friend nervously waited to deliver a presentation in an auditorium at Middle Georgia State. The twelve-year-old girls giggled and paced between rows for the regional National History Day Contest. Students across Central Georgia told the stories of leaders who changed the world. Fannie Lou Hamer, Holocaust survivors, and John Lewis were among the featured heroes. Before I ducked out of the room, I fl ashed my daughter a thumbs up. She whispered, "I can be brave." I could almost hear the "great cloud of witnesses" on the surrounding posters saying, "You can, girls." I wondered about the moments that made those leaders. Did they know the decisions they made would shape the way history unfolded? Did they wonder, like the Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, about the question that titled her book – "How do we learn to be brave?" In my work supporting the well-being of ministers, we sometimes off ered classes and events for faith leaders on Zoom. As folks gathered, my colleague and friend Eileen would begin a session by explaining what Claire Cox chats with other community members at On the Table Macon