Diocesan Clergy Conference Engages Difficult Topic of Domestic Violence

FAIRHOPE, AL — Sarah Marshall Kreamer, the second child of the Rev. Martha and Paul died on December 10, 2002.  She was a victim of domestic violence.  Since that terrible day, Martha has worked diligently to raise awareness to this issue that is so often swept under the rug.  At the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, Martha sponsored legislation, D096, which passed easily in both houses calling the Church to 1) speak out clearly against domestic violence, 2) pray for victims and their families, 3) urge the review and utilization of domestic violence prevention materials in order to counter the culture which sustains it, 4) strongly encourage all Episcopal bishops, other clergy, and lay leadership to participate in such training, and 5) call her clergy to take leadership in making training available to their congregation.  As a result of D096 and thanks to the generosity of those who donated in Sarah’s memory to the Sarah Marshall Kreamer Memorial Fund, the clergy of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast gathered at Camp Beckwith on May 22 and 23 to deal with this difficult topic.

Every nine seconds a woman in the United States is injured by her intimate partner! Every nine seconds.  For too long, this sort of violence was dismissed as merely “a domestic issue,” but beginning in the late 1970s with shelters like Penelope House in Mobile, things began to change.  Over the course of four sessions, the clergy heard powerful and painful personal testimonies from survivors and the families of victims, received education materials and heard lectures from Diana D. Snow, Ph.D. and Martha S. Adams, Ph.D. experts in the field as well as Foley Police Department’s Domestic Violence Investigator, a municipal court judge, and representatives from two local shelters.

Our time was couched in prayer, as everyone knew this would be a difficult topic to handle.  The Bishop prayed with Martha before our time together even began. Together, the clergy remembered victims and survivors in the recitation of portions of Psalm 55.  Our closing Eucharist included a dramatic reading of The Good Samaritan from Luke’s Gospel paired with the ways in which the Church has both ignored and helped survivors over the years, as well as an opportunity for the laying on of hands and healing.

The clergy left feeling as if they had only scratched the surface and hope to delve deeper, along with lay leadership, in the near future.  In the meantime, look for a “Ministry to the abused” link to appear on diocgc.org soon.