Audacity

Audacious!

So many of you mentioned my shoes on Sunday. Mine are in the photo above, the pair on the bottom left. They are high, impractical, a little too big (the danger of online shopping!), but oddly not as hard to wear as you might think! And they make me feel courageous.

Usually, I am very practical with my shoes. I have a thing with my foot so during the week I wear arch-support, plantar fasciitis-friendly shoes that keep me out of pain. For the first year I was at St. Mark’s, I wore two pairs of the Same. Exact. Shoe. Every day. I’m not in as much pain now so I’m able to branch out some. Sundays are the times I get to have fun. But not too much fun. I have a pair of gold flats that actually are very supportive. I have a couple of pairs of heels with arch support in them. And then I have a few frivolous shoes.

Sunday, I wore one of my pairs of audacious shoes, as someone called them. They were bold, daring, fearless. Impractical. Silly. Prophetic.

That’s right. My red shoes from Sunday were a prophetic statement as well as a statement of faith.

Georgia Harkness, theologian and professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS), began to wear red shoes to honor the legacy of her great-grandmother, who was expelled from the Quaker community because of a red coat she wore. Harkness wore red shoes as a symbol of courage and empowerment. Over time, women have worn red shoes at graduation at G-ETS to claim our place among those who are bold and courageous, claiming our call and leading as God has equipped us.

Georgia Harkness was also influential in ensuring that women received full clergy rights in the Methodist Church in 1956. Because of that, the tradition of wearing red shoes has recently found its way to ordination services across our denomination as well. Clergywomen don red high heel shoes as a way to claim our place in history, to proclaim our willingness to be bold, to be ourselves, and to show the world how we can persevere. And let’s face it, sometimes you just gotta wear the power shoes!

My red shoes from Sunday were purchased for ordination after the pandemic. I am in the unique position to be part of the leadership of the service, to lay hands on those who are being ordained. It’s an amazing honor. I decided it was time to join my colleagues with some audacious red shoes. You’ll see in the photo above some of those colleagues who join in. Others join in spirit, choosing comfort over statement, and I will no doubt join them before too long in that choice!!

Our red shoes aren’t going to change the world. But like my stoles and my robe, it can be a powerful symbol of God’s call on my life and a reminder that I stand in a long history of courageous, audacious women who have been faithful to God.

We all have that call to be faithful to God, to serve God in every aspect of our lives. You, too, can be audacious, bold and fearless and not conform to other people’s thoughts of what is right. How can you do that this week?

Ultimately, we don’t need red shoes to claim our place in history, to proclaim our willingness to be bold and faithful. But sometimes, it can help!

See you soon!
Pastor Lynn

For more information about the history of the red shoes, check out this article.

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

• 8:30 a.m. Traditional service in sanctuary and child care in Rm 15
• 10 a.m. Traditional service in sanctuary and child care in Rm 15
• 10 a.m. Youth and children’s Sunday School and child care (except fifth Sundays)
• 10 a.m. Livestream premieres on YouTube and Website

To access our livestream service:

• From the main menu on our website click “Worship.”  -OR-
• Go to YouTube and search for UMC St. Mark’s Oro Valley or use this link.