I Believe
Fredericia Mathewes-Green
July 1, 1998
This speech was given at the second national conference of the Common Ground Network for Life and Choice, held in May of 1998. The Network, organized in 1993, enables discussion between pro-choice and pro-life advocates.
The topic I have been asked to speak on is, "What is the broader context of meaning and beliefs in which we engage the abortion issue?" Though I was in on the discussion when we chose this topic, I now find myself in the embarrassing position of wondering, What in the world did we mean by that? As a result, I've written several different versions of what I would say this morning. Last night when I got up for my regular prayer time, I took one more look at the topic, threw out all previous versions, and started over from scratch.
It occurred to me that every Sunday I get up in church and say, "I believe." I'm a member of a church that uses the Nicene Creed, an Eastern Orthodox parish. We use the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which was written about sixteen hundred years ago. When we reach the point in the service where we say the Creed, we're about halfway through; we've already had epistle and gospel readings, a sermon, and done a lot of singing and praying.
In the ancient church, something would happen at this point. The unbaptized were expected to leave, so that only those who had made a commitment to the faith, who could truly say, "I believe," remained. The deacon would then cry out, "The doors! The doors!" and the church doors would be shut. We no longer require nonbelievers to leave at this point in the service—if you come for a visit, and I hope you will, you can stay till the end. But today, as then, the priest or deacon cries out, "The doors! The doors! In wisdom, let us attend!" At that moment ...
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