Mourning Rachel Held Evans

 

 I follow a number of Christian writers on social media from a variety of perspectives. While Twitter tends to be the home of sound bites rather than in-depth thought the conversations can be intriguing. One of those persons is 30-something Rachel Held Evans, who grew up in the strange hothouse of American evangelicalism. Her first book, written about a decade ago, was Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions. She immediately drew a following from those who were questioning the maddening certitude of right-wing Christians.

 

As Held Evans developed an online presence she came under constant attack from those who saw her as a traitor to "true faith" and at the same time became a virtual pastor to many who had become disaffected by that brand of faith. She went on to write about a different approach to worship which eventually led her and husband Dan to become Episcopalians (Anglicans.) She challenged patriarchy and took a boldly LGBTQ-inclusive stance, and decried the xenophobic policies of the Trump administration, all of which resulted in more haters and a growing number of those who found hope in her intelligent, "draw the circle wide" outlook. She collaborated in founding conferences which drew together the spiritual refugees who loved her.

Her final book was Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again. As the title suggests, it is about how we read scripture lovingly without the selectively literalism of the American Right. 

I say final book because Rachel Held Evans died last week at the age of 37. It was shocking news. One day she was the mother of two young children, balancing family life with her career. She tweeted about not being well, thanking Dan for his parental role, then about needing to be hospitalized. There she began experiencing seizures and was put into a medically-induced coma. Although thousands prayed for her recovery, including many of the younger writers and theologians she inspired, she died without regaining consciousness.

 I didn't read RHE's books because she was writing about the theological shifts made by the United Church decades ago. The UCC has manifold faults, but there are tremendous strengths in our commitment to inclusivity and willingness to address the hard questions of faith. I appreciate that she "fought the good fight" with feistiness but without the toxic belligerence which infects so much of supposed discourse in the United States. 

God be with the family of Rachel Held Evans in their devastating loss. Thank you for her bold and intelligent witness. She will be deeply missed.