Written by Erica Campbell<\/p>\n
I remember the first time I strolled through the pebbled streets in Charleston, S.C. It\u2019s such a beautiful, quaint city full of vibrant colors and southern charm. While walking through the Historic City Market, one booth stood out. Several artisans sat there weaving together baskets of all sizes, colors, and shapes\u2014each one unique and crafted in such delicate manner. As I stood admiring their artwork, one of the gentlemen handed me a palmetto rose he had just finished creating.<\/p>\n
After researching this ancient craft called \u201cbasket weaving,\u201d I learned a few things. First, these baskets (known as \u201cfanners\u201d) were originally used by old-world, West-African rice farmers in the process called \u201cwinnowing\u201d, where they would toss hulls into the air to separate the chaff from the rice. Though the skill was developed in Sierra Leone, it eventually made its way to Charleston, SC in the 17th<\/sup> Century. The baskets are made using sweetgrass, palmetto, bull rush, and longleaf pine. As a history buff, I found all this miscellaneous information, about a topic most people would never investigate, very interesting. However, what I found most noteworthy about basket-weaving is how strong the baskets created through this process are. These hand-crafted baskets are woven so tightly together that they can hold water, and last a lifetime.<\/p>\n Maybe you\u2019re thinking, \u201cWhat does basket weaving have to do with sisterhood?\u201d Allow me to answer that question. First, let me tell you my heart truly desires to see women from different generations, cultures, denominations, and backgrounds, come together as sisters in Christ and allow our Heavenly Father to advance His Kingdom through us. Although, I have hope that what I\u2019m seeing around me is the beginning stage of this\u2014not only among women, but within God\u2019s Kingdom at large\u2014I still sense a deep urgency about this matter.<\/p>\n While in prison, Paul wrote a letter to the church in Colossae encouraging them to stand firm and united against false teachers who were attacking the church by denigrating the deity of Jesus. Paul says to these Colossian believers, \u201cMy goal is that they (referring to the Laodiceans, Colossians, and all believers who had yet to meet Paul<\/em>) may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.\u201d (Col. 2:2)<\/p>\n In this text, Paul clearly links the church\u2019s being \u201cunited in love\u201d with their ability to fully receive the \u201criches of complete understanding\u201d and the knowledge of \u201cthe mystery of God.\u201d Wow! That\u2019s a huge statement! In other words, we cannot allow worldly influences, church politics, and our differences to prevent us from receiving the fullness of God. Ladies, we must be woven together tightly, forming a sisterhood that\u2019s willing to lay all these things aside and exalt the name that is above every name.<\/p>\n Jessica Honegger, founder of Noonday Collection, made this profound statement in her new book Imperfect Courage<\/em>: \u201cThe sisterhood effect happens when women refuse to let perceived threats strangle our relationships, when we let empathy triumph over judgement, and let collaboration win over comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n My dear sisters in Christ, like a basket delicately woven together, will we allow our Creator to weave us into a sisterhood that can literally change the world? Can you imagine what we could do together, unified, using our strengths and gifts to bring others into the Kingdom? Let\u2019s stop getting caught up in all the personal preferences and comparisons. Let\u2019s start<\/em> getting caught up in who God is. I believe with all my heart that the Father is doing magnificent things and, further, that He invites us to all play a role in his grand story. However, discord, disunity, and division stand in the way. So, I encourage us to resist \u201cstrangled relationships\u201d by refusing judgement and comparison. Let\u2019s say \u201cno\u201d to competing against each other, and let\u2019s be simply and profoundly united in love. Let us allow the Father do His work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,37],"tags":[749,16,374,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-4269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-womens-ministries","9":"tag-749","10":"tag-discipleship","11":"tag-erica-campbell","12":"tag-women","13":"entry"},"title_es":"Tejido: el arte de la hermandad","content_es":"Escrito por Erica Campbell. Recuerdo la primera vez que camin\u00e9 por las calles de guijarros en Charleston, Carolina del Sur. Es una ciudad hermosa y pintoresca llena de colores vibrantes y encanto sure\u00f1o. Mientras caminaba por el mercado hist\u00f3rico de la ciudad, se destac\u00f3 un puesto. Varios artesanos se sentaron all\u00ed, tejiendo cestas de todos los tama\u00f1os, colores y formas, cada una \u00fanica y elaborada de manera tan delicada. Mientras admiraba sus obras de arte, uno de los caballeros me entreg\u00f3 una palmera que acababa de terminar de crear. Despu\u00e9s de investigar este antiguo arte llamado \"tejido de canasta\", aprend\u00ed algunas cosas. En primer lugar, estas cestas (conocidas como \"abanicos\") fueron utilizadas originalmente por los cultivadores de arroz del oeste de \u00c1frica occidental en el proceso denominado \"avivado\", en el que lanzaban cascos al aire para separar la paja del arroz. Aunque la habilidad fue desarrollada en Sierra Leona, eventualmente lleg\u00f3 a Charleston, SC en el siglo XVII<\/sup> . Las cestas est\u00e1n hechas con pasto dulce, palmito, toro y pino de hoja larga. Como aficionado a la historia, encontr\u00e9 toda esta informaci\u00f3n variada, sobre un tema que la mayor\u00eda de las personas nunca investigar\u00eda, muy interesante. Sin embargo, lo que m\u00e1s me llam\u00f3 la atenci\u00f3n de tejer canastas es cu\u00e1n fuertes son las canastas creadas a trav\u00e9s de este proceso. Estas canastas hechas a mano est\u00e1n tejidas tan juntas que pueden contener agua y durar toda la vida. Tal vez est\u00e9 pensando: \u201c\u00bfQu\u00e9 tiene que ver el tejido de cester\u00eda con la hermandad?\u201d Perm\u00edtame responder a esa pregunta. Primero, perm\u00edtame decirle que mi coraz\u00f3n realmente desea ver a mujeres de diferentes generaciones, culturas, denominaciones y antecedentes, unirse como hermanas en Cristo y permitir que nuestro Padre Celestial avance su Reino a trav\u00e9s de nosotros. Aunque tengo la esperanza de que lo que veo a mi alrededor es la etapa inicial de esto, no solo entre las mujeres, sino dentro del Reino de Dios en general, todav\u00eda siento una profunda urgencia sobre este asunto. Mientras estaba en prisi\u00f3n, Pablo escribi\u00f3 una carta a la iglesia en Colosas, anim\u00e1ndolos a mantenerse firmes y unidos contra los falsos maestros que estaban atacando a la iglesia al denigrar la deidad de Jes\u00fas. Pablo les dice a estos creyentes colosenses: \"Mi objetivo es que ellos ( refiri\u00e9ndose a los laodicenses, los colosenses y todos los creyentes que a\u00fan no se hayan reunido con Pablo<\/em> ) puedan ser animados de coraz\u00f3n y unidos en amor, para que puedan tener toda la riqueza de comprensi\u00f3n completa, para que puedan conocer el misterio de Dios, a saber, Cristo, en quien est\u00e1n escondidos todos los tesoros de sabidur\u00eda y conocimiento. \u201d(Col. 2: 2) En este texto, Pablo claramente vincula el hecho de que la iglesia est\u00e1\u201c unida \u201d. en el amor \"con su capacidad de recibir plenamente las\" riquezas de la comprensi\u00f3n completa \"y el conocimiento del\" misterio de Dios \". \u00a1Wow! Esa es una gran declaraci\u00f3n! En otras palabras, no podemos permitir que las influencias mundanas, la pol\u00edtica de la iglesia y nuestras diferencias nos impidan recibir la plenitud de Dios. Se\u00f1oras, debemos estar estrechamente unidos, formando una hermandad que est\u00e9 dispuesta a dejar de lado todas estas cosas y exaltar el nombre que est\u00e1 sobre cada nombre. Jessica Honegger, fundadora de Noonday Collection, hizo esta profunda declaraci\u00f3n en su nuevo libro Imperfect Courage<\/em> : \u201cEl efecto de hermandad se produce cuando las mujeres se niegan a dejar que las amenazas percibidas estrangulen nuestras relaciones, cuando dejamos que la empat\u00eda triunfe sobre el juicio y dejemos que la colaboraci\u00f3n gane sobre la comparaci\u00f3n. \"Mis queridas hermanas en Cristo, como una canasta delicadamente tejida, \u00bfpermitiremos a nuestro Creador tejernos en una hermandad que literalmente puede cambiar el mundo? \u00bfTe imaginas lo que podr\u00edamos hacer juntos, unificados, usando nuestras fortalezas y dones para traer a otros al Reino? Dejemos de quedar atrapados en todas las preferencias y comparaciones personales. Vamos a empezar<\/em> quedar atrapados en qui\u00e9n es Dios. Creo con todo mi coraz\u00f3n que el Padre est\u00e1 haciendo cosas magn\u00edficas y, adem\u00e1s, que \u00c9l nos invita a todos a jugar un papel en su gran historia. Sin embargo, la discordia, la desuni\u00f3n y la divisi\u00f3n se interponen en el camino. Por lo tanto, me animo a resistir las \"relaciones estranguladas\" rechazando el juicio y la comparaci\u00f3n. Digamos \"no\" a competir unos contra otros, y estemos simples y profundamente unidos en el amor. Permitamos que el Padre haga su trabajo.","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/11\/Woven-The-Art-of-Sisterhood-Erica.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-16R","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}