Sex
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Yet still they speak
Content warning: sexual violence But she said to him, “No, my brother; for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her. He called the young man who served him and said, “Put this woman out of my presence, and bolt the door after her.” (Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves; for this is how the virgin daughters of the king were clothed in earlier times.) So his servant put her out, and bolted the door after her. But Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore the long robe that she was…
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Mercy Under A Boundary: Toward A Spirituality Of Safeguarding In African Church Life
Introduction In March 2025, I was privileged to be one of the presenters at the Theology and Canon Law project (TCLP) Symposium in London under the theme — “Law & Religion in Times of Crisis, Challenges and Change.” As usual, my paper focused on the socio-religious injustice of witchcraft abuses and violence against societies’ most vulnerable, with the title — “Law, Religion, and Crisis: The Weaponisation of Witchcraft Accusations Against Older Women in Three African Countries.” That same day, I developed a new interest in the spirituality of safeguarding when I heard it from Dr Helen Costigane, one of the symposium’s keynote speakers. Her paper was titled “Law and religion:…
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On Matrescence and Birthing myself
Becoming a mother is not the unifying ‘one-size-fits-all’ journey that popular culture would have us believe. Mothers are required to work out their identity as women, who they have been and who they are becoming all in the shadow of the myth of the Perfect Mother. It is therefore refreshing that within the last 18 months conversations about matrescence have begun to move into more mainstream thoughts and conversations (see: Lucy Jones’ book ‘Matrescence: On the metamorphosis of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood’ and Zoe Blaskey ‘Motherkind: a new way to thrive in a world of endless expectations’). Matrescence – a word my spell check does not recognise – is the…
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The Divine Nervous System
‘Be still and know that I am God.’ –Psalm 46:10 ‘Be still’ – engage the parasympathetic portion of the nervous system[1] – ‘and know’ – internally, through your embodied felt sense[2] – ‘that I am’ – that the truth of who you are – ‘God’ – is Divine. What if the Divine is the resolution of trauma and the flow of a regulated nervous system? What if making love with the Divine is living as fully human and fully divine, moving in and out of activation and deactivation, sympathetic and parasympathetic, nervous system states[3]? I have travelled a long way on my spiritual path. I have journeyed up and down,…
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Abortion, the Brazilian Supreme Court and the National Conference of Brazil’s Bishops
In these times of troubled seas, there is no respite, no possibility of hiding from conflicts, of not falling into the abyss of accusations and divisions, especially when confronted with certain problems that life insists on presenting to us. Dialogue, mutual understanding, real solidarity and love for our neighbour are at risk of becoming empty words, especially in the mouths of those who consider themselves to be their representatives. Forgive me, readers, for insisting on the same theme I addressed weeks ago.[1] New chapters of this old story have taken place, new divisions have arisen even within the CNBB (National Conference of Brazil’s Bishops). Disagreements and different opinions have manifested…
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Faith, Pain, and Healing
A Journey with Stage Four Endometriosis through the Lens of Practical Theology Introduction My spirituality and religious beliefs played a major role in my coping with endometriosis and helped me navigate this complex health condition. My journey with endometriosis using Osmer’s four core tasks of practical theology reflects on the role of spirituality, faith communities and healthcare professionals in Nigeria, the limitations of the healthcare system and the benefit of increased awareness and advocacy for endometriosis. Endometriosis happens when endometrial tissue is present outside the uterus, resulting in symptoms (Usmani, 2022) of pain chronic pain such as dysmenorrhea or painful menstruation, dyspareunia or pain during sexual intercourse, chronic pelvic pain…
