Some links, and an update
It’s been nearly a year since the birth of my second child, which gave me my second experiential data point on the postpartum period. When, several years ago, the birth of my first child sparked my interest in this project, my ambitions were sweeping: pioneer a brand new branch of theology! I fell into one of the classic blunders of new parents. Because I had not heard others discussing new parenthood through the lens of theology, I assumed no one was discussing it.
But the deeper I dive into the literature I’ve found in the past few years, the more I see that I’m not alone in thinking (trying to think) theologically about new motherhood. To be clear, this is fantastic! I am grateful to have such thought-provoking reading material as I’ve featured here in the past, and such . But I want to reset to some more realistic expectations about this newsletter as I shift my focus from “original research” and “groundbreaking theological insights” to “content aggregation” and “personal essays”.
Regarding that last category, I’m still trying to discern how much of my story is wise to process in public, given that the internet is forever. In any case, for today, here are a couple of links for your perusal.
Womb-like compassion in Hebrew (an X fka Twitter thread from Chad Bird)
Enriching Our Worship 5: Liturgies and Prayers Related to Childbearing, Childbirth, and Loss (a resource of The Episcopal Church I believe—I am not knowledgeable enough about this tradition to say how or to what extent these prayers might be used currently)