Good morning, Women of God. It is Soul-Satisfying Sunday. It is an honor to speak to you this morning as we celebrate Women’s History Month.
“Let us not just celebrate! Women’s History Month is a powerful, essential act of remembrance, highlighting extraordinary contributions and triumphs of women, both past and present. This is the month that has been set aside to look at the accomplishments of so many great women. We will not only celebrate but we will remember those women who were not acknowledged for the great works done by them – “Lest we forget.”
Their accomplishments helped build and mold this country. Unfortunately, their stories have been loss and silenced. So today I want to challenge each of us to not just celebrate Women’s History Month, but to remember. “Lest we forget.”
Women’s contributions, their struggles, and their triumphs have to often been minimized or dismissed. Women have been placed or assigned to inferior ranks or positions, if they were recognized at all. But this month we want to highlight women’s achievements, to increase their importance, and bring awareness of those accomplishments to people everywhere. “Lest we Forget.”
Let us highlight a few heroes beyond the familiar names always mentioned whose stories are also important:
- The Unsung Scientists– Rosalind Franklin, whose crucial work on. DNA structure was overshadowed, or Nettie Stevens, whose discovery of sex chromosomes was initially dismissed. These women, against all odds, were among many others who pushed the boundaries of scientific knowledge.
- The Activists and Revolutionaries– Women who fought for labor rights, for racial equality, and for peace. Women like Ida B. Wells, who bravely documented dreadful lynchings, or Delores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers.
- The Artists and Writers– Think of the many female composers whose music was never performed, the painters whose art was dismissed, and writers whose stories were never published. A writer, Maria Stewart, a free-born Black American teacher, lecturer, abolitionist, and civil rights activist. She was recruited to write for The Liberator in 1831.
“Lest We Forget” the everyday heroes who built communities, raised families, who faced societies roadblocks as they depended on their faith and belief in God to see their way through. We must remember the past to shape the future. Many may say how can I help others remember? We can help through:
- Inspiration and Empowerment: We must go that extra mile to learn about the struggles and triumphs of women who came before us. Through them we can see that change is possible and that obstacles can be overcome.
- Sharing Written Accounts of Events– by sharing these stories we create a more accurate understanding of history.
- Building a Fair and Impartial Future – By recognizing the contributions of women, we open the way for their voices to be heard. We want to strongly support and value their accomplishments for our future generations.
So now we must move forward together as women, educating and inspiring our future generations. Women have always had an immensely powerful influence in education, at home, as leaders, as mentors, and in so many more areas that the list goes on and on. Therefore, we must not only stand up for the success of other women, but we must also insist on it. We must continue to teach and inform others about the accomplishments, of great women past and present, who have been hidden for so long. Let us commit to remembering as we inspire generations to come. Lest we forget the
women who paved the way!!!
Today, I also challenge each of you to search your personal lineage. Explore the hidden heroes within your family’s story. Seek out the women whose accomplishments, whose unwavering contributions, have shaped the very foundation of your home, your community, and the world we live in. Let their stories come alive!!! Become the storyteller, the guardian of their legacy, and ignite a spark of pride in the hearts of your children and their children. Share these tales with passion, ensuring that their strength and their triumphs echo through generations, a testament to the enduring power of the women who came before. Let us transform our family histories into living stories of inspiration!
I am proud to say that within my family lineage, my mother Eliza Mae Wright, was one of the many unsung heroes we were blessed to have among us. My mother was born on a plantation and grew up during the sharecropping era. Landowners favored this system because it did not require them to pay cash wages. With only an eighth-grade education and without a bank account, her goal was to see that all four of her children received a college education and they did. There is so much more to her story but passing at the age of 99 years old her legacy lives on today.
I am Dr. Barbara Patterson, and it is a pleasure to be with you on this Soul-Satisfying Sunday. I have been a pastor’s wife for more than 35 years and praise God I am still standing. I have experienced struggles as well as triumphs as a mother, as a teacher, and as a leader, but with the help of God I continue to pursue my purpose, continue to pursue your purpose. Let us commit to remembering – “Lest We Forget.”
