Podcast Promo- "Silenced No More" with Rev. Dr. Mary J. Fairley

Rev. Dr. Mary J. Fairley is a pastor, author, and storyteller with a deep passion for uncovering the overlooked voices of women in Scripture. From an early age, she questioned why so many biblical narratives highlighted only a few women, while countless others remained unnamed, unheard, or misunderstood.

Inspired by her faith and the cultural impact of the #MeToo movement, 

"Rev. Mary J", began to revisit these stories with new insight, exploring the experiences of women who were often silenced, blamed, or misrepresented. Her work gives voice to those narratives through powerful, reflective storytelling.

Through her podcast, Silenced No More, "Rev. Mary J" invites listeners to engage Scripture with greater compassion, awareness, and honesty. Her goal is to create space for healing, encourage others to find their voice, and remind us all that no story is too hidden to be heard.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The role of women in the building.

SPEAKER_02 0:13

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to know about the name and unname women in the Bible and their stories. The absence of the hundreds of women and mothers and daughters, girls in the scriptures, the genealogies listed without them, specifically throughout the Old Testament, seemed to be sending a message that women were not important. And if the truth were to be told, they were not to be believed. Growing up in the Row House projects on the southwest side of Chicago, where my four siblings and I attended an Evangelical Baptist church located in the Community Recreation Center, I remember hearing stories in Sunday school about Eve, who was the first woman and wife of the first man, Adam. It was Eve, only Eve, though I was told, who was responsible for the fall of humankind and the reason that sin entered into the world. So often highlighted in the scriptures. The participation of these previously overlooked, unmentioned, and unrecognized women, matriarchs, begins to bcay my own interest even further into the Word of God, specifically the role of women in the building of God's kingdom. Just recently, hundreds of women and some men have started to come forward with accusations of sexual harassment and stories of sexual improprieties. Dozens of men in positions of power have been named by these women as sexual predators, and a viral social media movement of victims of sexual misconduct developed and became known as hashtag me2. This recent sexual revolution, instigated by previously unknown victims, inspired me to look into the relationship of women and men in the scriptures from a different perspective. And I discovered that the Judeo-Christian scriptures were full of and are full of stories of sexual nature. And so, in the light of the hashtag MeToo movement, I began to reread in the Bible the accounts of women who were often portrayed as willing illicit sexual partners or who were blamed as being seductresses. And I begin to see the scriptures with new eyes as I revisited these biblical stories. Many of the women, the accounts of these women and girls who were highlighted in biblical writ, were often referred to in stories that frequently pertain to some sexual encounter. I discovered that often any hint of sexual misconduct or wrongdoing was usually blamed on the women or girls involved. These stories, which were written from a patriarchal contact and perspective, depicted sexual impropriety or abuse of women as consensual or instigated, and more likely than not put their male counterparts in a good light. And so I wrote a book, dear hashtag me too from hashtag us2, inspired by these stories, stories of the sexually abused, misused, and blamed women in the Bible. Stories which were often considered to be inconsequential. And so I began writing from what might have been their point of view in the form of fictionalized letters. Letters addressed to the women of today who have unapologetically declared themselves as victims of sexual abuse and harassment. These letters of dear hashtag me too from hashtag us to seek to bring another perspective to what might have occurred to women whose lives were not their own. They are based on familiar and maybe some unfamiliar stories of girls and women who lived in a time where they were considered as property to be used at the will and whim of men. Not too different, I would say, from what some believe today. And if they could, I suppose these women of the sacred texts would self-identify as hashtag us2. And as Oprah Winfrey powerfully stated, at the onset of the Me Too movement, time is up. The time is up for the secrets that have been obliterated or incorrectly told. Time has run out for those abusers who use their position and power to take advantage of the young, the innocent, or those in their care to satisfy their sexual gratification. It is time to begin the healing process. It is time for us to be made whole. It is time for us, hashtag me too to break our silence. It is time to speak. Oh, the hidden stories and descriptures of these overlooked women who are often demonized hopefully will reveal and help those girls and women today who have been mishandled, blamed, and silent to begin to find the strength to speak, to be silent no more. I hope you join me as we begin this journey to set those who are bound free, victims of our society today, that they might begin to recover from the stain and stigma of the scars that they bear as we shine light on the lives of these biblical women who would have said, hashtag us too. I hope and pray that my listeners, especially those who have remained silent, will begin to find their own voices and tell their own stories, that they might through their stories and with their voices bring the help and the healing and the hope we all need as we are silenced no more. This is Reverend Mary J. Fairley. I hope that you will tune in to my upcoming podcast and that indeed you will be silenced no more. God bless you. Growing up in the Roe House projects on the southwest side of Chicago, where my four siblings and I attended an Evangelical Baptist church located in the community recreation center, I remember hearing stories in Sunday school about Eve, who was the first woman and wife of the first man, Adam. It was Eve, only Eve, though I was told, who was responsible for the fall of humankind and the reason that sin entered into the world. Specifically, the role of women in the building of God's kingdom. Just recently, hundreds of women and some men have started to come forward with accusations of sexual harassment and stories of sexual improprieties. Dozens of men in positions of power have been named by these women as sexual predators, and a viral social media movement of victims of sexual misconduct developed and became known as hashtag me2. This recent sexual revolution, instigated by previously unknown victims, inspired me to look into the relationship of women and men in the scriptures from a different perspective. And I discovered that the Judeo-Christian scriptures were full of and are full of stories of sexual nature. And so, in the light of the hashtag MeToo movement, I began to reread in the Bible the accounts of women who were often portrayed as willing illicit sexual partners or who were blamed as being seductresses. And I begin to see the scriptures with new eyes as I revisited these biblical stories. Many of the women, the accounts of these women and girls who were highlighted in biblical writ, were often referred to in stories that frequently pertain to some sexual encounter. I discovered that often any hint of sexual misconduct or wrongdoing was usually blamed on the women or girls involved. These stories, which were written from a patriarchal contact and perspective, depicted sexual impropriety or abuse of women as consensual or instigated, and more likely than not put their male counterparts in a good light. And so I wrote a book, dear hashtag me too from hashtag us2, inspired by these stories, stories of the sexually abused, misused, and blamed women in the Bible. It was only much later as I began to listen to the preaching of some women winstors and other preachers. And so I began discovered from what might have been their point the most disproportionate form of biblical philosophy that I had grown up with letters to women of today. And you have other cultures who were as wide themselves as courageous of sexual offended and a role of faith as the patriarchs. These letters of dear hashtag often highlighted from hashtag seek to bring another try to over women whose lives were not unrecognized women. They are familiar. They were considered as property to be used at the will and whim of men. Not too different, I would say, from what some believe today. And so this podcast, Silence No More, is a call to all women, past and present, who, along with their daughters, have been ruined by sexual abruce and impropriety. This is a call to the silent suffering women and little girls who have and still do weep and lament over their stolen childhood, their lost innocence, their perpetuated purity, their disallowed self-respect. Time has run out for those abusers who use their position and power to take advantage of the young, the innocent, or those in their care to satisfy their sexual gratification. It is time to begin the healing process. It is time for us to be made whole. It is time for us, hashtag me too to break our silence. It is time to speak. Oh, the hidden stories in the scriptures of these overlooked women who were often demonized hopefully will reveal and help those girls and women today who have been mishandled, blamed, and silent to begin to find the strength to speak, to be silent no more. I hope you join me as we begin this journey to set those who are bound free, victims of our society today, that they might begin to recover from the stain and stigma of the scars that they bear as we shine light on the lives of these biblical women who would have said, hashtag us too. I hope and pray that my listeners, especially those who have remained silent, will begin to find their own voices and tell their own stories, that they might through their stories and with their voices bring the help and the healing and the hope we all need as we are silenced no more. This is Reverend Mary J. Fairley. I hope that you will tune in to my upcoming podcast and that indeed you will be silenced no more. God bless you. The absence of the hundreds of women and mothers and daughters, girls in the scriptures, the genealogies listed without them, specifically throughout the Old Testament, seemed to be sending a message that women were not important. And if the truth were to be told, they were not to be believed. Growing up in the Roe House projects on the southwest side of Chicago, where my four siblings and I attended an Evangelical Baptist church located in the community recreation center, I remember hearing stories in Sunday school about Eve, who was the first woman and wife of the first man, Adam. It was Eve, only Eve, though I was told, who was responsible for the fall of humankind and the reason that sin entered into the world. The other woman I learned about was Mary, the mother of Jesus, the only begotten son of God, who gave birth to him while remaining a virgin. It was only much later, as I began to listen to the preaching of some women ministers and other preachers, that I discovered that these and those disproportionate biblical stories I had grown up with actually included women and even girls who were as wise, as courageous, and as full of faith as the patriarchs and heroes so often highlighted in the scriptures. The participation of these previously overlooked, unmentioned, and unrecognized women, matriarchs, begin to bcay my own interest even further into the Word of God, specifically the role of women in the building of God's kingdom. Just recently, hundreds of women and some men have started to come forward with accusations of sexual harassment and stories of sexual improprieties. Dozens of men in positions of power have been named by these women as sexual predators, and a viral social media movement of victims of sexual misconduct developed and became known as hashtag me too. This recent sexual revolution, instigated by previously unknown victims, inspired me to look into the relationship of women and men in the scriptures from a different perspective. And I discovered that the Judeo-Christian scriptures were full of and are full of stories of sexual nature. And so, in the light of the hashtag MeToo movement, I began to reread in the Bible the accounts of women who were often portrayed as willing illicit sexual partners or who were blamed as being seductresses. And I begin to see the scriptures with new eyes as I revisited these biblical stories. Many of the women, the accounts of these women and girls who were highlighted in biblical writ, were often referred to in stories that frequently pertain to some sexual encounter. I discovered that often any hint of sexual misconduct or wrongdoing was usually blamed on the women or girls involved. These stories, which were written from a patriarchal contact and perspective, depicted sexual impropriety or abuse of women as consensual or instigated, and more likely than not put their male counterparts in a good light. And so I wrote a book, dear hashtag me too from hashtag us to inspired by these stories, stories of the sexually abused, misused, and blamed women in the Bible. Stories which were often considered to be inconsequential. And so I began writing from what might have been their point of view in the form of fictionalized letters. Letters addressed to the women of today who have unapologetically declared themselves as victims of sexual abuse and harassment. These letters of dear hashtag me too from hashtag us to seek to bring another perspective to what might have occurred to women whose lives were not their own. They are based on familiar and maybe some unfamiliar stories of girls and women who lived in a time where they were considered as property to be used at the will and whim of men. Not too different, I would say, from what some believe today. And if they could, I suppose these women of the sacred texts would self-identify as hashtag us2. And as Oprah Winfrey powerfully stated at the onset of the MeToo movement, time is up. The time is up for the secrets that have been obliterated or incorrectly told. Time has run out for those abusers who use their position and power to take advantage of the young, the innocent, or those in their care to satisfy their sexual gratification. It is time to begin the healing process. It is time for us to be made whole. It is time for us, hashtag me too to break our silence. It is time to speak. Oh, the hidden stories in the scriptures of these overlooked women who are often DMI demonized hopefully will reveal and help those girls and women today who have been mishandled, blamed, and silent to begin to find the strength to speak, to be silenced no more. I hope you join me as we begin this journey to set those who are bound free, victims of our society today, that they might begin to recover from the stain and stigma of the scars that they bear as we shine light on the lives of these biblical women who would have said, hashtag us too. I hope and pray that my listeners, especially those who have remained silent, will begin to find their own voices and tell their own stories, that they might through their stories and with their voices bring the help and the healing and the hope we all need. As we are silenced no more. This is Reverend Mary J. Fairley. I hope that you will tune in to my upcoming podcast and that indeed you will be silenced no more. God bless you. The absence of the hundreds of women and mothers and daughters, girls in the scriptures, the genealogies listed without them, specifically throughout the Old Testament, seemed to be sending a message that women were not important. And if the truth were to be told, they were not to be believed. Growing up in the Row House projects on the southwest side of Chicago, where my four siblings and I attended an Evangelical Baptist church located in the community recreation center, I remember hearing stories in Sunday school about Eve, who was the first woman and wife of the first man, Adam. It was Eve, only Eve, though I was told, who was responsible for the fall of humankind and the reason that sin entered into the world. The other woman I learned about was Mary, the mother of Jesus, the only begotten son of God, who gave birth to him while remaining a virgin. It was only much later, as I began to listen to the preaching of some women ministers and other preachers that I discovered that these and those disproportionate biblical stories I had grown up with actually included women and even girls who were as wise, as courageous, and as full of faith as the patriarchs and heroes so often highlighted in the scriptures. The participation of these previously overlooked, unmentioned, and unrecognized women, matriarchs, begin to bake my own interest even further into the Word of God, specifically the role of women in the building of God's kingdom. Just recently, hundreds of women and some men have started to come forward with accusations of sexual harassment and stories of sexual improprieties. Dozens of men in positions of power have been named by these women as sexual predators, and a viral social media movement of victims of sexual misconduct developed and became known as hashtag me too. This recent sexual revolution, instigated by previously unknown victims, inspired me to look into the relationship of women and men in the scriptures from a different perspective. And I discovered that the Judeo-Christian scriptures were full of and are full of stories of sexual nature. And so, in the light of the hashtag MeToo movement, I began to reread in the Bible the accounts of women who were often portrayed as willing illicit sexual partners or who were blamed as being seductresses. And I begin to see the scriptures with new eyes as I revisited these biblical stories. Many of the women, the accounts of these women and girls who were highlighted in biblical writ, were often referred to in stories that frequently pertain to some sexual encounter. I discovered that often any hint of sexual misconduct or wrongdoing was usually blamed on the women or girls involved. These stories, which were written from a patriarchal contact and perspective, depicted sexual impropriety or abuse of women as consensual or instigated, and more likely than not put their male counterparts in a good light. And so I wrote a book, dear hashtag me too from hashtag us to inspired by these stories, stories of the sexually abused, misused, and blamed women in the Bible. Stories which were often considered to be inconsequential. And so I began writing from what might have been their point of view in the form of fictionalized letters. Letters addressed to the women of today who have unapologetically declared themselves as victims of sexual abuse and harassment. These letters of dear hashtag me too from hashtag us to seek to bring another perspective to what might have occurred to women whose lives were not their own. They are based on familiar and maybe some unfamiliar stories of girls and women who lived in a time where they were considered as property to be used at the will and whim of men. Not too different, I would say, from what some believe today. And if they could, I suppose these women of the sacred texts would self-identify as hashtag us2. And as Oprah Winfrey powerfully stated at the onset of the Me Too movement, time is up. The time is up for the secrets that have been obliterated or incorrectly told. Time has run out for those abusers who use their position and power to take advantage of the young, the innocent, or those in their care to satisfy their sexual gratification. It is time to begin the healing process. It is time for us to be made whole. It is time for us, hashtag me too to break our silence. It is time to speak. Oh, the hidden stories and descriptures of these overlooked women who are often demonized hopefully will reveal and help those girls and women today who have been mishandled, blamed, and silent to begin to find the strength to speak, to be silent no more. I hope you join me as we begin this journey to set those who are bound free, victims of our society today, that they might begin to recover from the stain and stigma of the scars that they bear as we shine light on the lives of these biblical women who would have said, hashtag us too. I hope and pray that my listeners, especially those who have remained silent, will begin to find their own voices and tell their own stories, that they might through their stories and with their voices bring the help and the healing and the hope we all need. As we are silenced no more. This is Reverend Mary J. Fairley. I hope that you will tune in to my upcoming podcast and that indeed you will be silenced no more. God bless you. The absence of the hundreds of women and mothers and daughters, girls in the scriptures, the genealogies listed without them, specifically throughout the Old Testament, seemed to be sending a message that women were not important. And if the truth were to be told, they were not to be believed. Growing up in the Row House projects on the southwest side of Chicago, where my four siblings and I attended an Evangelical Baptist church located in the community recreation center, I remember hearing stories in Sunday school about Eve, who was the first woman and wife of the first man Adam. It was Eve, only Eve, though I was told, who was responsible for the fall of humankind and the reason that sin entered into the world. The other woman I learned about was Mary, the mother of Jesus, the only begotten son of God, who gave birth to him while remaining a virgin. It was only much later as I began to listen to the preaching of some women ministers and other preachers that I discovered that these and those disproportionate biblical stories I had grown up with actually included women and even girls who were as wise, as courageous, and as full of faith as the patriarchs and heroes so often highlighted in the scriptures. The participation of these previously overlooked, unmentioned, and unrecognized women, matriarchs, begin to bake my own interest even further into the Word of God, specifically the role of women in the building of God's kingdom. Just recently, hundreds of women and some men have started to come forward with accusations of sexual harassment and stories of sexual improprieties. Dozens of men in positions of power have been named by these women as sexual predators, and a viral social media movement of victims of sexual misconduct developed and became known as hashtag me too. This recent sexual revolution, instigated by previously unknown victims, inspired me to look into the relationship of women and men in the scriptures from a different perspective. And I discovered that the Judeo-Christian scriptures were full of and are full of stories of sexual nature. And so, in the light of the hashtag MeToo movement, I began to reread in the Bible the accounts of women who were often portrayed as willing illicit sexual partners or who were blamed as being seductresses. And I begin to see the scriptures with new eyes as I revisited these biblical stories. Many of the women, the accounts of these women and girls who were highlighted in biblical writ, were often referred to in stories that frequently pertain to some sexual encounter. I discovered that often any hint of sexual misconduct or wrongdoing was usually blamed on the women or girls involved. These stories, which were written from a patriarchal contact and perspective, depicted sexual impropriety or abuse of women as consensual or instigated, and more likely than not put their male counterparts in a good light. And so I wrote a book, dear hashtag me too from hashtag us2, inspired by these stories, stories of the sexually abused, misused, and blamed women in the Bible. Stories which were often considered to be inconsequential. And so I began writing from what might have been their point of view in the form of fictionalized letters. Letters addressed to the women of today who have unapologetically declared themselves as victims of sexual abuse and harassment. These letters of dear hashtag me too from hashtag us to seek to bring another perspective to what might have occurred to women whose lives were not their own. They are based on familiar and maybe some unfamiliar stories of girls and women who lived in a time where they were considered as property to be used at the will and whim of men. Not too different, I would say, from what some believe today. And if they could, I suppose these women of the sacred texts would self-identify as hashtag us2. And as Oprah Winfrey powerfully stated at the onset of the Me Too movement, time is up. The time is up for the secrets that have been obliterated or incorrectly told. It is time that some of our brokenness and sadness heals. It is time we forgive ourselves for being ashamed and afraid to speak. It is time to tell our side of the story. It is time to change women's perception of themselves so that others may also see them rightly. And so this podcast, Silence No More, is a call to all women past and present, who, along with their daughters, have been ruined by sexual abruce and impropriety. This is a call to the silent, suffering women and little girls who have and still do weep and lament over their stolen childhood, their lost innocence, their perpetuated purity, their disallowed self-respect. Time has run out for those abusers who use their position and power to take advantage of the young, the innocent, or those in their care to satisfy their sexual gratification. It is time to begin the healing process. It is time for us to be made whole. It is time for us, hashtag me too to break our silence. It is time to speak. Oh, the hidden stories and descriptures of these overlooked women who are often demonized hopefully will reveal and help those girls and women today who have been mishandled, blamed, and silent to begin to find the strength to speak, to be silent no more. I hope you join me as we begin this journey to set those who are bound free, victims of our society today, that they might begin to recover from the stain and stigma of the scars that they bear as we shine light on the lives of these biblical women who would have said, hashtag us too. I hope and pray that my listeners, especially those who have remained silent, will begin to find their own voices and tell their own stories, that they might through their stories and with their voices bring the help and the healing and the hope we all need. As we are silenced no more. This is Reverend Mary J. Fairley. I hope that you will tune in to my upcoming podcast and that indeed you will be silenced no more. God bless you.