Star Light Ministries

March 2, 2008

What’s the leading question in most of my emails this week? It’s “What do you think about the raid at Velvet?” Of course, people are asking because I live in Richmond, and I know a little bit about strip clubs in the area.

Well, let me just tell you… I don’t know what I think about Sam Moore and his club. Yes, I’ve been there. Yes, I’ve seen him. And yes, I have met some lovely young women who work there.

And that’s who I’m thinking about: the dancers. How are they coping with the media onslaught? How are they feeling since there have been implications of prostitution at the club? How are they feeling that there was activity in the club that they may or may not have known about?

Especially, I want to know how business is. Are they making the money that they are used to make and have come to depend on? Are they taking care of themselves, financially and emotionally? This would be a difficult time for anyone going through this. I want each of you to know that you are cared about, and if you need anything, to please feel free to contact me on the Star Light Dancers page.

Here’s a prayer that blogger Rae at Journey Mama wrote. It’s my prayer for you today.

I wish you nothing but good. The good that sustains you and is something you can lean against, like the tallest, thickest tree. The kind of good that feeds you when you can’t feed yourself. I wish you good.

I wish you kindness, the kindness that sends you a loving glance rather than a reproachful one. Someone to kiss your forehead when you are tired, and then to kiss you on that one spot on your cheekbone just because. I want someone to put their hands on either side of your face and tell you that you are so, so beautiful. That they will never leave you.

I wish you puddles of sunlight on wooden floors. Thick rugs. Tea or coffee with friends, or just by yourself, with a book, maybe a crossword puzzle. I wish you afghans to keep you warm, down comforters on the coldest days, hot water for your tired feet. I wish you calm and peace.

I wish you a clean home at the end of the day, firelight in deep winter, fields of flowers in the summer. I wish you wildness, the tangle of the ocean, hot sand and craggy rock formations. I wish you singing. I wish you dancing. I want to see laughter in your eyes, I want to think of you smiling.

I wish you small children who will pat your arm and smile up at you, or hug your knees really hard, grown children who will lean over you and kiss your head. I wish you warm rain that you can wade through with soaking clothes, I wish you flowering cacti in your deserts.

I pray that the good will keep you. That you will be safe in the midst of danger. That you are taller than you were yesterday, even if you are a bit scarred. I pray that your dark places are not lonely, that you feel sheltered, not stifled, that your legs will be strong from running. I pray that your tears are not bitter, that your heart is always soothed.

I wish you courage. I wish you home.

May it ever be.

February 17, 2008

I’ve been reading a book called Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God. The concept is simple: draw and pray at the same time. So I sat down to pray for Star Light. Here’s what my prayer looks like.

I’m amazed at the connections, the vibrancy, and just how much there is to pray for. I hope you’ll find yourself in here, and know that you have been prayed for. (Click on the page to really see it!)

By the way, the little stars with no writing? They’re former dancers. The whole page is dotted with them, just like the ministry of Star Light is dotted with former dancers. I said special prayers of thanks for each of these amazing women.

February 8, 2008

A couple of people have said to me in the last few days, “You should blog about Pacman Jones.”

Pacman Jones??? Who is that? A google search later, and I’m thinking, “Should I really blog on Pacman Jones? What is the larger issue here?”

The larger issue is a hard one to write about, and it is, WHAT ABOUT THE MEN WHO VISIT STRIP CLUBS?

In fact, I was on a panel discussion recently and the other two women on the panel were really dissing (is that a word?) the men who buy sex. A few friends (male) were really uncomfortable with their discussions, understandably so.

So what do I think about the men? About the clients in strip clubs? About men who engage women in prostitution?

Pay close attention here:

I don’t hate them. I don’t think they’re evil. I don’t think they are horrible.

But what do I think? I think, just like most people in our age, that they are generally lonely, generally ill-equipped to deal with that loneliness, and have confused money with power and friendliness with intimacy.

How is that different than our society in general?