A River Running Purple
by Guest Speaker, Rebecca Wilson
May 25, 2025
SCRIPTURE:
Acts 16:9-15
I live close to the Detroit River. The perfect spot for my water loving soul. I was born near the Flint River and played along her banks, long before a water crisis made them infamous.
Rivers are not my favorite place for swimming, but river trails are definitely my preferred place for wandering. There’s something about rivers that stirs me. That calms, centers, and connects me to God.
The scripture began with a vision Paul has leading him to the banks of a river. The Book of Acts, though it follows the Gospel of John, is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. The author of this two-part series is traditionally identified as a Gentile physician named Luke, who likely had some relationship with Paul. Acts isn’t a Gospel. It isn’t a letter. It is a story. A story of the church. A story that continues to be relevant and challenging to us today.
“The water invites us in.”
Photo courtesy of 10Camels: https://10camels.substack.com/p/a-river-running-purple
Check out Rebecca’s written words!
In addition to being an engaging speaker, Rebecca also reaches out through written word.
In the summer of 2022, Rebecca founded 10 Camels, “where her gifts for writing, teaching, preaching, and speaking are turning words into water for a thirsty world.”
Rebecca’s first collection of poetry, Unraveling: Coming Out and Back Together, was published just last year.
About Rebecca:
Rebecca Wilson (she/her) is a queer poet, storyteller, and cultivator of creativity.
Like five generations of her ancestors, she was baptized and confirmed in the United Methodist Church. In 2014, she received a Master of Divinity, with a concentration in Urban Ministry, from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and was commissioned as a United Methodist Deacon. She was appointed to the Detroit Renaissance District, where she served as the first Director of Justice and Mission Engagement and coordinated the Northwest Detroit Flood Recovery Project.
In 2017 just before examination for full ordination, Rebecca made the difficult and liberating decision to come out as lesbian and surrender her provisional credentials as an act of witness, protest, and survival. READ MORE
