Until Every Need Is Met by Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty

My grandmother, Flossie Burks, was a seamstress. She spent most of her career working in a dress factory in St. Louis. Always proud of her craft, Momo taught me the importance of buying good fabrics and carefully matching patterned fabrics at the seams. I have to admit that she left me with a twitch that occurs every time I think about buying some ready-made goods because they aren’t lined properly or the stripes look crooked. Her voice still echoes in the back of my mind as she used to criticize cheap fabric and a shoddy sewing job. She worked hard and made beautiful, expensive garments, but she never was paid fairly for her work. In her retirement she lived on a meager pension of $90 a month.

Momo was not a scholar or even a high school graduate; she only completed the eighth grade. I asked her once why she didn’t finish school. She replied, “Everybody had to work to help their family.” Momo may not have ventured into many books beyond romance novels, but she did a lot to teach me about justice and need. She was resourceful. She deserved a luxurious retirement, but despite her hard work, the American dream of money, security and property passed her by. Without social security and financial help from my parents, Flossie Burks very likely would have been homeless.

My grandmother’s story is not unique. I recently taught a workshop on “Women and the Social Gospel” at the 2006 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women in Louisville, Kentucky. Several participants shared their own stories about going to work at an early age to help support their families. I recall one participant reflecting on her own experience: “That was just the way it was. You had to help keep your family going.” I don’t think that my grandmother knew the role that Christian women and men in her day played in working for social justice for the working class and for immigrants.

Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty is an assistant professor of theology at Bellarmine University, Louisville, Kentucky, and a frequent contributor to Horizons.

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Learn more about the Christian women who made a difference in social justice causes—Vida Dutton Scudder, Donaldina Cameron and Nannie Helen Burroughs—and be inspired to make a difference yourself.	Until Every Need Is Met: Christian Women Working for Justice in the Early Twentieth Century by Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty My grandmother, Flossie Burks, was a seamstress. She spent most of her career working in a dress factory in St. Louis. Always proud of her craft, Momo taught me the importance of buying good fabrics and carefully matching patterned fabrics at the seams. I have to admit that she left me with a twitch that occurs every time I think about buying some ready-made goods because they aren’t lined properly or the stripes look crooked. Her voice still echoes in the back of my mind as she used to criticize cheap fabric and a shoddy sewing job. She worked hard and made beautiful, expensive garments, but she never was paid fairly for her work. In her retirement she lived on a meager pension of $90 a month. Momo was not a scholar or even a high school graduate; she only completed the eighth grade. I asked her once why she didn’t finish school. She replied, “Everybody had to work to help their family.” Momo may not have ventured into many books beyond romance novels, but she did a lot to teach me about justice and need. She was resourceful. She deserved a luxurious retirement, but despite her hard work, the American dream of money, security and property passed her by. Without social security and financial help from my parents, Flossie Burks very likely would have been homeless. My grandmother’s story is not unique. I recently taught a workshop on “Women and the Social Gospel” at the 2006 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women in Louisville, Kentucky. Several participants shared their own stories about going to work at an early age to help support their families. I recall one participant reflecting on her own experience: “That was just the way it was. You had to help keep your family going.” I don’t think that my grandmother knew the role that Christian women and men in her day played in working for social justice for the working class and for immigrants. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty is an assistant professor of theology at Bellarmine University, Louisville, Kentucky, and a frequent contributor to Horizons. Other Articles Online This Issue Until Every Need Is Met Of the People, For the People Rebuilding Hope: One House at a Time Creating a Hospitable Community for Homeless Families Presbyterians and Gender Justice Faithful Food: Social Justice and Food Production Fellowship of the Least Coin 2006 Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church Nurturing Our Faith Supporting Mission Health Connections Strengthening the PC(USA)	Current Issue Nov/Dec 2006 About This Issue Features PW Resources Departments FREE Resource Nov/Dec Index How to Use In Our Next Issue Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the November/December 2006 (HZN-06-250) issue of Horizons magazine. to Horizons, call 800/524-2612 or this issue ($4 plus shipping/handling)

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