Rachel Held Evans in intensive care

[seraaa]

57 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

Rachel has died. Early this morning per her husband's post. 

I have no words. 

Oh, that is so utterly tragic. I cannot even imagine what her poor family are feeling.

Edited May 4, 2019 by seraaa

[Mar]

I’m just sitting here crying, I can‘t believe this. This is so unbelievably sad. She was so gifted and way too young and I’m so sorry for her husband and especially her children who will probably not even be able to remember her. I don’t even know what to say.

[NotQuiteMotY]

Oh, that was what I was afraid of when I saw the thread was hot... Her poor family.

[choralcrusader8613]

Holding her family in love and light. Devastated to hear this.

[Wifey4Lifey]

So heartbroken-- this isn't like a celebrity death, it's like losing a friend. I've been crying for the better part of an hour. She was such a force for good and justice in the Christian community and will be terribly missed. Praying for her family, friends, and entire community. 

[louisa05]

On a more personal note, the fact that this began with an allergic reaction to an antibiotic...

I've been putting it off for a long time because of potential cost. No more. I'm going to make an appointment with an allergist about my own medication allergies as soon as school is out. 

[FluffySnowball]

Thank you, @louisa05, for the links.

Not being from the US, I got to know about Rachel Held Evans through this thread and kept my fingers crossed for her recovery. Despite my complete lack of medical knowledge, I admittedly expected her to survive and am just shocked. She was so young... and to think of her poor kids. It’s heartbreaking! I’ve just ordered her book on Biblical womanhood and am looking forward to getting to know her and her legacy a bit better.

[Dreadcrumbs]

Wow.

I really thought she would make it. I don't know why, I just did.

Her work never influenced me but I knew of her and I knew that she had helped a lot of Christians and contributed greatly to progressive Christianity and I think that that was great.

Just letting what happened sink in.

[47of74]

Rest in peace Rachel

I am sad to hear of her passing.

[formergothardite]

How extremely sad. I really expected her to recover. 

[EmainMacha]

Her poor family. Her children are so young! May she rest in peace. She leaves a wonderful legacy in her writing.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I’m so sad for her family. This is partly why I am not a Christian anymore. I can’t help but think this makes no sense for god to take a lovely young mother away from her children and someone like Gothard’s old ass is still kicking. Sorry I just can’t wrap my head around god doing this for a good reason. It makes no sense to me and it never will. I hope her family is comforted by all the people she helped. I’m sure there are many. 

[Pecansforeveryone]

@JermajestyDuggar, that's exactly what I was thinking and why I went from straight from conservative Christianity to atheism. Progressive Christianity couldn't answer that for me though I am extremely grateful for its existence. I wish all peace, comfort, and healing to Rachel's family. Her legacy will live on. 

[Rachel333]

I think working in an ICU has made me expect the worst in these situations but I really wanted to be wrong. This is incredibly sad.

[EowynW]

Lori Alexander is judging her. I am seething with rage. Damn her.  Also damn pulpit and pen too. 

Edited May 4, 2019 by EowynW

[Hane]

The Unitarian-Universalist pastor Victoria Weinstein, who blogs under the name PeaceBang, had this lovely tribute to her:

“You might not know the work of Rachel Held Evans. She wrote about Christianity from an progressive evangelical perspective and she was incredibly faithful, generous and wise. She was also young.

“I am using the past tense because she died this morning at the age of 37. She went into the hospital for the flu and had a dreadful allergic reaction to the antibiotics, which led to her having brain seizures. She was put into a medically-induced coma and she did not come back to us. 

“She leaves a husband, two little children and an unnumbered community of admirers and, I think, secretly admiring enemies who are really angry about her understanding of the meaning of Jesus Christ and the point of Christianity. She engaged with them even when they were totally obnoxious to her. I watched her to do it on twitter. 

“I have not read her books -- I was not really her audience -- but I followed her for a long time on Twitter and read some of her articles and generally soaked up some of her spirit. She had a power spirit and here's how I know that personally: this morning I was standing at my kitchen counter and I knew that she was going to die (I didn't know she was already gone). Now, please understand that I had not been thinking about her constantly, but she had been on my prayer list since she went into the hospital. I felt the announcement of her death and it was very firm and clear, but I thought it would not do to say so, so I tweeted that I had felt her and prayed she would come back. I was hoping my spirit information was wrong but I knew it wasn't.

“If anyone ever doubts that the bonds we form online aren't real, you tell them that PeaceBang says they have no idea what they're talking about.

“I join with the many who mourn Rachel Held Evans. I pray peace upon her soul and strength and support to surround those who love and grieve her.”

[EowynW]

I was however very impressed with Tim Keller. The opposite of RHE in most ways, he shared her GFM page and mourned her passing and her family's loss. never once saying even a hint of "I didn't agree with her but.."

[Hane]

Meanwhile, Lori Alexander and her hateful legion of leghumpers can go fuck themselves in the most painful way possible. I swear I should just block her on Facebook; every time I visit her page I get physically ill.

[Briefly]

59 minutes ago, EowynW said:

Lori Alexander is judging her. I am seething with rage. Damn her.  Also damn pulpit and pen too. 

Didn't take long, and I expect that she is only the beginning.  It's going to get a lot worse, and her family is going to have to endure all that on top of losing her.  Sometimes people just make me mad!  

 

[DomWackTroll]

1 hour ago, EowynW said:

I was however very impressed with Tim Keller. The opposite of RHE in most ways, he shared her GFM page and mourned her passing and her family's loss. never once saying even a hint of "I didn't agree with her but.."

Russell Moore was sensitive on Twitter and shared the GFM, too. 

[SPHASH]

I really enjoyed her book.  RIP Rachel.

[ColeJo]

Lori does what she always does, which is taking things out of context.

I don't know what to make of her passing. I had the pleasure of being on her book launching team for Inspired. I have to believe that something good can come from this because it really sucks.

People are so quick to say she is going to hell. 

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment." ~James 2:12-13

[OyHiOh]

I've been kinda avoiding this thread because what Rachel and her family have experienced is just similar enough to my own family's experience that it's just hard.

My condolences to her family.  I hope her husband has good local friends/family support; they will all need it.  The best advice I can offer is for him to let people take care of him/their children.  And to memorize this sentence:  "I don't even know what I need right now so please tell me what you can do, and when you can do it, and I'll be in touch with you when I need that thing."  It forces people to be a lot more specific  than usual and gives a grieving family a menu of options to pull from on hard days and during hard hours.

Unfortunately, I do know exactly what her husband feels right now.  Strong, vigorous, otherwise healthy people "don't" die of flu in our popular conception of the disease.  Everyone expects that such a person will be hospitalized for a few days or a week and then come home.  Even when there are complications, or ventilator is ordered, the expectation is that it's a temporary measure to help the person heal faster.  Death isn't part of your mental preparation.  Up until the last 36 hours of my husband's life, my mentality at home was training our children in absolutely rigid hygiene and food safety because I expected to bring home a medically fragile but very much alive human being. 

The world has lost a bright light in Rachel.  Baruch dayan ha'emet . . . . blessed are you, the true judge.

[treehugger]

This feels like a sucker punch to the stomach for me.  I can't even imagine what her husband, family, and friends must be going through.  And her beautiful babies ?.  Rest in peace, Rachel.  Thank you for all you did to make the world a better place. 

[SecularMusic]

Just got home from the night shift and I'm stunned. I expected her to pull through. She was so gifted and not afraid to be vulnerable and real unlike the Loris of this world. She could have written so many more book. She has so much to offer is former evangelicals. I can't imagine what her family is going through.