Rev. Amanda Groves is a member of the West Kentucky Journal Editorial Team and writes content about Christian scripture, values, and morality for the Journal. She prepared this as a speech presented as the opening speaker for the HandsOff! West Kentucky Fights Back protest rally on April 12, 2025, located at the Plumbers & Pipefitters 184 Union Hall in Paducah, Kentucky.
Good afternoon, let me officially introduce myself—I am REVEREND Amanda Groves, yes Reverend—and maybe some of you may be thinking, "but, you’re a WOMAN, you can’t be a minister!” Well, HERE I AM, because I’m here to tell you that GOD is ALL ABOUT D.E.I. Yep, I work for a God who intertwined DIVERSITY, EQUITY, and INCLUSION all THROUGHOUT God’s creation. In fact, the Latin word for God is Dei. And believe me, several have questioned my calling and tried to erase my voice from the conversation with the phrase “WOMEN DON’T PREACH!” But, guess what? I’m still here, and I’m still preaching. And even though I wish that this administration would keep its HANDS OFF our history, and quit trying to erase people that don’t fit their very limited mold—which let’s be honest—is MOST OF US, and even though I wish this administration would stop its efforts to rewrite our narrative where women, people of color, and LGBTQ people have no part or made no creative contribution--including the airplane that dropped the first atomic bomb because it was named ENOLA GAY—I am here to proclaim that no matter how HARD THEY TRY to diminish our dignity and strip away our humanity and creativity—we are still BELOVED AND CHERISHED in the EYES OF GOD—and nothing, NOTHING will change that. God knows our story, God knows our narrative, God knows our worth, and God said that WE ARE GOOD—and that we are LOVED.
Oh jeez Amanda, you’re one of those “WARM FUZZIES” for everyone preachers aren’t you, you’re one of those “if it feels good, do it” kind of preachers, you’re one of those “SHOW MERCY FOR THE LEAST OF THESE” kind of preachers. I remember back in 2015, I was talking to an older woman who was VERY CONCERNED about the Supreme Court handing down the decision that legalized gay marriage, and my response to her was—"I don’t have a problem with it.” And she asked me, “Amanda, is there ANYTHING that you think is WRONG?” To which I replied—
*That 1 out of every 5 children does not know where their next meal is coming from even though they live in the richest country in the world—THAT IS WRONG!
*1 billion dollars being cut from supporting food banks and local school lunch programs—THAT IS WRONG!
*Slashing 54 billion from foreign aid and firing over 60,000 workers across the globe which could result in MILLIONS of avoidable DEATHS and destroying the credibility of our word—THAT IS WRONG!
*Firing over 121,000 federal workers who dedicated their lives to public service, putting their futures in jeopardy, and gutting important departments that we depend on such as education, social security, the VA, and so much more—THAT IS WRONG!
*Allowing people who are UNELECTED, NOT APPROVED BY THE SENATE, and HAVE NO SECURITY CLEARANCE to just GO THROUGH ALL our information and do who knows what with it—THAT IS WRONG!
*Immigrants, no matter what their status, being picked up off the streets and sent to prison in EL SALVADOR—not because they have had their day in court and were convicted of a crime—which still doesn’t justify being sent to place of torture and mistreatment OUTSIDE OF OUR BORDERS--but because they had a tattoo—of a rainbow—to honor their autistic brother…THAT…IS…WRONG!
Being more concerned about protecting a CAR DEALERSHIP than the public school classrooms where teachers go and risk their lives and children are practicing active shooter drills like they are preparing for war...THAT…IS…WRONG!
Being UNABLE or UNWILLING to ADMIT YOU WERE WRONG…and continue to wreak havoc because of your ego and pride THAT…IS…WRONG.
Our elected officials being unwilling to stand up to authoritarianism and honor their oath of office to protect our constitution because of fear of losing power or fear of losing their livelihood—THAT…IS…WRONG.
But, yes, I am one of those preachers who would much rather focus on the GOOD part of being a part of God’s creation. I would much rather focus on the blessing of justice, grace, MERCY, and love. So let me take a minute and talk about HOW WE MIGHT REVERSE THE WRONG and stop the hurting so that HEALING MIGHT TAKE PLACE.
We might start with the GOLDEN RULE—DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU—and know that MANY RELIGIONS ACROSS THE WORLD AVOW and PRACTICE THIS RULE! And I am going to prove it—please raise your hand if you woke up this morning thinking about who you were going to be cruel to today? Did any of you make a list of who you were going to pick on and bully, and make their lives harder to live? Because if you did, well, you might need Jesus? But I have a feeling you didn’t because you don’t want to be treated that way AND that is NOT WHO WE ARE as human beings. Most of us don’t go around trying to hurt people and we trust each other to have each other’s best interest at heart—like when we drive in our cars—we follow the rules of the road—no one is ABOVE THE LAW--it’s not mad max out there—we want each other to get home safe to our families and friends. That is how we are meant to live! LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER—being in COMMUNITY WITH EACH OTHER—NOT every person on their own trying to pick themselves up by their bootstraps—it’s impossible—and it’s a miserable way to live—and it DIVIDES US, instead of UNITES US.
And right now—we need A UNIFIED COMMUNITY of DIVERSITY that is sharing a narrative where WE ALL THRIVE—and we get this by loving our neighbor as ourselves—whether it’s the people in the house next door or the trees in the forest—we are ALL neighbors in God’s community of creation—and NOTHING—no executive orders, no tariffs, no hateful clickbait posts, no government elected officials who refuse to come and have a town hall with us—CHANGES THAT! So let’s CLAIM OUR COMMUNITY, and then LET’S BE A COMMUNITY—and then let the WRONG BE MADE RIGHT—and LET THE HEALING AND THE THRIVING…BEGIN!
Amen
Amanda Groves is an ordained minister of the Christian Church-Disciple of Christ faith and a proud public school music educator. She is married to J.W. Groves, a mandolin playing son-of-a-gun, and is the proud mother of a beagle. She loves Mid Century Modern pink bathrooms, Food Network, and her governor, Andy Beshear—(who is also a Disciple of Christ!). She resides in South Marshall County. You can find her on BlueSky and she is starting to write on Substack.
