By Ericca
I am excited to write this. I love to write and have been writing poems and keeping journals since I was young. Some of my poems have been published, and a few have even been turned into songs by musicians I know.
Now I can write to those who make my church community possible. I’m thrilled to write about God and Community of Christ.
I will also be writing about my teeth. I am very self- conscious and often hide my mouth because I am unhappy with my teeth. People tend to form opinions about those with bad teeth, and this has been a source of harassment for me throughout my life.
I am Ericca. On April 14, 2024, my friend and spiritual mentor, Alena, who first invited me to Chattanooga Community of Christ, baptized me. Alena is an ordained priest and a member of our pastor team. God is using her to help me grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, resulting in a whirlwind of positive changes.
People tend to form opinions about those with bad teeth, and this has been a source of harassment for me throughout my life.
I have deep gratitude to all of you who support these ministries. It’s this support and unity that makes our community strong and resilient.
Let’s discuss dental care. Dental care is a privilege and luxury that not everyone can afford. It’s hurtful when people make fun of those of us who have bad or missing teeth. My bad teeth are not a result of drug addiction or any other harmful habits. I have always been a good girl and have never tasted alcohol or smoked. Also, my missing teeth are not the result of violence or an abusive situation. (Since Ericca wrote this, a donor has come forward to pay for 100 percent of her needed dental work.)
My parents raised us with stringent beliefs as Seventh- day Adventists. This strict religious upbringing has been both a blessing and a curse. My bad teeth are not a result of being a “redneck” or a “mountaineer.” We lived in a ranch- style home in the city, a few blocks from the school where my dad worked as a janitor, never making more than $9.00 an hour. My mother worked as a store clerk until her death from thyroid cancer. I was in elementary school when she died.
Dental care has always been too expensive and unaffordable for my family. Even now, as a working young adult, my health insurance does not include dental care. This is why I have bad teeth. The assumptions and remarks made toward me by those privileged to afford dental care are so cruel.
The other thing causing me trouble is I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community. My not being straight caused my family and childhood church to harass me and destroy my self-esteem.
Community of Christ, a community that believes in the Worth of All Persons and strives for justice and peace, has been instrumental in helping me accept my identity.
However, since God collided me with Alena and Community of Christ, I’ve grown some standing-up-for- myself “teeth” and lost my shyness and fear.
I am a gay woman missing many physical teeth, but I grew some teeth, and I will bite. Community of Christ gave me Jesus, and Jesus wants me to stand up for myself. I no longer hide my face, hang my head, or shut my mouth. The sacred Spirit of God is setting me free. I have a voice, and God wonderfully created me. This growth and transformation give me hope for the future.
Alena, like me, is also part of the LGBTQ community, as is forty percent of our pastor team. With their support, I will share my conflict of not being straight. Community of Christ, a community that believes in the Worth of All Persons and strives for justice and peace, has been instrumental in helping me accept my identity. God is my Creator who created me wonderfully.
My family will strongly disagree with my view, but their judgments will no longer put me in chains. They strongly believe their intentions are good. Unfortunately, their intentions also bring harm.
I am gay, not by choice but by design. God wonderfully made me and sets me free to be who I am. I now have teeth to be a voice and support for others. I say, “For anyone rejected for being who you are designed to be, don’t hide your teeth. Please don’t be ashamed when others work hard to redesign you into who they want you to be. I’ve found support to lose my shyness and be who God designed me to be. You can, too.”
For some, baptism is about being born again. For me, it is about accepting who God is wonderfully creating me to be. I am Ericca, a newly baptized and confirmed Community of Christ member who accepts my mission to use my new teeth to bite for those who are too afraid to raise their heads and become who God wonderfully created them to become.
This For some, baptism is about being born again. For me, it is about accepting who God is wonderfully creating me to be.
Community of Christ proved that I am no longer alone, and I promise to make sure I will be a voice for others who haven’t found the strength to become who they are.
I love God. I love being a new member of the Community of Christ.
From the Crumb Donors newsletter, Jimmy Munson, compiler. Young Crumb Donor writers are published anonymously for their protection.