Dr. Ericka Riggins-Brown Speaks at Associates’ October Monthly Meeting 

Carole Anne Scott, CSJA  

On October 14, Dr. Ericka Riggins-Brown, author, lecturer, daughter of a missionary, and wife of a Protestant pastor, addressed a group of associates, agrégées and sisters gathered in the Motherhouse chapel. Dr. Riggins-Brown wrote a book on relationship building, and she chose that as her topic.

Dr. Ericka Riggins-Brown

As part of her presentation, she explained that the first chapter of her book asks the reader to “forgive a sister” and the second chapter requests that the reader “ask a sister for forgiveness.” Of the 21 chapters in her work, she proclaimed that these are the two that no one completes, yet everyone should complete. Explaining that forgiving is a “decision,” involving “giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me,” Dr. Riggins-Brown asked participants to share, in groups of two, something personal about themselves. She then shared with the group how she had been healed from abuse that she had experienced from a relative when she was only a child. Her faith and her ability to forgive led her to the point where she is now able to join with that person at family gatherings.  

Dr. Riggins-Brown left her listeners with the following words, which align with our CSJ charism: “There is power in unity. We can’t be unified if we can’t forgive. If I make you my enemy, then we can’t break barriers. We need each other. We need to rid ourselves of our lack of trust.”