Alexandra Wooten

One of the most-discussed topics from our May/June issue was not theology or current events but ground-level church practice: On Sunday morning, who watches the kids? In our Qualms & Proverbs article titled “My Church Makes Everyone Take Nursery Shifts. Can I Object?”, “Irritated in Illinois” described a policy where all church members must take shifts in the nursery and asked whether there were “valid objections” to the practice.

Are some systems for bearing a child better than others? Bonnie Kristian in her essay “The Vigil of Birth” argues that, no matter the venue or medical needs, a woman in labor ought to seek out “a greater supply of the resources needed most: patience, attention, and time.” Kristian especially praises the work of midwives in this endeavor. She quotes her mother-in-law: “In later stages of labor, you cannot ask for what you need.