Sophia struts her stuff
Wisdom is at work at Sanctuary Night
For the last few days, I written about Sophia, Holy Wisdom, the feminine companion of God. Sophia stood beside God at creation, became flesh in Jesus Christ, and offers herself as spiritual nourishment to the world.
The biblical Sophia is not a mere theological curiosity. In Proverbs, she is found in the streets. She cries out in public squares. She raises her voice at the city gates. She stands where people gather, where commerce happens, where life unfolds. Sophia goes where people are hurting, struggling, and searching for hope.
Yesterday, I saw Sophia.
I participated in the first Gender and Sexuality Fair hosted by Sanctuary Night in Columbus. Sanctuary Night is a remarkable nonprofit that walks alongside women who are experiencing homelessness, addiction, trafficking, exploitation, and life on the streets. They embody a radical vision of hospitality and care, meeting people where they are and affirming their sacred worth.
As I spent time with women gathered at the event, I experienced beloved community. There was laughter. There were conversations. There was mutual respect. There was space for people to be seen not as problems to be solved but as beloved children of God.
In a society that often looks away from women on the margins, Sanctuary Night chooses to look directly at them and say, “You matter.”
That is Sophia’s work.
When Wisdom calls from the streets, she is not merely offering information. She is offering relationship. She is inviting people into community, dignity, and life. Sanctuary Night lives out that same calling. Volunteers, staff, and members become the voice of Wisdom in Columbus, proclaiming through their actions that every person possesses sacred value.
Too often Christians imagine God only in the distant heavens or in worship services. Yet scripture repeatedly reminds us that God is also found among those the world ignores. Sophia’s voice echoes wherever people create spaces of healing, belonging, and liberation.
Yesterday, I found that space.
Sophia is calling from the streets. She knows her children, protects them, and loves them at Sanctuary Night.