Ah… another early morning, another sleepy Kelsey. Remember how I tried to come in an hour early yesterday to make up for taking a half day on Friday? Well, my extra hour got eaten up by my sick ‘Stang. Yes, my friends, the Mustang was ill, but she has been healed!! Hallelujah!!

In more prosaic terms, the mechanic replaced some switch that was preventing the air conditioning from working—and with my mother coming next week to visit, we had to have A/C. Either way, sorting that out ate up the extra hour, so now I need two extra hours in order to get back on track. Hence my early arrival this morning.

And what was the second thing I did this morning after arriving? Yes, I rushed to the computer lockbox to see how many of you have sent in your registrations for the Leadership Event. Remember, you still have today to get that in, and I must say that many of you are being lax about it.

Perhaps you’re reading this thinking, “But I’m not a college undergraduate woman.” But you know college women! Even my very own mother (yes, you, Mom) knows several college women that she could recruit for the event. My sister, my first cousin, my first cousin once removed… see what I mean? All college women. You, too, know college women in your churches, your families, your knitting circles. So start telling them that they need to go to the Leadership Event!

Now, I’ve tried to sell you as much as possible on this event. Think about all the great reasons to come to Chicago this summer:

• Laura Cheifetz and Lisa Larges are going to be awesome plenary co-facilitators. They will challenge you to explore prejudices in your own lives, and will help all of us understand the social systems of prejudice that prevent us from seeing one another through God’s eyes.
  
• The service learning workshops will give you hands-on opportunities to dispel your own prejudices. We will visit the AIDS Pastoral Care Network, where participants will get to speak with people who live with HIV/AIDS; Sarah’s Circle, a women’s drop-in shelter where students will put on an afternoon carnival; Faith in Place, a faith-based ecology agency that will have students helping at its annual children’s summer camp; and Interfaith Worker Justice, which will take students to downtown Chicago for an action against hotels treating workers unjustly.
  
• A Thursday evening forum that will allow you to meet people working to fight prejudice and hate. Have you ever wondered about certain immigration issues? Wanted to know more about how people become homeless and how they can get out? Thought you would never be a victim of domestic violence? You’ll have a chance to ask all these questions and more to our five panelists.
  
• And for all the Presby geeks out there… one of our five panelists, coming to talk about issues on the U.S.-Mexico border, will be none other than Rick Ufford-Chase, Moderator of the 216th General Assembly and executive director of the immigration justice agency Borderlinks! Have you ever wanted to have dinner with a PC(USA) moderator? Here’s your chance!

Phew! Now, if that doesn’t convince you that this is a “can’t miss” event, I don’t know what will. This will be a great opportunity for you to put your faith into action, and to learn tools that you can take back to campus for change. I’ll see you in Chicago!

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” --James 2:18

Kelsey