Those of you who have never been involved with the corporate world are not yet familiar with corporate training sessions. I remember well the beginning of my summer job every year at the dam—we always had to watch some training video on hearing loss, followed by a sleeper about how to mix chemicals (never mind that we were tour guides). Now, I know that all these training sessions are very necessary, and exist for a reason. I support anti-racism training, sexual harassment training, and even training videos on how to mix chemicals. That doesn’t mean I always enjoy attending.

Yesterday I began a whole eight weeks of mandatory training on how to be a good manager (of the one employee I share with another staff person). Yet I actually found the three-hour session quite relevant to life. Its question? What makes a good leader? How can we all have a positive influence on another person?

Our training person, Sandy, told us that good leaders share the following seven traits. Leaders…
· Have vision
· Listen
· Earn trust
· Uplift others
· Maintain humility
· Have fun
· Serve
We never talked about them in a theological context, but these traits do fall in line well with Christian models for leadership. Having vision, maintaining humility, and serving others are pretty obvious ones—Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, anyone? But some of the others get ignored when we talk about spiritual leadership.

Take listening, for example. We tend to see leaders as those who talk a lot, the spokespeople for the movement. But leaders are also those who listen to others. Think of Elijah, whom God told to wait and listen at the mouth of the cave. In fact, think of all the biblical prophets; their whole job was to listen for and convey to the people the Word of God. A truly effective leader listens to the aspirations, frustrations, and ideas of those around her, and uses those to move the team forward. It ties in to our commitment to consensus decisions in NNPCW. We listen to others in order to find creative ways to meet everyone’s needs.

Another one that often gets overlooked is having fun. Every good leader knows that there is a balance between getting stuff done and enjoying one’s self when doing it. Now, I must confess that I can’t think of any “fun” scenes in the Bible off the top of my head—they must have omitted the disciples’ group outing to Disneyland following the feeding of the 5000. But we are told in Scripture to live our lives joyfully. And it is hard to be joyful without throwing a bit of fun into the mix.

So next time you’re facilitating a planning session for your Bible study, commit to asking others to talk about their dreams, to take ownership. And this next one is for me, too—don’t forget to enjoy the ride. Even Jesus kicked back at the wedding in Cana (Yay! I thought of an example of fun in the Bible!)

“Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.” --John 13:5

Kelsey

It is a very rainy day here, as the remnants of Hurricane Katrina sweep over us—a perfect time to pull out your favorite book or movie, snuggle up on the couch with some ice cream, and enjoy a moment of rest before the craziness of the semester begins. Unfortunately for me, I have to go clean my old apartment tonight.

And what if you don’t have a favorite book or movie? What if you’re looking to this blog to inspire you? Well, I’m afraid that I’ll fail miserably at the task. With the exception of my addiction to junky pop music (which I’m trying to cure by listening to more NPR), I’m not really all that plugged in to pop culture. I’m afraid I can’t tell you the “it” book or movie. Although I don’t live in a cave, so I know that the latest Harry Potter is highly regarded.

The last time I went to the theater, I saw The Wedding Crashers. Actually, I’m not going to recommend that one to you… but before that, I did see Batman Begins. I figured that I would like this one because A.) Christian Bale stars, and B.) I tend to like every other Batman movie. I loved Batman Forever (big fan of Val Kilmer’s pout), hated Batman and Robin (George Clooney’s just too affable to be Batman). So I was due.

And I did like it. I particularly liked Katie Holmes’ character, with her drive, spunk, and social conscience. The movie did disappoint, however, in its ultimate failure to depict her outside traditional gender roles. In one scene, for instance, some evil thugs are about to kill her character. She sprays them with Mace, and they turn running in fear. She is pretty pleased with her ability to defend herself, until the character turns around and sees that Batman has actually come to her rescue. I suppose it wouldn’t be an action movie without a damsel in distress, but do we always have to undercut a moment of female empowerment by sending the message that she can’t do it without a man?

Don’t even get me started, though, on the climatic scenes of mayhem in Gotham. Like in so many movies, it seems necessary here to prove the female lead’s womanhood by having her play mother hen to a random little boy. What did that have to do with anything at all?

However, the film posed a very relevant question for all of us as Americans today, particularly those of us who are college-educated—how do we turn our privilege into a force for good in the world? Bruce Wayne comes from a background of wealth, but also from a family that understands how interconnected all the citizens of Gotham are. Batman Begins canonizes Bruce’s dead father, who used his wealth for public works that would better the lives of the entire community.

Interestingly enough, the film also rebuffs Bruce’s attempts to renounce his privilege. The film opens with Bruce in a Chinese prison, forced to steal after leaving behind the world of Gotham. But as we all know, Bruce can (and later does) go back to his old life whenever he chooses. Most of us, with our supportive families and college educations, are in a similar boat when it comes to the whole issue of privilege—we want to renounce it, but we can never entirely do so. The movie offers one perspective on how we handle that.

As far as summer blockbusters go, Batman wasn’t all that bad. And hey, it should be coming out on video soon. It might be a good small group activity on campus. But watch out for the creepy psychologist—after that dude, you wouldn’t think Batman would go for Nicole Kidman’s therapist character in Batman Forever.

“They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’” --Mark 10:26-27

Kelsey

Well, the sunshine that we enjoyed last week here in Louisville has departed, only to leave us with rain and the prospect of more rain. We won’t feel the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina until tomorrow at the earliest. Our weather, however, is certainly nothing to complain about. My mom called me this morning from Washington State, torn up over the news reports of New Orleans’ poor and homeless who have taken shelter in the Louisiana Superdome—where pieces of the roof are starting to fall in. Keep those folks in your thoughts and prayers.

Luckily for me, I’ve finished the bulk of my moving and have “nested” in my new place before the bulk of the rain. After two days of living by myself, I must say that I love it! There was quite a bit of fear and trepidation on my part about living alone, as you faithful blog readers know. But I think it will allow me to grow in new and exciting ways.

The first thing I noticed when moving in was that I could do everything exactly as I wanted it. In my experience (which may or may not be common to many young women), I often have people telling me how to do things. Part of it is necessary, a function of my inexperience in life. But for me, part of it is also my need to be a “people pleaser.” In other words, I will defer to the opinion of someone else rather than asserting my own. I figure that they probably know better anyway.

As I set everything up yesterday, though, there was no one else around to tell me where to put my stuff. I didn’t have to check with roommates to make sure that they liked this vase in this spot. No one told me that I should put the silverware in this drawer, or store my blankets in that closet. There is something significant about owning my own space. I am free to learn on my own, free to ask questions if I need help, free to discover for myself what works best. I can grow into this space.

Moreover, my new place is an escape from the world, where I can do things on my own terms. It goes back to the people pleaser thing—many of us women are taught to cater to the other, to be self-sacrificial for the good of someone else. Caring for others is a noble and admirable task, but completely sacrificing one’s own wholeness is not. Living on my own, I have a place to come back to where I can escape those social expectations, where I can let my guard down and relax. I can be with people if I’d like, or I can be alone. Either way, I can be me.

I know that I won’t always be this happy about living by myself. There may be lonely periods in my new place, times when the walls seem to be closing in on me. But I know what I’m going to do….

Last night I flipped an old recording of A&E’s Pride and Prejudice, the one starring Colin Firth, into the VCR. Now, watching this version of Pride and Prejudice is to female English majors what football is to many American males. When Darcy gives Elizabeth Bennett that sultry, smoldering “I want you but I’m a repressed Victorian” look, I whoop and squeal just like a die-hard Packers fan would when the receiver catches the touchdown pass.

And the beauty of living alone is that none of you can see or hear me making a fool of myself. Ahhhh.

“I kept my faith, even when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted.’” --Psalm 116:10

Kelsey

PS—Okay, so maybe the Packers fan wouldn’t “squeal,” per se, but he or she would get very excited. You get my drift.

I’ve been the official Associate for NNPCW for almost two weeks now, and I’m beginning to be acquainted with the ugly underbelly of the associate’s work—budgets. Suddenly, Mary Elva wants me to make crucial decisions about where to spend thousands of dollars. The Coordinating Committee expects me to guide them through the wilds of budget planning for the rest of the year. I was a liberal arts major, for goodness’ sake!

Accountants in the real world use some sort of arcane numerical system to make sure that we enter everything correctly. The problem is that the system contains no consistency whatsoever. Take a minus symbol, for example. In one particular report, the minus before your number means that you’ve overspent. Flip a couple of pages, and the minus denotes your expenditures in general. And then there are the minus symbols that mean the bill has been paid… and they all look exactly the same. Is it any wonder that accountants go to school for years to learn to read this stuff?

Part of our tendency as young Christian idealists is to be “above” the sordid world of money—particularly if we are women. According to one Wall Street Journal article I read, only 29% of students enrolled in the top 20 MBA programs in the country are women. The number is much higher in other professional schools, such as law and religion. Though women own, at least in part, nearly half of all American privately-owned firms, they aren’t getting MBAs to do it. We are still talking about an arena largely shaped by men.

We reinforce that trend with a Christian theological ethic that money is sinful. The Bible does say, after all, that “a love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). And when we’re involved in movements for justice, we see the destructive power that the love of money has in the way we treat our neighbors and our environment.

The Bible also says, however, that we should be “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16), and maybe that’s where all of us young, idealistic Christian women are missing the boat. If you want to effect change, you have to understand the current system. A hundred years ago, men were telling us that we shouldn’t worry our “pretty little heads” about such mundane things as the world of finance—that we were the moral guardians of the home and should leave the public sphere to men. Isn’t our moral assumption that we’re above money today just an internalized form of that exclusionary message? And isn’t it preventing us from having a transformative impact on the systems we despise?

As Gusti Newquist told me once, money is power. As long as we Christian women don’t understand money—where it comes from, how to use it—we will never have access to those avenues of power. The relationship between Christians committed to Jesus, and his messages about money and the marginalized, can’t be answered simplistically. But Christian women committed to justice only do themselves a disservice by failing to learn about finance.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” --Matthew 10:16

Kelsey

This morning it dawned on me that today is my Grandpa Bruce’s birthday. So even though Grandpa doesn’t have Internet access, I just wanted to give him a blog shout out and wish him a happy birthday. I’m sure my mother will show it to him anyway. I would like to point out, though, that I remembered it all on my own. I can’t promise the same for my other grandparents, though.

For the record, I am a shameless birthday celebrator. For 364 days of the year, I would consider myself a moderately well-adjusted, functioning adult. On January 20, though, I revert to a selfish twelve-year-old version of me in which I must have a party, with cake, and lots of friends to wish me well. The measure of a successful birthday? Whether you had cake, because it isn’t really a birthday without buttercream frosting (I hope some of you are taking notes right now). I’ve gotten over the gifts thing, although I can still get insulted if my mother doesn’t acknowledge the day with some small memento.

Since I’ve come to Louisville, I also plan some sort of birthday trip to celebrate (since my birthday falls on or around Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend). Last year, David and I went skiing in Wisconsin. In fact, the best birthdays are those in which the entire week is devoted to celebration of you.

Now I understand that some families don’t really do the whole birthday thing. I also know that most people, after they turn 21, stop celebrating their birthdays altogether. My question for you is, why? Why give up an excuse to share time with friends, eat birthday cake, and just generally feel good about yourself?

I’ve had some great birthday parties over the years. For my 16th birthday, for instance, I held a toga/beachwear party… in the middle of January. Imagine a room full of twenty fifteen and sixteen-year-old girls, fully dressed in togas or bathing suits, dancing along to Richard Simmons’ Sweatin’ to the Oldies. We stayed up all night long—now that was a party. Yes, there are photos. No, you will never see them.

So let’s bring back birthdays for adults. When I asked Mom what Grandpa was doing for his birthday this year, she said, “Not much… we’re just going to go eat cake at his house.” Now, I approve of the cake-eating—as I said, it isn’t a birthday without cake. But why not go all-out? Go eat at your favorite restaurant and invite all your family. In the case of my grandparents, plan a bluegrass banjo-playing party in the backyard with all your friends.

Seriously, though, God gives us a very short time on this earth, and an even shorter time with those we care about. My father was 13 days shy of his 40th birthday when he died, six years ago next month. Why waste our time moping about growing older, when there are things to experience and loved ones to cherish in a finite period?

On your next birthday, I challenge you to celebrate. Remember that God has given you another year to love, to serve, and to live out God’s calling for you in the world.

And as for next January—tell the delivery person 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, Kentucky. Roses and stargazer lilies are my favorites.

“Even those who live many years should rejoice in them all; yet let them remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.” --Ecclesiastes 11:8

Kelsey

Continuing the moving theme today, I thought that some of you might be interested in exploring the absolute necessities required to make it in your new college environment. Some of you reading the blog may be moving to college for the first time. Others are relocating to off-campus housing this year, and want a few hints as to what is needed. I’ve done both, and today we will explore the wonderful world of residence life.

First topic: what to bring. If you’re living in a college dorm, the absolute most important item you can’t live without are shower sandals. You may not consider them to be essential, but believe me, with all those nasty feet using your community shower every morning, there’s no telling what kinds of evil fungi are growing in there. You want to be protected. I will sleep better at night knowing that you have them.

Other items that might come in handy in the dorms include a small fridge, microwave, and comfy desk chair (since the ones provided won’t get you through those all-nighters). If you’re living in an apartment for the first time, your great challenge will be to “set up housekeeping.” This means not only buying some sort of furniture for your new place, but also getting dishware, utensils, shower curtains, and other items that were provided for you in the dorms. Yard sales and Goodwill are all solid possibilities—I am still using the set of plates I bought at a yard sale in Spokane back in 2002.

Some people will tell you to go dumpster diving. I would advise against this for two reasons, aside from the general premise that it is gross to rummage through trash: one, it is technically illegal (and I’ve known people who’ve been caught by the police), and two, it seems condescending to the poor who do it to survive when you’re doing it for fun. You can probably scrounge up the cash to buy it, folks. As tempting as Pier 1’s dumpster might be, stay away.

The next important thing you should know about college living is how to get along with the management. Once upon a time, I was a resident assistant. We had a term for certain people in the dorm, those who were needy or complaining every time we turned around—“high maintenance residents.” My friends, you do not want to be the high maintenance resident in your new home. Jesus does not want you to be the high maintenance resident either, because that means you’re making the RA’s life, well, you know. If you absolutely must get into the storage closet, at least set up a time with the RA rather than demanding it be done right then. One complaint per week about your noisy heater is enough—the squeaky wheel may get the grease, but that doesn’t mean the RA is going to like you for it.

As for how to get along with your roommates? My theory on this subject is that you cannot graduate from college until you’ve had at least one bad roommate experience. So don’t beat yourself up when it happens. My bad roommate experience actually came after I moved out of the dorms, after I’d had all the RA mediation training and all that. You may not see it coming.

Roommates teach you a lot about yourself, in a manner similar to dating—when you live with people, you find out how you do not like to live. I discovered, through the assistance of my first-year roommate, that I cannot listen to Bebo Norman every day for two months straight (although I can still remember Loretta’s interactive hand motions to the chorus of “Walk Down This Mountain”). I found out that I have definite space and boundary issues when it comes to my stuff. And I confronted my own discomfort with silence and isolation through a roommate experience. Remember that living with people is a give-and-take—you have to figure out what to let go and what to stand firm on, and where to show some Christian love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 takes on a whole new dimension after your freshman roommate.

After these brilliant insights, you may feel compelled to draw further upon my residence life wisdom. Or perhaps others of you out there may be able to add something to what I’ve already said—this is certainly a cursory treatment of the topic. I await your pleasure.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom for the future.” --Proverbs 19:20

Kelsey

Well, my friends, I’ve slowly but surely been packing up my apartment for my impending move to complete and total independence. As of this weekend, I’ll finally be living on my own. Perhaps we never fully and completely grow into “adulthood,” at least not until we wake up one day with 2.5 kids and a dog nipping at our heels. But I do see my apartment as a benchmark of sorts in my emergence to the adult world.

Of course, I’m not the only person who has been on the move of late. Many of you are just beginning to head back to school for another year of jolly good fun. The experience, of course, gets less traumatic as the years pass. Your first year is a bundle of nervous excitement, your second a groan of familiarity (unless you happened to have a really boring summer, in which case you’re relieved to be done with it). The third and fourth years, if you left your college town at all, are old hat. By that time, you’re a moving expert. And even Mom doesn’t cry as hard or as long when she pulls out of the parking lot. Thank God for small blessings.

One of my co-workers just dropped her son off for his first year at college here in Kentucky. She came over beforehand to ask me what not to do when moving him in (I replied that parents should never try to take over—let us call the shots when it comes to arranging the room), so this morning I asked her how it had gone. A fairly lengthy conversation ensued, which ended with, “Someday you’ll know how your mother felt—what goes around comes around.”

This weekend I also ran into our neighbor’s kid hauling his stereo out of the apartment. I’ve never really talked to him before, but this time I asked if his family was moving out. He told me that he was going to college for his first year, in that shy but excited way that eighteen year olds describe moving away from home for the first time.

And yesterday my sister, who will begin community college next month, also started a new job at the grocery store. She told me how kind everyone had been to her, how much better it was than her old job. With a bit of fear and triumph mingled in her voice, Rachel went on to describe her successful first try at ringing someone out at the cash register.

In NNPCW, we talk a lot about the particularities of our experience—the things that make us different from one another, things that we lift up in order to be our authentic selves. Yet it doesn’t hurt to remember that even through those, we humans share a lot. Regardless of age, gender, race, sexuality, or any of the other differences we talk about all the time, we all feel that mixture of excitement, trepidation, grief, and love that comes with any new direction we take in life.

So here’s a prayer for all of us facing the new in the upcoming weeks:

“May God grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfill all your plans.
May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.” --Psalm 20:4-5

Kelsey

Not too long ago, I had a request from a blog poster to explain a bit more about NNPCW. First of all, what is it, and second, why would I recommend that people join? Thank you to Shelley from Sacramento Presbytery for asking something that I should have explained on the blog a long time ago.

As you can see on the sidebar to this page, the National Network of Presbyterian College Women consists of “young women in college, connected by a belief in God, seeking to understand what it means to claim a Christian faith that empowers women.” To put that in lay terms, we provide opportunities for young women to look at their faith journey through the unique lens of their experience as women.

Young women, you see, have a different set of challenges and opportunities than those of men or those of older women. Young women today have doors opened to them that their mothers never imagined, from playing competitive sports to attending college with an objective other than an “Mrs” degree. Yet they still struggle to overcome prejudices regarding their abilities, particularly the silent assumptions about women’s roles in society that still prevent them from being equally treated in public life. NNPCW provides young women with a safe space to talk about and think about their unique place in the church and society, while searching for a deeper understanding of God and of Scripture in light of that experience.

Are we a feminist organization? Insomuch as we affirm simply that “our understanding of feminism grows out of our Christian belief that all people are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ in the image of God and thus should be respected and heard equally.” Despite the images of feminists as bra-burners and man-haters, it really isn’t all that radical a statement from a Christian perspective.

Perhaps what is most appealing about this definition, and what drew me when I first read it, is its seamless integration of Christian morality with feminist ethics. All too often the larger culture pits the two against one another—feminists hate Christians as the patriarchal oppressors, Christians hate feminists as godless “femi-Nazis”. But NNPCW’s understanding of feminism points out that if, as Christians, we believe that God created and values all people equally, we need to give each other the same love and value that Christ gave us through his death and resurrection. And if, as Christians, we’re working to tear down the walls that divide us from one another, then we are ultimately working toward feminist goals as well.

So why would I recommend that others join the Network? Partly because of the leadership opportunities it provides within the Presbyterian Church. Our members attend the General Assembly and smaller church conferences throughout the year, deepening their commitment to church in general and the Presbyterian Church (USA) in particular. It teaches them how a national church body works, and how they can become part of the process of decision-making at the national level. By serving on a national church committee (CoCo), young women gain a voice in the church.

More importantly, though, the Network can provide young women with a spiritual community unlike any they have ever experienced in the church. I’ve seen women stand up at the Leadership Event in tears, telling the group how they had felt entirely alone in their spiritual journey until they met us. Many of our members over the years have said that they would not be in the church today if it were not for the ministry of NNPCW. NNPCW provides a space for women to share, to struggle, to laugh, and to learn as they discern who God calls them to be. It is a ministry that can’t be measured in mere quantities.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” --Ephesians 2:13-14

Kelsey

From the time I was a little girl, I had a way of getting involved with things without even really meaning to. My parents and I had a joke when I was younger—if someone told me there was going to be a dog fight in the high school parking lot, and everyone was going to be there, I would insist that my parents take me to that dog fight. Somehow, I just find my way into stuff.

One day, about two months or so ago, I got a phone call from the American Cancer Society. They had gotten my name from a co-worker (you know who you are!) who thought I might be interested in supporting the struggle against breast cancer. Now, of course I support the fight against breast cancer—who doesn’t? But I’ve never had breast cancer, and neither has anyone in my immediate family. It isn’t an issue that touches me personally yet (although statistically, one in eight American women will have breast cancer at some point in their lives).

But I can’t really say no, and anyway, all the lady asked was if she could contact me again about an event. I thought, “She’s not asking me for money or anything, so whatever. Put me down.” See, these American Cancer Society folks are smart.

I was a bit suspicious, though, when they invited me to the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer annual kickoff breakfast. I thought, “Now is when they’ll ask me for the money.” So I didn’t RSVP to their mailing. They don’t give up that easily, though… the same woman called me back, and again, I couldn’t say no. I kept waiting for the mention of how much I would have to donate to go to this breakfast, but no one said anything.

I guess I’m a bit slow on the uptake, because the breakfast program yesterday had already started when I realized what they were asking me to do—they didn’t want my money. They wanted me to raise money from other people by helping to lead the Presbyterian Center’s involvement in the breast cancer walk on October 23. I had already walked out of the Galt House Ballroom with my 50 brochures, posters, and a free t-shirt before I was fully aware of how handily I’d been recruited for the Making Strides campaign.

So here I am, about to walk for women fighting breast cancer. I have since found out that yes, there are women in my family who have developed this disease, some of whom have died from it. I have also learned that breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American women. If caught early, though, the chances of survival are fairly high.

One myth I brought into yesterday’s breakfast was that breast cancer primarily struck older women—our mothers and grandmothers. But at this event, the cancer survivor who spoke was only 29 years old. Breast cancer does strike young women. In fact, according to the Young Survival Coalition (www.youngsurvival.org), 11,000 women under the age of 40 will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Nearly 1300 of those women will die of the disease—it is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women ages 15-40.

Contrary to my misconception, breast cancer is a young woman’s issue. If you get the chance, walk to support the Making Strides campaign in your own community so that there is money for valuable research and advocacy. Of course, you can always donate money to my walk, too… I’ll keep you all filled in on the details.

“He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” --Mark 5:34

Kelsey

Note: This blog post was written yesterday, while we were still captive to the evil e-mail worm. Praise be to God, we're back online today!!

Past calamities in the American worker’s life included crop failure and losing a finger in the weaving loom. Today, the Presbyterian Center is facing the modern American working disaster—a devastating e-mail virus. Yes, we here in PresbyLand have been held captive to the forces of computer-hacking darkness for almost 24 hours now.

While some of us in Women’s Ministries were over at Presbyterian Women yesterday, stealing their coffeecake, our computers completely shut down and refused to restart properly. Soon the brave souls in the Office of Information Services (OIS—the computer people) were seen infiltrating the building, spreading the bad news—a virus had hit the PC(USA) servers, and we had to literally unplug our cables from the network. Eventually we were able to turn our computers back on, but a day later, many of us are still without all network files or Internet/e-mail access.

Ten years ago, I had a dinky little dinosaur computer. I taught myself to use the MS DOS 6.0 operating system on it before my parents finally bought a computer that I could use to type homework assignments. We didn’t even get the Internet at my house until 1998.

Looking back on that, it seems almost unbelievable how much I need the computer, particularly the network, to get anything done now. When I want to send paperwork for Brianne to type up, I can’t do it without e-mail. I can’t even print her a hard copy, since we do all the printing here through the network. Since 80% of my communication with you all is through e-mail, the effect of losing e-mail is akin to becoming deaf and dumb. I can’t hear you all, and I can’t talk to you. Even this blog post will go up only when OIS finally plugs me back in, after a thorough 30-minute virus scan on this computer. Amazing how relatively simple it is to bring the entire work of the church to a grinding halt.

Maybe what God is trying to teach us through this, though, is to get up off our duffs and go talk to people. When I finish this blog post, the next order of business is to actually call CoCo members about our conference call this afternoon. Then I will walk over to my co-worker’s cube to ask her about an article I’m supposed to write for Horizons, the magazine for Presbyterian Women. I’ve heard so many more voices, so much more laughter, reverberating through the corridors of PresbyLand since the virus hit. It is because people are out of their little bubbles and actually communicating with one another.

But I’ll still be glad when the system is back up!

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” --Psalm 121:1-2

Kelsey

Very Important Note: If you sent me a message at karice@ctr.pcusa.org in the last 24 hours, I probably did not receive it! If your business is urgent, you probably need to call me. Otherwise, please resend your message tomorrow.

I’ve been watching news recently about the Gaza pullout. Now, normally I don’t watch network news—it depresses me way too much regarding the state of humanity. But it is raining this morning, and I wanted a weather report so I knew what to wear today. So in addition to seeing the winner of the world’s ugliest dog contest on the Today show (and believe me, it was indeed an incredibly ugly dog), I saw their latest piece on the Israel/Palestinian conflict.

Everything I have seen on the pullout (I’m also subjected to cable news when I go to the gym), paints a very pitiful picture of the settlers in Gaza. This morning I saw clips of basketball games going on in the settlements, with the commentary that “this gym will be razed to the ground in just a few days.” You can switch on your TV sets and see old women crying at being torn from their homes. You also see footage of masked Hamas leaders, declaring victory through violence.

My concern with this whole tableau is that it really doesn’t give a contextual or entirely complete picture of what’s going on. I remember when I first went to Jerusalem last year. I thought that all this land had been given to the state of Israel after World War II, and they were being nice enough to give a bit of it back to these random Palestinian people, despite their violent and evil intent. I have to admit that my best knowledge of the conflict came from a Christian novel series about the creation of the state of Israel, in which Israeli freedom fighters struggled for survival against the evil Mufti and his Arab thugs.

Yet however you feel about this conflict—who’s right, who’s wrong, what should be done—it is important to acknowledge some facts: just as right now it is difficult for settlers to leave homes they’ve lived in for thirty years, it was incredibly painful for Palestinian refugees to leave their ancestral homes in Israel in 1947… homes to which they’ve never been allowed to return. It is also important to know that the land currently under dispute in Gaza and the West Bank was given to the Palestinians by United Nations resolution back in 1947. During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel seized control of this land from Jordan and Egypt. It then proceeded to consolidate control of these two regions by building Israeli-only settlements on the land—islands of Israel in territory set aside by international resolution for the region’s Palestinian population. And you have to know that not all Palestinians, probably not even most Palestinians, want Israel obliterated. They understand the reality of the situation. They just want a homeland of their own.

There have certainly been victims on both sides of this conflict. There are reasons Israel has taken certain actions against the Palestinian population—there are also reasons the Palestinians have acted in certain ways as well. Before you come down on one side or the other, though, I would ask you to turn off your television sets and go pick up a book. Turn on National Public Radio. Find a professor who knows a bit more about the history of the region. Don’t be like me, who allowed a few news reports and a very biased fictional account to determine how I understood an issue that affects millions of lives.

And this lesson doesn’t just apply to Israel/Palestine, either. We often have a tendency to spout off really uninformed opinions based on a few news sound bytes, without understanding issues that have taken decades to develop. We talk way too much when we should keep our mouths shut. Perhaps the secret to shalom, or peace, is that we slow down and listen. Listen to our neighbors. Listen to our enemies. Listen to the quiet voice of God.

“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” --1 Kings 19:11-13

Kelsey

I almost called 911 on our cat this morning.

It was 6:30 am when the alarm insistently intruded its way into my pleasant slumber. I had just started the eternal debate about whether I actually wanted to get up when I suddenly heard someone trying my door. Now, because I’m afraid of the boogeyman (see networknotes.blogspot.com/2005/07/living-with-boogeyman.html), I always lock my bedroom door when I sleep. My first thought? “Dear Lord, someone is trying to force his way into my room!!” I jumped out of bed and grabbed my cell phone, which I leave on all night anyway, and immediately dialed 911.

But then the rattling and banging stopped. “Perhaps the intruder is running for the door before I call 911,” I mused, “so I’ll wait.” Paralyzed with fear, I debated whether to call my mom in Washington state or David in Boston (for all the help that they could give me), while also thinking about what weapon lay close at hand to defend myself against the attacker. I reached into my closet, grabbing a large umbrella with a wooden handle. I then waited, clutching 911 in one hand and my weapon of defense in the other.

Finally, with silence on the other side of the door, I tentatively cracked it open. THE STUPID CAT WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE. Apparently, when Cleo heard my alarm go off, he took that as the signal to lay siege to my bedroom (which is normally off-limits to him). He’s lucky I’m nonviolent at heart, or I would have done to him what I’d planned on doing to the intruder.

This, friends, is why I hate cats. Cleo knows that it freaks me out when he bangs on my bedroom door, and so he does it with great gusto. Cleo knew that our roommate Amy didn’t like him much, so he pooped on her favorite living room futon… as she watched. This is a cat that had to leave his last home because he frightened small children. When we all move out of the apartment in a few weeks, I will not miss Cleo. Dogs scare burglars away. Cats imitate them.

This morning’s incident, though, highlights an important issue for me. As a single woman who will soon live alone, how can I make myself more secure? I’ve thought about taking an adult education self-defense class that will be offered this fall. My umbrella will now become a permanent fixture underneath my bed. Frying pans make good weapons, too, I’m told.

Where I’m from in rural Washington, many people (my parents included) slept with guns close by… and my mom has met a few strange characters at the door with Dad’s hunting rifle. Now, I’m not about to sleep with a gun under my pillow. But I suppose it is the logical extension of the measures I’m talking about.

On an ethical level, though, this sort of knee-jerk response of combating violence with more violence seems only to perpetuate the problem. We see that sort of thing on a macro level every day, as countries continue to see more weapons as the way to protect themselves from the “bad” countries. If I don’t agree with that, why would I see extremely violent measures as a path to my own individual security?

I realize that we live in a fallen world, in a violent and chaotic society where the strong have dominated the weak since the beginning. I also know that Jesus calls us to live in peace with our neighbors—and we know from the Good Samaritan parable that all people are our neighbors. Should we as Christians respond realistically to this world, and sleep with our frying pans, or can we actually manage to pay attention to that crazy guy, Jesus? Even when living in peace with all people might mean being incredibly naïve by the world’s standards?

I may not always be able to resist grabbing the umbrella when the cat attacks my door. I will certainly continue to sleep with all my doors locked. I pray, though, that God will liberate me from fear. Perhaps then, I can meet all the boogeymen in my life with an overpowering, overwhelming frying pan of love.

“Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” --Mark 9:50

Kelsey

My friends, what would the average workday be without the morning commute? It is this visceral, life-and-death struggle to get to your workplace every morning that tells you you’ve arrived in the real working world. This may not be something you college students understand yet, but you will, young Padawans, you will.

This morning, as the ‘Stang and I sped down Interstate 64 at approximately 70 mph (15 mph over the posted limit—a good commute day, obviously), I saw a guy in a red Geo Metro actually shaving. Luckily for all of us, he wasn’t going as fast as I was. I’ve heard stories like this, of course, but I’ve never actually seen it for myself. When I gave tours at the dam, I worked with a former Washington State Patrolman. He told me that you would be amazed at the things people will try to do while they’re driving… from the innocuous to the obscene.

To navigate the commute, you must learn certain skills of weaving in and out of backed-up traffic as you figure out which lanes are moving most quickly (if traffic is really bad, you’ll have plenty of time to consider this). This may require you to listen to radio reports, as well as be aware of your environment regarding freeway onramps and off-ramps. Of course, you must be unfailingly polite as you do this, making sure to never cut another driver off. Always smile and wave, too—that helps.

Actually, certain members of the Coordinating Committee will tell you I am a bad driver. They are wrong. I am a good driver. My only true driving flaw is that I tend to make very fast decisions sometimes, and then inform passengers of those decisions in a very sudden manner.

Example: Kelsey and students from the 2004 Leadership Event are driving down the freeway in Los Angeles back from LAX. Kelsey realizes that she is about to miss her exit, does a head check, and then stomps on the gas to cross three lanes of traffic as she yells, “We’re gonna do it, folks!!!!” No one is in immediate danger, of course, because Kelsey signaled to all the other drivers of her impending lane change. Yet inexplicably, they all grab their handlebars and look as though they are cheating death.

I used to talk to my mother on the cell phone during my morning commute. I had a bad habit, though, of telling her when I was going to run yellow lights. I would shout into the phone, “Oooh, I’m running it!!” as she pleaded on the other end of the phone, “No, Kelsey, no!!” Then I’d say, “Ah, I made it” as the ‘Stang and I sailed through the light and on to another adventure. I don’t think Mom likes to ride to work with me anymore.

Again, let me point out that I am not a bad driver. I’m not even an aggressive driver. I’ve always been afraid that Sheena Simmons is going to ruin my reputation to the point that the church won’t let me rent cars anymore. But really, I’m just one more driver who has honed her survival skills in the jungle that is the morning commute.

“But the Lord is faithful; God will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” --2 Thessalonians 3:3

Kelsey

PS-- Now before my mother’s cautions rain down on my head, and all my relatives start telling me over Christmas dinner this year that they’ve heard about my lead foot, I’d like to point out two things: 1.) I-64 in Louisville is the only place at which I speed like that, since you only see law enforcement on that road when they’re passing you, and; 2.) I still have never been pulled over. So there.

I just got back from the Women’s Ministries staff meeting. I’m noticing that some areas always serve some sort of food. Contrary to the way you may stereotype Women’s Ministries as folks who are always baking goodies, we rarely have food at our meeting. Unfortunately, when I pointed this out, the others volunteered me to bring the food next time. Ooops.

I like staff meetings, simply because it gives me a chance to see everyone in the area at once. In our oh-so-hierarchical system, we receive the report from on high (the division director, Curtis Kearns), followed by our own small updates on the projects we’re working on. Like any staff meeting, they can be somewhat tedious—particularly if we’re talking about the budget.

Today, Curtis’ report told us that once again, we’re getting less revenue than we hoped for this year. Sometimes it feels like we program staff are World War II housewives—the church will be handing out ration coupons before we know it. For a program like NNPCW, where we already bring our own linens to CoCo meetings and I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the World Tour, I wonder where people think there is more fat to trim.

I also wonder, if people indeed back up their values with their pocketbooks, what this says about how people value the work of our church. Funding, in this denomination, is of course a highly politicized issue. Depending on your theological leanings, you may have different answers about why the dollars are shrinking. But really, who knows? Maybe it is just that all those old, faithful Presbyterian saints are dying off.

But maybe it is more than that. Maybe it is an attitude, one which I participate in at times, of valuing the church primarily for what it gives to us rather than how we can serve God through it. For instance, a phrase I’ve heard (and said myself, once or twice), when church-shopping is, “Oh, that church just didn’t do it for me.” We talk more about the songs they sing, the number of small groups they offer, the preacher’s style, than we do about the opportunities they provide to live out Jesus’ call to become a servant. We expect the church to primarily minister to us, rather than to offer itself as the vehicle through which we can minister to others.

If we look at the church only in selfish and individualistic terms, it naturally makes sense that stewardship is not going to be a top priority. It also follows that we won’t see past our little worshipping club to notice the real needs of others, whether those needs are physical, spiritual, emotional, or otherwise. If Christ commands us to “wash one another’s feet” in imitation of him (John 13:14), then to fail in this task is to cut off our own spiritual head as a church. And a decapitated body will eventually die.

So when you think of the church, when you think of NNPCW, look out beyond what we bring to you and consider how you can serve God through this admittedly flawed institution. For those with a servant’s heart have kept God’s church alive, and will keep it vital into the future.

“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.” --Isaiah 1:11

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” --Isaiah 1:16-17

Kelsey

Except for a phone extension that the computer people still haven’t transferred for me, I’m all moved into my new office. Two years of cube accumulation, however, did not prepare me for the additional space. My bookshelf is almost empty (thanks for stealing my books for the Advocacy Library, Gusti!) and my walls would be completely bare if it weren’t for a giant sheet hanging in one corner (apologies for the crude description of your lovely communal art project, participants of the 2001 Leadership Event), and my sister’s version of abstract art stuck to the cabinet. And worst of all, I don’t know what to do with my postcard collection. I don’t think Building Services would appreciate 50+ pushpins hammered into the plaster walls.

If you feel so moved, your contributions of interesting, woman-centered decorations and books for my office would be appreciated. As always, NNPCW and I both also take your generous cash donations.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday in my new work home, thinking about this fall’s World Tour. I have almost decided to go to western Tennessee for sure, mainly because the University of Memphis Presbyterian ministry actually invited me to come. Jennifer Ross from Rhodes College also promised to take me to Graceland if I came to visit. How can I turn my back on such a grand show of Southern hospitality?

As for other possible stops, I’m seriously musing on Missouri and Kansas this time. I’ve visited the edges of the country—New England, the Pacific Northwest, the Southeast, Texas—but I’ve still not gone to the heartland. Plus, we have one of our strongest supporters in the wonderful campus ministry at the University of Kansas, and I would really like to go visit them.

One last area I’m considering, partly for personal reasons—northeast Arkansas. Now, you’re probably asking what appeal rural Arkansas has to a woman from the Pacific Northwest. Actually, my dad’s side of the family comes from there. My grandparents were born in that region, near Batesville (home of PC(USA)-related Lyon College). My great-uncle Floyd, somewhere in his 90s, is still living in the area. So I could visit Lyon and maybe get a few days of family history in the bargain.

So if you happen to be reading this and are from one of the above-mentioned states, send me an invitation to come to your campus or congregation. Nothing is set in stone yet, so your e-mails may sway me toward a different region instead, or solidify my desire to come to Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas. I’m bundles of fun, and you are always welcome to join my Graceland party.

And here’s a good Bible verse for college students making tuition payments this month:

“Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.” --Proverbs 23:23

Kelsey

According to news reports, Sunday was the sixtieth anniversary of the U.S. dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Yesterday I read a 1985 speech given by George Zabelka, the Catholic chaplain of the Enola Gay’s airmen. He had initially blessed the attack. Yet after hearing from his troops of the living dead staggering around the city, seared flesh hanging from their bones, he became convinced that this could never be compatible with Jesus’ message of peace. He later became a pacifist and peace advocate until his death in 1992, a man who challenged the church to return to its early history of nonviolence in the face of political power.

Perhaps ignorance truly is bliss. Because when you truly know, when you begin to see something from the side of the other, you begin to see the blood on your own hands. There are people who will tell you that they have an entirely clean conscience about the world and their own lives. Those people haven’t seen the real world, in my opinion. They don’t know how we’re all part of it, from the bombings we bless to the places we shop to the people we yell at in the workplace. We constantly engage in devaluing the lives of others, whether we really intend to or not.

An example—yesterday David started his new job with General Electric’s aircraft division in Boston, building the casings for turbo-prop jet engines. I’ll tell you right now that I’m proud of him. It is a great job, with a great future. As someone who spends a lot of time in the air traveling, it amazes me to think that David has the ability to design and produce those amazing machines. I can write about them, fuel the imagination with my words, but he can actually create something that will improve life for people around the world. It is a different calling than mine, but one with amazing potential for good.

Some of you might remember that I went to Jerusalem over a year ago for a conference on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. There I met many Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, who were suffering because of the continued military presence of the state of Israel on land promised to them by United Nations resolutions. The people I met didn’t want to drive Israel into the sea—they just wanted an end to the checkpoints, an end to the house demolitions, an end to the missile attacks and firefights in their neighborhoods. They wanted peace with their neighbors, a peace that they felt the current Israeli government, not Israelis themselves, largely prevented by their policies.

So when I heard that activists were calling the Presbyterian Church (USA) to look into divesting itself from General Electric stock over the Israel/Palestine issue, I felt compelled to know more. A quick Google search told me that GE’s aircraft division, in addition to their commercial operations, also produces and sells engines to the Israeli military for their Apache helicopters. In fact, GE once received an award from the Israeli government for 50 years of partnership, largely a result of its military contracts.

Does David want to aid in destroying the lives of Palestinians with his God-given talents? Of course not. And if I believe that God opened the door for David to take this opportunity, that it truly was a case of calling, how can God put one of God’s chosen in a position ethically contrary to God’s will? Particularly if David does end up designing Apache helicopter engines that will be used against Palestinian civilians? What does God call him to do? What does God call me to do? What love does God offer all of us in the face of sins we don’t mean to commit?

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” --Romans 3:23-24

Kelsey

PS—I found out last night that the PC(USA) has released the list of companies that we will begin “progressive engagement” talks with regarding Israel/Palestine at www.pcusa.org/mrti/actions.htm. GE is currently not on that list. David also tells me that he won’t be working on GE’s military engine design, so that is a relief.

A few random observations for today…

Why don’t more people move out West? After surviving this summer of horrid humidity here in Louisville, I just can’t understand why people aren’t flocking to great anti-humidity states such as Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Arizona, etc. Yes, it can get really hot in some of these places, and you do have the occasional concerns with fires, earthquakes and volcanoes. But surely that can’t be any worse than the annual beating Florida takes during hurricane season.

Why is it that in the summer, people air condition buildings to nearly Arctic temperatures? And then in the winter, you feel like you’re in the Bahamas indoors? It makes dressing for the weather a near impossibility—you need jackets to wear inside in the summer and tank tops after November.

Whenever you turn on radio or television, it seems that they’re never playing anything good. Is it just that there are no good songs/TV shows out, or do I just hit the bad times? This is why I never watch TV. I have to listen to something while heading into work, though.

Sorry, nothing really deep today—I needed to take a breath from serious and thought-provoking topics. Check back in tomorrow for the theological mind-benders.

“God is faithful; by God you were called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” --1 Corinthians 1:9

Kelsey

Here I am, back in Chicago, this time for a comp day. I’ve been staying with David’s grandparents at their home in Skokie, where I can always expect a bed and a very good meal or two. Do you ever notice how eager elderly relatives are to feed you? I discovered this secret some time ago, which helped me realize why it is such a good thing to visit your grandparents. Grandma Bruce, after all, makes the best cherry pie in the state of Washington.

This morning as I walked by the kitchen, I saw both David’s grandmother and grandfather hard at work preparing lunch. This struck me—even twenty years ago, many men would not necessarily be helping their wives prepare a meal. I know that my grandparents are much the same. Grandpa Bruce is quite good in the kitchen, while Grandpa Rice does the dishes and sweeps the floor even as he complains about “women’s work.”

There is quite a bit of rhetoric today about “tradition,” whether it relates to family values, the church, or other aspects of our lives. Yet tradition simply stems from people who find the most effective ways to adapt to their environment. Tradition is a product of function, really, passed down over generations.

The traditional roles in my grandparents’ households are changing for a variety of reasons—my grandmothers are older and can’t do quite as much anymore without help, my grandfathers are retired and consequently bored, both are simply looking for companionship. Because people are living longer and don’t necessarily have younger family members to take care of their basic needs, too, the elderly must adapt gender roles to fit changing conditions.

It really isn’t that far from the problem young adults face. In a society where science and technology make change the norm, young men and women find that they need to adapt tradition to fit new circumstances. Regardless of our age or gender, we are all trying to figure out this new world and establish new traditions to go with it.

Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of faith, then, is that even when our understanding of our faith changes with time, God is still there. And with God, one tradition will always remain—that we love God with our whole heart, mind, and spirit, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves.

“To love God with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” --Mark 12:33

Kelsey

Sorry I didn’t write earlier today. I actually have a couple of comp days for the event last week, so I’m taking a long weekend to go back to… uh, Chicago. So after driving the five hours back to Louisville on Monday, I turned around this afternoon and drove up again. But this time I got to stop at the outlet mall in Indiana, as well as at the Tippecanoe Battlefield site north of Lafayette. I have another wedding to attend, so it should be a good time.

I have more office gossip for you, though—we are free to announce the name of the new Associate for Racial Ethnic Young Women Together, as of yesterday. Bridgett Young will be joining the Young Women’s Ministries team in September. I don’t know too much about Bridgett, except that she is a recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary. With the advent of Bridgett, Molly, and Heather to the office, Women’s Ministries program staff will be overwhelmingly young—all but Mary Elva herself will be under 35.

What we all hope, with such a young crew, is that Women’s Ministries as an office will be better able to respond to changing needs within the church and society among younger women. We know that NNPCW in particular has produced many young adults who are committed to their faith but unsure of their place within the church past the college years. After the devastating staff cuts in the spring of 2004, Women’s Ministries committed to focusing its efforts on finding a way to provide that space for young women. The hiring of five young women in the past three months to the office is the first step in that process. I know that I’m excited to be part of it.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.” --Isaiah 43:5-6

Kelsey

Now that the Leadership Event is over, my number one goal for the week is to relocate workspaces. Yes, my friends, I have now attained a great honor here in PresbyLand—an office, complete with a door that closes. Actually, several of my intern friends have always had offices. In Women’s Ministries, though, the behemoth that is Presbyterian Women takes up most of the available space on the southern side of 3rd East. So a cubicle has always been my lot in life, until now.

As it is with many of you, August has always been my transitional month. Perhaps society bred it into us early by starting the new school year in August. Because I work with college students, I still largely function on the academic calendar. January 1 isn’t my new year—the new year begins this month.

But it is more than that. This August, I’m looking for a new living situation as my previous lease runs out. Important people in my life are leaving Louisville. I can’t even keep the stability of my office space anymore.

So what shall we do with this new year of sorts?

I had a great conversation on the way to the airport the other day with Alyson, one of our event participants from Atlanta. She pointed out that for her, it was a conscious choice to be happy every day, to appreciate those things around her. As she reminded me, what is the point in waiting until tragedy occurs to learn the value of what we have? Why can’t we enjoy the yummy gelato, be happy that our old friend called the other day, soak up the class discussion on a great book? What are we waiting for?

Such an attitude reminds me of the covenantal vows we say when we join a church, that we will live out our Christian faith “with God’s help.” We wake up every morning and have to make a choice, to live with joy in the face of our own private sorrows and the world’s corporate suffering. We choose to love all, both those closest to us and those who have hurt us deeply. We make the choice to serve God daily, knowing that God has ordained us to be instruments of Christ’s love to the world. But we do it with God’s help, knowing that the Spirit walks with us even when joy seems distant.

So in this month of transitions, choose to live with the joy that lies in the Spirit and the peace that passes all understanding. I know that I will, with God’s help.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” --2 Corinthians 13:13

Kelsey

Hallelujah, I survived!!! Yes, Brianne and I made it back to Louisville last night from a fantastic event in Chicago. We even got national coverage, as you can see when you visit the Presbyterian News Service at www.pcusa.org/news. And thank you to the three guest bloggers who held down the fort while I was off driving people to the airport. You did a fantastic job giving all of us a taste for the event.

Honestly, in everything we did at this leadership event, I could feel the Holy Spirit at work. From our panel discussion on Thursday night, where Larry Horne from Chicago Uptown Ministries told us about his experience of homelessness and his activism on their behalf, to workshop experiences talking to people living with HIV/AIDS on Friday, to awesome interactive plenaries with Laura Cheifetz and Lisa Larges on Saturday, the event offered something to challenge and invigorate everyone.

As Christians, Jesus asks us to be witnesses to the truth. What I saw in this event were over 30 women who now want to be those witnesses, to share the love of God in the world. So many of the young women I talked to wanted to take what they had learned at the event and share it—with their families, with their congregations, with their campuses. After hearing Rick Ufford-Chase speak on U.S.-Mexico immigration and the border on Friday night, even I stayed up past midnight to call David and tell him what I’d learned.

So thank you, all you phenomenal women who came with such open hearts and open minds to this event. Thank you to the wonderful leadership, who created an environment where people could ask questions of their faith and discern how God has called them to act in the world. Most of all, thanks be to the God who gave us minds for reason, hearts for love, and hands for service to all the families of the earth.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” --Psalm 73:26

Kelsey