Ahhh… I’ve almost survived the sprint toward Thanksgiving. Just two more days!! Not that Thanksgiving will be particularly relaxing, as I still have to do all the other stuff I’ve been putting off for the past month. Getting groceries, for instance. Last weekend I had several meals consisting of PB&J with cream of mushroom soup. I’ve eaten pretty much all the frozen foods and have now moved on to the canned foods in the cupboard as a last resort. The cream of mushroom, for instance, had expired in August.

The Leadership Event Planning Team met in Louisville yesterday, and the 2006 event is finally beginning to take shape. The theme, as you know, will be “Women Among Them Astounded Us: A Celebration of Women in All Generations,” and will focus on intergenerational dialogue with Presbyterian Women.

The planning team, consisting of Maren Haynes (Spokane, WA), Virginia Hines (Boston, MA), Omayra Gonzalez-Mendez (Rio Piedras, PR), and Kimberly Coblentz (Coos Bay, OR), see the event as an opportunity to break down the walls of ageism that divide us by lifting up and valuing the individual stories of all participants. This doesn’t mean, though, that we young women are going to sit back and completely absorb the knowledge of older women. What it does mean is that each story, from all generations, receives equal weight and value as unique parts of our collective experience as women.

And that leads to the second half of the event—exploring how we can build a new community of women for the future, one that shows God’s extravagant love to all. We will accomplish some of this through experiencing a day of the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women. There, we will have the opportunity to hear internationally known speakers Benedita da Silva, the first female Afro-Brazilian member of the Brazilian parliament who rose from the favelas (shantytowns) to political power, and Esther Byu, the executive secretary of the international women’s movement Fellowship of the Least Coin.

We also came up with some absolutely awesome workshop options, places where young and old will meet and discuss. Workshop opportunities will range from exploring the women’s movements of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s to discussing the future of women’s faith communities (such as the PW circle). In addition to the workshops we always have, like Sexual Ethics or Discerning Your Vocation, we will have workshops on female friendships and ageism as portrayed in the media. I’m really excited about some of the topics we will be exploring together.

Hopefully that has whetted your appetite a bit… if you’re interested in learning more about the 2006 NNPCW Leadership Event, click here. Registration doesn’t open until January, but mark your calendars NOW for July 7-11, 2006. Those who have been to leadership events in past years will tell you how transformative they are. This year’s will be no exception.

“Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered: ‘I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you…. But truly it is the spirit in a mortal, the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding.” --Job 32:6, 8

Kelsey