When a cry erupts in one of the nursery rooms at Macalester Plymouth United Church in St. Paul, I don’t have to guess who will be the first to respond. While I and my fellow Sunday morning child care providers keep an acute eye on the littlest members of Mac Plymouth, you can bet the most watchful eye is that of Nolia, a spunky two-and-a-half year-old girl and one of our most frequent charges. When one of the other children stubs her toe or experiences a sudden pang of separation anxiety, Nolia is the first one on the scene, wrapping her baby fat arm around a trembling shoulder as her eyebrow furrows in what looks like genuine concern.

I think I’m not the only college kid who relishes playtime with little kids as an escape, for however short a time, from the stresses of the college bubble. During the school year I leap at a chance to simply play -- but all the while, I know that play is not always so simple, that it is often a tool of infinite wisdom.

When we talk about intergenerational dialogue, I often notice that at our age we think of ourselves primarily as mentees, young women looking for nurturing friendships with women who have been there and done that. We often forget that we, too, possess the incredible ability to establish life-changing relationships with younger women and girls.

Like many NNPCW women, I was led to the Network by a life-changing woman I met at the very beginning of my days at Macalester College. She continues to listen when it seems no one else will and she operates on an innate desire to care for other people -- much like Nolia. And just as I love to indulge in her confidence-building, thought-provoking friendship, I marvel at what an impact we can have on each other’s lives. And as earlytwentysomethings wading through our college years, we can offer our own selves, consciously or unconsciously, as “the older woman” who takes interest in the hopes and dreams and thoughts of someone younger. We can mentor younger women on our campuses and in our communities, whether that mentoring takes the form of friendship or of consistency in a world where things change so quickly. Somehow we end up learning as much as we are teaching our younger friends. Even in play we are building the groundwork for deeper relationships and richer lessons.

Nolia smiles like a lot of kids her age: a big toothful grin that lets you know she trusts you, but all the same suspects you’re just about the neatest thing on the planet.

Hello everyone! I’m Heather Grantham, the current Office of Women’s Advocacy Young Adult Intern for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the National Organization for Women’s national conference in Albany, NY. This conference was awesome! Never before have I ever been around such an affirming group of women. I was affirmed for being a young adult, a feminist, a Christian, for being an activist, AND for being me. So much happened at this conference and I fear I cannot talk about it all in this blog post!

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is celebrating its 40th anniversary, so this conference was a definite celebration of how far women have come, but also a look at how far we have yet to go. The weekend was broken up into learning workshops, political briefings, and the business session. All day Friday was centered around Young Feminists, with special attention given to topics interesting young adults (i.e. The ABC of STDs and I’m Not a Feminist But…) The workshops I attended were: The Global Feminist Movement, Invisible Women: Stolen and Sold, Working Together for a Feminist Future: Intergenerational Perspectives, Winning the Battle One State at a Time: Reproductive Rights and the States, Immigration is a Feminist Issue, Faith and Feminism, and Feminist Media Reform.

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight just a few things from the workshops. NOW is doing some wonderful things in regards to learning about feminism from different cultures. Recently a delegation went down to Venezuela and Cuba to learn from women in that context. This trip wasn’t about teaching women how to be feminist – it was about learning who these women are and how they respond to crises as women for women. For example, did you know abortion is absolutely legal in Cuba? The law only says if a woman chooses to have an abortion, it has to be done by a doctor in a hospital (so it will be safe). For more information www.now.org/nnt/summer-2006/venezuela.html

Did you know that more than 800,000 people are trafficked each year – and that number is severely under-estimated due to the lack of sources. If you are at all interested in human trafficking or the current slavery trends please visit www.humantrafficking.org/, www.anti-slavery.org/, or www.catwinternational.org

I do want to emphasize to you the importance of meeting with women who came before you. When I went to the workshop Working Together for a Feminist Future, I was able to sit down with women who knew feminist figureheads such as Betty Freidan and Alice Paul. I was amazed to hear the stories of these women who were fighting the same fight we are fighting today. I didn’t feel as isolated as I did before. Having an intergenerational dialogue (much like the NNPCW Leadership Event this year) is so important. I urge each of you to sit down with a woman who is older and ask her about her life.

That is all I have the space for now, however, I want to invite you all to go to http://now.org and read conference highlights (not up yet). I also invite you to use that website as a tool to write to your congressperson on things you are passionate about. ALSO, find a women’s group near you and GET ACTIVE!!!

feel free to ask questions!!

Evenin’, sisters!

My name is Amy Robinson, and I am currently serving as the representative of the NNPCW on the Churchwide Coordinating Team (CCT) of Presbyterian Women. On behalf of this week’s bloggers, I’d like to apologize for the silence these last few days. Since both Brianne and Noelle are out of the office, a volunteer team was recruited to write to you all about our perspectives on recent goings-on in the life of the Women’s Ministries Program Area. However, because of a few gaffes on our part, we seem to have gotten turned around about who is writing when and how to get into blogger. No surprises there - I have reasons for choosing political science over computer science in my undergraduate years ;). We may be playing a little bit of catch up in the next few days. Of course, that’ll simply give you all more to enjoy!

I met many of you all a few weeks ago, at the NNPCW leadership event. Back in my undergraduate days, I remember the thrill of those conferences packed with worship and exploration of that intoxicating combination of faith and feminism that got me started on my path towards faith-based social praxis. This summer, I was able to see the conference from the flip side. I tell you, it raised more than a few eyebrows when I told people that, at 25, I was asked to be one of the older-women-mentor-figures at the Intergenerational Dialogue event for NNPCW ;). However, this type of relationship building across age barriers is something that I have thoroughly enjoyed in my time with Presbyterian Women, and that I am excited to see my younger sisters exploring.

For example, my (and now your) friend Beulah Townsend was another one of the PW participants, there to build relationships throughout the decades. I first met Beulah when I came to my first leadership event, in Federal Way WA back in 1999. You all remember her amusing tangents, outrageous outfits, and charming sense of humor. What you may not know about Beulah is her role as a dynasty in Presbyterian Women and NNPCW’s own recent history. When NNPCW was first struggling to come into it’s own, Beulah was a member of Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church in Spokane WA, and served as both the representative of the Synod of Alaska Northwest to the CCT as well as on our Presbytery’s Justice for Women Committee. There, more than five years before Whitworth’s now flourishing WISE was formed, Beulah and her comrades in Spokane met on Whitworth (my alma mater)’s campus in order to begin conversations with student and find those among us who had a passion for women’s empowerment. She began to plant seeds. There was little response from the student body at the time, but her work was to later bear great fruit.

Meanwhile, a young woman named Emily Meyer found her way into the choir at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church, and was assigned to share her music with our very own Beulah Townsend. A beautiful intergenerational friendship flourished between the teenager and her older buddy. Beulah shared with Emily her excitement about the new, growing ministry for college women based in our denomination. Emily, too, bought into the vision of faith and feminism. She went on to become our co-moderator with Rebecca Barnes (now Barnes-Davies of Presbyterians Restoring Creation), and led the Coordinating Committee through a tumultuous period. Her ministry with us was a direct result of Beulah’s passion.

I, then, met Emily when I was a Youth Advisory Delegate that same summer of ‘99, to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). I had read about the NNPCW and found it exciting and innovative, but was yet to get involved. There at General Assembly, I became acquainted with Emily and witnessed the faith that was manifest in her work and the work of her ‘generation’ in the Network. I was introduced to Gusti Newquist, Rebecca Morrison, and many others who continue to bear witness to God’s truth. They enabled me to find my place in the church. They inspired me to become involved.

That September, Kelsey Rice and I both began at Whitworth College, two students winding our way through academia and discovering our faith. In time, we both found our way into the pews of that same Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church. There, I reunited with my friend Beulah who had sat alongside me as I first explored the relationship between faith and feminism in a conference center on the Puget Sound. I introduced her to Kelsey; and Beulah, beautiful passionate woman of faith that she is, began to preach once gain of the wonders of the NNPCW. That was Kelsey’s first exposure to the NNPCW; we all know where it went from there.

Now, those few and faithful Spokanites who have listened and acted upon our understanding of Christian feminism have grown in number and are reaching greater levels. Our immediate past co-moderator (and one of my favorite songwriters ;) ), Maren Haynes, is a recent alumna of Whitworth College, whose WISE group is a direct result of contact Kelsey made when she first moved to Louisville. Hannah Kimball, one of our sisters and participants in our most recent Leadership Event, is a member of the steady supply from Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church.

This is the produce of intergenerational conversation; through relationships with those of other ages, whether older by four or forty years, we learn where we have been and what we have achieved. We retain our history and learn our traditions. We find causes to inspire us. In the same process, we give hope and renewed energy for those older than us, who are looking for those to carry on the baton. We partner together, to learn from and strengthen each other. In the process, we each grow in our faith and our passion. May this beautiful chain of intergenerational communication continue.

Mizpah,

Amy

Well, this is it, folks. It is time to pass the baton, and finally cede the computer and the cozy office chair to Noelle for good. We covered the budget this morning, so I guess I’ve imparted everything I know—I can walk out of the classroom now and forget it all.

But first, I have to blog. If you’re currently on the NNPCW listserv (click here to get on it), you’ve probably already read the sappy e-mail messages I sent out to NNPCW members and alumnae saying goodbye. Indeed, I’m good at doing the sappy thing. I still worry, though, that it sounds overly grandiose as I resort to platitudes to express deep emotion.

I will try to keep the following from getting too sappy or too grandiose. I do want to tell you, though, just a little bit about how much this work has changed my life.

When I started working for the Network, I was fresh out of college and basically looking for a job that had to do with women. I had gotten really into feminist critical theory in college lit classes, but I suspected that I really didn’t want to pursue that as a career. So I started thinking about doing something related to women, just for a few years until I got my act together to pursue grad work in English or history.

I’ve told many of you the story of how unlikely it was for me to come to NNPCW—I was not on CoCo, not a member of the Network, not even a Presbyterian. I can remember, the day before flying to Louisville for my face-to-face interview, sitting in the dorm room I shared with Amy Robinson as she explained to me what a stated clerk was, even what a presbytery was. I had no clue.

But the first time I talked with Gusti Newquist, Lindsey Childs, and Anna Hrachovec on the phone, I felt drawn. Their interview was actually fun. Yet I was surprised when they asked me to come to Louisville, and nervous when I found out that all the other applicants had much more experience than I did with NNPCW and women’s theologies. Still, I came, not even thinking I had a shot at getting an internship with this office.

Then, the morning after the interview when I had returned to my little dorm room at Whitworth, I got the phone call offering me a job with NNPCW. And I can look back on that moment today and say that I didn’t have a clue how powerfully the Spirit was about to move in my life. The decision I made, to leave my friends and family in Washington and follow God’s call here, has made all the difference in the person I am now.

Working with the students of NNPCW and the staff here in the office has challenged me to expand my understanding of God’s grace and love, to overcome my fears of the unknown and unanswered, and to act for those around me who are in need. I have been inspired by so many of you, who dare to live authentically and with integrity in a world where we’re encouraged to hide our true selves. You’ve prompted me to critically examine my own prejudices and assumptions by your witness. You’ve taught me to stop measuring success by a letter grade, or signups on a sheet, or applause at a presentation. You’ve showed me what loving your neighbor really means.

And for this, even platitudes cannot express the depth of my thanks.

Now, in parting, a blessing: may the great I AM, Mother and Father to us all, bless your witness as you proclaim God’s coming realm of justice and love. And may the love of Christ shine upon you until we meet again.

“As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” --2 Timothy 4:6-7

Kelsey

And then there were two.

So I’m down to my last two days of work with NNPCW. It is kind of odd, I suppose… as it gets closer to my leaving day, I start to feel more and more superfluous to the workings of this operation. As John the Baptist said, others must become greater, and I must become less.

Back in the day, after Robin left, and Tammy left, and Gusti left, and Ann left, I was told that I had become the so-called “institutional memory” of the office. With my departure tomorrow, only three people in Women’s Ministries will have been here for more than a year. It is a new day for our offices, a new opportunity for fresh perspectives.

And yet as the “institutional memory,” it seems that one of my last blog posts should be to remind the Network of its roots—why do we exist, and what is worth fighting for to keep us alive? All I can offer is my perspective, for what it’s worth. After all, what are you going to do? Fire me? (Hee hee)

NNPCW as a ministry began with a group of young women meeting together in 1991 in Des Moines, Iowa. Though the hair was definitely bigger back then, the commitments that group articulated are still very much the same commitments we pay homage to today—diversity of all kinds in an inclusive community of women, spiritual growth, lifting up the voices of young women, ecumenism, evangelism, etc. In the 15 years since then, women have loved this ministry and fought for it. They have risked shame and ostracism from the larger church to uphold many of these values inherent to NNPCW. They have spent hours planning and programming, laughing and crying so that the seeds of the liberating gospel might be planted in both women and men.

In my mind, they have given too much to this ministry for us to sacrifice our values to the altar of convenience and acquiescence. And what are those values, to me? Justice for women, inclusive and caring community, the boldness to engage in the hard dialogue that comes with diversity and to do it without fear. If we lose these elements, we become nothing more than a nice Presbyterian girls’ club, one that shames the legacy of the courageous women who carved this space for us.

After the Leadership Event, several of us engaged in one of the aforementioned hard dialogues about the role of NNPCW in the church. Do we simply plant the seeds of growth in women, challenging them to expand from their comfort zones for future action, or are we supposed to be the prophetic voice of the church? Even when, as the prophetic voice, we alienate some of the young women we want to reach?

In some ways, we are a both/and ministry. We give young women the space to find their voices, to be challenged out of their comfort zones. We meet them where they are, not necessarily with the agenda of “changing” or “improving” them, but to let them have the room to explore their faith without judgment.

And at the same time, our very existence is an act of advocacy. In our internal structures, in our commitment to safe space, we model the behaviors of living in community that we wish to see in the larger church. Because we’re here in the first place, young women in the church are taken seriously as a force in the life of the denomination. It was amazing to see the moderator of Presbyterian Women stand with NNPCW co-moderator Maren Haynes, in front of 3,200 women at this last Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women, and declare our equal partnership in bringing about conversation and change among women. The existence of NNPCW, united with our sisters in Racial Ethnic Young Women Together, the Office of Women’s Advocacy, and Presbyterian Women, prevents women from being pushed to the margins of the church’s power structures. Ultimately, we’re a ministry of advocacy because justice for young women is the focus of what we do.

So in parting, I hope you all keep the faith and fight the good fight for God’s love and justice to be poured out. If you do that, I’ll know that the last three years have been worth it.

“I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience.” --1 Timothy 1:18-19a

Kelsey

As a child I spent a week each summer with my Aunt Kay. She’d take my older sister and me to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, the miniature golf course and the movies. Toward the end of each summer, right when the dawn of a new school year threatened to overtake summer’s laziness, Aunt Kay would send us each a photo album filled with memories of our summer adventures. I still have each of the photo albums she made for me, and I still go through them from time to time. But one of the memories not captured in those books are the quirky sayings Aunt Kay so readily used. One of the things I remember hearing her say time and time again is, “I’m dating myself!” It took me awhile (until I was 8 or 9) to understand that what she meant wasn’t that she was romantically involved with herself, but rather that whatever she had just said had in some way betrayed her “old” age.

I never thought I’d be old enough to date myself, but that’s just what I’m about to do. I have to admit to you that until I took this job, I didn’t really know what a blog was. Sure, I’d heard the term used before and I had a general sense of what it must be by the way it was described, but I had never actually seen one. I had never read a blog entry. And I had certainly never written one of my own! You see, the internet and email accounts were the new thing when I started college. Back then people didn’t ask you what your email address was; they asked you if you had an email address. (We still carried around pagers back then, too. No one I knew had a cell phone except for my friend Liz’s dad, and it was about the size of a standard cordless phone today.)

As the new program associate for NNPCW, let me assure you that what I don’t know about blogging I make up for in other areas. That’s exactly why I’m so excited about this position--because it combines so many of my different passions and experiences. In line with NNPCW’s mission, I, too, feel called to live within and share God’s grace, acceptance and love; I long to build a community of women that reflects God’s extravagant hospitality to all persons; I strive to challenge systems of oppression, domination, exploitation and suffering; and I choose to work for justice and reconciliation in both church and society. And I am blessed to have had formative experiences in my life that have led me to this place, feeling equipped and excited to work as the staff person for this faithful and prophetic ministry. After graduating with a degree in biblical studies from Azusa Pacific University, I attended Princeton Theological Seminary and graduated with an M.Div. in 2003. I’ve spent the last two and-a-half years working as a community organizer with local faith-based justice organizations, first in Toledo, OH, and then here in Louisville, KY.

These experiences have shaped me into the woman I am today: a young woman (“dated”, however, by my earlier admission) committed to working with other young women to better understand what it means to “claim a Christian faith that empowers women” (to quote NNPCW’s mission statement.) I am eager to begin this journey, and I look forward to working and journeying with many of you.

In anticipation of all that is to come,
Noelle Tennis Gulden
NNPCW Program Associate

Although I’ve already told you the story of my selling the ‘Stang, the fact that I’m doing it has become all the more painful and poignant in my last week here in Louisville. I have composed a song to describe my angst—it goes something like this:

(to the tune of “How Much is that Doggie in the Window”)

How much is that Mustang in the parking lot?? ($3000, FYI)
The one with the wobbly spoiler?
How much is that Mustang in the parking lot??
Do you think that poor Mustang’s for sale?

I don’t want to go to Massachusetts,
And leave my poor Mustang alone.
If she has a buyer, she won’t be lonesome,
And the Mustang will have a good home.

(Repeat chorus)

Yes, I’m still trying to sell my car. Because of the Leadership Event, I did not put an ad out for it in the paper (not to mention that my mom was afraid some stranger would murder me if I did that ). I did, however, put up flyers in PresbyLand, hoping that one of my colleagues would give the ‘Stang a good home. No takers yet….

So it is looking like CarMax for the Mustang. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this, CarMax is a car lot that will buy your vehicle without a trade-in—all you need is photo ID, your title, and your registration. About half the cars they buy will end up on their lot to sell, and the other half will go to auction. It is a good deal if, like David and me, you’re looking to get rid of your car quickly with as little hassle as possible.

But for me, there is something repulsive about just handing my beloved car away to CarMax—it feels like I’m giving up my only child for adoption, never to know what became of her. I would much rather have the ‘Stang go to a good new owner, one who would care for her as I did for the past three years.

Not helping the situation are all my friends and family, who seem united together in opposing my sale of the car (with the exception of David, of course). Whenever I mention that my car has got to go, I am met with exclamations of shock and looks of dismay. Even friends like Amy, who believe firmly in the merits of public transportation and don’t drive themselves, ask me if there is any way I could just keep the car stored away until I need it again. Never mind that a ten-year-old Ford won’t keep well in the 3+ years we’ll be living the urban life.

In all our minds, I think the Mustang has become more than a car—it is a focal point for my past. I can’t look at that car without thinking of the day in which my friend Casey and I hopped in and pulled out of that driveway in Dryden, Washington, headed east to a world of new adventures, personal and spiritual growth, and romance, too. That period of my life is ending now, to be replaced by different growth and challenges as I begin married life in earnest.

And even as I can’t wait for the new to begin, my mourning the car symbolizes my grief for an era of my life that is ending. To tell you the truth, I don’t particularly want to take the Mustang with me to Boston. But part of me hurts that I’m leaving it, and the life it represents, behind.

So we may leave the ‘Stang at CarMax on Saturday morning, and I may even cry about it. But I hope that when it’s all over, I’ll dry my eyes and look east toward the world opening up before me. And I’ll look over at David, and know that the adventure is only beginning.

“Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” --1 Corinthians 15:58

Kelsey

It was brought to my attention this morning that I have to lead staff reflections this week (akkk!). In preparation, I went back to the book our office has been studying about organizational change—Margaret Wheatley’s Finding Our Way. I decided to do the chapter “Beyond Hope or Fear,” in part because I was struck by her quote from Kentucky’s own Christian mystic, Thomas Merton:

“Do not depend on the hope of results… you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself” (263).

She goes on to talk about the value of hopelessness, which moves beyond hope of certain results and then fear of those results not being realized to a place where we work from faith alone. Using both Abraham and Moses as examples, she points out that sometimes we have to give up hope of seeing God’s promises filled in our own lifetimes. God promised Abraham, if you remember, that his descendants with Sarah would be more numerous than the stars. Abraham and Sarah died with only one child together, Issac. Moses led the people all the way to the border of the promised land, but died before setting foot in it.

For a long time, I was immobilized by helplessness in the face of the problems I saw in the world. I didn’t see the point of doing anything, because there was really no hope for change that I would see. I remember asking, “Why try with the world’s problems when it isn’t going to really make a difference? What is the point of me trying to live out God’s commands for justice and love when my actions can’t change the world?”

Perhaps, without knowing it, I came to a Margaret Wheatley tipping point. Because ultimately, I came to the realization that we are called to live as though God’s realm of justice, mercy, and righteousness is already here, even though I don’t know if or how I’ll see that in my lifetime. We have to live into that not for the hope of seeing it tomorrow, but because our faith alone calls us to do it.

I see this as a great flaw in my generation, a group that has been conditioned to instant gratification and tangible results. If we’ve lost the social activism of our forebearers, if we fail to sustain God’s call to us in favor of complacent living, it is in some ways because we’ve lost the ability to do things solely because they are right, not because of an immediate payoff. Our hope can’t be for a measured outcome, but must instead be faith in a future we cannot see—a future, moreover, in which God may use our labors to bear unexpected fruit.

Remember, Abraham and Sarah had only Issac for their promise. Yet today, their descendants do indeed outnumber the stars.

“All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.” --Hebrews 11:13-14

Kelsey

Orienting someone to replace you in the job world is kind of like taking a college final—you are expected, either in verbal or written format, to vomit forth all the accumulated knowledge from your job so that you can forget it all when you leave. This is what Noelle and I have been doing since we returned from the Leadership Event.

Yes, it is as mind-numbing as it sounds, I’m sure. I sit for hours and talk about the polity of the PC(USA), the World Tour, the Coordinating Committee, etc., and she has to take it all in. And although I have several colorful charts about PC(USA) polity (if you’re on CoCo, you know what I’m talking about), most of this consists of me just going over papers and talking non-stop about my job.

But perhaps I haven’t passed on what is most important. Take, for instance, the World Tour. I’ve told Noelle all the logistical stuff, explained the different types of presentations you need to have in your toolkit, waxed eloquent on the merits and drawbacks of hotel vs. houseguest vs. dorm room floor for accommodations. But I didn’t tell her about meeting Reynaldo from Nicaragua at 4 am in North Carolina, the time my presentation on medieval Christian mystics and 17th century witchcraft trials had been billed at Brown in Rhode Island as a lecture on Wiccans (which they were really excited for when I showed up), or my encounter with the bison in the Little Red Clown Car on the prairie of Missouri. My eight World Tours gave me a lifetime of stories as I met new people, experienced different regional cultures, worshipped God in a variety of settings, and simply fended for myself in a totally different world than I had grown up with.

In reflecting back on my work for the past three years, I really can’t give Noelle what I value most—the experiences. No other place has given me as many opportunities to encounter God in a variety of unexpected places, whether that was in the exuberant contemporary worship at Presbyterian Youth Triennium or in the deep meditation of a lectio divina Bible study. From the high deserts of northern New Mexico, where Georgia O’Keefe painted at the PC(USA)’s Ghost Ranch, to a Jerusalem hotel room where we huddled together after hearing of violence in Gaza, I have seen Jesus in this church. I have seen the Holy Spirit alive and well, bringing about healing and love where it seems that only darkness and alienation will prevail.

And of course, I have encountered God most of all through the women I’ve met in this Network—women of compassion, love, passion, integrity, and commitment. You have taught me most of all how to express Christ’s love more fully in my own life.

I can’t transmit these experiences on to Noelle. Only God will do that.

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” –Isaiah 58:6

Kelsey

Hello, everyone!!! You probably think I’ve dropped off the face of the earth once again… though I haven’t yet (that will be on July 21), I’ve been extremely busy with the Leadership Event and orientation for my successor. That’s right, Noelle Tennis Gulden is here and has started work. Those of you at the Leadership Event had the wonderful opportunity to meet Noelle, and I’m assuming that since she showed up for work this morning, five days of event craziness didn’t cause her to turn tail and run.

The Leadership Event once again reminded me that God’s grace works in every situation. Personally, I spent most of my time worrying about the students we couldn’t find at the airport, the linen crisis we had with the University of Louisville (apparently “linens” at UofL does not include top sheets, blankets, or pillows), and the fact that we were always running late. For someone who prides herself on smooth and well-running event planning, the chaos was a source of anxiety for me.

Yet, as I constantly need to be reminded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). In all the students who found solace in knowing that there were others like them in the church, in all the Presbyterian Women partners who expressed joy at the presence and activism of young women, in all the conversations that were blessed, the Spirit was at work. So many students came up to me and remarked on how glad they were that they had come. It connected them to other students and to the larger church in a way that few of our other events have done. Even the fact that we were a small event—only 21 students—meant that the students in the group bonded with one another in ways that women at a 250-person conference could not. Even though the event didn’t showcase my event planning skills at their best, God’s power was made perfect and the Spirit was at work.

Thank you to all the women who came to the Leadership Event—once again, you reminded me why I’ve been doing this for all these years. It was your engagement and discussion that made the event what it was, and taught me even more about the realm of God. I will miss you.

“But God said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” --2 Corinthians 12:9

Kelsey

Hi! I'm Hailee Barnes, a student at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I arrived in Louisville on Friday July 7th, I did not know who was meeting me at the airport nor did I have any idea what I was entering into for the next five days but I had an uncontrollable excitement and curiosity. I was met at the airport by Kelsey and three other NNPCW members. I was so excited that one of them was from Montana as I am and immediately I felt connected to the group. The group of about 25 students, staff and additional PW participants really connected and became a small community in the five days we spent in Louisville. The safe space that was created to discuss events and issues in our life with women who share a common belief in God and Jesus was amazing. I have never felt so alive, safe, and free to be myself and celebrate being a woman. The skills and friends that I took away from this event will always remain in my heart. It sounds so cliche, but this event really has been a life-changing experience because for the first time I felt so comfortable being me and connecting with other women being themselves.

One of my favorite events was the intergenerational dialogue, which was open to all PW participants. We divided into small groups with mixed ages and responded to six questions for ten minutes each. It was incredibly fun to be in a conversation with women of all ages and discover that we are very similar in our experiences. Some of the question or topics of discussion included: our most embarrassing moment during our childhood, whether we thought the generational gap was going to increase or decrease, and a women who inspires us. I gained so much from having PW partner participants in our workshops and plenary sessions. I was pleased that they not only observed but also participated greatly. Their experience and presence meant a lot to the NNPCW members.

After the Leadership Event, my first NNPCW event, I came home with a new sense of myself, my faith, and who I am. I made connections with other college women as well as women in communities all across the United States and even Brazil! I am so excited to continue growing and learning with NNPCW and sharing my experience with other college women and women in my church at home and at school.

Hailee

Hello, I am Bridgett Green, Kelsey’s ministry partner in Racial Ethnic Young Women Together (REYWT), and today’s guest blogger.

Inspired by Kelsey’s blog from Thursday, June 29, I decided to contribute to the discussion on evangelism. I agree with Kelsey, who wrote: “The whole concept of evangelism, particularly in an increasingly multicultural and pluralistic world, is a sticky one. The word either really turns you off, or really floats your boat in this politically charged climate.” I would add that this word really turns you off or really floats your boat in the theological world as well.

I recall being in a work meeting discussing webportals. When someone used the word evangelism for part of the website name, my colleagues left of the theological center (whatever that means) grimaced and sneered at the thought. Whereas, my colleagues on the right had a look on their faces, which begged the question, “What’s wrong with that?” I understood both sides of facial expressions.

I, like Kelsey, am a denominational hybrid. I was raised Baptist in South Carolina. I joined the Presbyterian Church (USA) after attending a small liberal arts college outside of Charlotte, NC: Davidson College. My Baptist upbringing makes me comfortable with being self-identified as an evangelical. However, the recent theological and political decisions of my brothers and sisters right of middle made the word evangelical a little repulsive. I feel incarcerated by the negative connotations that surround the word because of certain theological and political thoughts, decisions, and conduct (one’s theological understanding is often connected with one’s political stances) of my “evangelical” brothers and sisters.

Well, in the name of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, I have been redeemed once again. Through careful Bible study, I became empowered with an understanding of the evangelical/evangelism that allows me to once again self-identify as one. The word evangelism is rooted in the Greek word of ευαγγλιον, which translates to mean the good news. Our Christian education teaches that the good news is about Jesus. I think that all theological parties could agree on that point. The Gospel according to Luke provides an excellent understanding of the good news of Jesus (the other gospels do a good job as well).

Luke notes that at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he returned to Nazareth and went to the synagogue, as it was his custom. During the recorded occasion, Jesus read the following from the scroll that was given to him:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of the sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
(4:18-19, NRSV).

The good news is that Jesus came to liberate and not oppress, to release and not bound. That is the gospel that evangelicals are called to proclaim as the good news of Jesus Christ. The Gospel according to Mark writes similarly in 1:14: “Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’” Following this verse, Mark provides stories of healing and liberation to prove the point.

So what is my point? As an evangelical, one is called to preach the good news of Jesus Christ that proclaims healing, release, recovery, love, and compassion. As Presbyterians, we are committed to live within the framework of the good news as it agrees with the “rule of faith and love, and contributes much to the glory of God and [human] salvation.” (Book of Confessions, 5.010).
I am reclaiming the words associated with ευαγγλιον. I desire to follow Jesus’ message of liberation, reconciliation, and love. I will no longer allow those who shut others out (including me), malign, oppress, and kill with words and deeds to monopolize this word and their interpretation of it for their own political and theological gains. I will walk faithfully in accordance to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the healthy traditions of our denomination and call myself an evangelical.

Bridgett