UCC's Guffey among six honored at Cleveland 'Circles of Names'

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

UCC's Guffey among six honored at Cleveland 'Circles of Names'

> Written by Staff Reports
> May 30, 2011

Edith Guffey, UCC associate general minister, will be among six 
Northeastern Ohio women of faith who will be honored June 9 in 
Cleveland's Trinity Episcopal Cathedral for their contributions to 
church and society. The event is one of several local gatherings 
sponsored by the National Council of Churches (NCC) Circles of Names campaign.

"It's an honor to be among those named, as the National Council of 
Churches recognizes the role of women in leadership in the church and 
in society," says Guffey. "I have appreciated the ways that the UCC 
encourages leadership of laywomen and supports the engagement of 
faith in the public square. I am a grateful recipient of that 
commitment, and I look forward to watching lives being touched and 
transformed in the years to come."

In addition to Guffey, honorees will include: the Hon. Jane Campbell, 
former mayor of Cleveland and current chief of staff to Sen. Mary 
Landrieu (D-La.); Bishop Judy Craig, United Methodist Church; Bishop 
Elizabeth Eaton, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Northeast 
Ohio); the Very Rev. Tracey Lind, Dean at Trinity Episcopal 
Cathedral; and the Rev. Georgina Thornton, pastor of Grace African 
Methodist Episcopal Church in Warren.

Scores of mentoring women will also be named to the Circle as part of 
the Cleveland reception, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Invitations were 
issued by former NCC general secretary the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, 
honorary chair of the event; and by the Rev. Ann Tiemeyer, director 
of the NCC's program for women's ministries.

The Circles of Names Campaign aims to create support for women's 
ministries by asking 1,000 people to give $100 in the name of a woman 
who helped shape their faith. In so doing, the campaign will lift up 
the stories of 1,000 women as sources of inspiration and empowerment 
of the churches' witness for gender justice. The campaign seeks to 
build a foundation toward long-term sustainability of women's 
ministries and gender justice in the NCC, its 37 member communions 
and its ecumenical partners.

RSVPs should be sent to the Rev. Deborah DeWinter by phone at 
212-870-2513 or via email at ddewinter@ncccusa.org . Deadline is June 1.

In the letter of invitation, the Revs. Campbell and Tiemeyer, 
described the role of the Circles campaign:

"The future of Women's Ministries and gender justice work is at stake 
in many of our denominations as they grapple with the impact of the 
economic recession," they wrote. "History is repeating itself: 
Women's desks, commissions and programs are being severely reduced or 
eliminated. Women's Ministries at the National Council of Churches 
USA ... provides resources to galvanize collective energy and 
commitment for the ministry of gender justice across a broad constituency."