wfn.org | Women's Congress: A journey in spiritual and leadership development

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

April 21, 1999 News media contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn.  10-71B{210}

By Linda Green*

NORCROSS, Ga. (UMNS) - Tears of joy and release were the norm as more than
135 women gathered for five days to hear God's call in their lives.

The diverse participants, described as "journey takers," came to United
Methodist-related Simpsonwood Retreat Center near Atlanta to participate in
the Women's Congress, April 14-18. It was a time of spiritual renewal and
empowerment, leadership development and relationship building, aimed at
preparing the group to serve the United Methodist Church and their
communities more effectively.

The women -- both lay and clergy -- came from the United States and Puerto
Rico to hear the message of sisterhood, to be reminded of examples taught to
them by their foremothers in the faith, and to learn that women have offered
their gifts to the church for centuries. They shared their personal and
spiritual stories through writing, singing, chanting, dancing, praying and
hands-on mission work. 

^From clergywomen Janet Wolf, Linda Thomas, Grace Imathiu, Teresa Fry Brown
and Naomi Southard, the participants learned lessons about who they are, the
importance of storytelling, the nature of God's love and self-love, and the
biblical stories of women. Other leaders included Donna Fado Ivery,
Kappitola Williams, Cynthia Wilson Felder, Lydia S. Martinez, Heather Wood
and Susan Peek.

The participants were reminded of how God's love and their love for God will
initiate numerous possibilities for their lives, no matter what obstacles
arise. Because of that love, the women were encouraged to remember the
phrase that became an anthem at the congress: "And I'm Going On Anyhow." 

Thomas, a professor at Garrett Evangelical Theological School in Evanston,
Ill., affirmed the women as created in God's image and following in God's
way. "We came to listen to God speak to us, and we expect an answer," she
said.  

The importance of storytelling was stressed by both Wolf, pastor at Hobson
United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., and Imathiu, a doctoral
candidate at Vanderbilt Divinity School, also in Nashville.

Stories are critical and grounding, Imathiu said. "They give a beginning
into conversations with each other and God. Each story is an entry point to
the biblical story, God's story."

As the women listened to Brown, they charted a course through the Bible
looking at stories of women and how they had made the decision to follow God
or to help their people.

The congress was conceived in 1995, when members of the churchwide
Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW) expressed the need for
women to understand where God is calling them to be. "The church needs again
and again to call forth women leaders - diverse women who will engage in a
time of personal and spiritual growth," the congress design team said. The
congress was described  as an empowerment tool for women who are often
overlooked for leadership positions in their local church settings. 

In 1998, letters were sent to more than 6,000 women in church-related
leadership positions, requesting that each nominate a woman with leadership
potential who would benefit from a Women's Congress. Participants reflected
the diversity of women in the United Methodist Church in terms of race,
ethnicity, age, theology, economics, geography, congregational size, rural,
urban and suburban perspectives.

"To see such diversity in the room makes my soul sing with gladness," said
congress Chairwoman Ethel Johnson of Columbus, Ohio.

The congress was held because "we believe in the message that women are
loved, gifted, precious creations of God," said the Rev. Stephanie Hixon,
one of COSROW's two top executives.

The congress invited women who may not always hear that message to know it,
be deepened by it and celebrate it in their lives, she said. "We are here to
encourage them in whatever way God is calling them in their lives." 

Traveling was a special treat for most of the women. Some took their first
airplane ride to attend the congress. Elizabeth "Pooh" Triplett, 18,  a high
school senior from Joplin, Mo., sacrificed her senior prom in order to
attend the congress.  "If  I'd gone, I'd be with the same people I see every
day," she said.  

When she reunites with her friends, "I'm going to tell them that while you
were dancing in those high-heeled shoes and suffering from aching feet, I
was conversing with women from around the world and learning their
cultures." Triplett was one of three young women between 18 and 25 years old
attending the congress.

After witnessing the unity of the highly diverse group of participants,
Tamara Isidore of Tampa, Fla., said, "I've learned that I didn't have to die
to enjoy heaven." 

The congress was designed to take the women on a spiritual journey, and to
help them navigate around the church and learn of the numerous resources
available to assist them, said Cecelia Long, another top COSROW executive. 

Hands-on work was part of the journey, Long said. "It is part of
understanding how we relate to others." In 13 groups, the women fanned out
to perform work at mission sites across Atlanta. They cleaned, sorted
clothes, fed children and adults, stocked food pantries, worked at schools
and a homeless shelter, and attended sites to listen to battered women and
to hear stories from those suffering with AIDS.

Nitza Gomez of Orlando, Fla., expressed pride that, at the congress, racial
differences vanished. "We are all one," she said. "I am a beloved daughter
of God and a beloved sister of all of you."

Any concern that she would feel out of place at the congress vanished for
Mary Lou Segouia of Chamblee, Ga., when she began to hear the stories of
other participants. When  her pastor invited her to go, she said she felt
like Moses -- inadequate for the  challenge -- and suggested someone else be
sent. "I'm glad I came because the experience has been awesome."

Women need a place in the church, said Hildelisa Ordaz of Miami. "I am so
proud to be in this event. We are pioneers. This will be history."

Johnnie M. Robinson of Hugo, Okla., said she had planned to attend the
meeting and quietly observe. That plan vanished after "I saw the movement of
the Holy Spirit in this place." After her mission experience working with
children, she realized that God is calling her toward that kind of work, she
said.

"The empty place inside has been filled," she said. "I now know what I am
supposed to be doing."

Two members of the Christ Church of the Deaf in Washington were also awed by
the level of inclusion at the congress. "I came to see what the United
Methodist Church had for women," said LaSander Saunders of Owings Mills, Md.
She expressed appreciation for translators, telephone devices and lights
that blink when there is a knock at the door.  

"The women here touched me," said Norma Adams, the other deaf member. "God
was here moving among all of us, and that touched my heart."

Many women received a new understanding and appreciation for sign language
when Saunders and Adams signed the Lord's Prayer, as the words were spoken
by translators. 

The breaking down of barriers was apparent during exchanges between Sharon
Leas, a white woman from Dallas Center, Iowa, and Danita Page, a black women
from Little Rock, Ark. 

"It was great to understand that when we all get to heaven, we will be part
of the same choir," Leas said. 

"It's been an experience to look in my sisters' eyes and learn," Page said.
"I cannot return home to say 'them' again."

# # #

*Green is news director of United Methodist News Service's Nashville, Tenn.,
office.

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