wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Gathering momentum

[Deeanna Alford <dalford@CTR.PCUSA.ORG>]

 03287
July 16, 2003

Gathering momentum

Women say triennial meetings rejuvenate their minds and souls

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - Participants in the recently concluded 2003 Churchwide
Gathering of Presbyterian Women had no trouble explaining why the triennial
national meetings are among the most popular events on the Presbyterian
calendar.

Some of the 4,000 females of all ages (and a few doughty men) who
assembled in a downtown convention center last weekend for the five-day
Gathering said they came for inspiration, renewed energy, a sense of
community, spiritual nurturing and opportunities to learn.

Many were veterans of previous Gatherings, back for more.

The July 9-13 assembly, sponsored by Presbyterian Women (PW), offered
workshops, spirited worship services, and chances to hear from experts on
such timely issues as global economics, the Middle East and AIDS.

Karen Fritsch, moderator of PW's churchwide coordinating team, explained
it this way:

"It's rejuvenating. It charges our batteries. It gives us energy and the
hope to continue on."

Fritsch said Presbyterian women work hard in local chapters and
presbyteries, and "once in a while we need to be recharged, we need that
feeling in the Holy Spirit." She added that the revitalization derives from
"that communal feeling of that many women together."

PW is an organization of women in the Presbyterian Church (USA) that
sponsors and supports a broad program of ministry, education and
fund-raising for mission.

The theme of this year's Gathering was "God's Vision, Our Calling"
(Ephesians 4:1-6).

Gatherings are held concurrently with PW's business meetings. This was the
first since the meeting here in 2000. The event, which attracted 5,000
participants then, typically outdraws nearly all other PC(USA)-sponsored
conventions, including the General Assembly, which draws about 3,000
people. The Presbyterian Youth Triennium is about the only event that
rivals the turnout for the Women's Gathering; its average attendance is
5,000.

Gina Tussey, 40, of Lexington, KY, was attending her third Gathering this
year. She echoed Fritsch in explaining why women flock to the event.

"It's a refreshment, to renew myself," she said, "not only as a woman, but
as a Christian. I really like that it's all women."

Some women, including Tussey, said the events had affected them deeply -
personally or spiritually or both. Others said it helped them expand their
boundaries.

"I don't know if I could point my finger to life changes, but I would say
that my life is better for having been a participant in this," said Tussey,
a member of Hunter Presbyterian Church in Lexington. "I have encouraged
every woman that I've spoken to about the Gatherings to come experience it.
To try it once, and see if you don't want to come back again."

Tussey, who is active in her congregation's women's group, said learning
opportunities in Gathering workshops also attract many women.

"You get into the workshop, there's going to be a few men there, but it's
mainly just the women and what they're going through and how they've
handled life situations that I might encounter," she said.

The Churchwide Gathering has become a family affair for Phoebe
Measells-Knapp, 21, of Houston, TX, who attended her second, accompanied as
before by her mother and grandmother.

"It's just the 'holy motion' that you get from it," said Measells-Knapp, a
member of First Presbyterian Church in Brazoria, TX. "You get on this roll
and you start to feel better than you ever could."

She said she also finds the workshops enlightening.

"I really like the workshops that we are able to pick," said
Measells-Knapp, whose mother is a Presbyterian minister, "because you get
your specialty that you want - and then you can work one-on-one and then
discuss it with the workshop leader and those around you."

Measells-Knapp, a student at Brazosport College in Lake Jackson, TX, said
she found one thing disappointing.

"I really wish that there were more young women ... because it is a great
experience for us," she said. "I think it's sad that a lot of people are
raised in the church and leave the church. Then they come back when they
are old and they're like, 'Oh, you know it's time for me to get right with
God again.' The real righteousness is being with God your whole life."

Pauline Her Many Horses, 61, an Oglala Sioux from South Dakota, said it's
the workshops and the chance to meet other Native Americans from around the
country that she finds most alluring.

"You're learning something all the time with the different groups that
come, and then we have our workshops where you learn what (Presbyterians
in) other parts of the country ... are doing," the lifelong Presbyterian
said. "It gets yourself more involved."

 It didn't take long for first-time participant Margaret Ellers, 77, to
decide that she wanted to come back.

Ellers, a member of Catonsville Presbyterian Church in suburban Baltimore,
MD, said she hopes to return for the 2006 Gathering.

"This has been wonderful. I've thoroughly enjoyed it," she said. "It's
inspirational. I've met a lot of wonderful people from all around. I
enjoyed the worship service that we had, telling about the global problems
and how we might be able to solve them through our Christian faith, work
and inspiration."

For information about the Gathering, visit its official Web site:
http://www.pcusa.org/pwgathering/index.htm. For information about
Presbyterian Women, visit  http://www.pcusa.org/pw/index.htm.

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