wfn.org | [LCMSNews] Women discuss issues at WLI conference

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>5.3.2010               
>       LCMS News               
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>THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod             
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        May 3, 2010 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 39

Women discuss leadership issues at WLI conference

>By Paula Schlueter Ross

The first time Dawn Modlin attended a national conference of the Women's
Leadership Institute (WLI), in 2008, she was surprised to learn that
women in The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod may serve as presidents of
their congregations.  And that the LCMS permits women to read Scripture
during worship services.

"I was like, 'What?'  Because that's not been historically anything I've
ever grown up with, or seen, or experienced," said Modlin, 45 and a
lifelong Lutheran in the Midwest.

Modlin, who has studied theology and has a lay minister father and a
deaconess step-mother, says she is disappointed that not all Synod
congregations allow or encourage laywomen to serve as fully as laymen.

"I'm not a feminist -- I'm a Christian woman who has gifts and has a
heart for theology, and I want to make use of it," Modlin told the
Synod's Reporter newspaper.  So, attending the WLI biennial conference,
with "women of similar minds," who are anxious to serve their church
body, "is really encouraging," she said.

Some 180 women -- and a few men -- attended the conference, April 16-18
in Milwaukee, under the theme "Listening, Linking, Leading: From Words
to Action."  The theme was based on Ex. 4:12 -- "Now go.  I will help
you speak and I will teach you what to say."

It was the third national conference sponsored by the WLI, which is
based at Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon.  The WLI works to
encourage, equip, and educate women for Christian leadership.  It does
not advocate for the ordination of women.

The wide diversity in how women may serve in LCMS congregations and
other topics of interest to women were addressed by plenary speakers and
more than a dozen workshops that explored issues such as resolving
conflict, the differences in male and female language, mentoring, Bible
studies, marriage, mission, public speaking, prayer, young-adult
ministry, and women's ministries.

Dr. Jean Garton, author, speaker, founder and 17-year president of
Lutherans For Life, and a current member of the Synod's Commission on
Theology and Church Relations and the Board for Human Care Ministries,
fashioned her keynote after the book Letters to My Younger Self, in
which some 40 well-known women share what they've learned over the
years.

"So I decided to talk to you -- my younger selves -- because many of you
are where I was," said Garton, now 81, "and I want to encourage you with
lessons I learned along the way."

She urged those who serve as church leaders to guard their marriages and
family life because no other work, she said, "can be as pervasive and as
destructive" to lay leaders.  She recalled missing the college
graduation of one of her children and other special days because of her
LCMS service.

Church workers shouldn't feel like they have to "save the world" because
God "already finished the job," she said.

Garton said we all have been given gifts "for God's purpose -- not ours
-- and it's He who will decide how we use them."  She encouraged women
to heed God's call to service, even if they feel they're not ready.

She said she has learned that "laughter is an instant vacation," and
shared several jokes, adding that church humor "is even funnier."  She
recalled her small, southern, "mission" congregation inviting its
community to an "Octoberfest" in March for St. Patrick's Day.  No
outsiders came for the bratwurst and sauerkraut.  "That Irish menu just
didn't work," she quipped.

She also asked attendees to frown, cross their arms, and say to those
nearby, "Jesus loves you."

>"It's not working," she teased.

Garton said women often can see things that men can't, and should be
encouraged to share their "wisdom that comes from experience."  She
lamented that more women aren't serving the Synod in leadership roles,
and quoted a woman who said she loved attending LCMS events because
"there's never a line at the ladies room."

>"Not much has changed," Garton said.

She recalled planning the first-ever prom for fellow students when she
attended Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y., putting her own graduation
in jeopardy.  "Sometimes it's important to take a stand and take a risk"
in order to challenge the status quo, she said.

She encouraged women to live lives "that matter," and quoted the late
humorist Erma Bombeck, who said she hoped she wouldn't have a single bit
of talent left when she died so that she could say, "Lord, I used
everything you gave me."

Garton also led a workshop titled "On Being the Only 'Rib' in the Room:
Challenges of Leading With/Among Men in the Church," that explored the
"God-planned differences" between genders.

Because they think in ways different than men, women have much to offer
the church in brainstorming and decision-making, she said.  And when the
role of women is discussed only in terms of what they cannot do, "then
to see women as gifts who are necessary to the church is almost
impossible."

Women attend worship more often than men, and study the Bible more often
than men, she said, so why not increase their opportunities to serve?

Garton, the first woman to serve on a national LCMS board (for public
relations), also spent 12 years on the Synod's Board of Directors,
including a number of years as the only woman serving among 17 men.  And
she offered advice to women on working alongside their male
counterparts, including encouraging them to consider one another as
brothers and sisters rather than male and female, and to "stand their
ground" in discussions.

During a question-and-answer session following Garton's talk, a
participant suggested that more women are needed in church leadership to
"stop this [political] division" within the Synod.

Also giving plenary presentations were Dr. Bernard Bull, assistant
professor of educational technology at Concordia, Mequon, who gave
participants a tour of today's "digital world" and explored how the
church can respond, and Dr. Carol McDaniel, director of the parish music
program at Concordia University, Irvine, Calif., and a congregational
leader at Bethany Lutheran Church, Long Beach, Calif., who led attendees
through a series of "spiritual disciplines" designed to help them relax,
recharge, and get closer to God in today's busy world.

Bible studies were led by Karen Lippert, director of women's ministry at
Divine Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hartland, Wis., who urged
conference-goers to avoid "idolizing" what they're thinking about the
most, to ask God to help them with their problems -- and trust that He
will, and to build people up rather than tear them down.

Every day "we have a chance to really bless somebody's life" with words
of encouragement, Lippert said.

Pre-conference "schools" for in-depth, personalized training in speaking
and writing were held April 13-16 at the conference site.  The Speakers
and Writers Schools were led by Dr. Ruth N. Koch and Dr. Jane L. Fryar,
respectively.  Koch is a mental health educator and author, speaker, and
consultant.  Fryar is a writer, editor, speaker, and consultant.

The WLI conference included some 40 students and staff from all 10
Concordia University System (CUS) schools.  A $23,500 grant from the
Siebert Lutheran Foundation, Milwaukee, was used to cover travel and
conference expenses for the CUS participants, as well as a "networking
breakfast" and a "resource kit" for starting on-campus ministries for
women.

Director Lois Giordano said the WLI, at Concordia-Mequon, is working
with the other CUS schools to educate women for leadership, bring
together women for mutual support on college campuses, equip young
adults for church service, and build regional networks to encourage and
prepare women for service.

Giordano called the conference "exhilarating," and credited the
participation of "so many young women."

"At least a third of those attending were under the age of 40," she
said.  "These young women are incredible!  We are learning as much from
them as they are learning from us.  That intentional interaction was a
big part of the power of this conference."

Kimberly Lyskawa, 20, a sophomore at Concordia, Mequon, said the
conference was "absolutely amazing.  The women here are so uplifting --
they're so intelligent and funny and encouraging."

Lyskawa said it was "refreshing," as a young person, "to see that
there's actually a need and a want for us in the church."  She said it
was "awesome to see other sisters in Christ who are so 'on fire' for the
Lord," and that her experience at the conference "makes me want to go
out and serve more, and lead more, and make more of a difference."

Dr. Barbara Brunworth, a marriage and family therapist from Garland,
Texas, who is a member of the WLI advisory board, called the WLI and its
national conferences "unique" and "necessary" to "encourage one another
as women."

Brunworth said she believes the Synod does not use women as fully as it
could, particularly as members of national boards and commissions.  Even
those few women who do serve in such capacities, she said, are "among a
table of men."

So, she asks, is this sort of limited participation "still just a token
recognition of women in Synod?"

Eva Fronk, of Hales Corners, Wis., and also a member of the WLI advisory
board, said she has worked alongside men in a number of LCMS capacities.
"I've been blessed with their mentorship and their encouragement.  I
would like to see more women have this positive experience," she told
Reporter.

The WLI, she added, "is here to encourage women to develop the skills
needed to be self-confident enough to accept opportunities to use their
God-given gifts in service to God's people."

For more information about the Women's Leadership Institute, call
866-559-0002 or visit its Web site at http://www.wlicuw.org.

(To watch a video clip of Dr. Jean Garton sharing her thoughts about
women's service to the church and the Women's Leadership Institute
Conference, see this story online at: http://www.lcms.org/?16902.)

>****************************************

If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release, contact
Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org
<mailto:joe.isenhower@lcms.org>  or (314) 996-1231, or Paula Schlueter
Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org <mailto:paula.ross@lcms.org>  or (314)
996-1230.

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