Women of the ELCA

Few women’s groups embrace change the way that the women of Spirit of Grace (New Port Richey, Florida) are doing, but then again, few have the privilege of starting from scratch. Allow me to explain.

Spirit of Grace is a new congregation that was formed last fall. Five ELCA congregations dissolved and consolidated into one new congregation, Spirit of Grace, with two campuses (using two of the buildings from the previous congregations). The new congregation has between 700 and 800 members. They are averaging 580 worshippers at 6 weekend services in this quickly growing portion of Pasco County.

Each of the five previous congregations had a women’s group and they all dissolved too, giving away their funds to the Florida-Bahamas Synodical Women’s Organization and various local charities. Now the women of Spirit of Grace are forming a brand new women’s organization, starting from scratch, discerning how God is calling them into the future.

In November, 80 women gathered to talk about the future. Whatever form Women of the ELCA would take at Spirit of Grace, they were clear that it wasn’t going to be “business as usual” and that the group wasn’t going to be just for “old women.” To give the group a vision, they showed the new Women of the ELCA DVD, Created in the Image of God: A Community of Women. That jumpstarted the group’s thinking, showing many ways in which women gather as Women of the ELCA.

Because the women in this new group don’t all know each other, the group decided to focus some of its initial programming around fellowship, helping the women get to know each other. In December the women held a cookie exchange. Next month a Girlfriend’s Picnic is scheduled at a local park that includes a kid-friendly playground.

After looking at different models for organizing their group, in January the women decided to organize their life together around fellowship, education, and service. The fellowship team, led by Deb Boland, has coordinated the get-to-know-you activities. Beth Hollenberger is heading up the education team. That team found that some of the younger women and some of those who are new to the Lutheran church don’t have a strong biblical background, so the education team is embracing the Book of Faith initiative and planning some educational events using those resources.

The service team is led by Michelle Hutton. They’ve begun their planning and are looking at new ways to envision service. The first service group that has been formed is Prayerfully Made, a ministry of service through textile arts. This multi-generational group is making relief quilts, prayer shawls, and “prayers and squares.” The group is not just sewing, knitting, and crocheting; they are focusing on the spiritual aspect of their work, praying through and with their art.

Mae Haines is heading up the leadership team for this new group, working with Deb, Beth, and Michelle. Pastor Sally Cook, one of the two pastors serving Spirit of Grace, works with the women’s group. Mae explained that the group is a “work in progress.” Since Spirit of Grace is so new, there’s no telling where God is calling this energetic multi-generational group of Christian women!

[Pictured above, left to right, are Beth Hollenberger, Deb Boland, Mae Haines, and Michelle Hutton. They are pointing to some pink flamingos that are involved in funding the youth of Spirit of Grace who are going to the ELCA National Youth Gathering this July in New Orleans. Anyone who is going to the youth gathering -- stop by the Women of the ELCA cafe in the exhibit hall!]

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On a blustery February day I sat down with 15 women from eight congregations in the Shenandoah Valley. These humble Virginians have deep Lutheran roots, roots that extend back to the Colonial era. Say “Muhlenberg” here and you mean John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (son of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg) who had an illustrious career as a Lutheran, then Anglican, pastor; a Revolutionary War hero; and, later, a senator in the first United States Senate. (That’s a bust of Muhlenberg outside the 1795 courthouse in Woodstock, Virginia.)

The 15 women come from small rural congregations. Don’t let the size deceive you – they are all active with a variety of ministries that reach out from their congregations into their communities. Consistent among all the congregational units are Bible study, quilting, Thankofferings, support for Western State Hospital, and some form of “golden age” meal (for senior citizens). From there, the ministries expand into a wide array.

At Mt. Zion (New Market) the women prepare Valentine bags and boxes for shut-ins and college students. They also sponsor a Pentecost Picnic for the entire congregation. They hold a Girls’ Night Out where they gather at a local restaurant for dinner. St. Steven’s (Strasburg) holds a free community Thanksgiving dinner each year.

They do a weekend retreat each fall at Mt. Zion (Fairview), inviting all women of the congregation to participate. Mt. Zion’s quilters are known as Meet, Eat & Knot. Clever names abound in the Shenandoah Valley. Java with Jesus is a standing Thursday morning drop-in get-together at the Woodstock Café for women of Emmanuel (Woodstock). Drop Your Drawers is a summer underwear collection for school-aged children conducted by the women of Prince of Peace (Orkney Springs).

These women from the Central Valley conference, like the women of All Saint’s in Baltimore (see my March 5 blog post), show how congregations that are small in numbers can be big in faith and action.

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I’ve been staying close to home, reading and writing of late. I finished Eat, Pray, Love and I’m focusing on Returning to My Mother’s House (see my March 2 post). I’ve been working on several writing projects, especially around our May re-launch of Katie’s Fund.  And I found time, in all of this, to celebrate a significant event, the big 5-0 (see photo).

I thought I’d post my current travel plans for the rest of 2009. Beyond my sabbatical (with four weeks to go), I’m expanding my regularly scheduled trips so I can spend more time with congregational units in those areas, collecting more stories of mission and ministry. (I’m having a great time doing this!) So, look over the list here and send me suggestions of women and units to visit in or near these cities, please. You can post your suggestions here as a comment or send them to me directly at linda.bushkofsky@elca.org.

March 31 – April 8, Tampa, Florida

April 29 – May 5, Atlanta, Georgia

June 4-6, Lansing, Michigan

June 14 – 17, Twin Cities, Minnesota

June 19 – 28, Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania

July 20 – 26, New Orleans, Louisiana

August 3 – 9, Houston, Texas

September 18-20, Willow, Alaska

September 25 – 27, Great Falls, Montana

October 14 – 18, Spokane, Washington

November 12 – 15, Sacramento, California

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While some congregational units (CUs) of Women of the ELCA involve twenty, forty, or more than one hundred women, other CUs bring to mind Jesus’ statement that “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20 NIV) That’s one of the great things about our organization. Those who drafted our constitutions and those who adopted them created an organization with great flexibility so that, quite literally, a congregational unit can involve two or three women or a CU can involve 200 women.

On a recent afternoon I sat down with Norma Richardson, Annie Bailey, and Waetina Coles (pictured here, left to right) of All Saint’s Lutheran (Baltimore), a congregation of 87 baptized members. All Saint’s, an intentionally multicultural congregation formed about 15 years ago from the merger of three small congregations, is currently in a redevelopment plan under synod authorization. Those 15 years have brought “trials and tribulations” to the congregation, according to Waetina, but throughout it all the women’s group has remained strong, living with a real sense of community.

Eight or nine women gather monthly for Bible study, using the study provided in Lutheran Woman Today magazine. Rooted in the Word, the women respond to the needs of their community. Those needs take many forms. Sometimes they work with women being released from prison, providing clothing and furniture, covering utility bills, even helping the women re-gain custody of their children. Sometimes they work with a homeless program that provides job assistance and meals along with overnight housing. The women work with Lutheran Campus Ministry at nearby Morgan State University, providing home-cooked meals for the students. They’d like to get a special unit of Women of the ELCA started at Morgan State.

The women involve the whole congregation in collecting money for blankets on Mother’s Day and with their annual Thankoffering each fall. Likewise, the women support ministries of the congregation, such as Sunday School and a six-week summer camp program for neighborhood children.

While the numbers involved in the CU at All Saints might be small, there’s nothing small about their faith or ministries. Three inter-related messages of Mother Teresa, the Albanian nun known for her ministry in India, came to mind as I visited All Saints.

“I can only love one person at a time – just one, one, one. So you begin.”

“Jesus said love one another. He didn’t say love the whole world.”

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

The women of All Saints are loving the people of their community, one by one, and they show us that one size need not fit all in Women of the ELCA. The way the CU organizes itself can change from place to place and from time to time. What worked 10 years ago might not work tomorrow. There’s great flexibility in our governing documents to allow the organization in any congregation to reflect the needs of the community of women gathered there at that time and place.

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While I’ve been out and about, I’ve been promoting Women of the ELCA resources, of course. I know I told you all about some new resources being developed this year – free programs, downloadable from our web site. The first is now available: Looking into the Mirror: A Lenten Reflection. This resource invites you to use the Lenten season to refocus your faith life and realign your relationship with God. This easy-to-use resource is great for a 45-60 minute program. Or, add some material to it and you can expand it to a morning session or event a day-long retreat. You may photocopy the resource so that everyone in the group has a copy.

I invite you to check it out and let me know your thoughts. At least one new resource of this type will be available from our web site at the end of each month. Already have everything planned for this year? No problem. These resources will remain available on our web site for use whenever you need them.

I’m regrouping at home, following the annual Conference of Synodical Presidents. I have several writing assignments I’m working on, including a Katie Luther resource (one of the above-described programs). I’ll be plotting out the rest of my sabbatical trips shortly. And I’m reading three books. I know there are some out there who have trouble fathoming reading more than one book at a time (I’m married to someone like that). But it works for me! So, I’m reading Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles, Returning to My Mother’s House by Gail Straub (I heard her speak at a conference I attended last month — excellent and thought-provoking!), and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I’m still interested in reading your suggestions of books that have been important on your spiritual journey. Post a comment and let me know.

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Today I finished Moravian Women’s Memoirs: Their Related Lives, 1750-1820, translated by Katherine M. Faul.

During the 18th century Moravians had a practice of keeping a memoir (Lebenslauf) which was an autobiographical account of their lives, with a special emphasis on their spiritual journey. Another church member would write the final paragraphs that detailed the final illness and deathbed scene. The memoir would be read at the deceased’s funeral.

This volume includes memoirs of single women, married women, and widows (following the choir grouping used within the church at that time). Those who could, wrote their own memoirs. Others dictated their memoirs. Occasionally a husband’s memoir augmented the wife’s account.

Together these memoirs paint an amazing account of the life of Moravian women in the second half of the 18th century. Some, who were born in Europe, tell of life there before taking a ship to the U.S. Some carried out ministries with the American Indians, mostly in Pennsylvania and they tell of that. The schools and their congregational life are described as well. The challenges these women faced in 18th century North America were amazing. The losses they endured, unbelievable.

All of them spent some time in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. There and elsewhere Moravians in this period did not live in family settings but rather, the congregants lived by sex and marital status groupings called choirs. Single women lived together, as did single men. Married women lived together as did widowed women. The children lived together. (Some of the single sisters’ diaries from 1776 can be seen here.)

The women’s words speak to the great support and fellowship they received while living in the midst of other women. (Some things transcend centuries, don’t they?) It’s an amazing window to the lives of faithful women in the 18th century.

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“How do you define a bold woman?” I was recently asked. As I see it, there are many bold women.

There are those who regularly spend long periods of time in prayer, sharing concerns and requests with God along with singing God’s praise. They are bold because they take time to talk with and listen to God, opening their hearts and minds to God’s redemptive and reconciling love.

We might more easily think of women as bold when they regularly communicate with local, state, or federal legislators, seeking justice through governmental actions. Those who march on Washington or gather on the steps of their state house are bold.

Those who reach out to the hungry, the poor, the imprisoned, the outcast, they are bold. They are bold because they move out of their own comfort zones to care for the neighbor, just as Jesus teaches us.

I’d like to introduce you to a bold woman I recently met. Her name is Kristin Broksas. Kristin lives in Tucson, Arizona where she is a nanny. She’s an active member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran in Tucson, where she’s a member of the Circle of Friends, one of the Women of the ELCA circles. She’s also active in leading Encounter, a Sunday evening emerging worship service that is both “ancient and future.” Kristin also serves on the synodical board of the Grand Canyon Synodical Women’s Organization.

What makes Kristin bold? Kristin risked responding to an invitation from two women she respected and admired, two women who invited her to attend a Bible study. That’s how she got involved in Women of the ELCA in the first place, a couple of years ago. Kristin risked claiming a place at the table, both in her congregational unit and then in the synodical women’s organization. What do I mean?

Kristin is 25 years old. At 25, Kristin is probably at least 20 years younger than some in her unit and synodical board and likely at least 40 years younger than most in her unit and the board. Kristin honors the other women in the organization by speaking her mind and contributing to the life of the community. She honors the other women in the organization by listening to them and learning from their experiences. When the differences between the generations lead to the potential of creating a chasm, Kristin hangs in there because she is committed to the purpose and mission of Women of the ELCA. Kristin is a bold woman.

Photos: The top right photo was taken at a synodical women’s organization event when Kristin was speaking to conference leaders for whom she serves as the synodical board mentor. In the bottom left photo Kristin is seen with her friend Trudy who has become involved in the Circle of Friends and Encounter at the invitation of Kristin.

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It’s tempting to say the women of St. Mark’s Lutheran in Springfield, Virginia do it all. With nearly 70 women actively involved in their unit, they engage in Bible study; knit, crochet and quilt; host an annual bazaar; and the list goes on and on. I’d like to highlight three things I found particularly interesting.

The congregational unit (CU) has a monthly newsletter of its own, a custom stretching back for at least 30 years. It makes for great efficiency at circle meetings because little time needs to be spent on the topics reported out in the newsletter. And if someone can’t make a particular meeting, they keep informed through the newsletter. Most participants get the newsletter via e-mail, although a few receive it in hard copy form. This is the first CU I’ve encountered with its own newsletter. Do any of you have one too?

The CU actively supports Lynbrook School, an elementary school located across the street from the church. The students at Lynbrook have many needs, with 90% of them qualifying for free or reduced cost breakfast and lunch. As Margret Feigel explained, “we support them in any way we can.” That support has taken many forms over the years. Participants provide winter coats, hats, scarves, and mittens for the students. The whole congregation, at the CU’s invitation, provides school supplies – paper, pencils, scissors, glue sticks and the like – for the students. One circle recently held a kitchen shower, with participants providing cooking utensils and kitchen items for the school’s newest after school club, a cooking club. Two participants teach in the after school knitting club. Some participants tutor students (working with particular homework and classroom assignments) while other women serve as mentors (eating lunch with a student, being the student’s friend).

It’s a give and take relationship with the school community. One of the school staff members became a member at St. Mark’s and is very involved in the life of the congregation. The staff and faculty contributed home baked goodies for the bake sale that was part of this past year’s bazaar. The relationship grew from the early days of the congregation when it had no room for Sunday school classes and the school classrooms were used. One can only imagine how the relationship will continue to grow!

The CU, through its quilters, has forged a unique relationship with teenage boys housed at the Prince William Juvenile Detention Center. It began when some craft items went unsold one year at the CU’s annual bazaar. A participant took those craft items to the center, donating them for its Santa Shop where the boys select Christmas presents for family members. Soon the quilters visited the center with fabric and notions and taught the boys to make quilts. The quilters arranged for the boys to take a field trip to the church once where they sewed quilts together and enjoyed a meal together too.

It was a joy to meet with Mary Anderson, Margret Feigel, Cheryl Dwyer (vice president and newsletter editor) and Pat Martin (president), seen in the above photo with Marcia Ihnen, president of the Metropolitan Washington Synodical Women’s Organization. What an amazing ministry at St. Mark’s!

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Like lots of other congregational units, the women at St. Paul’s Lutheran in Aberdeen, Maryland, engage in Bible study, have general meetings with programs, hold retreats, and make quilts and prayer shawls. Read on to learn of a new twist they’ve put on fair trade sales and a new ministry begun just this year.

Back in 2003 they were inspired to participate in the 90 Ton Challenge when reading in Lutheran Woman Today magazine about this effort to increase the purchase of fair trade coffee by Lutherans . “We could do that here,” their leaders said. And so they did.

Today they sell fair trade items every Sunday morning. And they’ve taken this to a new level – they’re not just using a table, they have their very own kiosk on wheels! Made by two men of the congregation, the kiosk goes where it needs to … in the narthex on a Sunday morning, in a fellowship hall for a special event. The kiosk is labeled Verna’s Coffee Corner, in memory of a participant who greatly supported Lutheran World Relief.

Just this year they have begun Monthly Ministry and Mission Outreaches (fondly called “M & M’s”). Different ministries have been selected, one for each month. The women include information in the Sunday bulletin about the ministry for that month and invite the entire congregation to hold that ministry in prayer, tell others about the ministry, and support it in any way possible. Financial contributions are collected for that month from the entire congregation and then sent on to the ministry.

This month, for instance, the highlighted ministry is Harford County Fuel Fund that provides resources to vulnerable families for heat and home utility needs. The congregation is learning how the Fuel Fund prevents homelessness, promotes safe homes, helps children stay in school and helps the vulnerable who often have to choose between heat, food and medicine. Donations are being accepted all month and will then be contributed to the Fuel Fund.

Thanks to the members of the Elizabeth Circle who graciously welcomed me to their February Bible study and shared stories of their ministries with me.

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