living and working mission - presbyterian women · 2019. 5. 14. · living and working mission by...

August 4, 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

We must begin seeing with new eyes, said Katherine Blankenship, Housing Case Manager with Homeward Bound in Western, North Carolina,during Friday morning’s plenary session. During her keynote, she explored how mission work to thecommunity and the world can be a difficult taskunless you can relate it to your life.

Katherine’s shared how her first experiencewith mission work was a trip to Guatemala as ahigh school student. At first, she was euphoric andhappy to be a part of this opportunity to change theworld. But after arriving and getting settled into herhost home, she began feeling scared and sad. Thefacilities were so different from what she was usedto and she did not know the language. She hadnever seen or experienced poverty at thatlevel in her hometown. By the last day,

with an opportunity for relaxation and shopping, Katherine said she started tofeel angry. She did not understand how this poverty and need could be allowedto exist. She did not know how this experience could relate to her life.

Living and Working Missionby louise van Poll

When (and Where) Do We Eat? Breakfast*—on your own (each day of the Gathering)

*Cash (or credit card or voucher!) and carry options will be available on Saturday and Sunday mornings, 7–8:30 AM, outside the plenary hall (Suite, 2) and in the conservatory/pedway near Thelma’s Deli (pedway, 3rd floor)

Lunch—on your own

Dinner—banquet/plenary session, 6–8:30 PM (doors open at 5:30 PM); be sure to wear the clothing of your favorite decade as we celebrate our amazing history (and future!) And bring your change for the Cents-Ability cups. Your change and prayers will support local hunger ministries as well as national and international projects of the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

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“An awakening without action is just theoretical,” said plenary leader Katherine Blankenship as she reflected on what mission needs to be truly transformational.

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More than 350 Presbyterian womenand other racial justice allies tookoff from the west lobby of the GaltHouse Friday afternoon on PW’smarch for justice and peace. Theymarched to highlight the “NinthStreet Divide,” focusing on theracial and economic divide thatexists in so many cities in the U.S.The march was led by WandaBeauman, outgoing churchwide vice moderator for justice andpeace; Joy Durrant, incomingchurchwide moderator for justice

and peace; Dianne White, formerPW moderator for Mid-KentuckyPresbytery and resident of westLouisville; Tina Ward-Pugh, formerLouisville Metro councilwomancurrently staffing Louisville’s Office for Women; and a host of volunteers.As participants gathered for the

march, Wanda thanked them fortheir participation, as we begin our mission of advocacy here inLouisville. Louisville’s mayor, Greg Fischer, thanked Presbyterian

Women for coming to Louisvilleand highlighting such an importantissue. He told participants thatLouisville is a designatedcompassionate city committed toremoving the divide. He outlinedthe progress the city has made, themoney that has been allocated toaddressing the divide, and urgedPW attendees to ask for change in their cities. PC(USA) Stated ClerkJ. Herbert Nelson II offered a prayeras marchers eagerly lined up for the march.

What Do We Want? Justice! When Do We Want It? Now! by yvonne hileMan

� 2018 Daily Horizons � Issue 3

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Marchers chanted “This is what our faith looks like!”

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The eagerness to demonstratetheir commitment to justice forthose who have been pushed to the margins was palpable, as if the women were impatient to getout on the street and put their faith in action. Perhaps they wereremembering what they had heardfrom J. Herbert in the businessmeeting the day before, as hecalled Presbyterians to “reclaimthe streets” and make the gospel visible. As they took off, women sang

“We Are Marching in the Light of God.” The marchers sang andchanted as reporters from threelocal television stations filmed theaction and the Louisville Courier-

Journal reported. They carried signs reading “Redlining isdiscrimination”; “Poor people’slives matter”; “Repair and restore”;“Repent, restore, reconcile”; “Blacklives matter”; “All made in God’simage” and many others. They used the call and response style socommon in marches: “What do wewant?” “We want justice!” “Whendo we want it?” “We want it now!”Marchers hiked the nearly

two-mile round trip from the Galt House to 10th Street andback. At 10th Street, Council-woman Barbara Sexton Smithspoke to the economic disparitybetween the East End and West Endof Louisville. She spoke of her call

to work on behalf of those who,like she, are from “the ‘wrong’ sideof the tracks.” She pledged thatLouisville will turn the NinthStreet Divide into the Ninth StreetConnector. The signs (such as “No al

racismo”) and call and responsechanting drew support from manydrivers and pedestrians. The march concluded at the

Muhammad Ali Center where J.Herbert spoke eloquently of our call to end the divide that exists in many communities across thenation. “We are mindful that we do not walk alone.”

Yvonne Hileman is PW assistant editor.


That’s (Not) All, Folks! While this is the last issue of Daily Horizons for the 2018Churchwide Gathering, read morehighlights on the Gathering app, on www.presbyterianwomen.org, in the next quarterly newsletter andin the November/December 2018issue of Horizons. As always, Gathering coverage

could not happen without volunteerreporters and photographers. Thank you to Louise Van Poll and Chris Wolf for writing andMichael Martin, Louise Davidsonand Patricia McBride forphotography!

Ship It! Whether you’ve loaded up onsouvenirs, items from the PWLibrary or fair trade gifts, or aredetermined to take home a silentauction item, the UPS store can help!Bring your items to the UPS Store

(Suite, 2), along with your Gatheringname tag, and get 5 to 15 percent offpacking and shipping! Restrictionsapply; visit store for details.

Silent AuctionYou have a few extra hours to getthose bids in! The silent auction has been extended until 5 PM onSaturday. Bid early and bid often! All proceeds will benefit the Mission Pledge, PW’s annual fund.

Thank You, Volunteers! So many volunteers have offeredtheir hands, hearts, voices, talentsand expertise to make this Gatheringa light- and joy-filled experience.Whether you ushered, distributedhandouts, folded, stuffed, directed,restocked, worked the march . . .thank you, thank you, thank you,volunteers! Special thanks to Mary Rae

Thompson (Butler, Pennsylvania)

and Sarah Dennis (Maryville,Tennessee) for their muscles andvision for the PW Library. In truePW fashion, they saw a need andoffered many hours of volunteerservice to arrange and replenish this showcase of 30 years of PW publications. Thank you, Presbyterian

Women extraordinaire!

Clothesline ProjectOn your way to plenary or theexhibit hall, take a close look at the Clothesline Project. It is amoving display highlighting theeffects of violence against women, in this case victims of rape inOkinawa during and after World War II. The display may be a trigger

for some. Please contact theGathering chaplain (817/915-3558)for support.

Several years later, and followingordination, Katherine becameinvolved with the Raleigh YouthMission, which gets groups of youthinvolved with local mission work.These projects could include helpingin a shelter or kitchen, but alsoincluded community service worksuch as cleaning up graffiti andpassing out popsicles to children ina park and befriending them.“It was focused on building

community relationships,”Katherine said. The sessions beganwith education, then came theaction, the actual service project,but then it always ended withreflection. The reflection wouldinclude discussion, art and prayer.“You cannot have a spiritual

awakening without action,” sheexclaimed. “An awakening needsaction to interpret it for our lives.”She now works with veterans

who are homeless or are in crisis.This gives her a chance to work

one-on-one and to have a hands-onapproach in finding practicalsolutions and responses.“To look at mission with new

eyes is to reimagine what missioncan look like,” said Katherine.“God says, ‘I am with you always’and God is still speaking to ustoday.”Mission is still needed today she

continued. She uses a TopplingTower game to show how povertyaffects people and a community.Katherine began by explaining

that our friend Sally has a strong,firm foundation. As long aseverything working as it should, shecan manage just fine. But then oneday, she has a flat tire. That by itselfdoes not sound terrible, but it canlead to the collapse of her world,throwing her into crisis.The flat tire leads to additional

expenses to repair or purchase anew tire, plus Sally loses a day ofwork. Her next paycheck is smaller

and with the extra expenses, shecan’t pay for childcare for a week.Now she misses more work. Addanother stress, such as a sickparent, and we can see that itwouldn’t take long for the fragilebalance to topple. Mission can transform our world

as we work to help others, but wemust remain grounded in our faith,said Katherine. She explained thatsometimes we get involved in socialjustice, and racial equity andhelping the lost, and those issuesbecome our god.“If we do all this, but don’t have

faith, what is it for?” she asked.“We need to be grounded in faithwhile we are called to make adifference in the world.”See with new eyes, she exhorts

us, and “Shine on!”

Louise Van Poll is a freelance writerfor Daily Horizons.

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Gathering GenerosityAs of our print deadline on Fridaynight, the Gathering Offering—supporting PresbyterianWomen—had received $32,952 ingifts. Gift card contributions—forThe D.I.A.P.E.R. Project, KentuckyRefugee Ministries and Lily’s Place—totaled $11,787, while $482 wasgiven to Cents-Ability. Thank youfor your generosity!

All the Resources, None of the Late Fees! You may have already visited the PW Library (Suite, 2)—an amazingspace where you can “check out”resources and never bring themback! Visit again as more resourceshave been added, and they may be

just what you need to round outyour collection!

Add Your PW History to PW’s HistoryThe library at Columbia TheologicalSeminary has 5,922 PresbyterianWomen’s local church histories.These histories are more importantthan ever! And it is easier than everto preserve your church’s history.Come by booth 24 in the exhibit

hall to find out more or contact usby phone 404/687-4628 or [email protected].

Tips for Easy DepartureGalt House check-out time is 11 AM.To avoid long lines, plan ahead forluggage and settling the bill.

On Sunday morning, store yourluggage in Willis Clements (Suite, 2),near the plenary hall. Place yourluggage at one of the numberedstations, remember your number and rest assured that security willmonitor the area while you enjoyclosing worship. If you are staying at the Galt

House with a roommate (or two!),try to settle your bill on Saturdayevening or early Sunday morning.

Lost and FoundAre you missing your water bottle,ornament or phone? Visit theGathering Office (Suite, 2)! Manywayward items have already beenreunited with their owners, andmany others await!


Conversations about a brokenimmigration system often begin andend at the border—as if buildingwalls and barriers would heal theinjustices and offer clear answers.In her thoughtful and quietlypassionate presentation on Fridaynight, Marisol Jiménez said that ourcurrent immigration conversation is narrow and misguided. We mustaccept that institutionalized racismis foundational to our currentbroken immigration system. Andrampant consumerism makes us all complicit in a globalized systemthat exploits workers and

endangers the environmentin the service of profits fora few.The plight of the

immigrant is part of her family’s personal story.Marisol’s parents had ahasty courthouse weddingafter her father—anundocumented Mexicanworker—was turned in tothe authorities by one ofher mother’s relatives. Themoney that her parents hadsaved for another kind of wedding was insteadspent on bail. Marisol saysthat as a young woman,she struggled to find a wayto emotionally navigatebetween her mother’s

family—who were proud of theirIrish heritage—and her father’sMexican family—who were largelyabsent from her life.

A mission trip to the bordersolidified Marisol’s commitment toadvocate on behalf of a more justimmigration system. Resolved tofind a way to change legislation, she learned that there are simplynot enough legal pathways orsufficiently tall walls to resolve the current backlog (some pendingsince 1995) of applications for legal residency.

Tepeyac Consulting, founded by Marisol, works to provide a wayto connect “communities that aremost often marginalized . . . withopportunities to amplify theirvoices and meaningfully lead socialjustice efforts.” They “offer theresources, tools and frameworks todevelop and deepen organizations’and communities’ capacity with anexplicit and intentional structuralanalysis.” Put more simply, Tepeyacoffers a sort of sanctuary for themarginalized. Sanctuary, in thissense, is not just a legal ploy toprotect undocumented workers and fleeing refugees but a resolvefor community and shared care.

For example, Marisol and the people she serves set up averification system as well astelephone hotlines (with trainedvolunteers) so that the communitycan live safely. Even so, recent ICEactivity resulted in the deportationof several members of thecommunity. Marisol says that acelebratory barbeque organized by the ICE officials in the veryneighborhood where the deportedlived was particularly stinging. Buteven during these very days, “sucha time as this,” she revels in God’sgenerous blessings of a funny story,a precious baby, a hopeful day.

Carissa Herold is PW marketingassociate.

Determined Careby carissa herolD

During her keynote on Friday night plenary, MarisolJiménez shared sobering truths and personal stories in exploring the complexities of immigration.

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WiFi InformationStay connected (and check the Gathering app) with complimentary WiFi. Select “GH Conference” and enter pw2018 in both theusername and password fields.

Yin-Chin Shen, moderator of theWomen’s Ministry Committee in thePresbyterian Church in Taiwan(PCT), is one of the missionpartners at the 2018 Gathering.With interpretation help fromHsiao-Hsuan Chen for aconversation with Daily Horizons,Yin-Chin described how the workof the Women’s Ministry Committeein the PCT is similar in some waysto that of PW in the PC(USA)—spiritual nurture, working to endviolence against women, leadershipdevelopment, participation inFellowship of the Least Coin.

The overarching concern forYin-Chin’s trip is to introduce PWin the PC(USA) to the Presbyterian

Church in Taiwan and itsministries. She wants PresbyterianWomen to know that the people ofTaiwan have an identity separatefrom the Chinese, and that this is ajustice issue. Yin-Shin also wants toconvey that the people of Taiwanare not castaways, but a proudpeople with a beautiful land, goodpeople, excellent services and astrong faith. They are seekingrespect for their identity and theright to claim that identity. Yin-Chin says “We cannot even use ourown name.” Hsiao-Hsuan pointedto the Olympics as an example.“Our people compete under theChinese Taipei flag rather than the Taiwanese flag.”

Yin-Chin wore the WorldCouncil of Churches’ Thursdays inBlack pin. She says the Women’sMinistry Committee beganspreading the idea of participatingin this campaign to end sexual andother violence against women threeyears ago. Earlier this year, at anApril meeting of the PresbyterianChurch in Taiwan, almost everyonewore black. “Even the men?” weasked. “Yes, even the men,” Yin-Chin said. The Women’s MinistryCommittee also publishes abimonthly magazine.

Yvonne Hileman is PW assistant editor.

Sisters Around the Worldby yvonne hileMan


At an April 2018 meeting of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, almost every attendee wore black, showingtheir support for the campaign to end sexual and other violence against women.

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Be Bold In their ed op, “Let’s Be Bold,” 2015–2018 PW Churchwide Moderator Carol Winkler and PW Executive Director Susan Jackson

Dowd urged Presbyterian Women to continue being bold witnesses, advocates and problem solvers. In response to Carol and

Susan’s charge, Pamela Frucci (Grosse Ile, Michigan) shared the following poem that captured the theme of the workshop and

the Gathering charge to arise and shine:

Bite off more than you can chew.

Plan on more than you can do.

Hitch your wagon to a star.

Hang on tight and there you are.

One of the numerous educationalopportunities offered at theGathering was one on gun violenceled by David Barnhart. David istrained in story ministry. Storyministry is all about comingtogether and sharing stories. It isabout connecting with others andrecognizing each others’ humanity.

“The Bible was meant to beheard, not read,” he explained. And Jesus is the best example of astoryteller, using stories to teach,to call, to confront, to welcomeand to comfort. But the story ofGod’s people in a state of constantchange. He commented, “We’re still

writing new stories because we arepart of a living, evolving religion.”

David is part of thePresbyterian Disaster Assistancefilm production arm called StoryProductions. They spent seven years working on the film Trigger,which focuses on gun violence.

“It is important that we listento the stories, hear the humanityand connect with the peopleaffected,” David said. “Becausethere is a ripple effect of gunviolence.”

There are 30,000 gun deathseach year in the U.S. We mustremember that gun violence is morethan only the mass shootings. It isalso the drive-by shootings, gangwarfare and personal vendettas.

Trigger offers many surprisingfacts and figures, as well as letting

the viewer inside the hearts and painof the families left behind, survivorsand first responders. If a strangedisease caused as many deaths asgun violence, the CDC would be all over it, said one man in the film.Yet despite the death toll of gunviolence, there is silence.

It is David’s hope that groupsall across the nation will havescreenings of this movie to startdialogs about possible solutions.Study guides, discussion forumsand information on hosting ascreening are all available onwww.pcusa.org/storyproductions.

“If anyone can get this topicmoving forward it is the PWgroups,” David said. “It is time for action.”

Louise Van Poll is a freelance writerfor Daily Horizons.

Breaking the Cycle of Gun Violence Through Storyby louise van Poll

Ed Op CancellationEd Ops 11A and 11C, Creator-created Creativity, have been cancelled. If you are scheduled for one of these, please select another

ed op and wait to be seated in the space available.

Have you decided how you will be taking the Gathering home?I don’t know about you, but

I’m so excited! And it’s only Day2! I want to take Dianne Moffett’sadvice from Thursday night’splenary and take home some“Jesus Joy”! As she acknowledged,somedays that’s hard. We substitutemeetings for ministry, and,sometimes, our “decently and in order” can sometimessidetrack us from our joy.I believe this is one of the gifts

that PW can offer the church—toserve as a reminder of the joy inour faith. And the best way to do that is by living our joy. How are we going to do that?

By “taking the gathering home,”of course!Here are a couple of things

I’m going to do:I’m going to share the stories

I’ve heard, like hearing EugeniaGamble open her plenary keynoteby saying, “Thank you for the lifeyou have given me.” Wow! To hearEugenia—a marvelous Bible Studyauthor and leader—say that to PW was powerful. Friends, takeEugenia’s example and tell yourstory of PW! Then invite others toshare their stories of the great cloudof witnesses that has formed them.I plan to share the 30-year

history of PW that we heard in the video. I give thanks for all the work that birthed ourorganization. And this should lead to a discussion about how we are shaping the future!

Mission is both our past and ourfuture. I loved plenary’s GlimpsesIn Time Video that talked aboutwomen setting aside a penny fromtheir egg money, then asking whoeven stops to pick up a penny onthe sidewalk. Studies report no one does, yet when we put all our pennies together, we canchange lives. I am getting out my Jenga

game when I get home. KatherineBlankenship talked about how this balancing or toppling tower is a marvelous metaphor formission, homelessness, the church,PW and more. If you need other “props,”

visit the Exhibit Hall for tons of resources:Get a “slap bracelet” so you

can talk about PW’s Mission Visit the Pal Craftaid booth

(Global Marketplace, Booth GM6/7). I have an olive wood carvingof a hand holding a child. I will be using it with the 2018–2019Horizons Bible Study to illustrateGod’s Promise: I Am With You. Stop by the Equal Exchange

booth (Global Marketplace, BoothGM 13). You need chocolate, but it also makes a great gift orintroduction to the significance offair trade. Maybe your PW groupor session will start buying fairtrade coffee, tea and snacks

Visit the Special Offerings booth(Booth 4/5) for a fold-up fan. Youwon’t be needing it here, but if you don’t have air conditioning atyour church, you’ll love it and canpromote Special Offerings at thesame time.Do you know what ACWC

stands for? Visit Booth 7 and get a #ChurchToo button and a copyof the Gender & Leadership in the PC(USA) report. We still needto talk about the status of womenin the church. Books! I bought several from

The Presbyterian Bookstore(Combs Chandler; Suite 2)—allneeded! Adults and children alikeappreciate children’s books. Twoshort books you could read duringchildren’s time or to supportliteracy: Thank You, God andWhere Are You Hiding, God?Check out Sandy Eisenberg Sasso’sbooks—they are marvelous! If you’re looking for a read for

your trip home, pick up Grateful:The Transformative Power ofGiving Thanks by Diana ButlerBass. I just finished it up on theride to Louisville and loved it!Friends, it is time for us to “rise

and shine” and take the Gatheringhome! Well, once the Gatheringends on Sunday, that is. Whateverelse you take home, I hope a senseof joy stays with you until our nextChurchwide Gathering!

Chris Wolf is a Christian educatorfrom Peck, Michigan.

Take the Gathering Homeby chris wolf


living and working mission - presbyterian women · 2019. 5. 14. · living and working mission by...

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