 A Postcard and a Prayer |
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| Mennonite Women USA |
June 2009 |
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"We always have a companion for our journey in the divine. But sometimes we need that reality held by another person...who is willing on a Sunday afternoon to go for a walk."
-Brenda Sawatsky Paetkau, Goshen, Indiana (Three Windows, Three Women, timbrel, July/August 2009)
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Kitchen Table Theology 
Often students at Ohio State would seek me out in my private office to ask, "What are you, some kind of Christian?" or, "What kind of Christian are you, anyway?" As I spoke openly in my office in response to their questions-in a transparent way impossible to do within the classroom setting - I did not realize there was a name for this king of informal sharing: Kitchen Table Theology. It is most common among women, therefore, it is mainly female theologians who write about it and give it a place among other approaches to the study of God and our relationships with God and others. Somehow, it made me feel more competent to know that this informal sharing was "officially" recognized in theological circles.
 In this issue of timbrel, Cyneatha Millsaps writes about kitchen table theology happening in a beauty shop, while Mary Nitzsche talks about it around an actual kitchen table. In her Bible study, Vickie Shurelds explains how her childhood hair-doing sessions were made interesting and educational as her mother and friends discussed problems and faith, oblivious to Vickie's intently listening ears. As you read this issue of timbrel, I hope you will consider the ways you have engaged in kitchen table theology, with or without the kitchen table. - timbrel editor, Patricia Burdette In preparation for the September/October issue on "Women, and Poverty," consider:
Two-thirds of the people living in poverty worldwide are women, often women with children. How do you think this high level of poverty among women is a cause or an effect of other problems you see?
Send responses to Patty by July 31.
Please share timbrel outside your church family as a witness and outreach to those who know little about Mennonites or Christianity. Your subscriptions make the timbrel ministry possible.
To subscribe to timbrel, send $14 for one year or $12 per person for a group of 10 or more to Mennonite Women USA, P.O. Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. You can also e-mail or call 800-794-5101, ext. 227. We'll start your subscription and send you a bill. |
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Remembering and Honoring
Each fall and spring Mennonite Women USA invites persons to share financially to support this ministry. Individuals are invited to give in honor of, or in remembrance of, a significant woman in their lives - to be shared in our Postcard and Prayer. We recognize that each gift honors or remembers a relationship.
Gifts given by:
Elaine Sommers Rich in memory of Irene Hershberger.
Janice Showalter in memory of Grace Suter.
Janice Showalter in memory of Thelma Showalter.
Jocele Meyer in memory of Velma Hirstein.
Friendship Circle of Benton Mennonite Church in memory of Edith Johns.
Naomi Bontrager in memory of Ruth Hartman.
Twila Yoder in memory of Carol Heatwole.
Joan Yoder Miller in memory of Elizabeth Bontrager Yoder.
Mariam Umble in memory of Karen Sauder.
Rebecca Buller in memory of Alice Peters
Lois Good in memory of Mary Jane Zimmerman Kopp.
Ethel Harder in memory of Christena H Duerksen.
Alice Lapp in memory of Sarah Weber.
Margaret Weaver in memory of Annie Martin.
Mary Wilfong in memory of Ellen Martin.
Nancy Lee in memory of Ruth Shenk.
Esther B Heatwole in memory of Hazel Rhodes.
Kathryn M Slaubaugh in memory of Ruth Conrad Liechty.
Ann Burkhart in memory of Chris Burkhart.
Rosemary Moyer in memory of Helen Isaac Moyer.
Pam Risser n memory of Vera Kuhns.
Miriam Stoltzfus in memory of Mildred Clymer Martin.
Gloria Rissler in memory of Marion R Weaver.
Gifts given by:
Mary Ann Shisler in honor of Catherine Dannan.
Sherrill Glick in honor of Ellen Kessler.
Betty Good in honor of Alta Hochstetler.
Joy Kauffman King in honor of Ruth Kauffman.
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Give to Mennonite Women USA
 Your gifts help women! In the first third of our fiscal year, gifts from individuals continued to grow, but our group gifts lagged, creating a cash flow challenge. Mennonite Women USA is solely supported by gifts from individuals and groups.
You can now contribute to Mennonite Women USA's ministry through online giving. You can also make a pledge on our website. Please consider this ministry in your giving. Gifts are tax deductible. Thank you for your support.
Or send by regular mail to: Mennonite Women USA, 722 Main St., P.O. Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. |
You are invited!
You are invited to our kitchen table at the Mennonite Women USA booth at Columbus Assembly, June 30-July 4. Come for a time to connect with other women, share your kitchen table theology in a video clip, and receive the gift of friendship and conversation. The MW USA booth, your home away from home! The women's dinner on Wednesday, July 1 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. features three women exploring Kitchen Table Theology: Regina Shands Stoltzfus, Megan Ramer, and Elizabeth Soto Albrecht. Worship by the Anointed Voices of Joy, Lee Heights Community Church, Cleveland. See the resolution against Human Trafficking, modern day slavery, sent to the resolutions committee of MC USA for the Columbus Assembly by the Mennonite Women USA Board of Directors. |
Don't miss these seminars at Columbus
"Calling Our Daughters and Sons: Women and men addressing patriarchy in the church together" addresses how gender beliefs and practices in the church affect the calling of women and men into leadership. - led by Janeen Bertsche Johnson and Todd Lehman (Check program book for day and time.)
"Embracing the Role of Pastor's Spouse and all its Implications" provides support for leaders' families focused on the needs of pastors' spouse.- led by Ruth Lapp Guengerich with Jon Weishaupt and Dallan Troyer (Check program book for day and time.)
"Mennonite Women Reflect on the Workplace"brings together an intergenerational panel of Mennonite women who are working within the church, non-profit, and business sectors to examine and reflect on what it is like to be a woman serving within these spheres.-panel facilitated by Anita Yoder Kehr and Hannah Heinzekehr with panel members: Jane and Anna Roeschley, Natalie and Nicole Francisco, Yvonne Diaz, Sacara Martin, June Alliman Yoder, Mandy Yoder Schrock (July 1 at 3:00 p.m. - Check announcements for location; is not listed in program book.)
"Re-thinking Columbus: Exploring Native American History with Racism" addresses the location of this assembly in Columbus, a city named after the European explorer who it is said "discovered" America, from the perspective of the descendents of the People who populated this area. -led by Patty Burdette and Timothy Seidel (Friday, July 3, 1:45 and 3:00 p.m.)
"Sister-Care Training for Effective Lay Caring in the Congregation" gives an introduction to Mennonite Women USA's two-day seminar on listening, caring, and connecting in healthy ways through relationships and structures in the congregation. -led by Rhoda Keener, Cora Brown, and Rebecca Sommers (Thursday, July 2, 4:15 p.m.)
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 Mennonite World Conference
Patty Burdette, MW USA editor, will represent Mennonite Women USA at the Paraguay Mennonite World Conference. She will be attending the women theologian gatherings preceding the Assembly Gathered, and the Sister-Link Tea with North American women donors and women theologians from Africa and Latin America. She will also be part of the North American Indigenous Delegation to the Indigenous Gathering from July 19 to 27 as part of the Assembly Scattered. She will be traveling from July 11-29 and will post brief thoughts and some of her experiences in Postcard & Prayer and on the wall of Mennonite Women USA on Facebook.
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A Prayer for the Journey 
-by Celeste Kennel-Shank, Chicago, Ill., assistant editor of Mennonite Weekly Review.
Gracious God,
You gather us to you as your beloved children. You love us unconditionally while fully knowing our strengths and weaknesses. Help us to remember that truth when we find ourselves angry at a spouse, a child, a fellow church member, or a neighbor. Help us to trust each other's goodwill and desire to serve you. In our homes, our congregations, and our denomination, give us the strength to forgive seventy-seven times and more. As we relate to each other, may we reflect your grace, which is abundant beyond our ability to understand it. Amen. | |
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A Postcard & a Prayer is compiled by Mennonite Women USA staff Rhoda Keener, Patricia Burdette, Berni Kaufman, and Lois Loflin. |
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Know of others who would like to receive "A Postcard & a Prayer" e-mails from Mennonite Women USA? Have them send name, address, and e-mail Berni. | |
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