 A Postcard and a Prayer | |
| Mennonite Women USA |
September 2009 |
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"All too
often women's labor is taken for granted, much like we use the earth's resources:
as something free of charge, rather than a valuable resource to be nurtured and
treasured." - Linda Gehman Peachey, in "Women, poverty,
and stress," timbrel,
September-October 2009
"In
Christ there is no male or female. Yet in societies around the world, women and
girls endure unequal treatment and violence because of their gender." - Celeste Kennel Shank in "Seeking Solidarity on gender equality," Mennonite Weekly Review editorial, September 14, 2009
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Women and poverty
Don't
miss the September/October issue of timbrel
in which Gabriela Ochoa Brenneman tells the story of returning to her native Guatemala to
help Indigenous women with an economic development project and Linda Gehman
Peachey discusses the systemic issues that often cause women to live in
poverty. In addition, Sun Ju Moon
relates her own struggles and blessings with living in poverty while Kirsten
Klassen tells the stories of Mennonite women who struggle to survive poverty's
grasp, and Christina Duhoux-Reub discusses poverty in the Netherlands.
The sister question in preparation for the November/December issue focusing on the MW USA's new Sister Care program, consider:
What have you most needed
in your connection with other women in the church?
In what settings have you meaningfully connected with women in the church?
Send responses to Patty by October 1 .
If you
know a young woman who could stay connected to the church through reading timbrel, ( for example, a single woman
just beginning her career, someone in an overseas or North American service
assignment, a young single or recently married woman, or a college student)
consider giving them a gift subscription to
timbrel. To place a subscription order through the mail or online, see the
information below. Subscriptions may be purchased online.
To subscribe to timbrel, send $15 for one year or $13 per person for a group of 10 or more to Mennonite Women USA, 722 Main St., 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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Sister-Care appreciation
From a
note received this week at our Mennonite Women USA office: "Attending Sister -Care was monumental for me
not only for where I was as a person in the Mennonite Church,
but more importantly, where I was as a woman.
The component about sharing our stories and finding your calling was
instrumental to me. I have started a
blog... it's an outgrowth of the encouragement I received from Sister-Care to
share our stories, minister to others, and look at our calling/passions. Thank
you." - Brenda Lazzaro, Shipshewana,
Indiana attended MW USA's Elkhart Sister-Care seminar
in May 2009. She is pictured above right.
A
Mennonite Women USA Sister-Care seminar will be held at Best Western, Harrisburg, Pa., October
2-3, 2009, hosted by Atlantic
Coast and Lancaster
Conferences Mennonite Women. Coming May 14-15, 2010 Sister-Care at Kidron Mennonite Church, Ohio, hosted by Ohio and Central District Mennonite Women.
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Give to Mennonite Women USA
 Your
gifts support Sister-Care, Bible study resources, and
scholarships for church leadership training through International Women's Fund.
A gift of $250 will provide one-half of an average scholarship. Scholarship
money is still needed in 2009.
You can contribute to Mennonite Women USA's ministry through online giving. Or send a gift by regular mail to: Mennonite
Women USA, 722 N Main St.,
Newton, KS 67114. Gifts are tax deductible. You can also make a pledge on our website.
Every gift make a difference. Thank you for your support.
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Mennonite Women USA Board of Directors openings
Mennonite
Women USA has board openings beginning in August 2010 for the positions of
Central States representative and Vice-President. Please send names of potential candidates (or
nominate yourself) by November 1 to MW USA vice-president, Gail Harder, 1300
Eymann Ave., Reedley, Calif. Include contact information, qualifications, and a
brief introduction to the person.
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Living a Life of Gratitude
Save the Date! for a 2010 Women in Conversation: Living a Life of Gratitude retreat. The
praises and petitions of our lives rise and fall with the tides of "good" news
and "bad" news.
How do we anchor the highs and purge the
lows in order to find a steadiness of gratitude in our lives with God, neighbor
and self? How dare we even try in the midst of a decidedly unsteady, broken
and aching world? Keynote speaker, Megan Ramer, pastor from Chicago IL,
will explore with us the satisfying spiritual discipline of grateful living.
This
retreat is held in two locations:
Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, Mt.
Pleasant PA, April 9-11, 2010
Crosswind Retreat Center, Hesston
KS, April 30-May 2, 2010
Visit
Mennonite Women USA or Laurelville Mennonite Church Center. You can also make a pledge on our website.
for information on workshops, music leaders and more! To request a brochure or
to register, contact: Angela Dietzel
or call 800.839.1021
Women in
Conversation is co-sponsored by Mennonite Women USA and Laurelville.
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Additional fall regional retreats
The
following area events were received after our August Postcard was sent. To see
the full list go to our website. Or contact Berni in our Newton office.
Lancaster (November
14) at New Holland Mennonite
Church, New Holland, Pa.,
with speaker, Juanita Nunez, on "Intercessory Prayer."
Women and Preschool Assembly (Oct. 26) at Neffsville Mennonite
Church, Lancaster, Pa.,
with speaker Beth Jarrett on "Finding God in Our Conversation."
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A Prayer after a Family Reunion
by Eve MacMaster, Gainesville, Florida
Eve's mother, Ruth Garratt Bowers, is
pictured in a 1982 photo with granddaughters, baby Rebecca Ruth Bowers and
Sarah MacMaster.
Lord,
you
created us and placed us in families,
and you,
in your wisdom, put me in this one.
How
different we all are!
And yet.
. . we are family . . .
like
church, we are diverse and similar,
bound
together by our love for our parents
and one
another.
That was
some party!
How Mom
would have laughed
to see us
now,
her three
children, nearly as old as she was
the last
time we saw her . . .
And the
children --
she would
have been delighted with the grandchildren,
married
now,
with
children of their own.
"Who are
all these people?"
she would
have asked, with a smile.
And we'd
know her answer, without words,
"More
little ones to love"
. . .Ian
in his baseball cap,
Matthew
with his nose in a book,
Self-conscious,
almost-teenager Katie . . .
She'd see
something special in each of them:
Baby Jack
laughing
as the
children gathered around his stroller,
Andrew,
tall and grown-up now,
no longer
the baby of the family,
Becky and
Sarah, with their own little ones,
Susan's
boy Will, and Sam's girl Spencer,
adopted
into the family,
full
members now . . .
like us,
Lord, adopted into your family,
sons and
daughters of the King.
Now that
will be some party, Lord!
All those
people singing your praises
at the
Great Reunion of your family!
And won't
you be delighted
with something special in each of your children!
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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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