 A Postcard and a Prayer | |
| Mennonite Women USA |
December 2009 |
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What Faith Is
When I walk to the edge
of all the light I have
and take that step into the
darkness of the unknown...
I believe one of two things will happen:
There will be something solid for me to stand on...
Or I will be taught to fly!
-S. Martin
Edges
Photo
of Ivory Gull (an Arctic Circle bird) at Cape
May, New Jersey,
November 2009 by Bob Keener | |
Christmas greetings from Mennonite Women USA staff
Remembering you as we celebrate the birth of Christ. Rhoda,
Patty, Berni, Lois
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Women's prophetic voice
  Don't
miss the January/February issue of timbrel:
women in conversation together with God which focuses on the Prophetic
Voice of Women. Sarah Thompson (left) writes
about women's prophetic voice in Ghana
and Joanna Shenk (right) writes about the prophetic voice of women in Mennonite Church USA
as she works on an audit of women in positions of authority in the church. This issue of timbrel emphasizes the various ways women use their prophetic
visions and voices to lead the church into areas of change or need that might
otherwise be overlooked.
In preparation for the March/April issue of timbrel, which will focus on Loneliness in Community, consider:
When have you felt lonely in your community and what has helped to change that situation? Send responses to Patty by February 1.
As
Christmas approaches, consider the gift that gives inspiration and
thought-provoking subject matter to women by addressing topics of concern for
women by women in the church. Give a gift of timbrel to someone you know-in your family of origin, your church
family, or in your work or neighborhood community. For only $15, you can give a gift that
will touch hearts all year long.
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 N Main St., 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.
What readers are saying about timbrel:
"Your
inclusion of sisters' voices beyond the white, traditional Menno community
gives timbrel diversity credibility
and makes it so fun to read. I know I've
said this many times, but I suspect you don't tire of hearing it: keep up the
great work!" -Jean Kilheffer Hess, East Petersburg, Pennsylvania
"I really enjoy timbrel. Thanks for the work you and your staff do!
Blessings to you!" -Missy Short Orville, Ohio
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Additional responses to the Jan/Feb timbrel sister question
What needs do you think the church should be addressing?
The first thing that came to mind was how to slow
down and enjoy life - not running at breath-taking speed each day. I
don't think we are teaching our children healthy habits by being involved with
every activity/sport/hobby or whatever you desire so that we are always on the
go.
- Annetta
Borntrager Good, Goshen, Indiana
One thing I think women
especially (some male insight might be helpful also) need to address is the
climate of fear in our culture... I observe how my daughter, the mother of two
young children, endeavors to be sensible in finding her way in response to fear-mongering on the internet and in the news media. It would be helpful, I'd
think, to have some young mom's share how they deal with this issue. Some
encouragement from older women would be helpful as well. I do know that things
have changed since my children were small when we lived in a small town. But
surely we can find a balance in all of this.
- Naomi R. Weaver, Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
Human Trafficking Awareness Day is January 11, 2010
These resources on trafficking are shared
through the National Council of Churches. Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership and Mennonite Women USA are working on resources to be available at a later date.
The Evangelical Covenant
Church has just made new worship resources available.
Bible study resources
available from Church of the Brethren on Human Trafficking.
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Sister-Care conference role
Lorraine Eby has accepted
a unique position in Franklin Conference bringing Mennonite Women USA's
Sister-Care to a conference role.
Darrell Baer, Franklin conference
minister, said he thought Eby's position should connect to the whole conference
by serving on the conference board, as well as to provide a new voice to Constituency Leaders Council. "This gives her a platform for her position," says
Baer. Eby will work closely with the Franklin conference MW
executive committee who proposed this position to the conference as a way
of strengthening the ministry of Mennonite Women within the local
congregations.
Lorraine says, "The important part of this assignment for
me is to find ways to support women in the congregations, to encourage
women to care for one other and to affirm each other's
gifts." As Sister-Care coordinator
she writes a monthly column for the Franklin Conference monthly newsletter, Burning Bush, titled "The Kitchen
Table."
November's "Kitchen Table" begins: "My
grandmother, Nora Eshleman, had an interesting room upstairs in her house. It
had no bedroom furniture. Instead the room was furnished with about six sewing
machines lined around the room. As a child I wondered why grandma had so many
sewing machines in one room..." Read
the entire article.
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A Christmas gift idea
Give
a registration for a Women in Conversation retreat to a sister, mother, daughter, or
friend. Registration is now open for the 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 Retreat Center, Mt. Pleasant PA,
April 9-11, 2010
Crosswind Retreat Center, Hesston
KS,
April 30-May 2, 2010
Visit
Laurelville or Mennonite Women USA for information on workshops,
music leaders and more! To request a brochure or to register, contact: Angela Deitzel or call 800.839.1021
Women in
Conversation is co-sponsored by Mennonite Women USA and Laurelville.
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Honoring and Remembering
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. We
recognize that each gift honors or remembers a relationship.
Gifts
given by:
Marilyn Brenneman in
memory of Lula Martin Brenneman.
Isabel Mullett in
memory of Trula Zimmerly.
Opal Reschly in
memory of Gladys Widmer.
Sherah Leigh Gerber
in memory of Evie Hertzler.
Patricia Reno in
memory of Mable Wenger Hackman.
Miriam Nofsinger in
memory of Bertha Harder.
Mildred Stauffer in
memory of Audrey Hochstetler.
Rosemary Moyer in
memory of Agnetha Linscheid.
Maggie Glick in
memory of Mary Glick.
Alice Lapp in memory
of Sarah Weber.
Marilyn Eigsti in
memory of Jean Eigsti.
Ethel Lehman in
memory of Doris Lehman.
Emmerson Troyer in
memory of Norma Troyer.
Rebecca Buller in
memory of Alice Peters.
Justina Neufeld in
memory of Anna Sawatzky Neufeld.
Colleen Schmidt in
memory of Rev. and Mrs. Joe Orcutt.
Linda Guhr Ediger in
memory of Florence
Wiens.
Marjorie Leichty in memory of Mattie Imhoff Schertz.
Gifts
given by:
Muriel Stackley in
honor of Gladys Goering.
Sherah Leigh Gerber
in honor of Twila Yoder.
Kathleen Yoder in
honor of Rebecca Sommers.
Janice Showalter in
honor of Rhoda Keener.
Leona Diener in
honor of Esther Hinojosa.
Colleen Schmidt in
honor of all those who were caught in
human trafficking and
escaped.
By her children in honor of Elaine Good.
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Give to Mennonite Women USA
Your
gifts Mennonite Women USA's ministry possible. You can contribute to Mennonite Women 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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Hellen
Bradburn, Arusha, Tanzania, serves as the new
president of the African Anabaptist Women Theologians (AAWT). Read more about the AAWT and the women theologians' gathering in conjunction with Mennonite World Conference in Asuncion, Paraguay. She is currently studying theology at Mt. Meru
University in
Arusha.  Hellen writes:"I owe Mennonite Women USA a myriad of gratitudes for this valuable
support which I was not able to fulfill by myself. My studies are in progress
and I'm doing fine. For this semester I'm studying the following courses: Principles of Leadership, Principles of Preaching, Ministry to Adults, Christian Worship and Music, and others. Blessings."
Hellen is pictured (right) embracing Nellie
Mlotschwa, outgoing AAWT president at Paraguay Mennonite World
Conference. Photo by Sylvia E. Shirk
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An Advent prayer
By Dawn Yoder Harms, Ephrata, Pennsylvania
Midwife
God,
As we
enter this season of Advent, we listen for stirrings of new things waiting to
be born.
We listen
for your voice in the darkness, when we can't yet see the light.
We watch
for glimmers of you shining in places we least expect.
We wait
for your outpouring of love into our lives and our world.
Give us
courage to make space within for that love to dwell.
Give us
patience to allow it to gestate-to grow and deepen-until it is ready to be
born.
And at the
moment of its birth, may we trust you to catch it and cradle it and carry it
into the world, for the sake of the world.
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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