A Postcard and a Prayer from Mennonite Women USA

A Postcard and a Prayer

Mennonite Women USA

February 2010

In This Issue

Upcoming timbrel

Hear Megan Ramer

Remembering Esther Kalambo

World Day of Praye

Honoring and Remembering

Give to Mennonite Women USA

Spring 2010 regional women's events

The Kitchen Table

A Prayer for the Journey

Pray for Patricia Rosero

Patricia Rosero, pastor of Santa Marta Mennonite Church, Bogota, Colombia, has been a recipient of MW USA's International Women's Fund since 2002.

On February 10, Patricia, who uses the wheelchair for mobility, was traveling on a public bus. She suffered multiple leg fractures when the safety latch on a downloading platform gave way.

Please join Patricia's family and faith community in prayer for her recovery. Notes of encouragement can be sent.

Upcoming timbrel on Loneliness in Community

Blue flowers Be sure to look for the March/April issue of timbrel coming to your mailbox soon. In this issue of the magazine which focuses on Loneliness in Community, Meghan Good (pictured right) writes about the importance of reaching out to others to make them feel welcome as a way to build community in our churches. Nekeisha Alexis-Baker writes Voth about ways that we can use potlucks that include a variety of eating choices as a way to make everyone feel a part of our church community. Mennonite Women USA board member, Barb Voth (left) writes about how pastors and their spouses can feel loneliness in community and how they can ameliorate these feelings. Brittany McGraw writes about the risks involved in being included in communities of faith and how we need to overcome our fears. Rhoda Keener writes about family rituals that build a sense of community as well.

March 8 is International Women's Day, and in some nations, the month of March is Women's Month. What better time than March to remember a special woman in your life with a small gift? Consider giving a subscription to timbrel to a woman who means a great deal to you.

To subscribe or renew your subscription or purchase a gift subscription, go to our website.

In preparation for the May/June issue of timbrel, which will focus on Honoring our Mothers, consider:

What have you done to honor your mother, or how have your children honored you?

Send responses to Patty by April 1.

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.

Hear Megan Ramer about women's retreat

Women in Conversation retreats are almost here! You can receive the early discount registration if you register by March 1 or call 800.839.1021. Mennonite Women USA and Laurelville co-sponsor these retreats every two years in Kansas and in Pennsylvania.

Laurelville Director of Marketing & Advancement Brian Paff sat down with Megan Ramer at Cafe Jumping Bean, a local coffee shop on the southwest side of Chicago. Ramer is slated to serve as keynote speaker for the Women in Conversation at Laurelville April 9-11 and again in Hesston, Kansas on April 30-May 2.

She is currently pastor of Chicago Community Mennonite Church and will deliver a series of talks on this year's theme for the biennial retreat: "Living a Life of Gratitude".

Listen to the conversation in its entirety or just to hear Megan's thoughts on the theme for Women in Conversation.

Worship leaders for these retreats are Jen Helmuth Shenk (left) and Kristen Kauffman at Laurelville and Treva Greaser (right) at Crosswind.

(A limited number of scholarships are available; requests will be processed after March 1, with priority given to young women and women of color.)

Questions? Call or e-mail Berni at 316-281-4396.

Remembering Esther Kalambo

"All of us are passing by."

Esther Kalambo, Zambia, a member of the African Anabaptist Women Theologians (AAWT) committee since its beginning, died in an auto accident on January 20 at the age of 54. Esther served as a chaplain for AIDS patients at Macha Mission Hospital. She was a pen pal with Harriet Bicklser Sider through MW USA's Sister-Link with AAWT.

Esther was featured in a documentary "Living Water, Living Faith: Mennonite Women of Color" (Pentavision 2005) produced by Pat McFarlane and Linda Christophel.

In the video, Esther reflects on the transitory nature of life experienced by the patients with whom she works, saying: "Everyone is journeying toward death, some more quickly than others. I am here now, but I know that I am on a journey. I am not here forever. All of us are passing by."

Mennonite Women USA extends our love and condolences to the family and friends of Esther as we grieve her passing.

World Day of Prayer

World Day of Prayer will be celebrated March 5, 2010 with the theme, "Let Everything That Has Breath Praise God" developed by the women of Cameroon.

More information

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:

Nalungo Aduma in memory of Dorthy Hodge.

Nalungo Aduma in memory of Enaya Aduma.

Nalungo Aduma in memory of Mr. and Mrs Ode Aduma.

Carolyn Watkins in memory of Phyllis Schmidt.

Tamara Gill in memory of Joan Lehman.

Gifts given by:

Darlene Yoder in honor of Jean Schmitt.

Give to Mennonite Women USA

Blue flowers Your gifts make 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.

Spring 2010 regional women's events

Atlantic Coast and Lancaster (April 24) at MCC Materials Resource Center, Akron, Pa., "Chatter, Chow, and Cheerful Service," a fellowship and service day.

Central and Ohio (May 14-15), at Kidron Mennonite Church, Kidron, Ohio, a Sister-Care seminar with Rhoda Keener and Ruth Lapp Guengerich; special segment on "Loneliness."

Central (June 25), at Marbeck Hall, Bluffton, Ohio, a dinner with Missy Schrock on "Walking with Egyptians."

Central Plains (March 6-7) at the Leadership Center, Aurora, Neb., a retreat with Cindy Beckler Hostettler on "The Power of Prayer in All Aspects of Our Lives."

Franklin (March 27) at Marion Mennonite Church, Chambersburg, Pa., a prayer breakfast with Jewel Showalter on "Glory Droplets around the Globe."

Gulf States(February 20) at Pine Lake Fellowship, Meridian, Miss., a retreat with Sherry Nickols on "You Are Indescribable."

Lancaster (March 21) Workshop on "Educating Faith Communities on Human Trafficking" by Rhoda Keener at the Celebration of Church Life, Lancaster Conference Assembly.

Ohio(April 10) at Kidron Mennonite Church, Kidron, Ohio, a day of inspiration with Naomi Engle on "What Not To Wear-Compassion Fashion Version;" (March 13) at Annual Conference Assembly, a breakfast with Ann Conrad on work with Hispanic immigrants.

Pacific Northwest (April 23-24) at Drift Creek Camp, Lincoln City, Ore., a retreat with Teresa Moser on "Resting in the Rifted Rock."

South Central and Western District (March 8-9) at The Journey, Yoder, Kan., a Comforter Blitz; (March 11) at Eden Mennonite Church, Moundridge, Kan., Spring Supper with Gracia Burnham on her experience in the Philippines. Gracie is the author of In the Presence of My Enemies.

South Central (June 26) at Hesston Mennonite Church, Hesston, KS, a ladies' luncheon.

Virginia (May 8) at Zion Mennonite Church, Broadway, Vir., Annual Missions Day with Twila K. Yoder on "The Layers of Our Lives;" (June 26) at North Carolina State, Raleigh, North Carolina, a prayer breakfast with Carol Tobin on her missionary experience in Southeast Asia.

Western District (April 24) at Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., Celebrate Women Day with seven speakers on "Once upon a Time: Women Share Fairy Tales, Enchanted and Otherwise;" (July 10) at Waxahachi, Texas, a ladies' luncheon.

For more information on any of these events, e-mail the MW USA office. and we'll connect you with local retreat planners.

The Kitchen Table

February 2010
by Lorraine Eby,
Franklin Conference Sister-Care Coordinator

It's February - the month that has the least amount of days but seems to be the longest month of the year as we wait for spring. In the bleak of winter, this is the month everything in the mall is covered in red, hearts and glitter.

For those in a marriage relationship Valentine's Day offers the opportunity to express our love in special ways. It can also be a reminder that the freshness of new love can wear thin. One definition given for marriage that I tucked away some years ago went something like this, "marriage is two ordinary people working on an impossible dream."

The story is told of a Jewish couple who went to their Rabbi to receive counsel for a marital conflict....

Read the entire article. "The Kitchen Table" is published in The Burning Bush, Franklin Conference Newsletter.

A Prayer for the Journey

By Ruth L. Guengerich, Goshen, Ind.

Mennonite Women USA board president

Nurturing God, our souls grow weary

from winter's waging winds

our hearts, frozen as the icicles

stretching from rain gutter to earth

our bodies ache for grace so we can breathe freely

in this winter of our beings

we await a blessing -

a blessing of rest for the weary

a blessing of warmth that thaws the numbness

a blessing of grace that breathes

energy into longing souls

God who knit us together in our mother's wombs

stretch us to fulfill your creation

block us from fear of failure and hopelessness

re-shape us with the joy of spring waiting,

stirring in our souls.

A Postcard & a Prayer is compiled by Mennonite Women USA staff Rhoda Keener, Patricia Burdette, Berni Kaufman, and Lois Loflin.

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.