Emerging Women

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Missional in Suburbia Seminar

I thought that I would post this in case there are any readers from the Philly area.

“God always shows up in the most God-forsaken places.”
—Alan Roxburgh

In some ways, it doesn’t get any more God-forsaken than suburban America. This “Missional In Suburbia” seminar will take a look at two important topics: Suburbia and the Church. For some people, there is a sentiment that its impossible to really be the church in the ‘burbs. But for others, we believe that this is the place that God has called us. If we are going to stay, we need to ask what it means to “be the church” in a culture that is defined by comfort, consumerism, isolation, wealth, strip malls and hidden poverty.

This one-day seminar will focus on the development and culture of suburbia and the opportunities and challenges that this context presents the Church. We are honored to have Al Hsu, author of The Suburban Christian, lead the discussion along with some other local pastors and thinkers.

This one-day conference is open to all and will be helpful for pastors, lay leaders, and members of congregations. Our goal is to have some substantial discussion around practical issues that relate to the everyday practice of the Church and the Christian life.

Event Details:

* Location: The Well (Feasterville, PA)

* Cost: $25 (includes lunch)

* Dates: August 9, 2008 (On Friday night, August 8, there is an optional “open house”/”meet and greet.”)

* In Partnership With: Philly Emergent cohort, Ecclessia Network, and C4ML at Biblical Seminary

Register online now at: church.thewellpa.com

Labels: Church, Events

posted by Unknown at 3:49 PM

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Denver Area EW Gathering

you are invited to our 2nd
denver emerging
women's gathering
fanning the flames
saturday june 21st 6pm

join us for an evening by the fire...an informal gathering for those in the denver, colorado springs, fort collins, boulder area. our agenda is relaxed with the goal to continue building relationships and support

saturday, june 21, 2008 at 6:00 pm
appetizers, desserts & conversation

at the home of kathy escobar
for directions and additional information, please rsvp to:
kathy@therefugeonline.org or
amy borjas at eaborjas@comcast.net

this invitation is open to anyone interested in coming so feel free to pass the word to any women you know who might want to come. everyone is welcome!

if you are able or willing, please bring a dessert or appetizer to share.

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 10:19 AM

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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Denver Gathering

You are invited to a
Denver Emerging
Women's Gathering
Friday November 16th 7pm

getting God & ourselves
out of the box

hey all, last month the emerging women's website put out a call for regional gatherings of emergent women. this is just a next step to get some voices in one room, meet some others & hopefully be encouraged! there are a lot of us out there...women stirring the pot, stepping out, trying to do what we think God is calling us to, longing to live out our gifts & passions in different ways and get God and ourselves out of the box.

we hope you can join us for an informal gathering for those in the denver.coloradosprings.fort collins.boulder area to start the conversation. no big agenda but hopefully the beginning of some better networking & support

friday november 16th 2007 at 7:00 pm
appetizers, desserts & conversation

at the home of kathy escobar
for directions and to rsvp email
kathy@therefugeonline.org or
amy borjas at eaborjas@comcast.net

please pass this invite on to any other women
who might be interested in coming! all are welcome!

Labels: Community, Events

posted by Julie at 9:02 AM

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Saturday, October 13, 2007

Emerging Women at the Emergent Gathering

So I got home a week ago and have been meaning to post about this all week - but life just got in the way. I wanted to give a brief report of what happened at the Emerging Women lunch at the Emergent Gathering last week. And in case you were wondering, the picture is of Makeesha and me at the lunch. Somehow that's the only picture that turned out.

Anyway, we gave an open invitation to whoever wanted to attend an Emerging Women lunch at the Gathering. Men and Women both (or as it has come to be phrased at these things, "Emerging Women and men who like them"). We had a good sized group show up for a spread of cheeses and organic soup and salad (thank you Sarah Sayles for helping prep). I gave a very basic introduction to the types of activities Emerging Women is involved in and then we opened it up for people to share their stories. The storytelling took up most of our time, but I found it to be a very blessed and supportive time. There was a wide diversity of women present who have come to this emerging conversation from a variety of backgrounds. After sharing our experiences as women in the EC we spent a (very) short amount of time discussing the lack of visible women in leadership in the emerging church.

There were a few highlights in the conversation that stood out to me that I want to mention here -

One woman spoke on how she wished God was more like her father. Unlike the women who try to get away from the Father image of God, she is seeking to understand God in that way. Her own father encouraged her and told her that she could do/be anything. But it was God (or the church's representation of God) that seemed to be restricting her. She wants to see God in the encouraging and supportive role her own father played in her life.

One woman mentioned that for this emerging conversation to be balanced (have equal representation of men and women's voices) everyone needs to be willing to give up something. Be it ego, power, ease - if we care about balance we have to work for it.

Some women brought up that in the emerging church we shouldn't be having to work for equal representation and respect for women. We should just already have it if we are truly a representation of the body of Christ. That sparked a discussion on the way things are verses the way things should be. A couple of women who work with victims of domestic violence brought up that there shouldn't be violence against women, but there is. They are not just going to wait around for the way things should be to just happen because of their inherent rightness. No, they are going to fight to bring justice and make things right. The same goes for being proactive in demanding women have a voice.

And I want to thank Jeff for his portrayal of the unenlightened vs enlightened emergent male. According to his division, the unenlightened emergent male sees that there are so many issues to deal with and hurdles to overcome in moving this emerging conversation forward, so he brushes women aside as an unimportant issue in light of the bigger picture. But the enlightened emergent male will continue this whole revolution by doing his part in helping bringing women alongside as an equal and powerful voice in helping make things happen.

Labels: Emerging Church, Events, Gender Issues

posted by Julie at 3:52 PM

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Sunday, September 09, 2007

Want to Help Out?

Hi all -
Sorry for no weekly round-up this week. I had my hand in a splint for most of the week with a sprained finger and am just now typing somewhat normally again. But I wanted to ask for volunteers to help out with a few Emerging Women activities. There are three areas that we are looking for people to get involved-

Tuesday Book Club
Since our book discussion will now take place once a week, we will be able to cover a wider variety of topics. We would like for more people to lend their voice to hosting different parts of the discussion. So if you are reading one of our upcoming book selections (see sidebar) and have a topic that you would really like to focus on, we would love to have you host a week of the discussion. It would require reading the books a bit early, choosing a topic, and choosing which week you would like to take. It would also be nice to hear from more voices and perspectives as we approach each book.

Local Gatherings
Would you like to get to know other Emerging Women in your area? We are looking for women across the country to volunteer to host one time get togethers for Emerging Women. A meal together, a discussion evening, or a special event - anything goes. We would advertise it on the blog and hope that it could be a way for women with similar questions to get to know each other. Be it three or twenty people gathering, it can be a easy way to connect. It could be as simple as reserving a table at the local pizza place, but it takes someone organizing it to help make it happen. (not that anyone needs "permission" to do an Emerging Women event, we just want to offer what resources we have to help start conversations).

Regional Gatherings
We are looking for a place(s) to host upcoming Emerging Women gatherings. If you are interested in helping coordinate a regional event in your area please let us know. There are tentative plans for a few underway, but nothing concrete yet. Being a coordinator would involve finding meeting space, planning much of the event, and being the on-site detail person. Each Emerging Women event looks very different, so we are looking for people willing to put their own creative energy into this event. It would be great to provide gathering opportunities for more women and we would like to move forward to making new plans. So if you think you may be interested in finding out more please let us know.

Having opportunities to connect and get to know each other is a blessing for many of us. And I know that there are a lot of women out there who are struggling with questions that many of us have struggled with, but who don't have anyone to talk to. These are just a few ways we can connect and support each other. So if you are interested in helping out in these ways (or others), please email us at emergingwomen@gmail.com.

Thanks -
Julie Clawson

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 2:03 PM

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Midwest Emergent Gathering

This past weekend we held the first ever Midwest Emergent Gathering. Basically a few of us who help lead Emergent Cohorts wanted to put on a regional gathering. We invited all the Midwest cohorts and anyone else who was interested and dove into putting on a conference. It was a ton of work, but in the end turned out to be a great experience. We had a fantastic group of people show up and heard from some dynamic speakers. Our keynote speakers included Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Denise Van Eck, Nanette Sawyer, Alise Barrymore, James King and Spencer Burke. If you are interested in hearing what they had to say, the main session talks (and a few others) are all available for download at the Midwest Emergent Gathering Website. And if you are interested, a summary of the whole event has been posted at the conference blog.

It was great to see some of the women who interact on this blog at the conference. We held an informal Emerging Women lunch that was basically a time to share experiences and dream about what we as women would like to see happening in the church. A fairly diverse group of women and men attended to discuss the "role" of women in the emerging church (a problematic concept if there ever was one). One father attended who had become disillusioned with his faith as he watched his daughters leave the faith because of how the church treats women. Other women who come from mainline denominations said they have never had any issues as a woman in the church. Other women there were tired, very tired, of struggling to be accepted at all. There were women there who see no need for a separate "women's group" and others who are desperate for other women they can relate to. Needless to say, we had some rich conversation.

Some of the women shared how they were surprised at how male dominated the conference was. While we had tried to give equal speaking and workshop opportunities to women and men, most of the upfront voices were still male and all of the God talk was male gendered. For women especially from mainline backgrounds, it was a bit shocking to see such an imbalance. It made me realize that even when we deliberately planned for more gender equality, the male voice still dominated. No wonder it has been hard for women to see themselves represented in the emerging church. What will it take for women to be fully recognized and seen as a vital (and needed) presence in this conversation?

Another topic of conversation at the lunch involved the lack of resources (or information about such resources) for emerging women. There are women out there writing books, teaching theology, and giving brilliant talks. They just aren't well known. We discussed some of the reasons why this is the case. Some suggested the mommy factor. Women who have the ability to teach, speak, or write often are never blessed with the time to do so because of family obligations (the men seem to have no problems on the other hand.) Also if women do get books out there, they rarely get the same level of promotion and press as books by they male colleagues do. Hence fewer women know that those resources are out there. And often those resources are coming from mainline and not evangelical publishers, making it difficult for many evangelical (or post-evangelicals) to even know they exist. So as a group we discussed the need to not only encourage and empower women to use their voices, but to also start grassroots movements to promote women whose voices are already out there. To let others know what books have influenced you or given you hope. To let the world know when there is a new book published. That could involve sharing with friends, making a point to blog a review about a book (or even just provide a link), or something as simple as creating lists on Amazon or adding a book to your Facebook or Librarything bookshelf. Grassroots means that women get behind other women to help let their collective voices be heard. What are other ideas people here have?

To help with that sharing of information, we highlighted a few of the books women who were at the lunch had written. I wanted to share those here as well. Many of you may have already read Ivy Beckwith's Postmodern Children's Ministry. I found it to be a fantastic introduction to postmodernism and a great help for reimagining children's ministry. We also highlighted upcoming books from Beth Booram (The Wide Open Spaces of God, Sept. 2007) and Nanette Sawyer (Hospitality the Sacred Art, Oct. 2007). I look forward to reading those and hope to post more about them in the future.

In all, I thought the conversation was helpful. It pushed us to think about the effects the roles the church (even emerging churches) have given to women (and we have accepted) have on people's faith and desire to be involved. I realized that we need to always be aware of whether or not all people feel welcomed and included. I saw also the need to be doing whatever we can to help women find, use, and promote their voice. And that doing so does not necessarily have to involve fighting for equality (although that is often also needed), but engaging in love and hospitality. It means encouraging and supporting each other - be that by reading each other's books and blogs, by giving moral support, or watching a friend's kids so she has a quiet moment to write.

So thank you to all who attended for a good conversation.

Labels: Events, Gender Issues, Women in Ministry

posted by Julie at 4:49 PM

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

St. Teresa of Avila Presentation

At the recent Emerging Women Midwest Gathering, Elsie Rivera Palabrica gave a presentation on St. Teresa of Avila as a woman who re-imagined. Due to technical difficulties, we were unable to show the powerpoint with all of the illustrations. But she has made the presentation on St. Teresa of Avila, monasticism and centering prayer is available to anyone who would like a copy (in pdf or powerpoint format). Let us know if you'd like a copy, with notes, emailed to you by leaving a comment or sending an email to emergingwomen@gmail.com.

Elsie also writes - "The centering prayer website recommended in the presentation is www.centeringprayer.com. The text of the most popular book on centering prayer, Open Heart, Open Mind by Thomas Keating, is available at www.centeringprayer.com/OpenHeart/index.htm - note, this link isn't directly accessible through the main website so be sure to bookmark it."

Labels: Events, Resources

posted by Julie at 5:17 PM

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Weekly Round-up

As part of this week's Weekly Round-Up, I want to say some huge thank yous.

First I want to thank all the great people who helped make the recent EW gathering happen. Many people gave of their time to make the experience work for everyone. I want to thank everyone who led workshops and discussion groups - thanks for lending your knowledge and experience and passions to the rest of us. And thanks to everyone who helped with set-up, hospitality, and clean-up.

Thanks too to Sarah Notton for helping plan all the details, Sarah Sayles for coordinating the music, Elizabeth Potter for her good ideas and willingness to help with anything, and Kristine Socall for taking charge of hospitality stuff. (and for all being awesome people!)

We also want to thank the groups that sponsored us. They helped provide advertising, resources, and scholarships. A big thanks to them for their help!

And now to highlight a few emerging women posts -

Nadia reflects on a recent retreat with the Urban Servants Corps.

Read about holistic theology over at Eternal Echoes.

There's a review of Lisa Samson's new book Quaker Summer over at Calacirian. I'm all for supporting emerging women writers!

From Linda -
"I wanted to tell you about a brand new ministry I started recently called ‘Christ Driven Women’ and would appreciate any help you can give as far as ideas, resources, wisdom, prayer & help bringing other women to the website. www.ChristDrivenWomen.com. It is all still very new as you will see but I’m hoping to get some discussions going on the forums ASAP. I see the forums as being one of the driving forces in this ministry to get women talking & connected with other women church leaders around the globe. My goal is to get other women involved in this ministry & see it as a huge ministry to helping women be all they can be for the sake of Christ."

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Labels: Events, Weekly Round-up

posted by Julie at 10:20 AM

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Finding Sabbath Poem

At the Emerging Women Gathering, Sarah Sayles led a workshop called "Creative Worship in the Everyday". The women attending this workshop collaborated on a poem that expressed that theme in their lives. Here it is for all to enjoy!

Finding Sabbath

If I don't clean the house
why would I take care of my temple?

Because it's a lot harder
to shove your thighs in the closet
when your friends come over!

Even when I think I outta be playing
cards with my kids

I know I'm better off seeking
God's face on my exercycle...
or when I'm driving my car
(with my eyes open!)

I cry out to God

It's better than cursing the other drivers
and the traffic doesn't care anyhow.

When I'm in a good place
it's worshipful to do the dishes
or shop and clean the bathroom

I can declare what God has done
to the dust bunnies under the chair.

How can I remember God
in the clamor of this world?
Life can be so loud
so distracting

How can I remember to not forget?

Bring an offering and come before God
with willing heart.

We lay before you -

a joyful heart
dog hair
a clean house
a good meal
fresh-baked cookies
an abundance of kind words
puppy kisses
Earthworms

Find Sabbath in all of these things.

Midwest Emerging Women's Gathering

March 17, 2007

Labels: Community, creative writing, Events

posted by Julie at 2:42 PM

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

EW Midwest Gathering Links

Hi - I just wanted to post a few links related to the recent gathering.

When the women registered, they were asked to recommend one book for other Emerging Women. I've posted this list for everyone to benefit from over at Amazon, you can find it here. The books represent the diversity of women that were present and I found I few to add to my own reading list.

For some other perspectives on the weekend check out the reflections of -
Amy
Karen
Mike (yes there were a few guys present, I'll post about that later...)

(I'll add to the list as I'm made aware of other's posting)

We hope to post some other reflections, some of the workshop notes, and some of the artwork created over the next few days as well.

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 11:06 PM

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Monday, March 19, 2007

Emerging Women Midwest Gathering

Hi all. We are back from the Emerging Women Midwest Gathering and besides being totally exhausted, I am really encouraged by the dreams and passions that I witnessed this weekend. As the coordinator of the event, I didn’t really “experience” it in the same was as everyone else, so I hope we can hear a variety of perspectives about the weekend.

We gathered in a Castle in Oregon, Il and I thought it was a fun setting for our conversations. We of course had fun with the castle theme with décor and a “make your own tiara” station, but our main theme revolved around re-imagining the Kingdom. We had workshops that explored ideas of how that is done and heard stories of women who re-imagined in our main sessions. We also spent time re-imagining worship by providing space for experimenting with fresh forms of worship.

I really appreciated the diversity of women there. We did have women from all ages and backgrounds. This provided for some great (albeit emotional) conversations about theology and what in the world is this whole emerging church thing. We saw the variety of ways women come at their faith experience and how they conceptualize and talk about God.

Over the next few days, we will post resource lists and other reflections on the weekend, but I thought I would post my notes from my opening and closing session remarks to help others get an idea about what our theme and purpose was for our time together.

(opening remarks)
Once we decided on the Castle location for this gathering, we knew we had to do something fun with the whole concept of the castle… There was of course talk about all wearing Ren-faire costumes and jokes about exploring the sacred feminine by dancing nude in the moonlight in a grove of trees (a few too many of us have read Dance of the Dissident Daughter…) But as we really began to think about it, we realized that most castle themes just didn’t seem to fit. You have the knights in shining armor, the violence of the crusades, and way too many damsels in distress – not exactly Emerging Women fare. But it got me thinking. I love history so I began to wonder, “what do we know about the women who lived in castles?” and as a logical follow-up “how do we know it?” As a student of the history of history, I realized that it was only with the advent of a method called “social history” that the day-to-day lives of the women who lived in castles became known. Social historians decided to re-imagine history. Not to throw out facts and truth, but to re-imagine which facts and which sources are deemed important. While most other methods of history focused on the lives of rich and powerful men, social historians began piecing together the stories of women, minorities, and the poor. As they did this, people began to realize the impact these previously-ignored groups had on the shaping of our world. It took leaving the fortresses of assumption and bias behind to get the big picture for these historians. And it is from that re-imagining that we developed the theme for this weekend.

Unlike the stories that were passed down through our common imagination, we are not just Princesses waiting around to be rescued as our t-shirts proclaim (although we all do need helping hands from time to time). We are not waiting around to be told what to think or waiting for permission to join the conversation, we are ready to worship and serve God. For some this is a struggle – we have been wounded, we have been denied a voice, or we just don’t know how to have that voice. So, I want us to step out beyond the castle walls this weekend – leave behind our assumptions about who and what are important in God’s Kingdom, and re-imagine ways that we as women in this emerging, postmodern culture can worship and serve to truly make an impact on our world.

We are a diverse group. We have different church traditions, different theologies, different worship styles and that’s okay. We don’t all have to agree on everything this weekend – in fact some of the people leading workshops might present differing views, its okay. Many of us have the commonality that we are interested in the emerging church conversation (others came with a friend and have no clue what that’s about). But if you’ve been around the emerging/emergent conversation long enough, you know that it expresses itself in many different forms. We can explore some of those together this weekend. But mainly we want to help encourage each other as women to serve God and have a voice, how that plays out in our lives will look different for each of us. I hope it will be a time of learning and of refreshment for each of us.

(and from our concluding session)
Sometimes it’s the world that needs re-imagined – the systems of injustice, the pain, the evils. Sometimes it’s the church that needs re-imagined – traditions and theologies that have usurped the call to serve God. Sometimes it our worship – when we forget or are frightened by the variety of ways we can connect with God. Sometimes it our lives – when we realize that perhaps God is pushing us to step up and serve, to use our voice, to use our talents, to use our compassion to serve him. Where is God calling you to re-imagine?

As you leave this weekend, how will you re-imagine the Kingdom? What do you see in the world or the church that needs to change or improve or grow? What in your own life needs re-imagining? Is it how you worship, is it how you serve God, is it how you interact with others? What will it mean for you as a woman to do these things? How will you re-imagine?

To return to our castle theme – we are Princesses but we’re not in need of rescue. Even in our brokenness, even in our fear, even in our questions we can go out beyond the castle walls – literally and figuratively. We are the one who can re-imagine. We can start the conversations, engage with new ideas, experiment with our worship, use our voice, work for justice, and not be afraid to risk it all to serve God. But we are not alone – we have gathered as women at learn from and encourage each other and we can look to each other for support.

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 10:16 AM

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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Weekly Round-up

Hi all-

Sorry no weekly round-up this week, everything is crazy busy. We start the Emerging Women Midwest Gathering tomorrow. I can't wait to meet everyone who's coming. We'll be sure to post about it when we get back. If you think about it, please pray that this will be a time of blessing for everyone involved. We are focusing on the theme of re-imagining the Kingdom and hopefully it will be inspiring and uplifting for all. But there are lots of details to finish up... so blessings until after the weekend.

- Julie

Labels: Events, Weekly Round-up

posted by Julie at 11:36 PM

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Sunday, March 04, 2007

Last Chance to Register for the Emerging Women Midwest Gathering

I know I mentioned this in the Weekly Round-up, but I was told I should make a separate post... so -

The registration for the Emerging Women Midwest Gathering is open only through this Friday March 9th. We do have a handful of spaces still available - so if you're interested, there's still room. I just wanted to let everyone know so that those interested could make it.

For more information about the event click - here.

To register click here.

I spent this weekend with the coordinators to work out the final details and we are really excited about this gathering. I can't wait to meet everyone who's attending.

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 6:47 PM

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Emerging Women T-Shirts

For our upcoming Emerging Women Midwest Gathering we are offering the option of purchasing an Emerging Women t-shirt. I know some people love stuff like this and others could care less. We just thought that we would offer the option of getting an EW t-shirt to everyone before we placed the final printing offer.

Click here for images, colors, and sizes.

These shirts are made in the USA by an ethically conscious company (Bella Clothing).

If you are interested in ordering a t-shirt, I've added a PayPal shopping cart on the sidebar for them. I've never set up one of these before, so I'm hoping it works. We will place the initial order at the start of March and the shirts will be shipped by mid-March.

I don't want this to be a cheezy sales pitch, just wanted to offer the option if people are interested!

Labels: Blog Stuff, Events

posted by Julie at 2:26 PM

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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

NW Emerging Women Gathering - blogs

Here are a few more blogs where you can find thoughts and reflections on the NW Emerging Women's Gathering - Convergence. If you know of any others, let me know. Enjoy.

Read them - here
here
here (with the coolest graphic).
and here

update - as mentioned in the comments, find Rachel's detailed reflections here

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 9:55 PM

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Monday, January 29, 2007

NW Emerging Women Gathering

So I’m back home from the NW Emerging Women Gathering and I wanted to share a bit of what we experienced. I posted some of me personal reflections from the weekend at my blog here. I’ve also included here a few of the pictures I took over the weekend – showing a bit of the whimsical and ubiquitous art at the Edgefield Manor (a place I highly recommend anyone visit if they get the chance)

We gathered on Saturday to share with each other our experiences in leadership – including all the joys and struggles that involves. From that time the groups returned with questions that our experiences raised in us. These are what came to mind as we reflected on who we are. Who knows how we will “answer” them, but they were questions that we had to ask.

Group Questions

How do emergent ministries and mainstream congregations learn and grow together?
How can we as women encourage instead of hurt each other?
As we are staring new kinds of faith communities how can we avoid damaging those we come in contact with?
How do we become leaders without losing who we are as women (have to act like men)?
God cares about us and our wholeness, how do we lead from that?
How do we claim and articulate our dreams and receive God’s permission to move forward in those?
What are supposed to do with the excitement of learning from each other?
What is next????? (the ever present question)

The afternoon was spent over a good lunch and conversation. We then broke into affinity groups to explore topics such as church planting, spiritual retreats, and social justice. I got to participate in a great discussion of centering prayer and being aware of our body in prayer and spiritual acts. I also got to participate in a spiritual direction session, which was a blessing albeit new experience for me. We were then treated to a panel discussion with a number of emerging women leaders. It was great to hear a variety of different perspectives from women at different stages in life and ministry. Here are a few of the insights from that panel that I found helpful.

- It can be a long process to accept God’s call to ministry as a woman and as yourself.

- Being who we are gives us credibility. It threatens some when a woman accepts God’s call, but we should just let them see God working through us, using the gifts God gives us.

- You need peers and mentors on this journey. Mentors can give you insight into the places you have not yet been. It is your responsibility to take the initiative to find a mentor.

- Don’t wait for permission or an invitation to use your voice, just do what you need to do.

Saturday evening was spent in community as we talked, shared a meal, and played games. We got to discover each others’ journey’s and learn from where we have all been. Sunday morning was spent in worship. Some of us started the day with a contemplative prayer/yoga session. It was a quieting time that helped us center our thoughts on God. The full group then spent time singing and worshiping through artistic lectio divina. As we mediated on scripture and prayers, we created images and collages that reflected what we were dwelling upon. We shared those creations with each other. We continued worshiping then with more songs, sharing a communion liturgy, and passing the peace. The group then entered into a time of sharing and reflecting on the experience, but Sarah and I had to slip out so we could make it to the airport on time.

It was a refreshing weekend that I am glad I was able to be a part of. I met some wonderful women and got to learn from their combined experiences.I would love to hear reflect ions from anyone else who attended. And I highly encourage everyone to try to ake it to one of these events.

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 12:19 PM

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Saturday, January 27, 2007

NW EW Gathering - Creating Safe Space

As we gathered as women from a variety of different backgrounds at the NW Emerging Women Gathering, the leaders led us through a process of deciding what would define our safe space. We would be sharing our stories, or passions, and our struggles with each other and as a community we set guidelines for how those interactions would proceed. The question was how will we be committed to learning from each other by creating a safe and sacred space. I liked the guidelines the group came up with and wanted to share them here.

- No “scripturizing.” No throwing scripture out to hurting women who probably know it already. Using the Bible as a weapon or excuse doesn’t help.
- In our groups we need to seek to understand rather than fix. This means not offering input unless it is asked for.
- Don’t make people feel rushed, but still allow everyone a chance to speak (don’t let one person dominate conversation)
- Be aware of our internal responses to what others are saying (like disdain for what we have left behind or fear of where we have not yet been). To respond in love as we are aware of our own baggage.

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 2:17 PM

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NW Emerging Women Gathering

Happy Weekend All!

Sorry for no weekly round-up this week, yesterday was a long travel day. I'm writing from the NW Emerging Women's Gathering outside of Portland. We are in this really cool gathering place. The Edgefield Manor is a hotel, brew pub, winery, and more. There is amazing artwork everywhere and its a very communal space.

We are just getting going this morning, and already I've had the chance to meet some amazing emerging women. I'll do my best to post updates and pictures as the gathering proceeds so we can share this experience with you.

Blessings- Julie

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 10:05 AM

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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Emerging Women Midwest Gathering Update

I just wanted to give a brief update about a few things going on with the upcoming Emerging Women Midwest Gathering (see sidebar for more info). Registration is beginning to fill up, but there is still plenty of room for whoever wants to attend. We have had a number of requests for scholarships and student rates and we want to help as many as possible attend. If you would like to help support this gathering by sponsoring a scholarship (whether you are attending or not) it would really help us be able to offer help to those who need it.

We also are still looking for a few more workshop leaders. So if you plan on attending and have a topic you would like to lead a workshop on let us know. Our theme is "Re-Imagining the Kingdom" and we are looking at new forms of worship, of being a believer in this day and age, and of doing church.

So if you are interested in leading a workshop or in contributing to the scholarship fund, email me at emergingwomen@gmail.com for more information.

Thanks!
Julie

Labels: Events

posted by Julie at 11:30 PM

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Peter Rollins in Tucson, AZ

Peter Rollins, author of "How (Not) to Speak of God" (our book for March) will be coming to Tucson, AZ. He will be here to help our community kick off Lent (in late February). We are really excited to have him come. Our community will be reading the book and holding discussions during Lent. If anyone is interested in attending, or learning more, please let me know. I am personally excited to be able to read this book with my community here and at home. It couldn't have hit at a better time. I look forward to meeting Peter. As staff at my church, we are having a dinner with him, I plan to share here any great ideas or discussions that come out of these times.

Labels: Book Discussions, Events

posted by Anonymous at 12:59 PM

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