National Association of Presbyterian Clergywomen

Journeytostand.org

Journey to Stand Join us on the journey… Rev. Cecelia D. Armstrong & Rev. Anthony L. LarsonStanding as 226th General Assembly Co-Moderators Sense of Call Rev. Anthony L. Larson & Rev. Cecelia D. Armstrong The story of my life and faith is one of being called by God through the voices of others.  In each chapter o...

The Rev. Jihyun Oh is the nominee to be the next Stated Clerk of the General Assembly The Rev. Jihyun Oh is the nominee to be the next Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

A clergywoman is nominated for Stated Clerk! First Korean-American and First woman of color! Oh, we are excited! The first ever clergywoman in this position, Acting Stated Clerk Bronwen Boswell said the Holy Spirit was at "work to bring the best candidate forward for this time and place.”

The Rev. Jihyun Oh is the nominee to be the next Stated Clerk of the General Assembly The Rev. Jihyun Oh is the nominee to be the next Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

JOIN US AT THE CHURCHWIDE GATHERING OF PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN! AUGUST 8-11 2024 IN ST. LOUIS MISSOURI!
April 25, 2024
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Saturday Lunch

In 1974, the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon was ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament. In remembrance and honor of Dr. Cannon, the first African American woman to be ordained in our Presbyterian tradition, you are invited to lunch on Saturday, with our keynote speaker, the Rev. Melanie Jones Quarles, director of the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership. Come celebrate with us as we honor where we have been and envision where we are going.

At the Presbyterian Women's Conference August 8 - 11th, a workshop presented by NAPC: Heart & Treasure

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21.

Church financial reports present an honest statement of mission and yet pastors and church members are often woefully underequipped to face the complexity of church finances. This seminar will provide an overview of best business practices to help pastors and elders equip their churches to become faithful stewards of the assets and gifts entrusted to them for their mission. Join the Rev. Liz Wagner who worked as an accountant for 30 years prior to her ordination.

“Suite” Conversation Space

At the Marriott St. Louis Grand 800 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63101. August 8-11th 2024

You are invited to chat with a NAPC Clergywoman in our sweet space in the convention hotel! Grab a snack or a cup of something and put your feet up and sit and chat for a while. Often the wisdom that we are seeking is already in the room.

Blessings on your new call, Rev. Dr. Deborah Boucher-Payne

* * * Happy Birthday, Rev. Margaret Towner! * * *
The Rev. Margaret Towner, the first woman ordained in the Presbyterian Church, on October 24, 1956, turns 99 on Tuesday, March 19. If you would like to send the Rev. Towner birthday wishes & congratulations as she continues in her 68th year of ordained ministry, her address is 7377 Scotland Way Apt. 6203, Sarasota, FL 34238-8542.

Prayers for the friends & family of the Rev. Gail Nicholas Schneider, graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, ordained as a PCUSA minister at Western Presbyterian Church in September 1988. Gail led a colorful and impactful life. A memorial service and celebration of Gail’s life will be held Saturday, January 27th, 2024, at Wilton Presbyterian Church in Wilton CT and will be live-streamed.

Obituary: Gail Nicholas Schneider, 85 Gail Nicholas Schneider Gail Nicholas Schneider died peacefully at her home in Wilton, Connecticut on January 6th, 2024. In good health till the end of her nearly 86 years of life, she is survived …

Today is Bronwen 's first day as Acting Stated Clerk. Please lift her up in your prayers.

Congratulations and prayers for Bronwen Boswell as she becomes the first woman to be Stated Clerk of the PCUSA!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=652155350281610&id=100064614527180&mibextid=ZbWKwL

The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly has announced that the Rev. Bronwen Boswell has been named Acting Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Boswell, who is currently general presbyter/stated clerk at Shenandoah Presbytery will serve until the election of a new stated clerk at the 226th General Assembly in Salt Lake City, Utah, next summer. She will fill the unexpired term of the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, who recently announced his decision to step down at the end of June. Read more: https://hubs.ly/Q01VrZnP0

As Summer approaches & church activities wind down, remember you are in good company. Ty for accepting your calling!
https://www.facebook.com/100064853491718/posts/647355760769535/?mibextid=SDPelY

A HYMN-PRAYER CELEBRATING WOMEN IN MINISTRY
(and a response to the news of Southern Baptists excluding women from serving as pastors). Please share with others.

God Of the Women
SLANE ("Be Thou My Vision")

God of the women who answered your call,
Trusting your promises, giving their all,
Women like Sarah and Hannah and Ruth —
Give us their courage to live in your truth.

God of the women who walked Jesus' Way,
Giving their resources, learning to pray,
Mary, Joanna, Susanna, and more —
May we give freely as they did before.

God of the women long put to the test,
Left out of stories, forgotten, oppressed,
Quietly asking: "Who smiled at my birth?" —
In Jesus' dying you show us our worth.

God of the women who ran from the tomb,
Prayed with the others in that upper room,
Then felt your Spirit on Pentecost Day —
May we so gladly proclaim you today.

O God of Phoebe and ministers all,
May we be joyful in answering your call.
Give us the strength of your Spirit so near
That we may share in your ministry here.

Tune: Traditional Irish melody ("Be Thou My Vision")
Text: Copyright © 1998 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Included in "Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship" (Geneva Press) and "Voices Found: Women in the Church's Song" (Episcopal Church Publishing).
Email: [email protected]
New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com

Hymn Note for "God Of the Women"
This hymn celebrates women in ministry and mentions specific women in the Bible and faithful women of today. The first verse's use of "trusting" parallels the word's use in the Presbyterian Brief Statement of Faith that uses "trust" instead of "believe," as it describes examples of faithfulness found in Sarah, Hannah, and Ruth. The second verse's reference to "Way" is one of the earliest descriptions of Christians (Acts 9:2)). "Mary, Joanna, Susanna and more" comes from the story in Luke 8:1-3, a story of women who supported Jesus with their financial resources. "Learning to pray" is a reminder that Jesus taught women as well as men, going against some customs of his day. The third verse recalls the painful history for women of faith. "Left out of stories" refers to the way in which biblical writers often ignore women (for example, Matthew 14:21 tells that Jesus fed "five thousand men, not counting the women and children"). These slights are minor compared to what Phyllis Trible has written about in her Texts of Terror — the biblical stories like 2 Samuel 13:1-22 and Judges 11:29-40; 19:1-30. The reference to the smiling at a girl's birth is a positive one, yet too few of the biblical stories celebrate girls' arrivals or list many women in genealogies. The fourth verse begins with the Easter story where women were the first witnesses to the resurrection. Acts 1:14 tells us that women joined the other followers before Pentecost and also were empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-21). The fifth verse refers to Phoebe. Paul's personal greetings in his Letter to the Romans has this statement: "I have good things to say about Phoebe, who is a leader in the church... she has proved to be a respected leader for many others, including me" (Romans 16:1-2 CEV). The footnote in the NRSV Bible says the position that Phoebe held can be translated "minister;" as it is in the one other place the Greek word appears — when it describes a man (Ephesians 6.21). "Ministers all" relates well to the Presbyterian Church's Brief Statement of Faith that affirms "The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles.... calls women and men to all ministries of the Church."

This hymn was first published in The Presbyterian Outlook. The Episcopal women's magazine titled Communiqué distributed the hymn widely and its popularity in the Episcopal Church is evident in that the hymn is included in Voices Found: Women in the Church's Song, the supplement to the Episcopal Hymnal. The hymn has been translated into Japanese by a Roman Catholic group for publication there. In July 2005, the hymn was sung at the church-wide Triennial Gathering of the Women in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that celebrated the 35th anniversary of the ordination of the first Lutheran woman pastor in North America. In January 2006, the United Methodist Church Office on Worship posted "God of the Women" on their web site to celebrate the 50th anniversary year of the ordination of women in The United Methodist Church (2006).

Many congregations have used it on Mothers' Day and on Sundays celebrating the gifts of women in the church. The biblical texts that inspired the hymn are Genesis 12-23; 1 Samuel 1-2; Matthew 28; Mark 14:9, 16; Luke 8:1-3, 24; John 20; Acts 1:14, 2:1-21, 9:2; Romans 16:1. Adapted from "Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship."

Music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMrJEK-fMpg YouTube has videos of this hymn by Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopal, Salvation Army, Congregational and others.

See also Hymns Celebrating Women of the Bible and Books About Women of the Bible. https://www.carolynshymns.com/women.html

https://pres-outlook.org/2022/07/gender-and-leadership-in-the-pcusa-looking-at-the-data/

Gender and leadership in the PC(USA): Looking at the data Angie Andriot, a research analyst for the PC(USA), paints a picture of the current state of women in leadership for the denomination using data. There is room to grow.

https://www.facebook.com/100064614527180/posts/625964119567400/?mibextid=SDPelY

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My husband has well equipped me for Holy Week 2023. Roses and the traditional Platters Last Supper chocolate bar. Lets do this!!

Susan Barnes just learned of Mary the Tower (not Magdalen) and wants to pass it on!

Here's Diana Butler Bass' sermon on this.
https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/mary-the-tower

Here's the article she refers to.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/harvard-theological-review/article/was-martha-of-bethany-added-to-the-fourth-gospel-in-the-second-century/6CBD2C9576A583DD02987FE836C427B7

Was Martha of Bethany Added to the Fourth Gospel in the Second Century? | Harvard Theological Review | Cambridge Core Was Martha of Bethany Added to the Fourth Gospel in the Second Century? - Volume 110 Issue 3

⚠️TW/CW: Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates addresses concerns on recent Exegesis exam, apologizing for anger/pain over use of Judges 19. Read more: https://hubs.ly/Q01G_G2S0

Happy International Women's Day March 8th!

STARTING NOW *** Memorial Service Information for the Rev. Dr. Linda Lloyd ***
Details for Linda's service are below. Please share as appropriate to those who are not on Facebook. Many of you know that her favorite color was purple. If you attend, feel free to join Jacob and me in wearing purple in her honor.
You can comment below or message me directly with questions.
~Anne
Date: Sat, Feb 18
Time: 11:00am MST / 10:00am PST / 1:00pm EST
Location: Celebration of Life Presbyterian Church - 2530 S. Alma School Rd Mesa, AZ 85210
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cl0rqrXxiw
ZOOM:
Time: Feb 18, 2023 11:00 AM Arizona
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81536210974...
Meeting ID: 815 3621 0974
Passcode: 809018

Memorial Service - In Honor of Rev. Dr. Linda Lloyd In honor of the life of Rev. Dr. Linda Lloyd. Saturday, February 08, 2023 - 11:00 AM (AZ/MST)Permission to podcast the music in this service obtained from CC...