By Marge Snater
Oh, what an adventure United Presbyterian Women (UPW) and Women of the Church (WOC) have had through the years we’ve been joined! As a delegate to the initial meeting of UPW and WOC in St. Louis nearly 30 years ago, I can say the journey has been a challenging and rewarding trip.
As I search my memory of that exciting beginning, I find that truly God’s hand was ever at the helm, calming, challenging, placating, innovating, but always giving the reassurance that it would be—could be—the right path for all. The openness of the women, both UPW and WOC, had to be the work of the Spirit, guiding us to listen to each other. I remember long hours spent in dialogue, as we worked through our diverse views, each cherishing our own heritage. And I clearly see that Isaiah 43:18–19 brings the clarity we still need to adjust to change. New things are ever before us; do we accept them with an eye of faith?
“Joining for the Journey” was the challenge that started us on our way, united in faith as Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA).
Marge Snater is past moderator of PW in Prospect Hill Presbytery and PW in the Des Moines Presbytery. She is now active in Presbytery of the Redwoods.
03/03/2017
06/19/2015
Ruth and Naomi honorary life members of PW
Homily given at 2015 Churchwide Business Meeting
By Mary Jorgenson
The Old Testament scripture for this morning’s worship comes from the book of Ruth, Chapter 1, beginning with verse 7.
So Naomi set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has turned against me." Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. So she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem.
We love this story don’t we? Ruth is a very important woman in the Old Testament. She would become the mother of Obed, the grandmother of Jesse and the great-grandmother to David. Ruth is very present in the lineage of Joseph—that very lineage that would send Joseph and Mary one day to Bethlehem.
This lovely story of the devotion between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. This devotion across generations. Two women from different communities sticking together. The gift they bring of companionship, trust, faith and mutual support.
Oh, yes, Ruth and Naomi could easily receive honorary life memberships from Presbyterian Women! They are what we’re all about—community and support. Just like our Presbyterian foremothers who worked together.
Presbyterian Women, much like Ruth and Naomi, had very humble beginnings. Depending on which stream of the denomination you follow, Presbyterian Women had its beginnings as missionary, tract, Bible, ladies’ aid or cent societies.
The first known organized mission society was in 1803 in Newark, New Jersey. The formation of the organization was in response in part to the church’s admonition that women were forbidden to “speak, or pray in promiscuous (i.e., male and female) assemblies.” But Presbyterian women had heard a call to serve and were determined to find a way to do so. Our foremothers knew that they could make a difference. And like Ruth and Naomi, they made that difference with faith and trust in each other. Like Ruth and Naomi, PW was founded out of a sense of mutual support. Sharing gifts of leadership in mission and becoming voices for the voiceless. Our foremothers who are key to the lineage of women serving in the Presbyterian Church.
But let’s be clear, just as there are so many gifted women present today and in this community, the Bible is full of these women as well—some named and some unnamed. And I consider all of them to be foremothers of Presbyterian Women.
What about Lydia? Not much is actually known about her, and she utters exactly 17 words in Acts 16. We do know that as Paul, Silas and Timothy are traveling, they stop in Macedonia, on what is now part of the European continent. Lydia becomes the first convert. She is the first European convert to Christianity. And quickly her whole household is baptized as well. But what is of greater importance is Lydia’s gift of generosity upon her conversion. Lydia immediately offers her home to the evangelists.
In her time, she would not be offered a role of leadership or even voice, but this faithful woman becomes a benefactor.
Ah, yes! Another early Presbyterian woman. Just like our foremothers in their cent societies, early Presbyterian women groups would always financially support the work of the church, even while being silenced and denied leadership.
From early Presbyterian church histories, we know that pastors, who of course were male, suggested that the president of a women’s group should have a loud voice and the secretary should have good handwriting. In many groups, a male minister or elder was present to open the meeting with prayer since “no one knew what they would pray for if left alone.” The women in their groups very quickly became valued—if not for their voices, at least for the sacrificial giving that they pledged to fund their mission work.
Our Presbyterian foremothers supported hospitals and schools, missionaries and evangelists through their cent societies. Records show that it was due solely to second-mile contributions from women that the mission work of the UPCNA remained solvent. In fact, women’s giving has been a constant throughout the denomination’s history—supporting the work of the denomination and women’s projects even during the Great Depression.
In 2009, representatives from Yodogawa Christian Hospital in Osaka, Japan, came to church headquarters in Louisville to present a $208,577 gift to PC(USA)’s Asian mission. Yodogawa was choosing to pay forward the same amount that had been given to them from Presbyterian Women’s Birthday Offering grant in 1956 to establish an initial 76-bed hospital in Japan. That 76-bed hospital has become the largest medical center in the region.
Lydia’s gift of generosity to the early church is seen over and over again with the continued second-mile giving of Presbyterian Women in support of the church.
And then there are the gifts from women who did not seek recognition or earn the inclusion of their name but remain unnamed. We have to look no further than the gospels of Mark and Matthew and the unnamed gentile woman. Do you recall the story of the woman who pesters Jesus and the disciples? The one who so wants Jesus to heal her daughter, said to be possessed by demons. She is an outsider who dares to shout out: “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” She’s rebuked harshly by Jesus: “It’s not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs!”
But then this unnamed woman does something remarkable—and this is what I think makes her an honorary Presbyterian woman. She finds her voice and challenges Jesus: “Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table”
Jesus—you have to imagine a fairly stunned Jesus. After all, even his male disciples weren’t prone to questioning him so outrageously—responds, “What great faith you have. Let it be done for you as you wish.”
Oh, yes, I like this woman. She is so much like our Presbyterian foremothers. The ones who had voices for the voiceless. The women who fought for voice and leadership in the church. The abolitionists and suffragists. The women who added prophetic voices to the denomination by advocating against child labor, on behalf of immigrants and Native Americans. The Presbyterian women who were early voices on behalf of domestic violence victims. The women who overtured the denomination in 1974 to make hunger a priority for mission, forming the Hunger Program of this very denomination.
In 1962, Robert Kennedy held a summit for national leaders in the East Room of the White House. At that meeting, he would unveil what would become the Civil Rights Act. Can you guess who was one of the invited leaders? The president of United Presbyterian Women!
The unnamed women in our churches who continue to provide a voice for the voiceless. The named and unnamed women in our midst who, like the gentile woman, challenge the norms and make us uncomfortable. The women who persist in seeking justice. And just like the gentile woman, they don’t offer their gifts for recognition for themselves but in glory to God.
Finally, we have the Marys—Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha. We know they were truly Presbyterian women. The strength and faithfulness of the so very young mother who does not challenge what has happened, but instead embraces the role and obligation that has been thrust on her. Isn’t she much like so many of the women in our communities and in our past who have answered their own calls to serve?
Consider Donaldina Cameron, a Presbyterian foremother. In 1895, Donaldina Cameron went to San Francisco to donate her time as a teacher at the Occidental Mission House for Girls. It was a safe haven established to help young Asian women escape the threat of trafficking into prostitution and servitude. That was, unfortunately, very prevalent in the community. Donaldina went intending to stay a year. She stayed for 40. With her leadership and the support of her Presbyterian women sisters, Donaldina grew the mission house into a multiservice agency serving Asian immigrants. It is now known as Cameron House.
And then there’s Mary, the sister to Martha. It’s really easy to see how Martha would be an honorary life member of Presbyterian Women. After all, she’s in the kitchen, working away while Mary, much to Martha’s dismay, choses to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen, nurturing her faith and, you can imagine, the faith of her family and community by listening and learning. This foremother of Presbyterian women would certainly be a circle leader today.
And Mary Magdalene. Biblical scholars will always debate her background. What was her profession before she met Jesus? Does it matter? There’s a story (and I hope it’s true) about a biblical scholar who offered as rationale for keeping women voiceless in church, “Women were the last created and the first to sin.” To which someone is said to have replied, “Yet women were also the last at the cross and the first at the tomb.” That is the gift of Mary Magdalene. Her faithfulness to her Lord. Is not that something that we recognize as present in all the gifts from women in this community?
And so finally, back to Ruth and Naomi on the road to Bethlehem. I think there’s another Presbyterian woman present on that road—Orpah. Not much is known about Orpah or what becomes of her.
Let’s consider Orpah. She’s the daughter-in-law who initially accompanies Naomi, just as Ruth does, but when the time comes—and I imagine them at a fork in the road—Orpah chooses to return to her family. She chooses another path.
And so, this is why I lift up Orpah, especially as we celebrate the gifts of women. Orpah chooses another path, and Ruth and Naomi do not shame her. Nor does she beg Ruth to accompany her and choose her path. In fact, Orpah is doing exactly as Naomi has asked. These three women traveling together come to a fork in the road, and separately they make decisions about where they will go next. As a community of women, the gift they offer each other is the freedom to make those choices, to answer their individual calls.
These past three years as your moderator have provided me opportunities to recognize and be a recipient of so many of the gifts of Presbyterian women today. I would offer you that the gifts of support in each of our choices, the freedom to be in community but not the same, to be different in our structure, our priorities and even how we choose to express our faith, is the greatest gift that we as Presbyterian women offer each other. As the organization matures, adapts and hopefully grows with the denomination, the gifts that women have been always brought—our earthly gifts, our prophetic voices, our faithfulness and service—we bring to each other and our communities the same gifts seen on that road to Bethlehem among those three women—trust, faith and freedom.
I want to thank you for the opportunity to have served as your moderator. And I challenge you today and always to embrace and share the gifts that you have received as you welcome the gifts of those around you.
Amen.
05/09/2014
How it all came together: Reminiscing about Horizons
By Barbara Roche
Written in 2008 for the 20th anniversary of Presbyterian Women
On October 29, 1988, the day the Presbyterian Center in Louisville was to be dedicated, I found myself walking toward the Center carrying a huge "bouquet" of red balloons. It was a chilly gray day. Few people were on the streets, it being a Saturday morning, but those who saw the balloons brightened up. A wave here, a smile there and a tap on the horn of a passing car raised my spirits. "What a wonderful way to begin this day," I thought.
As I turned the corner, many more people came into view. I walked up the steps at 100 Witherspoon Street, skirting the Louisville Orchestra, weaving among staff people, avoiding dignitaries, until I was standing with others from our office. Thus, Horizons magazine and Bible study made its presence known.
Separated since the United States' Civil War, two Presbyterian churches reunited in 1983 to become the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). In subsequent years, the General Assembly decided to establish its offices in Louisville, Kentucky. Likewise, many organizations in the two churches came together. The women were no exception. Presbyterian Women would be the name of the new organization. Horizons would be the name of its publication. Thus, a tradition of more than 120 years continued—that of women [of the church] publishing their own journal. For many years prior to union, both the northern and southern women had published jointly the Bible study, each using a different format. In 1988, it became the Horizons Bible study, integrally related to the magazine, and the purpose of Presbyterian Women became Horizons' reason for being.
Horizons proved to be a felicitous name. Instead of the balloon, we used the kite as a way of establishing our identity. An airborne kite, vulnerable yet strong, lifts our eyes to the horizon. Its structure is often two ordinary but light pieces of wood, held together in the form of a cross. The wood must be bent so its paper surface faces into the wind; otherwise, the kite flops on the ground. The metaphor seemed fitting. In the first issue, I had written:
So it is appropriate that we mark the beginning of Presbyterian Women and its new publication, Horizons, with kites. We, too, are ordinary folk brought together for the uncommon purpose of catching the wind of the Holy Spirit and pulling against these earthly bonds as we bend to live for others. The cross is there for us either to fight against and be dashed about or to rely upon and be lifted. The cross reminds us of God's willingness to enter the suffering and estrangement of our lives and those about us in order to bring forth life, health and joy (Sightings, July/August 1988, Horizons, ifc).
However, before the first issue of Horizons was published, decisions had to be made regarding staff. I had been editor of Concern, the publication of United Presbyterian Women. I had no assurance that I would be asked to be editor of the new publication. It was an unsettling time for me. I knew the women of the southern stream had to have confidence in me. I was invited to be interviewed. After all the questions had been answered, we sat quietly. Finally, one woman said, "Well, isn't there one thing more we must do?" "What is that?" someone asked. "Offer Barbara the position." Everyone laughed and I was formally invited to be editor. I accepted.
Then it was my turn to hire the staff. With a small committee, I conducted numerous interviews. The original staff included two associate editors, Ann Yeargin and Anna Bedford. Ann retired in 1993, remaining in Louisville, where she became active in Habitat for Humanity, traveled to Europe most years and attended Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church.
Anna commuted between Little Rock, Arkansas, and Louisville. After leaving Horizons in 1997, she became communications director for Heifer Internaitonal in Little Rock and retired in 2000. She and her husband Jerry travel extensively. She became an elder at First Presbyterian Church and a member of the board of trustees of Johnson C. Smith Seminary. She continues to do various tasks for the publication.
The associates for administration and promotion respectively were John Peters and Kathy Copas. After working for Horizons, John became manager of operations for the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia. He studied oil painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and began painting interior scenes of homes and still lifes.
Kathy, our "Energizer bunny," stayed with the publication three years, then served as associate director of the Social Justice and Peacemaking unit of the PC(USA). When the church restructured, Kathy started her own communications business in New Albany.
Art consultant Paul Nonnast and Aavidar Graphics prepared copy for printing. Five months after Paul retired in 1993, he passed away. In the early 2000s, Paul's work, much of it done in his younger years, was appraised and sent to museums and universities interested in preserving fine illustration and graphic design.
We also employed two administrative assistants, Martha Bartlett Abarca and Robin Stewart. Martha described herself to visitors as the office's "universal joint" (that part of the car essential to its running). After Horizons, she earned Master of Arts degree and began teaching art in the Louisville public school system. Tragically, she died in her early 30s.
The subscription specialist was Jeannette McBride Hunter. After arriving in Louisville, she asked to me to officiate at her marriage to James. She retired in 1999 when her job was outsourced. She passed away in 2006.
As for me, I retired in 1998. I have traveled and done some freelance writing and editing. I was particularly pleased when I was asked to write the history of women's ordination in the Presbyterian Church. (See Chapter Seven of Celebrating Our Call: Ordination Stories of Presbyterian Women, Geneva Press, 2006.) I am active in my church and the presbytery.
The publisher of Horizons was BSC Litho, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. For many years, Gerry Conway was their representative to us. When it came time for the first issue of Horizons to be printed, several of us traveled to Harrisburg. With much anticipation, we walked into a cavernous industrial space. Deafened by the noise of the giant presses and all their accompanying machines for cutting, assembling and packing, we were taken to the huge press set to run the cover of the magazine. Technicians adjusted the ink and register as the first covers made their appearance. And then, with tremendous speed, the huge paper rolls began to unwind and long streams of paper whished through the press, picking up ink that imprinted a cover filled with kites. We cheered as the first perfect covers made their appearance. They were presented to us as souvenirs. We congratulated everyone and signed our names to each others' copies.
Some weeks later, Horizons was introduced to Presbyterian Women at the 1988 Churchwide Gathering, at Purdue University. Cleda Locey was elected moderator of PW, Biff Hogue was named chair of the Horizons board and Marilyn Clark was named treasurer of PW and Horizons. We had our publication, our printer and distributor, our staff and brand-new offices in Louisville. All seemed right with the world, 20 years ago, in 1988.
04/03/2014
Maria Fearing: "A way out of no way"
By Vera P. Swann
This is not just a biographical story. It is the story of a remarkable Presbyterian woman who became a mission coworker at the age of 56. The story of how she encountered God and of how God worked in her life is a story of faith excelling. We who know Maria Fearing's story are reminded of the "can-do" spirit of people who "make a way out of no way."
Maria Fearing grew up a precocious child absorbing knowledge like a sponge. She had a deep desire to read Bible stories, which she heard daily from Mrs. Winston, the mistress of the plantation, as she helped prepare the Winston children for bed. How exciting were the stories of Moses, Noah and Jesus! You can imagine Maria in the slave quarters at night telling stories that she remembered Mrs. Winston telling the children, and how these stories became meaningful to the slaves who sat in the balcony of the church on Sunday.
In Alabama, there was a law that forbade any slave to read. This must have disturbed Maria greatly, for what harm could come from reading such wonderful stories? She became obsessed with learning to read. That was the first thing she did after emancipation. After she learned to read and write, she was able to search the scriptures for meaning and direction for her own life. Perhaps that is how the story of Jesus' answer to the rich young ruler's question about how to attain eternal life—"Go and sell all you have and give to the poor. Then come and follow me" (Matt. 19, Mk. 10)—may have had a great influence on her at a time of urgent decision in her life.
The story of Maria Fearing was, at one time, included in the textbooks of Alabama public schools. The Historical Society of Sumter County, Alabama, published a brochure regarding her accomplishments, and she was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame at Judson College in Marion, Alabama.
Her story begins on the Winston Plantation near Gainesville, Alabama, in 1838. That year, a very special child was born to Mary and Jesse Fearing, slaves of the Winston family. As was the custom, a midwife delivered the baby, announcing to the parents, "It's a beautiful, healthy girl-child." They named her Maria (pronounced Ma-ri-ah). Her surname was taken from the first slavemaster of her parents, the Fearings. Thus, she became Maria Fearing.
During the period of slavery in the United States before the Civil War, families were often split up. Fathers, mothers, even children were often separated from one another. They could be sold to debtors or given to other family members as gifts. Records do not show how the Winstons, owners of 7,000 acres, became owners of Maria's parents.
Yearning to learn
The baby Maria grew strong and was very bright. As a child, she played with the Winston children. Her mother worked as a house servant, a work assignment generally considered more desirable than that of working in the fields from sun-up to sun-down. As Maria grew older, she began to care for the Winston infants. As she cared for the children, she listened attentively to the Bible stories that Mrs. Winston, a devout Presbyterian, read to her children. Maria knew quite early that there was something special about the book from which Mrs. Winston read, and she wished with all her heart that she could read for herself about this Jesus whom Mrs. Winston was reading about.
Alabama, like other southern states, forbade slave owners or anyone else to teach slaves to read or write. It must have been confusing to Maria. What could be wrong about reading such wonderful stories? But slave owners considered such knowledge dangerous, for it gave slaves a means by which to communicate plans to escape or revolt. Still, Maria yearned to read. And you can imagine how amazed her family must have been as she memorized the stories of Jesus and told them as she and her family gathered in their quarters at night.
As Maria grew older, she helped her mother in her work in the Winston home, learning to clean, launder clothing, sew, mend, cook and prepared the dinner table. All these skills were useful to her in later life. She was a thoughtful child, a dreamer. As she listened to the breezes blowing through the pine trees on the Winston plantation, she recalled the stories that Mrs. Winston told—stories of how Jesus could help the poor little children of Africa. She made a commitment while still in her youth, declaring "Someday, I will go to Africa." She did not know how she could help the children of Africa, or teach them about Jesus, when she herself could not read, but she knew that knowledge was the key to a different life for her. How she longed to be able to read and write the things that she felt in her heart. She carried this burden secretly and prayed that God would show her the way, if the opportunity ever came.
Learning to read at 33
The opportunity did come. Maria was 27 years old when slavery was abolished. Maria had learned of a Freedmen's Bureau school in Talladega, Alabama, where one could earn her expenses by working at the school. She gathered her small savings, which was enough for a few items of clothing and her train fare. She was cordially received at the school, assigned work and placed in a beginners' class full of children. This was uncomfortable at first, as by this time, she was 33 and the children wondered why a woman of her age was just beginning to learn to read. They made fun of her, but she learned quickly and was soon helping the children.
Maria learned rapidly and soon completed ninth grade. This made it possible for her to teach in a rural school in nearby Calhoun County. Her meager salary allowed her to buy a little house in Anniston, Alabama. What a thrill it must have been for a woman who had only toiled in the home of others. But providing for her own security was not her main goal. She wanted to help others. During that period, she sent a girl to Talladega College and paid all her expenses.
After several years of teaching, she was called back to Talladega. She accepted a position as matron in the boarding department. Thus it happened, providentially, that Maria was at Talladega when William Henry Sheppard visited in 1894 to tell about his work in the Congo mission field and to recruit other African Americans for service in that field. As Sheppard told about his exciting work and the need for others to join him, the memory of a childhood vow sprang to Maria's mind. God was opening the door for Maria to go to Africa. Certain that this was God's call, Maria offered herself for mission service in the Congo.
Five African American recruits prepared to return to Africa with Sheppard: H.P. Hawkins from Tuscaloosa College, Althea Brown and Lucy Gantt (who became Sheppard's wife) from Fisk University, and Lillian Thomas and Maria Fearing from Talladega College. Their applications for mission work in the Congo were sent to the Executive Committee of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. After careful scrutiny of their applications, the committee accepted all of the applicants except one—Maria. The committee informed Maria that, because of her advance age, they could not send her. This was a crushing blow to her spirit. She had never considered age as a factor. She was healthy, vigorous and felt that she could do as much work as a teenager.
A way out of no way
At first, Maria was deeply despondent, but she did not despair. Her faith in God encouraged her to search for the meaning of this turn of events. She firmly believed that if God was calling her to the mission field, there had to be a way. With prayer and meditation, she must have remembered the story of the rich young ruler. She sold her house to Judge Lapsley, the father of Samuel Lapsley, whose son had been a missionary with Sheppard in the Congo. With gifts from teachers with whom she had worked, and her meager savings, she approached the committee again, asking if she might be permitted to travel with the Sheppard party, provided she pay her own expenses. Judge Lapsley had written a letter commending her character and her dedication to service. Teachers with whom she had worked also wrote of her accomplishments as a teacher. Others offered financial suppport. Women of the Congregational Church in Talladega pledge $100 for her support. The mission committee reconsidered Maria's request and, after a few years, knew this was one of the best decisions they could have made.
The Sheppard party began its journey on May 26, 1884, first to England and, from there, 12,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to the mouth of the Congo River. At that point, they were still 1,200 miles from their destination. The next 200 miles had to be traveled by foot since the rapids of the river at this point were not navigable by boat. Sheppard made arrangements for a hammock with four native guides to carry each missionary, traveling 15 to 20 miles each day. They stopped in villages along the way for food and rest. After 13 days, they reached Stanley Pool, where the river became navigable again. Here, they boarded a steamboat and, after another 30 dyas, reached what was to become home for another 20 years.
A gathering place
The journey had come to an end but it took months to recover and prepare for the work. First, a home of sticks and mud with a dirt floor and thatched roof had to be build for the living quarters of Maria Fearing and Lillian Thomas. Study of a language that had not yet been put in writing ensued. Sheppard assisted as translator and paved the way for the newcomers. Maria, however, fashioned her own way of telling the good news. She visited nearby villages and taught Bible lessons that she had used each Sunday in Alabama. In less than a year, she was able to converse in the local language. Her front veranda became a gathering place for women and children.
Lillian Thomas, writing for the mission newspaper The Kasai Herald in 1908, gives the background for Maria's compassionate ministry—the Pantops Home for Girls. A poor, sick woman came into Lillian and Maria's yard with a sick baby on her hip. She was so weak that she could hardly stand. The baby cried the entire time they were there. She said the people for whom she worked had driven her away because she was sick and could not work. She could not nurse the child because her milk had dried up. Lillian and Maria examined the baby and found his feet and hands swollen and a sore on his back. They asked how the child got the sore. The woman explained that while she went for water, she left her baby with a woman she was staying with. Because the child cried so much, the woman had taken a stick from the fire and burned the baby's back. Maria and Lillian cleaned the baby's sore and fed him. They called in older girls to help watch over him. This was the first.
Maria soon developed a reputation for saving children who had been kidnapped by the notorious cannabalistic tribe in the area. Maria and other missionaries rescued many children by buying them back for an absurd price, such as a cake of soap, some salt or a pair of scissors. The number increased until there were 40 or 50 girls under Maria's care. These girls grew into women of faith, stature, grace and intelligence. When they reached marriageable age, they were united with Christian men and established Christian homes. Many of them married young men who became pastors and officers of the church.
Epilogue
It was indeed an epiphany moment when the Reverend Leonard Illunga Kadishe stood up in a crowded hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia, to interrupt a presentation on Maria Fearing's mission work in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was there to share his ministry in the United States as a third-generation Presbyterian pastor, called to a new immigrant church in New York City.
He could not contain himself on discovering that we were presenting our book on Maria Fearing. With exuberance, this tall, handsome black pastor stood up, waving a book in his native language and shouting, for he had no microphone; this was clearly unplanned. He said, "Praise God! How wonderful! You are speaking of Mama Wamputu [which means 'mother from far away' or 'foreign mother who loves children']."
Rev. Kadishe came forth and told the story of how children were brought to Mama Wamputu, some starving, some weak and sickly, some abused, abandoned, frightened by tribal wars, some not expected to live. Maria took them all in. She built a home for them. She wanted them to know about Jesus and his love for them, so she taught them, she nurtured and nourished them into healthy and robust children. "That is how I am here today," he said.
Maria Fearing had been a pioneering Mama Wamputu. She so entered the life of the people with whom she worked that just two generations away, she had entered the saga of mission work in the Congo, a blessed mother from far away. There, standing before us, was a witness to her life, a young pastor whose family had a personal relationship with her. She had raised his grandmother, Tatu Ka Bamgo, in the Pantops Home. Later, he proudly shared the marriage certificate of his grandparents in French and English.
Vera P. Swann is coauthor of The Maria Fearing Story with Darius L. Swann. Order from The Maria Fearing Fund, Inc., 12198 Cathedral Ridge Dr., Lake Ridge, VA 22192. $10 each. Checks payable to the Maria Fearing Fund, Inc.
03/21/2014
Active PW in Presbytery of Northern New York celebrates 25 years of PW
Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of Northern New York celebrated PW's 25th anniversary in a grand way. We gathered at First Presbyterian Church of Plattsburgh on October 5, 2013. After a short worship service led by our moderator, Emily F. Castine, a presentation was made by James Carlin, a frequent participant in the Mission of Hope experience in Nicaragua. He enlightened all of us on the continuing effort to help the impoverished people of that community. The women of the host church served us a delicious lunch topped off with a cake in honor of PW's 25th anniversary! The cake was decorated in blue and gold and displayed our PW logo. What a wonderful gathering it was! The attendees purchased PW 25th anniversary pins and bookmarks to mark this auspicious occasion.
Just one year before, in September 2012, we invited several longtime friends from Quebec, Canada, just 20 or so miles from Chazy, to our fall gathering at Chazy Presbyterian Church. The moderator asked the women of Quebec to spread the word through their women's groups, and all hoped for a good response.That day we welcomed 32 women, seven of whom represented either the United Church of Canada or the Presbyterian Church of Canada, both in Hemmingford, Quebec. These ladies were delighted to be our guests. During our meeting, we shared joys and concerns about our respective churches and our women's groups within those churches. We learned that we had experienced many of the same highs and lows. We agreed to make plans to get together again, perhaps at a Canadian church the next time. We left knowing that we are indeed part of an international group of dedicated, strong, creative and dynamic women who are working to better conditions in our own locales and around the world, one step at a time, one PW meeting at a time. What a joy!
03/20/2014
Presbyterian Women in the Presbytery of St. Augustine share the story of their fall 2013 Bible study workshop
September 3, 2013
Carissa,
We wanted to let you know how our Bible study workshop went. We never could stop the flow of people registering! Seven unregistered women showed up at the door of an in-the-woods camp where we had our event. The final total was 102! We had ordered lunch for 95 knowing we would balance the number out but never thinking women would come that we did not know about, even on the day of the event itself! We were glad they came.
As a coordinating team, we were quite pleased with how this impromptu event went, especially since it was our first attempt at just a workshop. We were under the impression that interest in Bible study is declining overall. We are grateful that we were wrong.
Most ladies enjoyed the day. Some felt it was a little long but there is a tradition in our Presbytery meetings of leaving after people eat. It has carried over to our PWP group! The ones who stayed seemed interested in the online resources that we demonstrated in real time. And the Horizons bus-stop skit was charming. I wove in elements of the Workshop for Leaders all through the day and that worked well.
We sold all of the Legacy Christmas CDs. Women are interested in selling them at their own churches. We are going to send out a PWP news alert very soon and will include how to find it on the web so they can order. Thanks for letting us be a test site. I think we could have sold even more if we had them. We love the music. A lot of women commented on how nice the resource table was. Thanks to you for sending the great resources.
We took up a collection for Oikocredit and got $750. This is the new mission item that we added to our TIS program this year. We are continuing with Little Dresses for Africa and adding the britches. Last year the ladies made 803 of them in the fall. I hope for that many again this year.
You will see a man leading the overview of the Bible study. Tom Weaver is an Honorary Life Member of PW and goes to Columbia to hear the author each year, as he did again this August. He is a retired college professor with a witty sense of humor. We are very fortunate to have him.
Ruthanne Reiss, moderator
St. Augustine PWP
03/12/2014
How and why the PWCCT began having a presence at the events surrounding the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women
By Lillian Oats
Shortly before I became the vice moderator for justice and peace for Presbyterian Women's Churchwide Coordinating Team for the period 2003–2006, I was in New York City and decided on the spur of the moment to visit the PC(USA)’s UN office to say hello to Bob Smiley and Jennifer Butler, the executive staff members. I had met both of them when they had participated in programs at a PW gathering in Arizona.
During this visit Jennifer Butler said to me that PW really should start attending the UNCSW events. The reason she gave was that some evangelical groups were beginning to attend in increasing numbers and were presenting themselves as representative of Christian women in the United States. They had different views, particularly regarding the roles that women could have in the church and about reproductive health, than the PC(USA) and other mainline Protestant denominations. Episcopal women, as part of the Anglican Communion, were beginning to attend in large numbers and Jennifer urged that PW members follow their lead.
At the time, I knew little about the CSW, and nothing about the nature of the NGO events surrounding the CSW’s annual meeting. Jennifer’s concise and graphic comments inspired me to work to have the PWCCT promote attendance at CSW events.
CSW50 (2006) was our first group visit. There were four of us: Magdalene Lewis, member of PW in the Presbytery of New York City; Dee Matthews, moderator of PWP NYC; Judy Wason, co-moderator of PWP Hudson River; and I, vice moderator for justice and peace, PWCCT. The next year, 2007, there were five of us: two members of the recently installed CCT moderatorial team, Catrelia Hunter, moderator, and Louise Davidson, vice moderator for justice and peace; Betty Jones, moderator of PWP NYC; and again, Judy Wason and I.
Each year the PW contingent of the PC(USA) delegation to the UNCSW has grown. This is largely due to Louise Davidson, my successor as CCT vice moderator for justice and peace. Louise had a personal interest in this project, and she worked hard and spent many hours creating a template and format for inviting and getting folks registered to attend the CSW. She was the ideal person to lead the next phase of PW’s participation in the CSW.
Editor's Note: Last year, the delegation numbered over 70. This year, for logistical reasons, the delegation numbers 40. Women go home inspired and determined to act on learnings from UNCSW. Coalitions and task groups to fight human trafficking grew out of attendance to last year's CSW. What will be the result this year? God knows!
02/07/2014
Scioto Valley PW mobilizes to end human trafficking
[Note: The First Annual PW Together in Action Day was held on January 11, 2013, which is Human Trafficking Awareness Day nationally. The intention of PW's first Together in Action Day was to focus attention and activism around the issue of human trafficking.]
By Louise Davidson
For the first PW Together in Action Day, January 11, 2013, four PW and a staff member from Covenant Presbyterian Church in the Presbytery of Scioto Valley attended the Ohio Trafficking Awareness Day at the State House in Columbus on Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
This was the fourth annual such day, and I have attended them all. The program lasts from 9 am to 3:30 pm. Speakers included Representative Theresa Fedor, Governor John Kasich, members of law enforcement, lawyers and judges, survivors, social services staff members, and nationally recognized experts on trafficking.
Lunch was catered by Freedom a la Cart, a business begun by DOMA International to give women who have been trafficked training in food service and business management. This Columbus organization is now serving lunch regularly near the State House, and we had them cater a luncheon for Covenant PW. Julie Clark, who founded DOMA, was the speaker at our May gathering.
Following Human Trafficking Awareness Day, our staff member, who had distributed flyers during the day’s activities, called together a broad coalition of people ranging from Presbyterian youth to Columbus law enforcement to convention coordinators. When the Arnold Classic (a large multidisciplinary sports convention named after Arnod Schwarzenegger) met in Columbus (this is a big draw for traffickers), people from our church had large signs printed aand held them up on the sidewalk outside the convention center and passed out flyers. The focus was, of course, Stop Trafficking.
Our PW group is urging the pastor who convenes the men’s group to get a speaker for them and get them involved in this effort.
While this did not all take place on PW's Action Day, it began what is an ongoing concern and advocacy effort for our congregation.
5-30-13
