PW Spring Connection is Takin' it to the Streets

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” ~Matthew 25:40 On Saturday, April 9, 2011, at the First Presbyterian Church, 1204 13th St. in Dallas Center, IA 50063 the Des Moines Presbytery's PW Gathering will be held. Guest speaker is Dr. Roberta Victor of CROSS Ministries. Worship and Holy Communion will be lead by Rev. Julie Sterling. Activities include a Street Fair with church mission displays available. Don’t forget to bring your Birthday Offering! Plus the offering of the day will go to CROSS Ministries. Don Justo Coffee from El Salvador, Egyptian Scarves and other items will be available for sale. Bring money to spend! Lunch cost is $6. So make your reservations by April 2, to PW Moderator Rev. Linda O’Connell, 641-203-3660. See you on the Streets!

Presbytery PW Fall Gatherings set for Oct. 16 & 17

The Friday, Oct. 16 Gathering will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Audubon and the Saturday, Oct. 17 Gathering will be held at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Des Moines. Beginning at 9 a.m. each day with fellowship and the program Wonder of God’s Word with the Rev. Linda O’Connell and the 2009-2010 HORIZONS Bible Study – Joshua: A Journey of Faith.

Afternoon workshops include: Wonder of Mission – Columbia Accompaniment with Paul Walther at the Audubon church. Or Wonder of Mission – El Salvador with Betty Dyer, at Highland Park church.

Other workshops offered at both locations are: Wonder of Discipleship with Moderator Linda O’Connell, Historian Pat Summers, and Treasurer Angie Williams or Wonder of Presbyterian Women – A Report on the Churchwide Gathering by PW Correspondent Emily Seeger.

The worship offering will go towards CROSS Ministries and a local mission at each location. Local mission shower gift needs include: Audubon – the Women’s Crisis Center (personal hygiene items) and Highland Park – the Heart and Hand Mission (items for infants and medical supplies).

Lunch at both locations is $5 and reservations are due October 12. To make your reservations:

• Friday Oct. 16 at Audubon First Presbyterian Church, contact Angie Williams at 712-563-2213
• Saturday, Oct. 17 at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, contact the church office at 515-288-5703

Connections

One of the great things about the PW Churchwide Gathering was the opportunity to make connections. Of course I got to spend time with women from the Presbytery of Des Moines--women I don't get to see all the time. Most of us were able to join Presbyterian Women from the Synod of Lakes and Prairies at a luncheon on Tuesday. I was pleased to see familiar faces there as well. Our Synod Moderator and the speaker both served on the Synod SDOP Committee with me!

Later that afternoon the Presbyterian Hunger Program celebrated our 40th Anniversary with Presbyterian Women in the Great Room. My fellow Hunger Action Enablers were recognized, along with PHP staff. HAE's were created by Presbyterian Women so I have a special appreciation for that relationship! We also celebrated with partner organizations: Bread for the World, Alternatives for Simple Living, Partners for Just Trade, and others. It was wonderful to see old friends and colleagues all together again!

Tuesday evening's plenary included the installation of officers for the next PW triennium. Our new Moderator from the Presbytery of Puerto Rico, Marta Rodríguezis, the first Hispanic woman to serve in that capacity. She and her vice moderators are a powerful trio and I look forward to a great three years ahead. When the plenary session was over, with its fabulous music and worship and ceremony, I knew I had been a part of something big--connected to a great group of women all over the country and into the world. I'm already looking forward to 2012.

Wednesday morning, bright and early, I was off to the Flaget Retreat Center in Louisville for the Hunger Action Enablers' Gathering. I'll write about that too...

PW Churchwide Gathering Business Meeting

Emily Seeger (Atlantic, First United) and I (Linda O'Connell) are the voting delegates to the PW Churchwide Gathering this Triennium. We had our first business meeting on Sunday afternoon.

We heard and/or received reports from the Churchwide Coordinating team about their work for the 2007-2009 Triennium. Then we began to vote on the recommendation brought to us from the Coordinating Team. The vote today that will have the most impact on the future of Presbyterian Women was that we voted to incorporate PW and become our own 501C3 cooperation while still affirming our covenant agreement with the PC(USA). There were lots of questions about why and how of this process but in the end it was an almost unanimous decision to incorporate.

On some of our less controversial issues we tried out the consensus model to come to agreement on the motion. I must say that we all need a little more practice in this area before I would recommend using it in our Presbytery.

Two issues that we did come to consensus on were to add a person to the Coordinating Team representing new immigrant women and to become informed about the use of rape as a form of genocide and as a weapon of war in Sudan and other areas of conflict and take action to support women and others who are working toward peaceful solutions.

The plenary sessions have been outstanding. On Sunday, we heard two excellent sermons. This morning we heard about the mission projects of Presbyterian Women. We have celebrated through music, movement and dance. Best of all we have renewed old friendships and made some new ones. Want to know more about the gathering? Ask me to come and give a program at your PW or church group.

See you at Presbytery,
Linda O'Connell (Lucas, First & Chariton, First)

Louisville, Here We Come

I flew from Des Moines to Houston on Saturday morning with the usual folks--people making connections to here and there. But when I got on the Expressjet from Houston to Louisville, I noticed proportionately more women on board. And when I got to the baggage claim at the Louisville airport, there were women galore. Women of all shapes and sizes, women of color, women speaking Spanish and Korean, women young and not so young. And we all found ourselves at the taxi stand heading for the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women.

I found Rev. Linda O'Connell (Lucas First & Chariton, First) and we joined a group of women from Kansas City who were going to the same hotel. Linda and I will be roommates for the next few days, two of about a dozen who are here from the Presbytery of Des Moines. The lobby of the Galt House Hotel was a crush of women getting registered and waiting for the elevators. After settling in we hiked the skywalk to the convention center and I went to the first-timers' orientation.

I learned that there are over 2,400 of us here. We come from every presbytery in the U.S.--and among us are global partners from around the world. Counting Linda, I've seen four others from my presbytery--and several friends who are Hunger Action Enablers from across the country (our Gathering follows this one, finishing out the week here in Louisville).

I've been to lots of "big conferences" of Presbyterians, but this feels like the most diverse and friendliest one yet. Linda and I will keep you posted over the next few days...

Nancy Lister-Settle (Dallas Center, First)

PW's Newsletter Announces Fall Gatherings

The June 2008 issue of The Grapevine newsletter from the Presbyterian Women of the Des Moines Presbytery is now available! Presbyterian Women's Moderator Emily Seeger has included information on the PW Fall Gathering coming up this in October. You'll have two choices to attend, October 17 in Guthrie Center at the First Presbyterian Church or October 18 in Hartford at the Community United Presbyterian Church. Registration begins at 9 a.m. So mark your calendar to attend at the location nearest you!

If you'd like to submit to the Presbyterian Women's quarterly newsletter, the next deadline is Friday, November 28, 2008. Please submit articles in Microsoft Word or compatible format; digital images and photos are both acceptable!

This issue of The Grapevine and archived past issues are available on the Presbytery's Web site. Go to the Mission page and scoll down in the left-hand column under Presbyterian Women Section. If you have problems opening the pdf-formatted attachment, please let us know. If needed, you may download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If you have questions or would like a hard copy, contact the Presbytery Office Manager Betty Dyer at 515-276-4991.