Some of the Extras

While Linda O'Connell and Emily Seeger have been taking care of business, I've been enjoying forums and workshops and some of the extras associated with the Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women.

I went to a forum on immigration led by Julia Thorne--she's an attorney-turned-director of the Office of Immigration Issues in the Office of the General Assembly. All of us learned a lot about the history of U.S. immigration policies since the 1830's--the relocation of Native Americans, criminalizing aid to runaway slaves, barring entry to the country for Chinese, and moving the Japanese to internment camps. Presbyterians have responded to immigration issues through the years, and Julia helped us to understand the issues of the day. We heard stories of undocumented immigrants, each ending with the statement: ...and I am a Presbyterian.

I went to a workshop led by the author of the 2009-2010 Bible study on Joshua. Mary Mikhael is on the faculty of the Near East School of Theology in Beirut and brings a very contemporary perspective to the study. There was a lively Q&A time and Mary offered stories from her life in the Middle East as illustrations for the sometimes difficult passages in the Old Testament scriptures.

Another workshop was led by Eva Clayton, former US Congresswoman from North Carolina who now works as a consultant to the UN on world hunger issues. We talked about Ordinary Women Serving as Agents of Justice. More of a round table discussion, everyone offered stories from their own experience and Eva kept pointing out the extraordinary things that ordinary women were sharing.

When I'm not in worship, workshops or the dining hall, I'm usually in either the book store or the Great Room. And the Great Room is my favorite place to explore. There are areas for learning about all the ways Presbyterian Women are at work in the world. There are areas full of resources to take home. There is a Global Garden where we can meet our international guests. There are lots and lots of Presbyterian booths, as well as booths for Heifer Project, Bread for the World, Alternatives for Simple Living, and lots more. There area areas to relax, areas to be creative, and areas to play games. And there is the Global Marketplace where we can learn about fair trade and development projects and support them with our purchases. The Great Room is a very busy place--I still haven't experienced it all, even after several visits.

During the Monday evening plenary, 22 mission personnel were commissioned for new postings, one of them my friend, Nancy Collins. Nancy was the facilitator in Egypt for our Joining Hands partnership and she is now the Regional Liaison for East Africa (Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia). She invited me to the reception for these new mission workers afterwards, and it was a treat to meet some of the people and their families who will soon be serving the church worldwide.