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Women’s Ministries

Reflections on the celebration of the life of Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon

There was something that felt perfectly right about the celebration of life of Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon at Bethpage United Presbyterian Church on August 14 in Concord, North Carolina. First, there was the community that gathered. It was like a reunion of reunions for African American Presbyterians and many others. We gathered, greeted each other, sang, praised God, read Scripture, remembered, celebrated, and renewed our faith, even at a time of death of a beloved sister, aunt, friend and educator.

The Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon dies

The Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, a pioneer and legend in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died Wednesday, Aug. 8. She was the Annie Scales Rogers Professor of Christian Social Ethics at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, and the first African-American woman ordained as a minister of Word and sacrament in the former United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She was also a minister member of the Presbytery of Philadelphia.

Closing worship speaker encourages Presbyterian Women gathering to leave a legacy

“The beauty of Presbyterian Women is that many of us are here because of the faith and hard work of all those Presbyterian women who have come before us,” said Ruth-Aimee Belonni-Rosario Govens, chief enrollment management officer at Columbia Theological Seminary. She preached Sunday morning at the closing plenary of the 2018 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women.

Native American women gather for listening circle at 2018 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women

Native American women came together in Louisville on Aug. 2 for a pre-gathering event prior to the kickoff of the 2018 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women (PW). “Because of limited opportunity to come together nationally, Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries (RE&WIM) put together this event,” said Irv Porter, associate for Native American Intercultural Congregational Support. “This is also a time to celebrate together the goodness of God in the lives of native women,” added Rhashell Hunter, director of RE&WIM.

Presbyterian Women march draws attention to ‘The Ninth Street Divide’

Over 200 people gathered at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville to join the 2018 National Gathering of Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA) for Friday’s peace and justice march. Drawing attention to “The Ninth Street Divide,” organizers hope the march raises awareness of the lingering effects of racism and discriminatory practices such as redlining that have resulted in segregation in Louisville and in many other cities in the nation.

Celebrating women in the Middle East

It stood out to me. Spread across the front row of the guests of honor to the General Assembly of the National Evangelical (Presbyterian) Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) sat three amazing women holding key leadership roles in the larger church community.

Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women celebrates 30 years

Presbyterian Women from across the country will gather in Louisville August 2-5 to celebrate the 2018 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women (PW). Susan Jackson Dowd, executive director of Presbyterian Women, Inc., said she is pleased PW, Inc., is bringing the triennial PW Churchwide Gathering back to Louisville for its 30-year anniversary celebration.

La IP (EE. UU.) necesita equidad de género

La campaña electoral presidencial del 2016 planteo cuestiones que perturbaban a muchas mujeres. Los criterios de aptitud de una mujer candidata para el cargo de presidente, como comentarios sobre la ropa que llevaba, por ejemplo, eran normas aparentemente no impuestas a los candidatos masculinos en la contienda. Los comentarios que rodean los cuerpos de las mujeres también eran alarmantes. Estas conversaciones llevaron hasta una especie de trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) para algunas mujeres, ya que ellas mismas han experimentado acoso sexual y discriminación.

The PC(USA) needs gender equity

The 2016 presidential electoral campaign brought up issues that were disturbing to many women. The criteria for fitness of the woman candidate for the office of president, such as comments about the clothes she wore, for example, were standards seemingly not imposed on male candidates in the race. The comments surrounding women’s bodies were also alarming. These conversations brought up a sort of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for some women, as they themselves have experienced sexual harassment and discrimination.