The excitement could be felt through the screen as nearly 30 women entered the virtual room to gather for the second of the three-part Lydia’s Listening Session hosted by the offices of Women’s Leadership Development and Leadership Development for Leaders of Color of the Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries (RE&WIM).
Thursday’s second day of Presbyterian Women’s first-ever online triennial meeting saw goodbyes to the board leadership team and hellos to brand-new leaders; inspired preaching by the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency (see a report here); a smattering of votes; talks by invited guests, including a California pastor who’s also the mother of a child born during the pandemic; and words of appreciation by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Read a report on comments made by the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, by clicking here.
On International Women’s Day, Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri noticed her social media feeds were loaded with memes in celebration, but one stood out:
“On this day, we don’t need flowers. We need justice and equity.”
Ruling Elder Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri felt a “breath of fresh air” watching last week’s inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Two former co-moderators of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly will join the Office of Public Witness/Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations for a discussion about white supremacy and the intersection of racism and gender inequality.
When the decision was made earlier this year to hold a virtual assembly, not only did Ruling Elder Elona Street-Stewart and the Rev. Gregory Bentley, Co-Moderators of the 224th General Assembly (2020), have to forego a trip to Baltimore, but they also missed out on the time-honored tradition of gathering with their predecessors who have also held the denomination’s highest elected office.
Thanks to #GivingTuesday, their wait is over.
Presbyterians paused during their Week of Action Thursday to take a more introspective and personal action: mourning the deaths of 183,000 Americans and more than 832,000 people around the world who have perished from COVID-19.
Elona Street-Stewart, executive of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, and the Rev. Gregory Bentley, pastor of Fellowship Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama, were overwhelmingly elected to be co-moderators of the 224th General Assembly Saturday.