Women’s Ministries

Presbyterian Women moderator states plan for moving forward

“Don’t believe me just watch,” a line from Mark Ronson’s upbeat dance tune, “Uptown Funk,” filled the banquet hall at the 2018 Gathering of Presbyterian Women as the group of nearly 2,000 celebrated the many significant accomplishments of the Presbyterian Women Inc. (PW) over the past 30 years. And if you couldn’t believe all the accomplishments of PW, all you had to do was watch the video. Attendees were entertained and educated by the video that chronicled a timeline of historic events of the past three decades of PW.

2019 Commission on the Status of Women now accepting applications

The 63rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is scheduled for March 11–22, 2019, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The event is expected to draw representatives from member states, U.N. entities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from around the world. Applications are now being accepted and can be accessed on the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations (PMUN) web page.

Synod includes men in #MeToo talks

When the #MeToo hashtag exploded on the social media scene in October 2017, no one could have predicted its continued impact on the treatment of women both in and out of the workplace. For a while, #MeToo seemed to be more about bringing down famous people in big corporations or enterprises, like Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer. Hollywood is one thing, but harassment isn’t supposed to happen in churches, right?

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.