U
nder the theme “Renew, Respond, Rejoice,” nearly 2,000 women gathered July 14-17 in
Spokane, Wash., for the Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering. Those four days had it all: Spirit-filled wor- ship, Bible study, speakers, dozens of workshops, service projects and even Zumba. Women discerned their spiritual gifts, practiced yoga, walked a prayer labyrinth and learned about detoxing their homes. Yet there could almost have been a fourth “R” in the theme: “Reaching” more generations of Lutheran women at the event.
Many existing Women of the
ELCA units generally consist of women 55 and older. This year, they and the organization’s leaders inten- tionally offered registration incen- tives and a variety of communication tools to encourage attendance by women in their 30s, 20s and even teenage years. A “Chocolate Lounge” meet-and- greet the first evening was one of many welcoming entry points. Over chocolate and fresh fruit, the under- 40 set discussed faith perspectives and generational concerns, along with older women drawn by similar interests.
Elizabeth Luiten, a Moses Lake,
Wash., youth director, and Emily Davila, Bonn, Germany, juggled adult conversation and infant daughters in baby carriers. Sara Tembe, a Seattle- area maternity nurse, spoke to others about her appreciation for podcasts of Café, the Women of the ELCA’s online magazine for young adult women, as well as other initiatives she’d like see.
Throughout the triennial, women of multiple generations and diverse ethnic backgrounds were front-and- center in key leadership roles. In an attempt to reach this “wider, more
Hunter is an associate editor of The Lutheran.
Women respond
of the ELCA
... by making room for newcomers, healing, prophecy and action By Elizabeth Hunter
inclusive audience” of women of all ages, Lutheran Woman Today was renamed Gather, said editor Kate Sprutta Elliott. And hundreds of women aged 20 to 70-something attended a workshop on creative, multigenerational approaches to draw and include newcomers. At the workshop, participants shared what made them join Women of the ELCA units: a move to a new community, a personal invitation, a wedding or baby shower, and wanting to study the Bible with other women. They also shared what they see keeping newcomers away: scheduling events at times employed women or moms can’t attend, limiting publicity to the church bulletin, insincere invita- tions, stereotypes, cliques, not being open to change, and wanting newcom- ers to do the work but have no say. Workshop leader Elizabeth
McBride, Women of the ELCA direc- 34 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
tor for intergenerational programs and editor of Café, advised meeting young women and newcomers “where they are.” For example, a congregational or community “Chocolate Lounge” isn’t a hard sell. “But we also don’t pretend we’re anything other than Women of the ELCA,” she said.
Healing, worship and prayer Plenary speaker Nora Gallagher, author and preacher-in-residence at Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Bar- bara, Calif., spoke of her struggle to heal when an illness nearly took her sight. Gallagher shared how her min- ister’s advice to “stay in the now,” regular visits to a creek and a prayer shawl enhanced her spiritual practice. “[Jesus Christ] comes to us in the
now,” Gallagher said, “not in what has not happened yet. It is a fragile, tender place. [It’s] not much to rely on—a net made of strands of gossa- mer threads, water in a pool waiting for fish to come back, two people in wheelchairs. It doesn’t look very strong, but it will suffice.” And when Jesus comes to us with mercy, we can’t keep that to ourselves, said Thursday afternoon preacher M. Wyvetta Bullock, ELCA executive for administration. “I think
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