WEST VIRGINIA-WESTERN MARYLAND WOMEN OF THE ELCA
Mission Statement: As a community of women created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to grow in faith, affirm our gifts, support one another in our callings, engage in ministry and action, and promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and the world.
Celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, the 30th year since the beginning of the the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the 30th year since the beginning of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Synodical Women’s Organization (WELCA) met August 11-12, 2017 at Bishop Hodges Catholic Pastoral Center in Huttonsville, WV for our annual convention. The theme was “Celebrate HIS Faithfulness”. Jane Hazer, Linda Buckel, and Norma Bowyer chaired the convention. The Churchwide representative was Nancy Giddings from Minneapolis. Bishop Matthew Riegel conducted our worship service.
Each unit continues to work on their outreach ministries. Clusters continue to hold spring and fall events. The Ohio-Kanawha Valley and Monongahela Valley Mountain clusters held a joint retreat last fall at Tygart Lake. The gathering closed with worship at Church of the Covenant in Grafton where the ladies welcomed cluster participants and sent them off after worship with a soup and sandwich meal.
Our goals for this year are: 1: We encourage all women to lift up in prayer ALL of God’s creation as we deal with the issues of diversity, violence especially in the home and all who are in crisis. 2: We will raise awareness of the value of WELCA in our congregations. 3: We will continue to support Community Lutheran Partners, Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU and Lutheran World Relief.
We will also continue to pray our prayer for all of our Christian sisters this year.
Oh, Lord, hear our prayer. Come close to us so we can feel your presence. You are a gracious and a loving God. Help us and our sisters and brothers deal with the diversity in our communities. Oh, Lord, our differences are many. Help us see you in our neighbors. And help them see you in us. Help us turn away from violence and learn to honor you together as peacemakers. May we learn to share your love with each other and truly forgive when occurrences are out of control around us. We need your comfort and peace. We need you Lord. Please help us make our communities safe. You are awesome and we praise you. You are a blessing to us. We pray this in your Son’s name, Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen
Our women continue to keep in contact with our synodical newsletter, Lutheran Lines, which is published twice a year and is available (free) by mail or email. We encourage and support one another in ministry, share ideas for activities and resources, share happenings in our units, and share our joys and sorrow. We are Christian women working together as God’s hands.
| Board of Directors | |
| Officers: | |
| President | McDonald, Beverly |
| Vice President | Schillings, Pat |
| Treasurer | Porter, Denise |
| Secretary | Blank, Paula |
| Members: | |
| Bragg, Ellen | |
| Hazer, Jane | |
| Johnson, Christine | |
| Prytz, Andrea | |
| Rowan, Kay | |
| Tomich, Vickie | |
| Young, Jonalee |
| Cluster Coordinators | |
| Mon Valley-Mountain | Porter, Denise |
| Ohio-Kanawha Valley | Broyles, Lois |
| Potomac | Horner, Priscilla |
| Upper Ohio Valley | Smith, Janis |
| Lutheran Lines |
| Kohlhorst, Gail |
Respectfully submitted,
Beverly McDonald, President
West Virginia-Western Maryland Women of the ELCA
Feedback
Post your comment on this topic.