Women’s Gathering 2010

Redeemed for Today:

Women of Influence, Destiny and Community

Breakout Sessions

Cultivating International Friendships: World Mission at your Door. Led by Jeanne Griffith, Associate Director of PRISM (Pittsburgh Region International Student Ministries) for 20 years.
Join our discussion of sharing your life with Internationals in the Pittsburgh area. God is bringing the world to us. Our key text is 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

Developing an Artist’s Heart. Led by Mee Li Jones
Have you ever been tortured by memories past? Have you traveled across the country or decades to find yourself still replaying the same old tapes in your mind? Do you find yourself taking your bad day out on another person? Does everything seen fine, yet instinctively, you know something is not quite right, only you don’t know what it is that’s bothering you? In The Artist’s Heart, Mee-Li will share her journey towards wholeness through the practice of listening and letting the Holy Spirit lead in her prayer life.   Mee-Li likens her experiences as a veil lifted and the sun drying the morning mist. She has fallen deeper in love with Jesus. Her time with you will include examples from Scripture and her own life of how to be set free to live and create.

Faith in the Workplace: God’s Love at Work. Led by Jan Dare Brown
What does the Bible say about work?  Is “ministry” work more valuable than “secular” work?  Does one have more eternal significance than the other?  What does the Bible say about my attitude towards my boss?  What should my relationships look like with co-workers?  What doors of opportunity open for you in your work?  What about Johnny Paycheck’s song?  How do we best bring Glory to God in our work?

Ministering to Women in Prison and Their Children. Led by Marilyn Long
A line from Matthew 25 motivates a number of the volunteers with Lydia's Place:  "I was in prison and you came to me."
   Lydia's Place helps incarcerated women and their children rebuild their lives.  Their programs include both pre-release and post-release classes, counselling, parenting classes, family strengthening services, pre-natal services, family fun events, and a caretaker support group.  The program I volunteer for is called Mother's Voice, where we record the moms reading stories to their children and then send the CD and the book to their kids.

Tending the Urban Garden: Restoring our Neighborhood. Led by Kelly Dee, an MSW student at Pitt and the Community Outreach Coordinator for Garfield Community Farm in Pittsburgh, and Christy Valencheck, the Children's Ministry Coordinator of The Open Door Church in the East End.
Hear their story of Faith in Action with Garfield Community Farm and the surrounding neighborhood. In this session, conversation will be centered on what it looks like for women of God to hear the Lord's calling in our lives to serve, and live that out within the context of our communities.  We will discuss taking steps of faith toward action, the challenges and failures encountered along the way, and how to grow through these into stronger women living out our vocations.

Walking and Talking: Meaningful Conversations with God. Led by Laureen Stehle
Prayer is our life, our breath, our place of deepest intimacy.
Prayer brings healing, prayer gives life, prayer releases us and sets us free.
It is our longing and desire.  It’s the cry of our heart.
Prayer is the lifeline that ties us to jesus in the dark places.
Sometimes prayer is as natural and easy as breathing.
Other times, it seems so hard to do.  There is no time, there are no words.
Time with our lord is precious to us. We want the passion to pray. 
And we need some practical ideas.
How do we live our busy lives and “pray without ceasing”?
How do we find the fire in us for intimacy and time with Jesus?
Come join us for a time of honest discussion about prayer.

Nurturing Spiritual Growth in your Children. Led by Alysia Larson
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 instructs, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when youy lie down and when you get up."
  Do you wonder where to begin as you embark on the journey of "training a child in the way that he should go"? Is it a struggle to pray for your son or daughter? What are your goals, hopes, and aspirations for your child's spiritual development? What part will you and your spouse play in helping to nurture your little one's love and understanding of Jesus Christ?
  Join us as we discuss what it means to impress God's truth on the hearts of our children. We'll share together scriptural truths that can be applied in practical ways to take the guess-work out of this important role of every Christian parent. 

An American in Haiti: Poverty, Reality, and Motherhood. Led by Nicole Carlin
As a brand new missionary to Haiti, Nicole will share about the discovery and dislocation of being in a new culture, new language, and new climate. More importantly though, she wants to grapple with the questions of
- what does it mean to serve?
- what does it mean to be rich?
- what can we learn from women in a country like Haiti?
- what does that mean in Pittsburgh?