| | October 15, 2018 ♦ Issue 8 |
| Our Community Is Growing! On September 13, the North American Division (NAD) Administrative Committee voted to adopt and endorse the Adventist Women Leaders (AWL) initiative. What started with a lunch for 15 women gathered in a conference room at the NAD Year-End Meetings in October 2017, has grown to more than 100 subscribers to this newsletter.
“AWL is a community where we can connect, tell our stories, learn from others’ experiences and find inspiration in our shared journeys,” says Debra Brill, NAD vice president for Ministries, who chairs the initiative.
The goal is to create and foster a nurturing and supportive community for women who serve in leadership capacities for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Women who serve as presidents, vice presidents, directors, |
| | "We are here to say to women in leadership: 'We see you, we acknowledge your call and accomplishments, we rejoice in how God is working through you, we are here for you, and we are praying for you.' " |
| associate and assistant directors, administrators, superintendents and leaders of Adventist ministries are invited to join the community. They will find a group that acknowledges the gifts God has given to each woman, offers leadership development, and fosters a culture of inclusivity and opportunities for growth.
“We are here to say to women in leadership: ‘We see you, we acknowledge your call and accomplishments, we rejoice in how God is working through you, we are here for you, and we are praying for you,’” says Celeste Ryan Blyden, vice president for Strategic Communication and Public Relations for the Columbia Union Conference, who spearheaded the initiative.
Blyden saw a need for a leadership community among women based on her own experience. She reached out to Brill; Tamyra Horst, communication director, as well as women’s, family and prayer ministries director for the Pennsylvania Conference, and Ann Roda, vice president of Mission Integration and Spiritual Care for Maryland-based Adventist HealthCare, to form the community’s organizing committee. |
| As a resource network, AWL offers an email newsletter twice each month. It features profiles of women leaders, spiritual encouragement, and lessons learned. And, in each issue, readers are asked to pray for a woman in the network.
AWL is now organizing a division-wide luncheon on January 16, 2019, at the close of the NAD Ministries Convention in Albuquerque, N.M. Women leaders are invited to get better acquainted and engage in an interactive learning experience about emotional intelligence. “The ability to recognize, analyze and respond to how we think, feel, act and relate to others accounts for 80 percent of our success,” says Jennifer Stanford, a career coach and consultant, who will give the keynote presentation. Through assessment activities, roundtable discussions and reflection time, participants will access tools and learn methods to help foster healthy workplace and personal relationships. |
| | — Michele Joseph, managing editor, AWL newsletter |
| | | Meditations
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." — Proverbs 27:17, New International Version |
| | | AWL's Prayer Circle This week we are praying for: |
| Diane Thurber President Christian Record Services |
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| | | Coming up Brenda Dickerson shares lessons learned, and one she is still learning, as a leader. |
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| | AWL is a community of women affirming, encouraging, and celebrating God's goodness to those He has called to lead. |
| AWL Organizers: Debra Brill, Tamyra Horst, Ann Roda, Celeste Ryan Blyden Newsletter: Michele Joseph, managing editor, Carla Conway, graphic designer |
| Email us! We want to hear from you. |
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| Click here to to the AWL newsletter. |
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