Dressing for the pulpit

A question was asked how should the women dress in the pulpit. Depending on the church it may not matter because clergy always where a robe.

What if the church you attend do not wear robes. Well as a non traditionalist I wear pants, african outfits and suits at times when I'm at my church. However when I preach out I will put on a suit pant/skirt and take my robe with me.

We can talk about dress, jewelry, makeup, colors and etc. The list goes on and on. Remember we are women preachers and not men. Let us dress and conduct ourselves as powerful women preachers.

Always in the Potter's Hand
http://onthemoveministries.blogspot.com
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

To Move or Not to Move....

To play on the words of Shakespeare, "To Be or Not To Be". Many women in ministry struggle with a call to ministry and then they struggle to be accepted. While I was in seminary several women changed churches because their current pastor did not give them the support needed as they pursued their calling. Some of women joined "mega churches" where their gifts were recognized and appreciated.

As I talk with some of my classmates I hear the stories of how their pastor have mentored and opened doors for them. Some have been moved beyond the volunteer position to a paid position in the church and some have been placed into a pastoring position.

However, there is a flip side to all of this. There are ordained women who are still sitting in the second chariot/chair waiting for their pastor to mentor and open the door of opportunity for them. The opportunity to move beyond the volunteer position of the church or to pastor. Some pastor are still reluctant to push their female minister out as they do the males.

As female clergy we have a choice to make when this happens to us. We either leave the church after much prayer and fasting to seek a church that will appreciate and accept the gifts we bring to the ministry. We start our own church if God has called us to pastor. Lastly, leave the denomination and go to a denomination that is more accepting of women clergy.

Many clergy women have been too loyal for too long. Many have endure the abuse of leadership and the constant saying of just keep waiting. Some of us have been waiting for more than 10 years and we are still doing the same thing which have made us lose our flavor.

Maybe today we will honestly say to ourselves ENOUGH! I have not been obedient to the call God has placed on my life. Everything we do just doesn't work any longer. It is our time to take a spiritual inventory and ask the question do we move or do we stay.

S.O.S.

SOS is an international morse code distress signal. The use of this code was to alert other of the danger that is around them. This morning the meaning of SOS is "Support Our Sisters". As SistersNMinistry we need encouragement and support from each other. We need to be committed to this support by our action and words.

It is hard to get this kind of support when sisters are trying to tear each other down, destroy their character or even destroy their life. Competition, envy, jealousy, deceit and manipulations in the pulpit and ministry is not what we should be about. Over the past few years I experienced all and more from other sisters in ministry. The remarks were "I can do that better", "She preach like she's the pastor" or "Who put her in charge, well I'm not listening to her" and etc.

This type of attitude makes it hard to do ministry effectively. Let us remember,
God has given each of us unique gifts for ministry which can not be imitated by others. If we find ourselves off our wall and trying to do ministry outside of our gifts let us check to see why are we really do this.

Instead of tearing each other down let us build each other up. In order for us to accomplish more we must stand united. Let us send out the distress call for some real praying sisters who are committed to the reality of ministry.

A Conference for Female Clergy

A Conference for Female Clergy

August 19-20, 2010

New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church
Detroit, Michigan
Dr. Wilma Johnson, Host Pastor

SPONSORED BY
National Ministries,
American Baptist Home Mission Societies

Three learning tracks will be offered: a pastors track; a general
ministry track for all licensed and ordained clergy; and a track for ordained clergy doing ministry in areas such as chaplaincy, counseling and denominational ministry.

Conference leaders include:

~ Dr. Jan McCormack, Assistant Professor of Chaplaincy and
Pastoral Counseling, Denver Seminary

~ Rev. Marie Onwubuariri, Pastor, MacArthur Community Baptist Church, San Pablo, California

~ Rev. Peg Nowling, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Lafayette, Indiana

~ Dr. DeeDee Coleman, Pastor, Russell Street Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan

~ Dr. Michelle Holmes, Vice-President and CFO, American Baptist Seminary of the West

The closing worship speaker will be Dr. Charles Adams, a great friend and encourager of women in ministry

Registration: $80/person

Accommodations at The Westin Southfield Detroit:
$75 plus tax, double occupancy

Look for registration materials in April.

For more information, contact Rev. Yvonne B. Carter:
1-800-ABC-3USA x2257 or yvonne.carter@abc-usa.org

“You obey the law of Christ when you
offer each other a helping hand.”
GALATIANS 6:2 (CEV)

IF FLYING/DRIVING:
PLAN TO ARRIVE IN DETROIT ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 18, 2010 & DEPART DETROIT ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

Ministry presents many challenges,
and everyone who answers God’s call
has obstacles to overcome. Women in
ministry, however, face unique challenges—
we are often ignored, ridiculed and rejected
by those we are called to serve. We
share the need for encouragement of our
gifts, support for our calls, and a shoulder
to help bear the struggle. You’ll find it
all at this conference.

TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE...PLEASE CLICK ON LINK BELOW
https://www.bimwebport.org/etrakwebapp/meetings.aspx

For more information, contact Rev. Yvonne B. Carter:
1-800-ABC-3USA x2257 or yvonne.carter@abc-usa.org


SPONSORED BY
National Ministries,
American Baptist Home Mission Societies

***NOTE:RSVP ON THIS SITE DOES NOT REGISTER YOU FOR THE ABOVE CONFERENCE. IT ONLY LETS US KNOW WHO AMONG WEWP WILL BE ATTENDING.

Events to Share

Please share all events here. We want to get the word out!

If It Wasn't for the Women

This is a title of a book written by Cheryl Towsend Gilkes. As a womanist scholar, Dr. Gilkes addresses the Community, Church work, Culture and Crisis of women. Just the title alone will make you want to pick up the book. One Saturday morning a small group of clergy women came together to fellowship and we asked the question where would our community and church be if it wasn't for the Women. Since women make up more than 85% of the congregation why is it we are not shouting that our voices need to be heard from the pulpit other than Mother’s Day and Women’s Day.

Women in ministry is not a new concept but the role for Women in the church have changed from Sunday School Teachers to Pastors. We as women in ministry have several barriers to cross when it comes to pastoring in traditional churches. These barriers are still present in several denominations. As a woman who started ministry in the Baptist denomination I was told on several occasions that it would be impossible to pastor a traditional Baptist church, I need to start my own church or do institutional ministry. I find this offensive when there are vacant churches that need pastor but refuse to give a sista a chance.

It is ironic that women will further their education to be well prepared for leadership but will be passed over for a man with the same or less education. The time has come for us to stop talking about the injustice seen in the pulpit for women and do something about it. There are some men of God who are encouraging the sisters. Also, there are men of God who give lip service just to say they support us. It’s time for us to be heard as well.

Welcome to SistersNMinistry

We want to take the opportunity to welcome all the Sisters who are called Rev, Doc, Bishop, Elder and Minister. We have been called by God, from all walks of life to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in and out of the pulpit. We are apart of God's paradigm shift. A shift that is taking Ministry to a new level because the voices of Women are no longer silent. We are

SistersNMinistry.

The initial purpose of this blog was for Sisters in the Baptist Denomination due to limited resource access to help us grow in ministry. However, as we began discussing the concerns of SistersNMinistry we heard several Sisters say they need this type of fellowship. This blog is a sounding board and a fellowship for us to talk about our concerns in ministry, mentoring each other, providing support, encouragement and letting our hair down on this journey.

This fellowship is not limited to blogging. We want to create a monthly fellowship where we can meet as a group to discuss topics such as: How to create a ministry resume, What does it mean to be a Worship Leader, Where can I use my spiritual gifts in ministry, Is the pulpit for me, How can I balance Ministry, Work and Family, and etc...

We want to share notes and tips concerning our roles as pastors, teachers, chaplains, executive ministers, associate ministers and more. Please provide some feedback so we can make this blog a source of information.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!!!

Always in Potter's Hand

Rev. Lettie