So far our stories of women series has highlighted women of the past, women who would be amazed if they could see where we are. But as some of us are still alive, I also wanted to share some interviews that I did in 2022 with my friend Kristin Young.
For a year, we ran a small cohort for women in seminary. We got together monthly for Zoom discussions, sent out weekly newsletters, and got to interview women in ministry. It was so much fun chatting with women that I really admire. The cohort was called The Order of Junia, which sounded delightfully monastic to me. In the summer of 2022, we scheduled a series of meetings and we sketched out big plans, narrowed the mission, got alive and excited, only to realize a few months later that our lives were not thrilled with the weight that both of us were carrying. With much sadness, we agreed to set it down.
I still think about Junia and what we could have done with it. We were committed to a dual objective of diversity and orthodoxy and Kristin is a mastermind. It’s hard to say “no” to good things. Most of the time I wish I could hand my ideas out to other people so that more of them are happening.1
Even though we folded The Order of Junia, the interviews are still recorded. Whether or not you are a woman in seminary, you could learn more about the lives of women and the work that is being done by women. The first interview we held was with Dr. Mimi Haddad who was my professor in seminary and is also the president of CBE International, a resource that I should have already recommended to you. My bad. Kick back with a snack and a drink, or turn it on and listen (but don’t watch!) while you are driving. Enjoy!
Like my dessert idea: every day, or on the weekend, someone makes two cakes or three dozen cookies or 4 pies. They then announce on social media or through a mailing list how many servings they have and it’s a first-come, first-serve sale. Wouldn’t you love to buy one slice of a really good cake instead of a whole cake? During the pandemic, my idea was for porch deliveries. Someone, preferably someone in Lynchburg, take me up on this. I would love to do it but I don’t have the time.
I often have ideas but no time to fully and properly execute them. One of mine was to approach our local ministerial alliance (ecumenical group of pastors) about running a book discussion of a book that very effectively and fairly presents both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Another one: now that Fuller has Slack for students, forming interest groups there for online students to connect on an informal, ad hoc basis.
PS: I made the pot roast recipe you linked to in a recent newsletter and my family LOVED it.