The Churchwide Gathering took place on August 8-11, 2024 in St. Louis, MO and attracted over 800 women from across the country. The women who attended from San Francisco Presbytery will share highlights from this experience.

Join us for our Fall gathering at First Presbyterian Church of Livermore, 2020 Fifth St. Livermore

Agenda

9:30-10 am Fellowship Time and Refreshments

10:00 Welcome - Rev. Nancy Holve, Co-Moderator
Lighting of the Christ Candle / Devotions

10:15 Program - Panel highlights from several of the Churchwide Gathering attendees sharing their reflections of the plenary sessions and many of the workshops.

10:45-11:15 Q&A, Discussion, Findings

11:15-11:30 PWP Business meeting

11:30-12:30 Lunch - Salad buffet

Taking BART?
We can shuttle you to and from the church. Contact Karen Vied, kvied@comcast.net to make arrangements.

Reflections from a First-Time Attendee of the Gathering
From the first announcement of the 2024 Churchwide Gathering “Do Everything in Love” friends encouraged me to attend, listen and bring back my findings to Livermore. After a six-year hiatus, Presbyterian Women met together on August 8-11 in St. Louis, Missouri. The selection of Saint Louis was a little off putting as I remember the downtown as old, dirty and tired with hordes of tourists. Today there is a revitalized city with a lovely park, flower boxes, hanging gardens, restored grand buildings with an absence of tent cities, litter and crime. I took pleasure in walking the streets of this “dressed-up dame” and participating in my first Churchwide Gathering. It was a thrill to see and hear the representatives from America and Africa sing together and hear new perspectives on today’s problems.
Each day’s program consisted of morning and evening plenary with all 800 participants and renowned, empowered speakers that were experts in their fields. The theme “Do Everything in Love” was explored in the daily topics of “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “Loving Our World,” “Loving Our Neighbors,” “Loving Ourselves.” All 70 workshops were related to Love: Love of God, Love of Self, Love of Neighbors, Love of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Action to end Gun Violence, Equity in the Body of Christ, Building Congregational Green Teams. The choices were dazzling and provided solid insight and information.
We learned about the actions and options of love and responsibility for children suggested by PCUSA’s 226th General Assembly so that children may live free from Gun Violence. Social justice is intertwined with environmental justice and environmental protection. The earth can function very well without man, and it is man that has polluted the air, earth, and water. We learned that we need hearts that can be broken, and when one’s heart is broken it can overflow. Justice, mercy, and love are better than just thoughts and prayers. Compassion is hard with the evil in society and feels simply like watering a desert with an eye dropper. God chooses to love us and entrusts us to do his work. God suffers from seeing evil and apathy, but he does not turn away.
Two workshops that were impactful to me were “Congregational Green Teams” and “Did You Eat Yet” a presentation on famine in the world. Many speakers discussed the need for women to love themselves and to find their identity in Jesus. Another relevant workshop dealt with the difference between equality and equity when dealing with multiracial groups. I surely benefited from the multiple exposures to ideas about love and God’s requirements.
I hope that the women of our Presbytery will consider taking advantage of the opportunities for spiritual enrichment at the next Churchwide Gathering.

Susan Bond
Co-Moderator PWP of San Francisco First Presbyterian Church, Livermore

More information on the Churchwide gathering can be found here (pdf)